One of the most necessary articles to the men is the tobacco-pipe; those made by themselves are not so handsome as those of the Sioux, which they highly prize, and readily obtain by barter. The true Blackfoot pipes are made of the talc, of which I have already spoken, or of a blackish stone, which is found in the Rocky Mountains. Their shape is shown in the annexed woodcuts;[96] {252} it is often in the form of a ball, or a pear, and rests upon a cubical foot. The tube is made of wood, broad, flat, or round, and sometimes carved in imitation of a serpent. The handsomest are the large medicine pipes, the calumets of the French.[97] They are adorned with the red heads of the woodpecker, bills, and a large fan made of feathers, and are used in all the solemn treaties and festivals of the North American tribes, more or less ornamented, but, on the whole, always in the same manner. When the Blackfeet smoke, they put a piece of dried earth, or a round mass made of the filaments and pods of certain water plants, on the ground, to rest the pipe on. Their tobacco consists of the small, roundish, dried leaves of the sakakomi plant (Arbutus uva ursi). When you visit an Indian in his tent, the pipe is immediately taken up, and passes round in the company, each person handing it to his left-hand neighbour. The master of the tent often blows the smoke towards the sun and the earth; every one takes some puffs and hands it on; the last man sends the pipe back again, but gives it to the person sitting opposite to him, in another row, and it circulates as before. The Blackfeet, like most of the tribes of the Upper Missouri, sow the seeds of the Nicotiana quadrivalvis, having first burnt the place where they intend it to grow: it is only on solemn occasions that they smoke this tobacco.

The food and clothing of these people are chiefly derived from the herds of buffaloes, which they pursue, and for which they make, in the winter season, large parks, into which they are driven. The antelopes and the mountain sheep, especially the latter, furnish them with leather for their finer articles of dress; but the skins of the buffalo cow are indispensable for their large robes, tents, and for barter with the Whites. They feed on almost every kind of animal except the grizzly bear; the black bear is not found in their prairies, and they have an aversion to amphibious animals. The Blood Indians hunt wolves for the sake of their skins, which they sell. All these Indians are very expert in the use of the bow, and this weapon is dangerous in their hands; with the gun, on the contrary, they are said to be indifferent marksmen, their pieces being by no means good. From the vegetable kingdom they obtain many roots; the pomme blanche, or white turnip, is very common in their prairies. The women and children dig them up with a particular kind of wooden instrument, and bring them in strings to the Whites for sale.

Another root is bitter; it is boiled in broth, and is then very nutritious. It is said that when you are accustomed to the taste, it is not disagreeable. Another turnip-like root, called, by the Canadians, racine à tabac, is buried in the earth with hot stones, and is said to become black, like tobacco, as soon as it is fit to eat; it has a sweetish taste, like parsnips. The other wild fruits of the prairies are gathered by the women and children. Little children are obliged very early, even as soon as they have cut their teeth, to chew meat, or more properly speaking, to suck it; while older children are seen at the mother's breast. The Blackfeet are very fond of their {253} children, and, at their birth, give them names after animals, and other things, remarkable events, and all kinds of occurrences.

Brandy is the greatest luxury of these Indians, as of all the other North Americans, for which they will willingly part with everything they possess, and have about them. They will even offer their wives and children for sale in order to obtain it. It is said that, when intoxicated, they are often less dangerous than other people. Many of the men have often six or eight wives, whom they are very ready to give up to the Whites: even very young little girls are offered. On the other hand, they generally punish infidelity in their wives very severely, cutting off their noses in such cases; and we saw, about Fort Mc Kenzie, a great many of these poor creatures horribly disfigured. When ten or twelve tents were together, we were sure to see six or seven women mutilated in this manner.

The husband also cuts off the hair by way of punishment, and they then avoid showing their heads, which they seek to cover. During our stay, the Whites had punished their Indian wives in the same way. The woman whose nose is cut off, is immediately repudiated by her husband; nobody will take her as his wife; and such women generally work for wages, or for their subsistence, in other tents; attend on the children, tan hides, or perform other household work. There have been frequent instances of a husband immediately killing his wife, when she has had intercourse with others; often he avenges himself on the paramour, takes away his horse or other valuable property, to which he must submit quietly.

