The Indians who had passed the night near our vessel returned very early, on the 6th of August, to their camp, that they might be able to travel in one day to Fort Mc Kenzie. The night, which was very cool, had passed over quietly, and we had every reason to be satisfied with the behaviour of this numerous band of Indians, for few other tribes would have conducted themselves so peaceably and moderately on a similar occasion. This, it is true, was for their own interest, since they had hitherto been sufferers from the bad reputation which they had among the Whites.

At break of day the weather was extremely cool and disagreeable; the thermometer at half-past seven was only at 58°, and a bleak wind prevailed, which enabled us to use our sails. The part of the country called The Stone Walls, which now opened before us, has nothing like it on the whole course of the Missouri; and we did not leave the deck for a single moment the whole forenoon. Lewis and Clarke have given a short description of this remarkable tract, without, however, knowing the name of Stone Walls, which has since been given it.[60] In this tract of twelve or fifteen miles, the valley of the Missouri has naked, moderately high mountains, rounded above, or extending like ridges, with tufts of low plants here and there, on which the thick strata[61] of whitish coarse-grained friable sand-stone, which extends over all this country, are everywhere visible. As soon as we have passed Judith River this white sand-stone begins to stand out in some places, till we have passed Bighorn River, and entered the narrower valley of the Stone {236} Walls, where the strata extend, without interruption, far through the country, and lie partly halfway up the mountain, and partly form the summits. They are the continuation of the white sand-stone which occurs in such singular forms at the Blackhills. At all the places which are bare of grass, they are visible, and there we see horizontal or perpendicular angles and ledges resembling walls, some of which contain caverns. This sand-stone formation is the most striking when it forms the tops of more isolated mountains, separated by gentle valleys and ravines. Here, on both sides of the river, the most strange forms are seen, and you may fancy that you see colonnades, small round pillars with large globes or a flat slab at the top, little towers, pulpits, organs with their pipes, old ruins, fortresses, castles, churches, with pointed towers, &c. &c., almost every mountain bearing on its summit some similar structure.

Towards nine o'clock the valley began to be particularly interesting, for its fantastic forms were more and more numerous; every moment, as we proceeded along, new white fairy-like castles appeared, and a painter who had leisure might fill whole volumes with these original landscapes. As proofs of this we may refer to some of these figures, which Mr. Bodmer sketched very accurately.[62] In many places the clay formed the summits of the hills; in these parts there were patches of Juniperus repens, and on the bank of the river, small and narrow strips covered with artemisia and the thorn with flesh-coloured leaves (Sarcobatus nees). Long tracts of the sand-stone strata perfectly resembled a large blown-up fortress, because the stratification everywhere gave these walls a certain regularity, while, at the same time, they bore marks of having been destroyed by violence. In several places where the sand-stone summit appeared plainly to represent an ancient knight's castle, another remarkable rock was seen to traverse the mountain in narrow perpendicular strata, like regularly built walls. These walls consist of a blackish-brown rock, in the mass of which large olive-green crystals are disseminated.[63] They run in a perfectly straight line from the summits of the mountain to the foot, appearing to form the outworks of the old castles.[64] The surface is divided by rents or furrows into pretty regular cubic figures like bricks, which renders their similarity to a work of art still more complete. The breadth of these perpendicular strata seldom exceeds one or two feet. One of these walls was particularly striking, which ran, without interruption, over the tops of three mountains, and through the clefts between them, and connected the three masses of white sand-stone on the summits in so regular a manner, that one could hardly fancy they were natural, but that they were a work of art. All these eminences are inhabited by numerous {237} troops of the wild mountain sheep, of which we often saw thirty or fifty at a time climbing and springing over the sand-stone formation. These harmless animals often stood on a lofty peak, far beyond the reach of our rifles, while the outlines of their forms were clearly defined against the bright blue sky. As we passed a hollow lateral valley, we were shown the place at which the hunters of the keel-boat had, last year, hemmed in a whole herd of these animals in such a manner that not one escaped.

