The fourth of July was hailed and celebrated by us at this place, in
an unusual, and not uninteresting manner. With the presence of several
hundreds of the wildest of the Chippeways, and as many hundreds of the
Sioux; we were prepared with material in abundance for the novel—for
the wild and grotesque,—as well as for the grave and ludicrous. Major
Talliafferro, the Indian agent, to aid my views in procuring sketches
of manners and customs, represented to them that I was a great
_medicine-man_, who had visited, and witnessed the sports of, a vast
many Indians of different tribes, and had come to see whether the Sioux
and Chippeways were equal in a ball-play, &c. to their neighbours; and
that if they would come in on the _next_ day (fourth of July), and
give us a ball-play, and some of their dances, in their best style, he
would have the _big gun_ fired twenty-one times (the customary salute
for that day), which they easily construed into a high compliment to
themselves. This, with still stronger inducements, a barrel of flour—a
quantity of pork and tobacco, which I gave them, brought the scene
about on the day of independence, as follows:—About eleven o’clock (the
usual time for Indians to make their appearance on any great occasion),
the young men, who were enlisted for ball-play, made their appearance
on the ground with ball-sticks in hand—with no other dress on than the
flap, and attached to a girdle or ornamental sash, a tail, extending
nearly to the ground, made of the choicest arrangement of quills and
feathers, or of the hair of white horses’ tails. After an excited and
warmly contested play of two hours, they adjourned to a place in front
of the agent’s office, where they entertained us for two or three hours
longer, with a continued variety of their most fanciful and picturesque
dances. They gave us the _beggar’s dance_—the _buffalo-dance_—the
_bear-dance_—the _eagle-dance_—and _dance of the braves_. This last
is peculiarly beautiful, and exciting to the feelings in the highest
degree.
At intervals they stop, and one of them steps into the ring,
and vociferates as loud as possible, with the most significant
gesticulations, the feats of bravery which he has performed during
his life—he boasts of the scalps he has taken—of the enemies he has
vanquished, and at the same time carries his body through all the
motions and gestures, which have been used during these scenes when
they were transacted. At the end of his boasting, all assent to the
truth of his story, and give in their approbation by the guttural
“_waugh!_” and the dance again commences. At the next interval, another
makes his boasts, and another, and another, and so on.
During this scene, a little trick was played off in the following
manner, which produced much amusement and laughter. A woman of goodly
size, and in woman’s attire, danced into the ring (which seemed to
excite some surprise, as women are never allowed to join in the dance),
and commenced “sawing the air,” and boasting of the astonishing feats
of bravery she had performed—of the incredible number of horses she
had stolen—of the scalps she had taken, &c. &c.; until her feats
surpassed all that had ever been heard of—sufficient to put all the
warriors who had boasted, to the blush. They all gave assent, however,
to what she had said, and apparently _credence_ too; and to reward so
extraordinary a feat of female prowess, they presented to her a kettle,
a cradle, beads, ribbons, &c. After getting her presents, and placing
them safely in the hands of another matron for safe keeping, she
commenced disrobing herself; and, almost instantly divesting herself
of a loose dress, in the presence of the whole company, came out in a
_soldier’s coat_ and _pantaloons_! and laughed at them excessively for
their mistake! She then commenced dancing and making her boasts of her
exploits, assuring them that she was a man, and a great brave. They all
gave unqualified assent to this, acknowledged their error, and made her
other presents of a gun, a horse, of tobacco, and a war-club. After her
boasts were done, and the presents secured as before, she deliberately
threw off the pantaloons and coat, and presented herself at once, and
to their great astonishment and confusion, in a beautiful woman’s
dress. The tact with which she performed these parts, so uniformly
pleased, that it drew forth thundering applause from the Indians, as
well as from the spectators; and the chief stepped up and crowned
her head with a beautiful plume of the eagle’s quill, rising from a
crest of the swan’s down. My wife, who was travelling this part of the
country with me, was a spectator of these scenes, as well as the ladies
and officers of the garrison, whose polite hospitality we are at this
time enjoying.
Several days after this, the plains of St. Peters and St. Anthony,
rang with the continual sounds of drums and rattles, in time with
the thrilling yells of the dance, until it had doubly ceased to be
novelty. General Patterson, of Philadelphia, and his family arrived
about this time, however, and a dance was got up for their amusement;
and it proved to be one of an unusual kind, and interesting to all.