There is no particular marriage ceremony among the Blackfeet; the man pays for the wife, and takes her to him; the purchase-price is announced to the father of the girl by a friend or some other man. If he accepts it, the girl is given up, and the marriage is concluded. If the wife behaves ill, or if her husband is tired of her, he sends her home without any ceremony, which does not give occasion to any dispute. She takes her property and retires: the children remain the property of the husband. These Indians often have many children, who generally run and play about quite naked, and swim in the river like ducks. The boys go naked till they are thirteen or fourteen years old, but the girls have a leather dress at an early age. In their domestic life, the Blackfeet, like all the North Americans, are quiet and peaceable; they are said, however, to be more passionate than other nations. Duels sometimes take place, and vengeance is executed in most cases. If an Indian is killed, his relations avenge themselves, if possible, on the murderer; but, if they have no opportunity to do this, they take revenge on the first member of his family that they meet with; often, however, their vengeance is bought off with some articles of value.

In their camp and tents, these Indians, even the dangerous Blood Indians, are hospitable. White men, who visited them in the cold month of October, were immediately lodged in the tent {254} of a chief, while the owner, with his whole family, slept in the open air: nobody dared to molest the guests. The horses were well taken care of, and there was no need to look after them, for, under these circumstances, they were perfectly safe, as well as all the effects of the strangers, which, in other cases, would certainly have been stolen. It is not difficult for the Indians to feed a few Whites; on the other hand, it is impossible for the latter to do the same for their Indian visitors, and yet they expect it. These Indian visits are so numerous, and of such long continuance, that it is absolutely impossible to procure the necessary victuals for them. This is, doubtless, a chief cause of the animosity of the Indians to the Whites; and, though the disproportion in the numbers on both sides is shown them ever so clearly, they never understand it. Mr. Mitchell once received a severe lesson on this subject among the Sioux on the Mississippi. He was invited to a tent, and, though he was very hungry, did not get a morsel to eat. On the following morning, the Sioux came to him and said that, "though he had made him suffer hunger, he had not done so from any ill-will; but that the same thing had lately happened to him in the house of Mr. Mitchell, and, therefore, he meant only to give him a hint, not to be wanting in this respect for the future." The Blackfeet are inveterate beggars, that is, they are frequently troublesome by their constant importunities, but they are inferior in this respect to the Gros Ventres des Prairies. Horse stealing is an eminent art among them, and a dexterous horse stealer is a person of distinction. They have invented many games for their amusement. At one of them they sit in a circle, and several little heaps of beads, or other things, are piled up, for which they play. One takes some pebbles in his hand, moving it backwards and forwards in measured time, and singing; while another endeavours to guess the number of pebbles. In this manner considerable sums are lost and won.

The Blackfeet have various dances; for instance,—1. The mosquito dance. 2. The dog dance. 3. The dance of the buffalo, with thin horns. 4. The dance of the prairie dogs. 5. The dance of those who carry the raven. 6. The soldiers' dance. 7. The old bulls' dance. 8. The dance of the imprudent. 9. The medicine dance. 10. The scalp dance. The first seven are all danced in the same manner, the only difference is in the singing. This is usually sometimes loud, sometimes soft, now high, now low, always consisting of short, frequently repeated tones, and extremely monotonous, often interrupted by loud exclamations of "re, ri," or "hey, hey, hey," repeated three times, nearly the same among all the Missouri tribes, and interrupted by the war cry. The medicine dance of the women does not occur every year. It is a medicine feast for the latter, at which, however, some men likewise appear. A large wooden hut is erected, the women dress themselves as handsomely as they can, and all wear a large feather cap. Some of the women take no part in the dance, and these, with the men, are spectators. Men beat the drum, and shake the schischikué, the last day of the feast; when the dance is finished, the buffalo {255} park is imitated; the men, the children, and the remaining women form two diverging lines, b and c,[98] which proceed from the medicine lodge, out of which the women creep, crawling on all-fours, and endeavour to imitate the manners of the buffalo cows. Several men represent buffalo bulls, and are at first driven back by the women; but then, as is the practice in this kind of hunting, a fire is kindled to windward, and the women, or buffalo cows, as soon as they smell the smoke, retreat into the medicine lodge, which concludes the festival. They sometimes perform this dance in the summer, when the fancy takes them.