Early in the afternoon we came to a remarkable place where the Missouri seems to issue from a narrow opening, making a turn round a dark brown rugged pointed towerlike rock on the south, to which the traders have given the name of the Citadel Rock.[65] This singular isolated rock seems to consist of clay-slate, grauwacke, and a conglomerate of fragments of rock in yellowish clay, and is joined to the south bank by a ridge. On the bank opposite to it the white sand-stone runs over the ridge of the hills, which Mr. Bodmer has very accurately represented.[66] After we had doubled the Citadel Rock we lay to on the south bank, and our people took their dinner. We did not stop long, and had to contend against a cold, very high wind, while the country was flatter and more open, with only a few of the oddly-fashioned rocks. Immediately above the Citadel there is a similar dark brown much smaller rock, and soon afterwards we saw, on the north bank, a jagged conical rock, which stands quite isolated on a hill covered with short grass. Two other less remarkable tops follow, of which the towers (according to the course of the river) resemble a small castle, while the other hills in this part have again the flat and rounded forms. A herd of wild sheep looked down upon us from these heights. We had, however, not yet taken leave of the extraordinary sand-stone valley, on the contrary, we now came to a most remarkable place. The stratum of sand-stone, regularly bedded in low hills, runs along both banks of the river, which is rather narrow, like a high, smooth, white wall, pretty equally horizontal above, with low pinnacles on the top. At some distance before us, the eye fell on an apparently narrow gate, the white walls in the two banks approaching so near to each other, that the river seemed to be very contracted in breadth as it passed between them,[67] and this illusion was heightened by the turn which the Missouri makes in this place to the south-west. Looking backwards, the high, black, conical rock rose above the surrounding country; and on our right hand, there were, on the bank, dark perpendicular walls, seemingly divided into cubes, in the form of an ancient Gothic chapel with a chimney. Some pines grew singly about these walls, where there appear to be regular gateways formed by art. A little further on there was, on the north bank, a mass which much resembled a long barrack or some other considerable building,[68] the corners of which were as regular as if they had been hewn and built up by a skilful workman. Beyond the rocky gate a herd of buffaloes were grazing on a small lateral valley; our hunters contrived to get near them and to kill four. As {238} evening was come, and the people had to cut up the buffaloes, we lay to for the night on the north bank. I took this opportunity to ascend the remarkable eminences. I found the sand-stone so soft that it crumbled in my hand; whereas the yellowish-red sand-stone, which, in some places, formed the tops or roofs of the strange white masses, were of a rather harder grain. Extremely stunted and often strangely contorted cedars (juniperus) grew among these rocks; but the pines (Pinus flexilis) were well grown and flourishing, though not above forty feet high. When standing among the remarkable masses of the sand-stone, we fancied ourselves in a garden laid out in the old French style, where urns, obelisks, statues, as well as hedges and trees clipped into various shapes, surround the astonished spectator. The balls and slabs, often of a colossal size, which rested on the above-mentioned pedestals, were likewise soft and friable, but not so much so as the white sand-stone, and there were in them many round holes. Stratification could be perceived in all these stones, for even round spherical blocks were easily divided into regular plates, nearly an inch thick. Among these fragments the tracks of the mountain sheep were everywhere discernible, and on the lower declivities, which were covered with grass, those of the buffaloes. In the prairie beyond the Stone Walls, Cactus ferox grew, and at their foot, the beautiful Bartonia ornata, with its large snow-white flowers.

We looked with impatience for the following day, the 7th, in order to reach what is called the Gate of the Stone Walls. We soon came to a dark brown rock, like a tower, rising in the middle of the white wall, the front of which had fallen down, and had a great number of boulders about it. From this tower it is between 600 and 800 paces to the place which appeared to us yesterday to form a narrow gate; before reaching it, there is, on the north bank, a stream called, by Lewis and Clarke, Stonewall Creek, which is about fifty paces broad at the mouth, and its banks are bordered with high poplars.[69] A cold wind blew from the gate, beyond which there was another towerlike dark brown rock, not so large as the other, while the white sand-stone walls decreased and became less regular. The hills became gradually lower, the sand-stone partly disappeared, and was only seen occasionally. About eleven o'clock we saw two Indians—a man and a woman—who, on their approach, were recognized to be Blood Indians. They were returning from the Manitaries, where we recollected having seen them: the man was well made, and both were very neatly dressed. We took them on board, passed several islands, and had a fine view of Bear's-paw Mountain, nearly behind us, in the north-east.[70] The hills on the bank had, in general, nothing remarkable in their appearance; the strata of the sand-stone were partly exposed at their base, because the sand under them had either fallen or been washed away. The stratum of whitish-grey sand-stone still ran along the hills with an equally thick layer of clay and sand over it, covered with green turf; but what might here be called sand-stone was rather a half indurated clay and sand, mixed with blocks of sand-stone. A mile further up, we saw, to {239} the south, in the direction of the river, the foremost chain of the Rocky Mountains, looking like a distant blue range, which was soon hid behind the naked, sterile banks of the river, which had only here and there some old trees.[71]

