INDIAN SKETCHES,
TAKEN
DURING AN EXPEDITION
TO THE
PAWNEE TRIBES.
BY
JOHN T. IRVING, JR.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. II.
_PHILADELPHIA_:
CAREY, LEA AND BLANCHARD.
1835.
Entered, June 15th, 1835, according to Act of Congress,
by JOHN T. IRVING, JR., in the office of the Clerk
of the Southern District of New York.
ERRATA.
Page 74, line 1, for _Tappaye_ read _Tappage_.
” 108, ” 3, for _chief_ read _chief’s_.
” 124, ” 20, for _Loovah_ read _Looah_.
” 136, ” 10, for _their surfaces_ read _the surface_.
” 185, ” 15, for _they_ read _we_.
” 196, ” 7, for _charnel_ read _charnel house_.
INDIAN SKETCHES.
* * * * *
CHAPTER I.
_Preparations for Reception.—Reception by Grand Pawnees._
During the evening previous to our arrival, several half-breeds, who had
been sent out by the Commissioner to gain information of the probable
reception which awaited us, came dropping in, all bearing promises of a
friendly welcome, from the Pawnee chiefs. At sunrise the next morning,
the tents were struck, and placed in the heavy baggage wagons; and a more
than usual bustle and note of preparation was heard in the camp. The
soldiers seated themselves upon the grass, to examine and prepare their
arms; and the Otoe Indians, were busily engaged in ornamenting themselves
for the meeting. Some had spread their blankets upon the prairie, and
were anxiously employed in tracing various figures in vermilion, upon
their woolly surfaces. Some, eagerly bending over the small pools of
still water left in the dry bed of the river, were painting their faces
with vermilion, manifesting as much interest and anxiety in the choice of
their ornaments, as a young belle preparing for her first ball. Paint was
placed on and rubbed off. Faces were striped first in one direction, then
in another; and the advice of those who were sitting round, was asked
and given, with all the gravity befitting so important an operation. In
the meantime, two or three finished their toilets, and seated themselves
at a short distance to serve as models for the rest. Several who had
acquired some reputation for skill in this art, were busily engaged in
painting up the less gifted of their companions. Whilst this was going
on in one quarter, in another, five or six Indians, who either had no
paint, or cared not about the opinion of those they intended to visit,
lay stretched at full length in the grass. Here they kept up an incessant
drumming upon their breasts with their fists, in exact time to a chant,
which they were letting out at the top of their lungs, and which always
wound up with a loud yell, by way of chorus.
But there must be an end of all things, and in due time there was an end
of the preparations. The tents were packed; the Indians were painted and
striped to resemble any thing but men; the soldiers had adjusted their
arms; the horses were saddled; the oxen were secured before the heavy
baggage wagons, and the party commenced slowly moving towards the village.
It was a fine sunny morning; the clumps of trees which clustered on the
low banks of the river, and the numberless islands which dotted its
broad, shallow waters, were alive with woodpeckers of every size and
hue. In every direction, they darted among the tall dead trees which
overhung the muddy stream, making the trunks resound with the incessant
hammering of their small but powerful beaks. Large flocks of gaily plumed
parroquets, whirled screaming past us, with a surprising velocity.
At ten o’clock the party had travelled several miles across the prairie,
and our vicinity to the village was becoming more perceptible. Mounted
Indians, sent out to watch for our approach, were seen here and there
flying across the hills in the direction of the village, to give notice
of the arrival to their chiefs. At a distance we could perceive several
bands of Indians in pursuit of large droves of their wild and fiery
horses, which they were urging at a headlong speed in the direction of
the town. In another quarter, on the top of a ridge of small hills,
groups of five or six were standing, intently watching the motions of the
party, which, from the jaded state of the oxen, were necessarily slow.
The soldiers who had been lazily lounging across the prairie, were now
called in, and formed in a compact body round the baggage wagons. An hour
more brought us in sight of the village.
Upon our near approach, we could perceive that the hills surrounding
it were black with masses of mounted warriors. Though they swarmed
upon their tops, to the number of several thousands, yet they stood
motionless and in silence, watching the approach of the mission. At
length a single horseman detached himself from the mass, and came
galloping down the hill and over the prairie to meet us. As he approached
there was a wild, free air about him, and he governed his gigantic black
horse with the greatest ease. I could not but think that if the rest
of these warriors were of the same mould, any resistance of our band,
however desperate, would avail but little against an attack of these
proud rulers of the prairie.
Upon reaching the party, he sprang from his horse, and shook hands with
Mr. E——. He then gave directions through the interpreter, that the band
should be drawn up in as small a compass as possible, to avoid all
contact with his warriors. After spending some time in completing his
arrangements, he galloped back, and gave the signal to the rest. In an
instant the hills were deserted, and the whole mass of warriors were
rushing towards us, across the broad bosom of the prairie. It was a
moment of intense and fearful expectation. On they came; each mad horse,
with erect mane and blazing eye, urged forward by the bloody spur of an
Indian master. They had reached within two hundred yards of the party,
but still the speed of their horses was unchecked, and the powerful
tramp of their hoofs rang like thunder upon the sod of the prairie. At
a signal, however, from the chief, the band separated to the right and
left, and commenced circling round us, in one dark, dense flood. Their
whoops and yells, and the furious and menacing manner in which they
brandished their bows and tomahawks, would have led a person unacquainted
with their habits, to have looked upon this reception as any thing but
friendly. There is something in the fierce, shrill scream of a band
of Indian warriors, which rings through the brain, and sends the blood
curdling back to the heart. Their ornaments, though wild, were many of
them beautiful. The closely shaved heads of some were adorned with the
plumage of different birds. Others wore an ornament of deer’s hair, bound
up in a form resembling the crest of an ancient helmet, and a plume
of the bald eagle floated from the long scalp-locks of the principal
warriors.