The scalp dance, or, properly speaking, to dance the scalp, is performed when they have killed their enemies. The women then dress like the men, and likewise carry their arms. If women have taken part in the warlike expedition in which enemies have been slain, they paint their faces black. A woman sometimes carries the scalp, or several, according to the number they may have; sometimes it is carried by an old woman, who then remains aside and dances alone, and drums and schischikué, played by men, accompany the dance. There is likewise a dance of the brave, or warriors, who form a circle, within which several dance, imitating all the movements of a battle, and firing their guns, on which occasion their faces are painted so as to give them a fierce expression.

The bands, unions, or associations, mentioned when we were speaking of the Assiniboins, are found among the Blackfeet, as well as all the other American tribes. They have a certain name, fixed rules and laws, as well as their peculiar songs and dances, and serve in part to preserve order in the camp, on the march, in the hunting parties, &c. Seven such bands, or unions, among the Blackfeet, were mentioned to me, and to which the first seven dances above-mentioned belong. They are the following:—1. The band of the mosquitoes. This union has no police business to do, but consists of young people, many of whom are only eight or ten years of age; there are also some young men among them, and sometimes even a couple of old men, in order to see to the observance of the laws and regulations. This union performs wild, youthful pranks; they run about the camp whenever they please; pinch, nip, and scratch men, women, and children, in order to give annoyance like the mosquitoes. They do not even spare old, distinguished men. If any man offends one of them, he has to do with all of them, for they hold closely together. The young people begin with this union, and then gradually rise higher, through the others. As the badge of their band, they wear an eagle's claw, fastened round the wrist with a leather strap. They have also a particular mode of painting themselves, like every other band, and their peculiar songs and dance. 2. The dogs. Its badge is not known to me: it consists of young married men, and {256} the number is not limited. 3. The prairie dogs. This is a police union, which receives married men: its badge is a long hooked stick, wound round with otter skin, with knots of white skin at intervals, and a couple of eagle's feathers hanging from each of them.[99] 4. Those who carry the raven. Its badge is a long staff, covered with red cloth, to which black ravens' feathers, in a long thick row, are fastened from one end to the other.[100] They contribute to the preservation of order, and the police. 5. The buffalo, with thin horns. When they dance, they wear horns on their caps. In camp, the tents of the unions are in the middle of the circle, which has a free space in the centre. If disorders take place, they must help the soldiers, who mark out the camp, and then take the first place.

6. The soldiers. They are the most distinguished warriors, who exercise the police, especially in the camp and on the march; in public deliberations they have the casting vote, whether, for instance, they shall hunt, change their abode, make war, or conclude peace, &c. They carry, as their badge, a wooden club, the breadth of a hand, with hoofs of the buffalo cow hanging to the handle. They are sometimes forty or fifty men in number. Their wives, when they dance the medicine dance, are painted in the same manner as the men. 7. The buffalo bulls. They form the first, that is, the most distinguished of all the unions, and are the highest in rank. They carry in their hand a medicine badge, hung with buffalo hoofs, which they rattle when they dance, to their peculiar song. They are too old to attend to the police, having passed through all the unions, and are considered as having retired from office. In a certain degree they have descended from the union of active and distinguished soldiers. In their medicine dance they wear on their head a cap, made of the long forelock and mane of the buffalo bull, which hangs down to a considerable length. New members are chosen into all these unions, who are obliged to pay entrance; medicine men, and the most distinguished men, have to pay more than other people. If a woman, whose husband is in one of the unions, has had any intercourse with another, the union meets in one of the tents, where they smoke, and, in the evening, when all around are buried in sleep, they penetrate into the woman's tent, drag her out, ill-treat her as they please, and cut off her nose. {257} These Indians are often very cruel. The man cannot make any opposition; he must repudiate such a woman. He is then told why she has been treated in this manner, and he may have his revenge on the seducer, from whom he generally takes some horses.