On the morning of the 8th of August, we again saw before us the summits of the Rocky Mountains, and came to Spaniard Island, where several of our hunters returned from an excursion with wild geese and a large rattlesnake. They had seen from the eminences the eternal snow of the Oregon, and observed six Indians on horseback, who were going in the direction of Fort Mc Kenzie. They brought with them a quantity of choke cherries, the fruit of the Prunus padus Virginiana, which is considered to be very indigestible. This fruit is said to have cured Captain Lewis, on his journey, of a dysentery and fever.[72] Proceeding on our voyage, we followed the right bank, composed of steep, yellowish-red walls, the base of which was a bluish clay, and were delighted with the fine bright green colour of the waters of the Missouri, which contradicted the assertion that it is discoloured by the junction of Maria River, from the mouth of which we were now not far distant. Turning round a point of land, we saw before us a long table-formed range of hills, behind which is Fort Mc Kenzie, which we might have reached by land in half an hour. In the front of these hills, on the north bank, is the mouth of Maria River, called, by the Canadians, Marayon;[73] after we had passed it, we saw, about six o'clock, on the same bank, the ruins of the first fort, or trading post, which Mr. Kipp, clerk of the American Fur Company, had built, in the year 1831, in the territory of the Blackfeet. This fort was abandoned in 1832, and the present Fort Mc Kenzie built in its stead, and this, too, is soon to be abandoned. In this manner the Fur Company continues to advance, and firmly establishes itself among nations that are but little known, where the fur trade is still profitable. The forsaken ruins of the first fort were entirely demolished and partly burnt by the Indians after the departure of the Whites. On the heights of this part, we saw two Indians on horseback, who galloped off as soon as they perceived us, doubtless to carry the news of our arrival to the fort.[74] Several islands, opposite the ruins of the fort, obliged us to pass through a narrow channel on the south bank, which was not more than forty paces broad, with a very rapid current.

At twilight we lay to under the high clay wall of the southern bank. We were much surprised that no notice had yet been taken of us by the fort, which was so near, though, in the two preceding years, the steamer had been welcomed by the Blackfeet further down the river; and as we were now so close to the fort, we might expect to see the white inhabitants of the post; besides this, the Manitaries had told us that the garrison of Fort Mc Kenzie had had a dispute with the Indians, and Dechamp affirmed that he had heard to-day some cannon-shot. All these considerations, taken together, excited in Mr. Mitchell—who was well aware of the little reliance that could be placed on the Indians—some apprehensions for the safety of the fort and our expedition. Small parties of Whites, at a distance from the Missouri, are generally murdered, or at {240} least plundered, by the Blackfeet, if they take them for fur hunters; we had, therefore, reason to proceed with much caution. Accordingly, Major Mitchell resolved to reconnoitre the fort in person, and, meantime, a strong night watch was ordered on board the vessel. Mr. Mitchell chose four of our hunters, who were thoroughly acquainted with the country, and well armed, to accompany him. The boat landed them on the north bank of the river, where it remained in safety. They set out on their expedition at nightfall, the moon shining brightly. It was agreed that, in case of a misunderstanding with the Indians, we should drop down the river if Mr. Mitchell had not returned before midnight. The people on board the vessel remained on the alert, awaiting the result. The night was exceedingly fine, warm, and serene, but the moonlight did not last long. We plainly heard the drums of the Indians in the direction of the fort, and, on the opposite bank of the river, the loud howling of the wolves. At half-past ten o'clock Mr. Mitchell returned with two of his men. He had ascended the hills, but had lost his way, and came to the mouth of the Maria River, from which he now returned. The other two had again proceeded towards the fort. The feet of our wanderers had suffered severely by the thorns of the cactus plants. As we had no information of the state of the fort, we had nothing to do but patiently to wait for daylight.

Before daybreak, on the 9th, a heavy rain set in, which continued, at intervals, the whole day, and the mosquitoes were very troublesome. We proceeded early along the steep clay walls of the southern bank, which were above a hundred feet high, and saw, on our right hand, gentle eminences, from which the antelopes fled at our approach. We were just doubling a point of land, when we saw five white horsemen coming towards us. The party consisted of Mr. Patton, clerk of the Company, and hitherto director of Fort Mc Kenzie, and some of his people. They galloped to the bank, discharged their pieces, and were welcomed on board. The news they brought dispelled all our apprehensions; universal joy prevailed on account of our happy arrival; and, after we had breakfasted together, they rode back to the fort, to which we had thirteen miles to go by water. We saw the horsemen gallop over the high banks of the river, on which groups of Indians were everywhere seen. Whole bands of their brown children came to the river's edge, and accompanied the vessel with shouts of joy. Frequently two Indians were riding on one horse; great numbers of those animals, of all colours, were grazing in the prairie. Our arrival gave animation to the whole scene, and our guns began to fire salutes from time to time, in which the heavy rain was very troublesome.

