The Author dines with the Royal Highland Society--The Duke of
Richmond presides--His Grace's compliment to the Author
and his country--Sir David Wilkie--His compliment to the
Author--Charles Augustus Murray and the Author at the Caledonian
Ball (Almack's) in Indian costumes--Their rehearsal--Dressing
and painting--Entering the ball--Alarm of ladies--Mr.
Murray's infinite amusement (_incognito_) amongst his
friends--War-dance and war-whoops--Great applause--Bouquets of
flowers--Scalp-dance--Brooches and bracelets presented to the
chiefs-Trinkets returned--Perspiration carries off the paint, and
Mr. Murray recognised--Amusement of his friends--The "Indians"
return to Egyptian Hall at seven in the morning--Their amusing
appearance.
Among the many very friendly invitations extended to me about this
time, there was one which I cannot omit to notice in this place.--I
was invited to take a seat at the _Royal Highland Society's_ annual
dinner, at which his Grace the Duke of Richmond presided. The name of
this society explains its character, and most of the guests at the
table were in full highland dress, with their kilts, and with the
badges and plaids of their peculiar clans. The scene was altogether a
very picturesque one, and I observed that their chiefs wore the eagle's
quills for the same purpose and in the same manner that the Indians do;
but I did not see any of them painted red, as the Indians paint them,
to adorn their heads as symbols of war when they are going to battle.
The banqueting hall was beautifully arranged, and two of Her Majesty's
pipers from the Palace, in the most gorgeous Highland dress, were
perambulating the table "in full blast" whilst we were eating.
The Duke of Richmond, who is an easy, affable, and entirely
unostentatious man, and the best president at a convivial table
that I ever saw, offered the customary healths, of--the Queen--the
Prince--the Duke, &c., which were drunk with the usual enthusiasm, and
after that proceeded to pay his ingenious and judicious compliments to
individuals at the table, by alluding, in the most concise and amusing
manner, to their exploits or other merits, and then proposed their
healths.
After we had all joined in the uproar of--Hip, hip, hips,--with one
foot on our chairs and the other on the table, in a number of such
cases, he arose and said--
"Gentlemen, I now rise quite confident of your approbation of the
sentiment I am to propose, and the sentiments I am to offer. The
nations of the earth, like the individuals in the different branches
of a great family, stand in certain degrees of relationship towards
each other; and as those degrees of consanguinity are more or less
remote, so are the friendships and attachments of those nations for
each other. Now, gentlemen, as an individual component part of one of
the great nations of that great national family, I feel proud to say,
that there are two of that family so closely related, not only in
commercial interests, but by blood, as almost to identify them in an
unity of existence.--The relationship that I speak of, gentlemen (and
which I believe will be familiar to many of you, as married men), is
that of parent and child."
At this period commenced a tremendous cheering, and all eyes seemed
to be in a rotary motion, endeavouring to fix upon the representative
of that nearly related country on whom the next responsibility was to
fall. His Grace proceeded:--
"Gentlemen, the term parent and child I have used to express the
endearments of one stage of domestic relations; but there is
another which lessens not the tie, but carries with it the respect
that children do not win--I would call it father and son (_immense
cheering_). I perceive, gentlemen, that you all understand me, and
are preparing for the sentiment I am to offer; but I would remark,
that when a distinguished individual from one of those nearly related
countries pays a visit to the other, common courtesy demands that
he should be treated with kindness and respect. If that individual,
gentlemen, be one who, by the force and energy of his own mind, has
struck out and accomplished any great undertaking for the advancement
of science, or the benefit of mankind, he is a philanthropist,
a public benefactor, and entitled to our highest admiration
(_cheering_).
"Gentlemen, I have the satisfaction of informing you that there is at
our table an individual whose name when I mention it will be familiar
to most of you; who, contemplating several millions of human beings
in his own country sinking into oblivion before the destructive
influences of civilization, had the energy of character, the courage
and philanthropy, to throw himself, unprotected and unaided, into the
midst of them, with his brushes and his pen, endeavouring to preserve
for future ages their familiar looks, and all that appertained to
their native modes and history. In this noble enterprise, gentlemen,
this individual laboured eight years of his life; and having with
incessant toil and hazard visited most of the native tribes of North
America, he has brought home and to our city a collection (which
I trust you have all seen) of vast interest and value, which does
great honour to his name, and entitles him to our highest admiration
and esteem. I now propose, gentlemen, the health of Mr. Catlin, and
success to the great country that gave him birth!"
Whilst these compliments were applying to my country only, I was fully
confident there was some one of my countrymen present better able than
myself to respond to them; but when they became personal, and all eyes
were fixed upon me, I saw there was no alternative, and that I must
reply, as well as I could, to the unexpected compliment thus paid me
and answered to with a bumper and many rounds of applause, every guest
at the table, as before, with one foot on his chair and the other on
the edge of the table. An awful pause for a moment, while my name was
echoed from every part of the room, brought me upon my feet, and I
replied: but I never shall recollect exactly how. I believe, however,
that I explained the views with which I had visited the Indian tribes,
and what I had done; and put in a few words, as well as I could, for my
country.