We saw the Blackfeet ride to battle half naked, but some, too, in their finest dresses, with the beautifully ornamented shield obtained from the Crows, and their splendid crowns of feathers,[101] and, on these occasions, they all have their medicines, or amulets, open and hung about them. The battle, of which we were witnesses, and of which I shall give an account in the next chapter, enabled us to form a pretty correct notion of their mode of fighting, which does not differ from that of the other North Americans. Small parties, almost naked, approach the enemy by stealth, and endeavour to gain the advantage of him by stratagem, ambuscade, or surprise; and the attack is generally made at daybreak. They formed long lines, and fired from a great distance; but they are indifferent marksmen. The women and children were very attentive to the wounded, over whom they cried and lamented, as we shall see in the next chapter. The enemy, with guns, arrows, spears, and knives, killed and wounded men, women, and children indiscriminately, and scalped even the women, who are often taken prisoners, and carried off as slaves, but afterwards not usually ill-treated. I shall have occasion to speak also, in the next chapter, of the fury with which they mutilate the dead, every one, as he passes, venting his rage by firing his gun, or throwing stones at them, or by blows. No trace is now to be found, at least among the Blackfeet, of the tortures inflicted on the prisoners, as formerly practised by the American Indians.

When the warriors come near their camp, after a battle, they sing; and one rides or runs before, often in serpentine lines, backwards and forwards about the tents, holding up and shaking the scalp, and displaying it at a distance. If any one has taken a weapon, he displays it in the same manner, loudly proclaiming his name as having taken it. After a successful engagement, the men sing the song which they call aninay, that is, "they are painted black." On these occasions, they assemble in the open air about their tents, with their faces painted black, their leggins and robes spotted with black, and then sing, without the accompaniment of any instrument, nor are the scalps displayed. There are no words to this song, which consists only of the usual notes.

The weapons of the Blackfeet do not much differ from those of the other Indians on the Missouri; but they are not so handsome and well made as those of the Crows, Manitaries and Mandans. They do not themselves make bows of the horn of the elk, or of the mountain sheep, which are consequently not common among them. Their country does not produce any wood suitable for bows; and they endeavour to obtain, by barter, the bow wood, or yellow wood (Maclura aurantiaca), from the River Arkansas. For their quivers, they prefer the skin of the cougar (Felis concolor, Linn.), for which they give a horse. The tail hangs down from the quiver, is trimmed with red cloth on the inner side, embroidered with white beads, and ornamented {258} at the end or elsewhere, with strips of skin, like tassels. I saw few lances among the Blackfeet, but many war clubs, most of which they had taken from the Flatheads. Many have thick leather shields, which are usually painted green and red, and hung with feathers and other things, to which some superstitious belief is attached. When they are going to battle, they twist the leather case of their gun round their head, like a turban. Wolf skins are then useful to them, especially when they want to observe the enemy. They wear them across their shoulders, and, when they wish to approach the enemy unperceived, they throw them over their head, and lie down behind an elevation, or rising of the ground, in such a manner as to have the appearance of a white wolf.

The medicine men or physicians of the Blackfeet are very unskilful. We always saw them take water in their mouths, which they spit out over the wounded. They never wash or cleanse the wounds, and the coagulated blood was still on them on the second day. The recovery of all the severely wounded, without any proper care, shows the vigorous constitutions of these men, of which, indeed, there are many other proofs. Drums and rattles (schischikué) were daily used in their attendance on the sick, in the closed tent. Children mortally wounded lay on the ground without covering, and without any kind of attention, exposed to the burning sun, and they all died in a short time. These Indians are said to have successfully healed some severe wounds; but, as far as my observation goes, those cures were chiefly to be ascribed to the good constitutions of the patients. Among almost all the tribes of the Missouri there were individuals who had been scalped, and cured, and who wore caps; and we were told that there were some such among the Blackfeet. These Indians have some efficacious remedies derived from the vegetable kingdom, one of which is a whitish root from the Rocky Mountains, which is called, by the Canadians, rhubarb, which is said to resemble our rhubarb in its effect and taste, and likewise to act as an emetic. Another root is esteemed to be a powerful remedy against the bite of serpents. In all cases they have recourse to the drum and the rattle, and have great confidence in the intolerable noise caused by those instruments. The Blackfeet make their rattles of leather, wood, or bladder, because they do not grow any calabashes. It is well known that this remarkable instrument is in use among most of the different tribes or nations of the American race, as well in the northern as the southern half of this vast continent. They have great confidence in the medicines of the Whites, and often apply for them; but many were in such a desperate state from diseases of long standing, that a cure was quite out of the question. If Indians are cured by their doctors (which sometimes happens), they make them considerable presents, or the medicine man makes a heavy charge. Last spring several Blackfeet died very suddenly from colic, accompanied with vomiting, and the disease appears very closely to have resembled the cholera.