We passed the last winding of the river, and a most interesting scene presented itself. A prairie extends along the north bank, at a point to which, projecting towards the river, we saw Fort Mc Kenzie, on which the American flag was displayed.[75] A great number of Indian tents was erected in the plain, which was covered with the red population in various groups, all of whom hastened to the bank. Near to the fort, the men (about 800 Blackfeet) were drawn up {241} in a close body, like a well-ordered battalion. They formed a long dark brown line, with a black stripe at the top, which was occasioned by their black hair. The palisades and the roof of the fort, as well as the neighbouring trees, were occupied by Indian women and their children, singly, or in groups, and the whole prairie was covered with them. The smoke of the powder rose in the fort, and the thunder of the cannon re-echoed from the high banks. While our vessel was slowly approaching this interesting scene, the boat brought an Indian, the White Buffalo (soldier of the fort),[76] who was well known as a good-natured, tolerably trustworthy man. The fire of musketry among the mass of the Indian warriors was uninterrupted, and their war cry sounded over to us, while our vessel, in spite of the rain, kept up a brisk fire. In front of the Indians we saw three or four chiefs in red and blue uniforms, trimmed with lace, and wearing round hats with plumes of feathers. The most distinguished among them was Mexkehme-Sukahs (the iron shirt), dressed in a scarlet uniform, with blue facings and lace, with a drawn sabre in his hand; riding without stirrups, he managed, with great dexterity, his light bay horse, which was made very restiff by the firing of the musketry. The most respected chief among the Blackfeet, at this time, was the Spotted Elk (Ketscpenn-Nuka), who, after a successful battle with the Flatheads, had changed his name, and was now called Ninoch-Kiaiu (chief of the bears). The other chiefs besides these two were called the Old Heart, now called the Stiff Foot, the Stiff Leg, the Big Soldier, and the Red Buffalo.

We approached the landing-place, and at length set foot on shore, amidst a cloud of smoke caused by the firing of the Indians and of the engagés of the fort, who were drawn up in a line on the bank. Here we were received by the whole population, with the Indian chiefs at their head, with whom we all shook hands. The Chief of the Bears was quite an original: his countenance, which was not very handsome, with a large crooked nose, was partly hid by his long hair. On his head he had a round felt hat, with a brass rim, and a silver medal on his breast. We were led through a long double line of the red men, the expression of whose countenances and their various dresses greatly amused us. When we arrived at the fort there was no end of the shaking of hands; after which we longed for repose, and distributed our baggage in the rooms. We had happily accomplished the voyage from Fort Union in thirty-four days, had lost none of our people, and subsisted during the whole time by the produce of the chase.

CHAPTER XIX
DESCRIPTION OF FORT MC KENZIE AND THE ENVIRONS, AND OF THE INDIAN POPULATION LIVING THERE

Fort Mc Kenzie, which, at the time of its first establishment in 1832, was called by Mr. Mitchell, its founder, Fort Piekann, is designed for carrying on the fur trade with the three branches of the Blackfoot Indians, and several other neighbouring nations, as the Gros Ventres des Prairies, the Sassis,[77] and the Kutanas, or Kutnehas.[78] As I have already said, the American Fur Company concluded, in the year 1831, a commercial convention with those tribes, and sent for that purpose the interpreter, Berger, a Canadian, who was pretty well acquainted with the language of the Blackfeet, who brought seventy Indians of those nations to a conference at Fort Union.

At his first meeting with these dangerous people they were going to kill him, and he was saved by a certain chief, after many disputes. The convention which Mr. Mc Kenzie concluded with the Indians, after those negotiations, will be found in the Appendix.[79] As soon as it was agreed to by both parties, Mr. Kipp was sent with a keel-boat laden with goods to Maria River, and Fort Piekann, now in ruins, was founded. The sight of the numerous assemblage of different {243} Indian nations collected here on that occasion is said to have been highly interesting. As the situation of the fort was subsequently found to be unfavourable, Major Mitchell, who succeeded Mr. Kipp, transferred the trading post to its present situation, where an extensive prairie was better suited to the meeting of numerous Indians. When the Company's people landed at this place in 1832, the present fort was erected in a few days. While the work was going on, they lived in the keel-boat, and were actually blockaded by at least 4000 or 5000 men; and, on the whole, by an Indian population of 10,000 or 12,000 persons, extremely dangerous, in whom no confidence could be placed, and whose perfidious, sanguinary, and predatory character was sufficiently known. In fact, some insignificant disputes nearly produced a breach of the peace, which would have inevitably led to the destruction of the crew of the boat, and was prevented only by the decision and resolute conduct of Mr. Mitchell. The Indians had already cut the rope which held the keel-boat, the only hope of the Americans, to the bank, whose situation at this time was extremely critical, as the Blood Indians in particular had always been the declared enemies of the Whites. As soon as the traders got into the fort, which was quickly completed, their situation was much changed. They were secure from the attacks of the Indians, and had sufficient provisions, powder, and ball, for a considerable time. The Indians were no longer admitted indiscriminately; suitable precautions were adopted; and the Piekanns, who were the principal tribe inhabiting the surrounding country, and some families of whom are found here at all seasons of the year, set up their tents in the vicinity.

The present fort is 120 paces from the north bank of the Missouri, which a little below makes a large bend. From this to the highest chain of the Rocky Mountains is about 100 English miles; but to the beginning of the mountains, not more than fifteen or twenty miles, and a good day's journey to the Falls of the Missouri.