Considerable preparation was made for the occasion, and the Indians
informed me, that if they could get a couple of dogs that were of no
use about the garrison, they would give us their favourite, the “_dog
dance_.” The two dogs were soon produced by the officers, and in
presence of the whole assemblage of spectators, they butchered them and
placed their two hearts and livers entire and uncooked, on a couple
of crotches about as high as a man’s face (+plate+ 237). These were
then cut into strips, about an inch in width, and left hanging in
this condition, with the blood and smoke upon them. A spirited dance
then ensued; and, in a confused manner, every one sung forth his own
deeds of bravery in ejaculatory gutturals, which were almost deafening;
and they danced up, two at a time to the stakes, and after spitting
several times upon the liver and hearts, catched a piece in their
mouths, bit it off, and swallowed it. This was all done without losing
the step (which was in time to their music), or interrupting the times
of their voices.
[Illustration: 237]
Each and every one of them in this wise bit off and swallowed a piece
of the livers, until they were demolished; with the exception of the
two last pieces hanging on the stakes, which a couple of them carried
in their mouths, and communicated to the mouths of the two musicians
who swallowed them. This is one of the most valued dances amongst the
Sioux, though by no means the most beautiful or most pleasing. The
beggar’s dance, the discovery dance, and the eagle dance, are far
more graceful and agreeable. The _dog dance_ is one of _distinction_,
inasmuch as it can only be danced by those who have taken scalps from
the enemy’s heads, and come forward boasting, that they killed their
enemy in battle, and swallowed a piece of his heart in the same manner.
As the Sioux own and occupy all the country on the West bank of the
river in this vicinity; so do the Chippeways claim all lying East, from
the mouth of the Chippeway River, at the outlet of Lake Pepin, to the
source of the Mississippi; and within the month past, there have been
one thousand or more of them encamped here, on business with the Indian
agent and Sioux, with whom they have recently had some difficulty.
These two hostile foes, who have, time out of mind, been continually
at war, are now encamped here, on different sides of the Fort; and all
difficulties having been arranged by their agent, in whose presence
they have been making their speeches, for these two weeks past, have
been indulging in every sort of their amusements, uniting in their
dances, ball-plays and other games; and feasting and smoking together,
only to raise the war-cry and the tomahawk again, when they get upon
their hunting grounds.
Major Talliafferro is the Government agent for the Sioux at this place,
and furnishes the only instance probably, of a public servant on these
frontiers, who has performed the duties of his office, strictly and
faithfully, as well as kindly, for fifteen years. The Indians think
much of him, and call him Great Father, to whose advice they listen
with the greatest attention.
The encampment of the Chippeways, to which I have been a daily visitor,
was built in the manner seen in +plate+ 238; their wigwams made of
birch bark, covering the frame work, which was of slight poles stuck in
the ground, and bent over at the top, so as to give a rooflike shape to
the lodge, best calculated to ward off rain and winds.
Through this curious scene I was strolling a few days since with my
wife, and I observed the Indian women gathering around her, anxious to
shake hands with her, and shew her their children, of which she took
especial notice; and they literally filled her hands and her arms, with
_muk-kuks_ of maple sugar which they manufacture, and had brought in,
in great quantities for sale.
After the business and amusements of this great Treaty between the
Chippeways and Sioux were all over, the Chippeways struck their tents
by taking them down and rolling up their bark coverings, which, with
their bark canoes seen in the picture, turned up amongst their wigwams,
were carried to the water’s edge; and all things being packed in, men,
women, dogs, and all, were swiftly propelled by paddles to the Fall of
St. Anthony, where we had repaired to witness their mode of passing the
cataract, by “_making_ (as it is called) _the portage_,” which we found
to be a very curious scene; and was done by running all their canoes
into an eddy below the Fall, and as near as they could get by paddling;
when all were landed, and every thing taken out of the canoes (+plate+
239), and with them carried by the women, around the Fall, and half a
mile or so above, where the canoes were put into the water again; and
goods and chattels being loaded in, and all hands seated, the paddles
were again put to work, and the light and bounding crafts upon their
voyage.