When a Blackfoot dies, they do not bury him in the ground if they can avoid it, but sew him up in a buffalo robe, dressed in his best clothes, his face painted red, but without his {259} weapons, and lay him in some retired place, in ravines, rocks, forests, or on a high, steep bank, and often cover the body with wood or stones, that the wolves may not get at it. Frequently, when they cannot find a solitary spot, the corpse remains above ground in a kind of wooden shed, and they were often obliged to bury it, or to give it to the Whites as a desirable present, which cannot be refused. The relations cut off their long hair, smear it, as well as their faces and clothes, with whitish-grey clay, and, during the time of mourning, wear their worst clothing. Often, too, they cut off a joint of a finger. They believe the dead go into another country, where they will have lack of nothing; and that they have often been heard when they were summoned to smoke a pipe together. At the funeral of rich Indians, several horses are often killed upon the spot; and we were told of instances when twelve or fifteen horses were killed in this manner at the funeral of a celebrated chief. On the death of Sachkomapoh (the child), a rich and distinguished chief, who is said to have possessed between 4000 and 5000 horses, 150 were killed with arrows.[102] The relations assemble at the residence of the deceased, and even the men lament and wail. The corpse is generally buried on the first day, and in case of death during the night, it is removed on the following morning.

The Blackfeet, like all the other American Indians, are superstitious, and it is rare to see a man who has not some strange custom or habit which he adopts as a charm, and on which he imagines that the success of his plans and undertakings depends. Many rattle with bells before they smoke; others spit in different directions before they drink; others, again, mutter a certain phrase, or a kind of prayer, &c. &c. We saw one man who never lighted his pipe at the fire, but made use of a stick about two feet long, and twice as thick as the ramrod of a gun, which was ornamented with feathers and bells, and painted red and black.[103] It was hollow at the end to receive another thinner stick, which he always kindled when he wanted to light his pipe. On inquiring the cause of this strange custom, he answered that he was afraid of iron, and must, therefore, light his pipe with this stick. Most of these people have such singular customs, but, unfortunately, they do not like to communicate to others their notions on such subjects, and it is, consequently, very difficult to get at the bottom of them.

{260} Mr. Berger, the interpreter, who was otherwise well acquainted with the Blackfoot Indians, could not give me any information respecting their religious ideas, further than that they worship the sun (Natohs or Nantohs); and it is probable that, like the Mandans, they look upon it either as the lord of life, or his dwelling-place. We did not observe, in their camps, either offerings for the heavenly powers, hung upon poles, as among the Mandans and Manitaries, or any other indications of the exercise of some kind of worship.[104]