The fort itself is built in the same manner as the other trading posts already described; it forms a quadrangle, the sides of which are forty-five or forty-seven paces in length, and is defended by two block-houses, with some pieces of cannon. It is much smaller than Fort Union, and worse and more slightly built. The dwellings are of one story, and low; the rooms small, generally without floorings, with a chimney, a door, a small window with parchment instead of glass, and a very flat roof covered with green sods, where the inhabitants post themselves, when, in case of being attacked, they have to fire over the high pickets. The flagstaff stands in the centre of the court-yard. The gate is strong, double, and well protected; and, when the trade with the Indians is going on, the inner gate is closed: the entrance to the Indian store, between the two gates, is then free, a strong guard being stationed at the store. We had brought with us the glass windows, and other necessary materials, for the proposed new fort. Before our arrival, the inhabitants of the fort were twenty-seven white men, and several Indian women, married to them, to whom our arrival made an addition of fifty-three persons. All these people, excepting the {244} first table for six persons, lived entirely on meat, so that we may assume that two buffaloes daily were required for their consumption. When we consider the generally very good appetites of the Canadians, of whom it is proverbially said that two of them will nearly devour a whole side of a buffalo, it is evident how necessary it is to have good hunters, and also to purchase large quantities of meat from the Indians. They generally receive twenty balls and the necessary powder for all the flesh of a buffalo cow, or even less when these animals are numerous; but as many as forty charges for a gun are paid them when the buffaloes are at a distance.

A level prairie surrounds this fort; and, about 800 paces beyond it, the chain of hills, about 80 to 100 feet high, runs in the direction from south to north, and about 2000 paces above the fort reaches the Missouri, and then runs along its bank. The banks of the river, and the low islands on it, are here and there bordered with wood and bushes, and some islands are entirely covered with them. On ascending to the top of the chain of hills, you look over a level dry prairie, in which, at a small distance, are the pretty deep beds of two rivers, Maria River, and Teton River, called, by Lewis and Clarke, Tansy River.[80] The latter, which is a small river, flows through a beautifully verdant valley, the bottom of which is covered with tall, shady poplars; there is good pasture of high grasses, and other plants. It falls into the Maria not far above its mouth, after having flowed for some distance almost parallel to the Missouri, to which it approaches so nearly, at between three and four miles from the fort, that the piece of land which separates the two rivers, is not more than 500 or 600 paces broad.[81]

Below the fort, in the first bend of the river, is an island, called Horse Island, where the horses belonging to the fort are sent to graze in the winter. They never have any other food than grass in summer; and in the winter, the bark of poplar trees, which they gnaw off. They never enter a stable. The south bank of the Missouri consists of high clay walls, in which there are doubtless strata of sand-stone, because numbers of beautiful impressions of shells are found immediately at the edge of the bank. These high walls must be very dangerous to the fort, in case of an attack by the Indians, because an effective fire may be made from them into the internal quadrangle of the fort. This dangerous position was one of the causes which led to the resolution of founding a new settlement further up the river.[82]

The Missouri itself does not abound in fish in the neighbourhood of Fort Mc Kenzie, yet soft shell turtles are sometimes caught, as well as cat-fish, of the two species already mentioned, one of which we obtained during our stay, and which, as proof of the voracity of these animals, had in its stomach a stone polished by the action of the water, five inches long and four and a half broad. A sturgeon, of a species which, we were told, is not found in the Mississippi, was caught here, and universally considered as an extraordinary rarity.

{245} The prairie of which I have already spoken was now animated, in the vicinity of the fort, by the camp of the Piekanns, which was set up in four divisions at about 400 paces from the pickets. The grass was trodden down or fed off by the people and numerous horses, and on every side were horsemen, groups of pedestrians and dogs, besides the horses belonging to the fort, which were brought out in the morning, under the care of four well armed horsemen, and conducted back in the evening at sunset. As we shall have frequent occasion in the sequel to come in contact with the Indians of this part of the country, this may be the best place to speak of the Blackfeet, who are the original population of the prairies.

The Blackfeet form a numerous nation, which is divided into three tribes, speaking one and the same language. These tribes are—