Some few wore necklaces of the claws of the grisly bear, hanging down
upon their breasts. The bodies of some were wrapped in buffalo robes,
or the skin of the white wolf; but the most of them wore no covering,
save a thick coat of paint. This they had profusely smeared over their
bodies and arms, and many had even bestowed it upon the heads and limbs
of their horses. After dashing round us for some time, the chief waved
his hand, and the turmoil ceased. The warriors sprang from their horses,
and seating themselves round in a large circle, waited for the arrival
of the chief of the Grand Pawnees. In a few moments he advanced to meet
Mr. E——, accompanied by the different chiefs of Tappaye Pawnee, Pawnee
Republican, and Pawnee Loup villages. He was a tall, powerful Indian.
A fillet of the skin of the grisly bear, ornamented with feathers, was
bound round his head. Over his shoulder was thrown a large mantle of
white wolf-skin, also adorned with feathers. His legs were cased in black
leggings of dressed buffalo hide, worked with beads, and fringed with
long locks of human hair. These were taken from scalps won in his various
war expeditions, and hung down over his knees, trailing upon the ground
as he walked. He first advanced and welcomed Mr. E——, and afterwards the
rest. The chiefs of the three different villages were then introduced,
and repeated the words of welcome uttered by the first.
This ceremony was scarcely finished, when a movement was observed among
the crowd, and a powerful roan horse, mounted by an armed Indian, bounded
forward to the middle of the circle, where the rider sprang from his
back. He was a stranger among the tribe, and spoke not their language—a
Kioway[A] Indian, from the borders of Mexico—a member of those wild
tribes, who like the Arabs rove the immense plains of the west, and carry
destruction to all who are not strong enough to resist them. After
pausing and looking around him for a moment, with a glance that seemed
to challenge opposition from the assembled warriors, he walked up to Mr.
E——. He was slight and beautifully formed; but there was a fire in his
eye; a swell of the nostril; and a proud curve of the lip, which showed a
spirit that brooked no opposition; shunned no danger; and could only be
quenched by the chill of the grave. His long black hair, which trailed
behind him on the ground, was plaited together, and ornamented with about
twenty plates of massive silver. A band of silver was fastened round his
throat, and several large medals of the same metal hung upon his breast.
Upon his arms were several bands of silver, and rings of the same upon
his fingers. His leggings, though more finely wrought, like those of the
chiefs, were fringed with scalps. A scalp consisting of the entire upper
part of a human head, hung from the bit of his fiery horse. Upon coming
up he offered his hand to Mr. E——, and in succession to the rest; and
after pausing and gazing upon us for a short time, with some curiosity,
he sprang upon his horse, and riding through the circle, was lost behind
the more distant crowd of warriors.
[A] We afterwards learned that this Indian had become enamoured of a
young girl of his own tribe, the wife of another; but her husband having
gone upon some expedition, she had taken advantage of his absence to
leave her nation with her lover; and together they had fled to the Pawnee
village, which they reached a week previous to our arrival.
For a short time after the introduction of the various chiefs, the mass
of grim beings hemmed us in, sitting upon the ground like so many dark
forms of statuary, without voice or motion. Several at length arose, and
coming towards Mr. E——, and Major D——, (the United States agent for the
Pawnee Indians,) extended the stem of their pipes to the lips of each,
then, instantly retiring, resumed their station in the crowd. By this
action, we afterwards learned, that each pledged himself to present a
horse to the person to whom he extended his pipe. In the meanwhile, two
old men, who had no horses to lose by the free indulgence of liberal
feelings, rose up, and by loud and vehement harangues, endeavoured to
pique the liberality of the rest. They boasted of the number they would
bestow, _if they but had them_, and recounted as examples the acts of
generosity which they had performed in their youth. As that youth ran
far back, beyond the memory of the oldest inhabitant, there was little
probability of their being contradicted.
After they had finished, the Wild Horse, (I do not recollect his Indian
name) the principal warrior of the nation, stood up and harangued the
assembled multitude. He launched out in a long panegyric upon the whites,
which was delivered with a warmth of expression no doubt greatly
increased by the sight of the wagons laden with presents. This warrior
was one of the most singular as well as ferocious of the tribe; and
many were the tales of his war expeditions, afterwards related to us by
the trappers, as we lay stretched around our night-fires. His height
could have been but little short of seven feet, and every limb was in
proportion. Unlike the rest of his tribe, his hair remained unshaven,
and hung in long tangled locks, which reached nearly to his waist, and
were profusely smeared with red ochre. His low, retreating forehead was
almost buried in wrinkles; and his eyes, deep set in his head, glowed
like living coals. His nose was large and prominent; and the size of an
enormous mouth was not at all diminished by two streaks of vermilion,
which he had drawn from each corner, to his ears. He wore neither
covering nor ornament, unless the profusion of black clay and red ochre
which covered his body, deserved that name. He stood out in his naked
proportions a giant among those who surrounded him; and the wild energy
of his gesticulation as he delivered his harangue, showed the prodigious
strength hidden in his form, and which only required an occasion to bring
it into action. From his youth upward he had been the leading warrior in
the nation, and his deeds had spread a terror of his name through all the
hostile tribes. Though no chief, his influence in the village was equal
to theirs, rendering him as much an object of jealousy to them as of
dread to their enemies.
When he had finished his address, the chief rose and spoke to his men.
After this the circle opened, and forming into two lines, one on each
side, the warriors prepared to escort us into their village.