CHAPTER XX
STAY AT FORT MC KENZIE, FROM AUGUST 9TH TO SEPTEMBER 14TH

Fort Mc Kenzie, at the time of our arrival, was inhabited by people of several nations, and pains were taken to occupy the motley multitude in various ways. Handicraftsmen, of various kinds, were set to work, and our hunters, among whom were two Spaniards from the neighbourhood of Santa Fe, were sent out whenever circumstances permitted. Yet all these people were not sufficiently employed, and measures were, therefore, taken to reduce the number. Having made our arrangements on the first day of our arrival, and viewed the Indian camp, with its many dogs, and old dirty brown leather tents, we were invited, on the following day, together with Mr. Mitchell, to a feast, given by the Blackfoot chief, Mehkskéhmé-Sukahs (the iron shirt). We proceeded to a large circle in the middle of the camp, enclosed with a kind of fence of boughs of trees, which contained part of the tents, and was designed to confine the horses during the night, for the Indians are so addicted to horse stealing that they do not trust each other. The hut of the chief was spacious; we had never before seen so handsome a one; it was full fifteen paces in diameter, and was very clean and tastefully decorated. We took our seats, without ceremony, on buffalo skins, spread out on the left hand of the chief, round the fire, in the centre of the tent, which was enclosed in a circle of stones, and a dead silence prevailed. Our host was a tall, robust man, who at this time had no other clothes than his breechcloth; neither women {262} nor children were visible. A tin dish was set before us, which contained dry grated meat, mixed with sweet berries, which we ate with our fingers, and found very palatable. After we had finished, the chief ate what was left in the dish, and took out of a bag a chief's scarlet uniform, with blue facings and yellow lace, which he had received from the English, six red and black plumes of feathers, a dagger with its sheath, a coloured pocket-handkerchief, and two beaver skins, all which he laid before Mr. Mitchell as a present, who was obliged to accept these things whether he liked or not, thereby laying himself under the obligation of making presents in return, and especially a new uniform. When the chief began to fill his pipe, made of green talc, we rose and retired (quite in the Indian fashion) in silence, and without making any salutations. We crept through the small door, which was besieged by numerous dogs, and stepped over the foremost, who grinned at us maliciously. Mr. Mitchell was immediately invited to three or four similar feasts, an honour which can only suit an Indian stomach. In the afternoon the engagés of the fort gave us what they call baptism; namely, a welcome on our happy arrival in this remote wilderness by firing several salutes in the court-yard of the fort, for which it is usual to give them something to drink, or else a present. Our entertainment for the evening was the noise of the drum of the Indian camp, which is employed not only to drive the evil spirit out of the sick, but in their dances and other amusements, and is, therefore, heard almost every day and every hour. We were likewise much entertained by the antics of three young bears (Ursus ferox), which ran about in the court-yard. Another very pretty animal had been brought up in the fort: this was a young prairie fox (Canis velox, Say), which Mr. Mitchell made me a present of, and which, by its tameness and vivacity, helped to amuse us during the following winter. Our new lodging swarmed with mice, which ran over our feet while we were writing, and kept the traps set for them continually in motion. We trained my pretty little fox to this sport, which was new to him, and he soon became a capital mouser.

On the 10th of August preparations were made for the solemn reception of the Indians, which always precedes the opening of the trade, and which is considered by the Indians as a matter of great importance. The flag being hoisted, two small cannons, placed in the middle of the court-yard, fired signals for the commencement of the trade. It was full half an hour before a noise arose in the Indian camp: we heard singing, firing of guns, and saw the mass of the Indians advancing on all sides. When Ninoch-Kiaiu (the bear chief) approached the gate, it was opened, and the two cannons were again fired. He entered, followed by three or four chiefs, who approached Mr. Mitchell with their heads inclined; and, after shaking hands with him, were made to sit down in the Indian apartment. Soon afterwards another body appeared, and Mr. Mitchell went out of the gate to meet them. They advanced in small parties, headed by their chiefs, who always bring a present consisting either of some beavers' skins or of a horse. The first horses that we received in this manner were two greys and a light bay, which were variously {263} painted with red, chiefly on the forehead, the shoulders, and the haunches, and marked on the legs with transverse stripes like a zebra, and on each side of the backbone with figures in the shape of arrow heads. The chiefs and about thirty of the principal warriors were admitted, and, after being seated on buffalo hides in the dining apartment, they refreshed themselves by drinking and smoking. In this manner three or four different bands advanced with rapid strides, repeatedly discharging their guns, and singing their rude songs. We observed some remarkable, martial-looking physiognomies among these men, painted in the strangest manner, marching with a very warlike air. The chiefs wore, for the most part, the uniform received from the Company, made in the fashion of a great coat, with round hats and tufts of feathers, on which they prided themselves greatly, but which disfigured them most lamentably. Their faces, painted of a bright red, surrounded with their thick, lank hair, and surmounted by a round hat with a tuft of feathers, such as our German post-boys used to wear, had such a ridiculous appearance, that we could not refrain from laughing. Some of their uniforms were of two colours—one half red, and the other half green, not unlike the dress of some of our prisoners in Bridewell. Mehkskéhmé-Sukahs was dressed in the true Indian fashion, and interested us more than any of the others. His face was black, with the eyelids, mouth, and some stripes on the forehead and cheeks, vermilion. After three or four bands of the Blackfeet had been received, they were followed by one of the dangerous Blood Indians, under their chief and medicine man, Natohs (the sun),[105] and these, too, were admitted; after which a detachment of from sixty to eighty of the Gros Ventres des Prairies arrived, who, having likewise brought a horse and some beaver skins as a present, were treated like the others. The chiefs were always welcomed by firing the cannon, and then delivered up their colours, most of which they had received from English merchants, and which were carried before them on long ensign staffs, quite in military style. Mr. Mitchell had attempted, in the preceding year, to dispense with these salutations, but the Indians immediately took offence and were even going to part without transacting any business; for they are extremely punctilious in points of honour.