1. The Siksekai or Seksekai, the Blackfeet properly so called.[83]

2. The Kahna or Kaënna, the Blood Indians.[84]

3. The Piekanns.

All together they can bring into the field 5000 or 6000 warriors, and, doubtless, amount to 18,000 or 20,000 souls, which number is assumed by Dr. Morse, though he thinks it below the truth. Warden estimates the number of the Blackfeet at only 5000 souls, of whom the half, he says, are warriors; this is unquestionably far too low an estimate. We shall have the number of 18,000 or 20,000 souls, if we reckon only three women, children, and old men, for one warrior, and this is certainly a very low estimate. The Blackfeet move about in the prairies near the Rocky Mountains, and partly live among those mountains, but especially they dwell between the three forks of the Missouri, of which Jefferson River is the most northerly; the Madison River, the western or central; and the Gallatin the most southerly or easterly. They live, however, especially the Piekanns, as far down as Maria River, in the prairies of which they move about, and where all the three tribes sometimes meet to trade with the American Fur Company. They likewise trade with the Hudson's Bay Company, and with the Spaniards of Santa Fe, as appears from the Spanish blankets, crosses, &c., which they wear. There is, probably, no reason to doubt that they take most of these things in war, for the rifles, compasses, &c., which we found in their possession, were marked with the names of the owners. They are always dangerous {246} to white men who are hunting singly in the mountains, especially to the beaver hunters, and kill them whenever they fall into their hands; hence the armed troops of the traders keep up a continual war with them. It was said that in the year 1832 they shot fifty-eight Whites, and a couple of years before that time, above eighty. In the neighbourhood of the forts they keep the peace, and the Piekanns, in particular, behave well and amicably to the Whites, whereas the Blood Indians and the Siksekai can never be trusted. They are all great adepts in horse stealing, even in the vicinity of the trading posts. All these Indians are comprehended, by the Whites, under the general name of Blackfeet, which they themselves do not, however, extend so far, but know each of the three tribes only by its own proper name. As they speak only one language, keep together, and differ but little in their external appearance, they are justly considered as one and the same nation, and I shall always speak of them as such by this general name.

We do not, at present, possess any accurate and detailed account of these people, for the American Fur Company, who trade with them, and therefore have had the best opportunity of becoming acquainted with them, seldom take any interest in scientific researches. How little has hitherto been known of these people is proved by the fact that Brackenridge declares them to be Sioux, though a comparison of some words of their language immediately proves the contrary.[85] In their exterior, the Blackfeet do not much differ from the other Indians of the Upper Missouri. They are robust, generally well made men, and some of the women and girls are very pretty. The men are partly broad shouldered and muscular, partly of middle stature, and thickset. One of the Blood Indians measured six feet eleven inches English measure. Several Piekanns were nearly six feet, French measure. The Big Soldier was five feet ten inches two lines, French measure. Their arms and legs are more slender than those of the Whites, but this is by no means a general rule. Their hands and feet are, for the most part, small, of a blackish-brown colour, with prominent veins, exactly like the Botocudos and other Brazilians, with whom, as I have already observed, evident traces of this affinity appear in all the North American Indians. Their features are in the main the same as those of the other Indians which have been before described. The nose is often slightly curved or bent downwards, frequently long and thin, almost like those of the Jews, and the nostrils not extended, which is more frequently, though not always seen in the Brazilians. Their eyes are mostly hazel, yet I saw one Piekann with a light bluish-grey circle round the iris. Their hair is jet black, and generally stiff, yet often not so shining a black as that of the Brazilians; their beard is not thin, but is carefully plucked out, for which purpose they have a twisted wire, or a piece of tin bent together like a pair of tweezers. Old people often have grey hair, but some young men are seen whose hair is dyed of a dark brown. A whole family of Piekanns, near Fort Mc Kenzie, had such hair mixed with a good deal of grey. I never saw any with bald heads. The colour of the skin of these Indians is mostly a fine bright reddish-brown, often really copper colour, and generally darker than in the Brazilians. {247} Even little children have the dark brown colour, but newly born infants are rather paler. Children, as in Brazil, have, in general, prominent bellies and thin limbs, and often the navel large and swollen.