The bark canoe of the Chippeways is, perhaps, the most beautiful and
light model of all the water crafts that ever were invented. They
are generally made complete with the rind of one birch tree, and so
ingeniously shaped and sewed together, with roots of the tamarack,
which they call _wat-tap_, that they are water-tight, and ride upon
the water, as light as a cork. They gracefully lean and dodge about,
under the skilful balance of an Indian, or the ugliest squaw; but
like everything wild, are timid and treacherous under the guidance of
white man; and, if he be not an experienced equilibrist, he is sure
to get two or three times soused, in his first endeavours at familiar
acquaintance with them. In +plate+ 240, letter _a_, the reader will see
two specimens of these canoes correctly drawn; where he can contrast
them and their shapes, with the log canoe, letter _b_, (or “dug out,”
as it is often called in the Western regions) of the Sioux, and many
other tribes; which is dug out of a solid log, with great labour, by
these ignorant people, who have but few tools to work with.
In the same plate, letter _c_, I have also introduced the skin canoes
of the Mandans, (of the Upper Missouri, of whom I have spoken in Volume
I), which are made almost round like a tub, by straining a buffalo’s
skin over a frame of wicker work, made of willow or other boughs. The
woman in paddling these awkward tubs, stands in the bow, and makes
the stroke with the paddle, by reaching it forward in the water and
drawing it to her, by which means she pulls the canoe along with some
considerable speed. These very curious and rudely constructed canoes,
are made in the form of the _Welsh coracle_; and, if I mistake not,
propelled in the same manner, which is a very curious circumstance;
inasmuch as they are found in the heart of the great wilderness
of America, when all the other surrounding tribes construct their
canoes in decidedly different forms, and of different materials.
[Illustration: 238]
[Illustration: 239]
[Illustration: 240]
[Illustration: 241]
[Illustration: 242]
In the same plate, letter _d_, is a pair of Sioux (and in letter _e_,
of Chippeway) _snow shoes_, which are used in the deep snows of the
winter, under the Indians’ feet, to buoy him up as he runs in pursuit
of his game. The hoops or frames of these are made of elastic wood, and
the webbing, of strings of rawhide, which form such a resistance to the
snow, as to carry them over without sinking into it; and enabling them
to come up with their game, which is wallowing through the drifts, and
easily overtaken; as in the buffalo hunt, in +plate+ 109, Volume I.
Of the portraits of chiefs and others I have painted amongst the
Chippeways at this place, two distinguished young men will be seen
in +plates+ 241, 242. The first by the name of _Ka-bes-kunk_ (he
who travels everywhere), the other, _Ka-be-mub-be_ (he who sits
everywhere), both painted at full length, in full dress, and just as
they were adorned and equipped, even to a quill and a trinket.
The first of these two young men is, no doubt, one of the most
remarkable of his age to be found in the tribe. Whilst he was standing
for his portrait, which was in one of the officer’s quarters in the
Fort, where there were some ten or fifteen of his enemies the Sioux,
seated on the floor around the room; he told me to take particular
pains in representing eight quills which were arranged in his
head-dress, which he said stood for so many Sioux scalps that he had
taken with his left hand, in which he was grasping his war-club, with
which hand he told me he was in the habit of making all his blows.
In +plate+ 244, is the portrait of a warrior by the name of _Ot-ta-wa_
(the otaway), ———— with his pipe in his hand; and in +plate+ 245,
the portrait of a Chippeway woman, _Ju-ah-kis-gaw_, with her child
in its crib or cradle. In a former Letter I gave a minute account
of the Sioux cradle, and here the reader sees the very similar mode
amongst the Chippeways; and as in all instances that can be found, the
_ni-ahkust-ahg_ (or umbilicus) hanging before the child’s face for its
supernatural protector.
This woman’s dress was mostly made of civilized manufactures, but
curiously decorated and ornamented according to Indian taste.
Many were the dances given to me on different places, of which I may
make further use and further mention on future occasions: but of which
I shall name but one at present, the _snow-shoe dance_ (+plate+ 243),
which is exceedingly picturesque, being danced with the snow shoes
under the feet, at the falling of the first snow in the beginning of
winter; when they sing a song of thanksgiving to the Great Spirit for
sending them a return of snow, when they can run on their snow shoes in
their valued hunts and easily take the game for their food.
About this lovely spot I have whiled away a few months with great
pleasure, and having visited all the curiosities, and all the different
villages of Indians in the vicinity, I close my note-book and start in
a few days for Prairie du Chien, which is 300 miles below this; where I
shall have new subjects for my brush and new themes for my pen, when I
may continue my epistles. Adieu.
[Illustration: 243]
[Illustration: 244 245]
LETTER—No. 52.