While the company of Indians were employed in smoking, Mr. Mitchell took Ninoch-Kiaiu[106] (who had always been very faithful and devoted to the Whites and the Fur Company), into his own room, and presented him with a new uniform, half red and half green, with red and green facings, and trimmed with silver lace; a red felt hat, ornamented with many tufts of feathers; in short, a complete dress, and a new double-barrelled percussion gun. Mr. Mitchell wished particularly to distinguish this man, because he had never been to the north to trade with the Hudson's Bay Company. When he had equipped himself in his new uniform, which was worth 150 dollars, and entered the assembly of the chiefs in the court-yard of the fort, it immediately became evident that the distinction conferred upon him made no favourable impression on them; some chiefs who had made presents to Mr. Mitchell, and had not yet received anything in return—for instance, {264} Mehkskéhmé-Sukahs, could not conceal their feelings; the latter hid his head behind the person who sat next to him, while others hung down their heads, and seemed lost in thought. When Mr. Mitchell perceived this, he caused it to be intimated to the chiefs, that "they saw how the American Fur Company distinguished its faithful friends; that they, on the contrary, had generally taken their beaver skins to the English; that he, therefore, could not give them much now, but would make every chief a present. That it would be their interest to deal with him in future, like Ninoch-Kiaiu, and then it would be in his power to make them more considerable presents." The Bear Chief was then made to mount his grey horse, that he might show himself out of the fort in his new dress. In a rather constrained manner he made a speech to the warriors assembled before the fort, then rode into the camp, returned, and alighted. It must be observed, that this man was not popular, and that his situation at this time was very dangerous; and we afterwards saw him sitting, with his head drooping, like a proscribed person, and afterwards retiring to Mr. Mitchell's room, where he remained alone. Soon there arose violent debates among the chiefs; and as Berger, the proper interpreter for the Blackfoot language, was absent, this circumstance, perhaps, increased the misunderstanding. Several Indians rose, among whom was Haisikat (the stiff foot, formerly the old head), who, with violent gesticulations, made a long speech. He was brother-in-law to the Bear Chief, and plainly advised him to go home, and keep himself sober, because otherwise something serious might happen. The Blood Indians were offended; they spoke loudly of shooting Ninoch-Kiaiu, between whom and his friends long conferences took place. While this was passing, we saw all the other Indians sit down in half circles before the gate of the fort, as represented in the accompanying woodcut: a a, the warriors sitting in seven semicircular lines; b, the main body of the Indians; c, the front of the fort, with a block-house, d.[107] The warriors sat on the ground, and, while liquor and tobacco were distributed among them, they sang without ceasing, and sometimes fired their guns. At six in the evening, when we were relieved from these troublesome guests, and hoped to have some repose after the fatigues of the day, a violent dispute arose among the engagés, which might have had serious consequences. {265} Blows had been exchanged, and the example which the Whites gave the Indians was not very creditable to them. It was late before this dispute was ended, and, during the night, there was no rest, as the trade with the Indians continued till a late hour in their camp, which was, indeed, detached, but at no great distance.