The Blackfeet do not disfigure their bodies; none of the nations of the Missouri bore the nose and lips, except a tribe in the Rocky Mountains, who are known by the name of Pierced Nosed Indians, because they bore a hole through the gristle of the nose. It is only in the ear that the Blackfeet pierce one or two small holes, in which they wear various ornaments, such as strings of glass beads, alternating with white cylinders, which they get from the Dentalium, which they barter from the nations on the west side of the Rocky Mountains, especially the Kutanas.[86] Many Blackfeet do not wear anything in their ears, which are generally concealed by their long thick hair. I have never seen any tattooing among them. On the other hand, many had, upon their arms, parallel transverse incisions, which were cicatrized, and most of them wanted one or two joints of a finger, of which I shall have occasion to speak by-and-by. They paint their faces red with vermilion; this colour, which they procure by barter from the traders, is rubbed in with fat, which gives them a shining appearance. Others colour only the edge of their eyelids, and some stripes in the face, with red; others use a certain yellow clay for the face, and red round the eyes; others, again, paint the face red, and the forehead, a stripe down the nose, and the chin, blue, with the shining earth from the mountains which I have before mentioned, and which, being analyzed by Professor Cordier,[87] at Paris, he found to be mixed with an earthy peroxide of iron, probably mixed with some clay. Others colour the whole face black, and only the eyelids and some stripes red. The women and children paint the face only of a uniform red. The vermilion costs the Indians very dear, for the Company supply it from their stores at ten dollars a pound. The Blackfeet do not paint the body—at least, I have never seen it, and it is generally covered. Their hair hangs down straight and stiff, often in disorder over the eyes and round the head. Young people, however, who pay more attention to neatness, part it regularly over the forehead, and comb it smooth. A small sea-shell is often fastened to a tuft of hair on each side, close to the temples; others were on one side, and often on both sides of the forehead, and a lock of hair with brass and iron wire twisted round it; lastly, a few adopted the ornament usual among the Manitaries and Mandans, which forms a long string on each side of the forehead, and will be particularly described when we are treating of the latter. Such a one was worn by the son of the old Kutona, Makuie-Poka, and by a few other Blackfeet, who had had intercourse with the Manitaries. Some distinguished Blackfeet warriors had a tuft of the feathers of owls, or birds of prey, hanging at the back of the head; sometimes ermine skin, with little stripes of red cloth, adorned with bright buttons; or, on the top of the head, broad black feathers, cut short, like a brush, as represented in the portrait of the Assiniboin, Noapeh.[88] Some braid the hair in a long thick queue behind, and many, especially the {248} medicine men, or jugglers, wear it, like the Mandans and Manitaries, divided into several thick queues all round, and generally bind them all together with a leather strap, in a thick knot over the forehead. Many bind a narrow strip of skin, or a leather strap, round the head, and stick one or two feathers in it; several fasten large bears' claws in their hair; most of them, when in full dress, wear the large necklace of these claws, which is a costly and handsome ornament; or else one made of certain roots, which smell like Fœnum Græcum, which they obtain from the Kutanas.[89] Very often they adorn themselves with a braided necklace, composed of a sweet-smelling grass, probably anthoxanthum, with others of glass beads, which they buy of the Company for three or four dollars a pound, and which the women in particular highly value. Some Piekanns hang round their necks a green stone,[90] often of various shapes, or the teeth of buffaloes, stags, elks, horses, &c., or large round flat pieces cut out of shells. On their fingers they wear rings, mostly of brass, which they purchase, by dozens, of the Company—often six or eight on each finger, often only one or two on the whole hand. They generally let their finger nails grow long, always, at least, the thumb nail, which is often crooked like a claw.

The dress of the Blackfeet is made of tanned leather, and the handsomest leather shirts are made of the skin of the bighorn, which, when new, is of a yellowish-white colour, and looks very well. A narrow strip of the skin with the hair is generally left at the edge of such a skin. These shirts have half sleeves, and the seams are trimmed with tufts of human hair, or of horse-hair dyed of various colours, hanging down, and with porcupine quills sewn round their roots. These shirts generally have at the neck a flap hanging down both before and behind, which we saw usually lined with red cloth, ornamented with fringe, or with stripes of yellow and coloured porcupine quills, or of sky-blue glass beads. Some have all these fringes composed of slips of white ermine; this is a very costly ornament, these little animals having become scarce. Many of the distinguished chiefs and warriors wore such dresses, which are really handsome, ornamented with many strings hanging down, in the fashion of an Hungarian tobacco pouch. When these leather shirts begin to be dirty, they are often painted of a reddish-brown colour; but they are much handsomer when they are new. Some of these Indians wear on the breast and back round rosettes like the Assiniboins, but this is only a foreign fashion, and the genuine Blackfoot costume has no such ornament. Their leggins are made like those of the other Missouri Indians, and ornamented, in the same manner, with tufts of hair or stripes of porcupine quills; the shoes, of buffalo or elk leather, are also adorned with porcupine quills, each having a ground of a different colour for its ornaments; thus, if one is white, the other is yellow—a fashion which does not exist lower down the Missouri, where both shoes are of the same colour. The chief article of their dress, {249} the large buffalo robe, is, for the most part, painted on the tanned side, but less skilfully than among the other nations. In general, there are black parallel lines mixed with a few figures, often with arrow heads, or other bad arabesques; others, again, are painted with representations of their warlike exploits, in black, red, green, and yellow. The figures represent the taking of prisoners, dead or wounded enemies, captured arms and horses, blood, balls flying about in the air, and such subjects. Such robes are embroidered with transverse bands of porcupine quills of the most brilliant colours, divided into two equal parts by a round rosette of the same. The ground of the skin is often reddish-brown, and the figures on it black. All the Missouri Indians wear these robes, and it is well known that those of the Manitaries and the Crows are the most beautifully worked and painted. In the description of Major Long's first expedition, there is a representation of such a skin,[91] but it is the only one of this kind which has come to my knowledge, and I have, therefore, had a drawing made of such a one.[92] The Company gives the value of six to ten dollars for such a skin. During the summer, the fur is worn outside, and in winter inside. The right arm and shoulder are generally bare. It might be thought that this dress was too hot in summer, and too cold in winter, but custom reconciles us to everything, and they dress pretty nearly in the same manner in the opposite seasons.

The Blackfeet, like the other tribes, carry in their hands the wing of an eagle or a swan, the tail of an owl or bird of prey, as a fan, the handle of which is covered with leather, or coloured cloth. The Company now sends to its trading posts the tails of wild turkeys, which are much in request. In general, every Blackfoot carries a whip, as well as his weapons, in his hand; a gun and his bow and arrows on his shoulder, the latter in a quiver or bag made of skin or leather, to which a bow case of the same is fastened. On his shoulder he likewise has his pouch, containing his powder-horn, and a large knife, in a sheath, is stuck behind in his leathern girdle. In the summer, and even frequently in the winter, these Indians wear their buffalo robe without any underclothing. The dress of the women is the same as among the other Missouri Indians: it is a long leather shirt, coming down to their feet, bound round the waist with a girdle, and is often ornamented with many rows of elks' teeth, bright buttons, and glass beads. The dress wraps over the breast, and has short, wide sleeves, ornamented with a good deal of fringe, which often hang down nearly in the same manner as in the national Polish dress, but not below the elbows. The lower arm is bare. The hem of the dress is likewise trimmed with fringes and scolloped. The women ornament their best dresses, both on the hem and sleeves, with dyed porcupine quills and thin leather strips, with broad diversified stripes of sky-blue and white glass beads. The Indians do not like beads of other colours, for instance, red, next the skin; and their taste in the contrast of colours is very correct, for in their black hair they generally wear red, and on their brown skins, sky-blue, white, or yellow. The women are very skilful in making their clothes and tanning the leather; the men only make their arms and smoking apparatus. The women, {250} who, on the whole, have not an uncomfortable lot, are obliged, as among the other tribes, to perform the heavy work. They are likewise very skilful in the art of dyeing; and, to produce the beautiful yellow colour, they employ a lemon-coloured moss from the Rocky Mountains, which grows in the fir trees, my specimens of which are unfortunately lost. A certain root furnishes a beautiful red dye, and they extract many other bright colours from the goods procured from the Whites. With them they dye the porcupine quills and the quills of the feathers, with which they embroider very neatly. The girls are dressed in the same manner as the women, and their dresses are generally ornamented with elks' teeth, for which the Indians pay a high price.

The leather tents of the Blackfeet, their internal arrangement, and the manner of loading their dogs and horses, agree, in every respect, with those of the Sioux and Assiniboins, and all the wandering tribes of hunters of the Upper Missouri. The tents, made of tanned buffalo skin, last only for one year; they are, at first, neat and white, afterwards brownish, and at the top, where the smoke issues, black, and, at last, transparent, like parchment, and very light inside. Painted tents, adorned with figures, are very seldom seen, and only a few chiefs possess them. When these tents are taken down, they leave a circle of sods, exactly as in the dwellings of the Esquimaux. They are often surrounded by fifteen or twenty dogs, which serve, not for food, but only for drawing and carrying their baggage. Some Blackfeet, who have visited the Sioux, have imitated them in eating dogs, but this is rare. Near the tent they keep their dog sledges, with which they form conical piles resembling the tents themselves, but differing from them in not being covered with leather. On these they hang their shields, travelling bags, saddles and bridles; and at some height, out of the reach of the hungry dogs, they hang the meat, which is cut into long strips, their skins, &c. The medicine bag or bundle, the conjuring apparatus, is often hung and fastened to a separate pole, or over the door of the tent. Their household goods consist of buffalo robes and blankets, many kinds of painted parchment bags, some of them in a semicircular form, with leather strings and fringes;[93] wooden dishes, large {251} spoons made of the horn of the mountain sheep, which are very wide and deep;[94] similar drinking vessels made of horn, kettles, and sometimes tin utensils, which they obtain from the merchants, clothes, &c. In the centre of the tent there is a small fire in a circle composed of stones, over which the kettle for cooking is suspended. Among their household goods we may reckon the harness of their horses. The horse has, generally, only a long rope, made of buffalo hair, fastened to the lower jaw, with which it is tied in the meadow. The saddle consists of two broad flat boards, inclining towards each other at an angle, which lie along the sides of the horse's back; it has before and behind an upright piece, which frequently has a leather fringe hanging to it. It is covered with a skin, and has another under it, and these skins serve the rider, at night, for a bed. The Blackfeet are fond of a handsome housing, made of a large panther's skin, which they generally obtain from the Rocky Mountains. As these animals have now become more scarce, a high price is often given for the skin; sometimes a good horse, and even several, and seldom less than sixty dollars in value. The panther's skin is so laid across the horse that the long tail hangs down on one side, and has scarlet cloth laid under it, which forms all round a broad border, as well to the fore legs as at the head and tail.[95]