His Grace next rose, and, after the most chaste and eloquent eulogium
upon his works and his character, proposed the health of Sir David
Wilkie, who, to my great surprise and unspeakable satisfaction, I found
was sitting by my side and the next to my elbow. His health was drunk
with great enthusiasm, and after he had responded to the compliment he
begged to be allowed to express to his Grace and the gentlemen present
the very great satisfaction he had felt in being able to join in the
expression of thanks to so distinguished a gentleman as Mr. Catlin, and
whom it afforded him great pleasure to find was by his side. He stated
that he had been many times in my exhibition rooms, but without the
good luck to have met me there. He commented at great length upon the
importance and value of the collection; and, while he was according to
me great credit for the boldness and originality of the design, he took
especial pains to compliment me for the execution of my paintings, many
of which, he said, as works of art, justly entitled me to the hands of
artists in this country, and he was proud to begin by offering me his,
in good fellowship, which he did, and raised me from my seat as he said
it.
This was sanctioned by a round of applause, and as he resumed his seat
I was left upon my feet, and bound again to reply, which I did as well
as I could.
The reader can more easily imagine than I can describe, how gratifying
to me was such a mode of acquaintance with so distinguished and so
worthy a man as Sir David Wilkie, at whose elbow I was now placed, and,
for the most part of the evening, in familiar conversation.
The pipers played, the wine flowed, many good songs were sung; a
Highland dance was spiritedly flung by M'Ian, M'Donald, and several
others, in Highland costume. An Indian song and the war-whoop were
called for, and given--and with other good fellowship and fun this
splendid affair was finished.
I was at this time devoting certain hours of the day to visitors in my
Rooms, and I found my kind friend C. A. Murray almost daily bringing
ladies of rank and fashion upon his arm, to take a peep into the
mysteries of savage life, which he was so well prepared to explain to
them, and to illustrate by my numerous paintings and works of Indian
manufacture.
I met him here one day, however, on my entering, where he had been
for some time waiting without acting the beau, for any one, which was
quite an unusual thing. He called me aside, and told me there was a
chance for us to make _a sensation_ if I felt disposed to join him
in it, and to make a great deal of amusement for others as well as a
dish of fun for ourselves--this was, to assume the Indian costume
and throw ourselves into the Caledonian ball, which was to be given
at Almack's that evening, and for which he had procured the tickets.
For the information of those who never have seen one of those annual
balls, I will briefly say that they are decidedly the most brilliant
and splendid affairs that can be seen in London--presenting the most
gorgeous display of costumes and diamonds that the world can exhibit,
short of royalty itself. It was but for Mr. Murray to propose--the
finest costumes were taken from the Walls of my Room--weapons,
head-dresses, scalping-knives, scalps, &c.--and placed in one of the
chambers of the Egyptian Hall: and three o'clock was the hour appointed
for Mr. Murray to meet me again, to fit us with our respective dresses,
and go through a sort of rehearsal in our songs, dances, &c., which we
might be called upon to enact during the evening, and in which it would
be a great pity for us Indian knowing ones to make any mistake.
Mr. Murray was punctual at the hour of three; and having proposed that
my nephew, Burr Catlin, a young man of 21 years and then living with
me, should be of the party, we entered the dressing-room, and were soon
suited with our respective dresses and took our weapons in hand. My
nephew, Burr, being six feet two inches, with a bold and Indian outline
of face, was arrayed in a Sioux dress; and it was instantly agreed that
he should be put forward as the Big Sioux--the Great Chief Wan-ne-ton.
He happened to wear the identical head-dress of that distinguished
chief, which was made of war-eagle's quills and ermine skins. He was to
hold himself entirely mute upon his dignity, according to the customs
of the country. I was dressed as a warrior of the _Sac_ tribe, with
head ornaments of red and white quills of the war-eagle, denoting,
according to the custom of the country, my readiness for war or for
peace. Mr. Murray had chosen a dress less rich, and more light and easy
to act in, and a head-dress that was made much like a wig of long black
hair spreading over his shoulders and falling down nearly to the calves
of his legs, surmounted by a solitary eagle's quill--giving himself
more the appearance of a "Bois Brûlé," as they are termed on the Indian
frontiers of America--a race of half-castes, who are generally used as
interpreters, speaking a little French and some "Americaine" (as they
call the English language). These curious personages are generally the
spokesmen for all parties of Indians travelling abroad or delegations
to neighbouring tribes. This character exactly suited Mr. Murray, as
he spoke the French and the German, and also a little of two or three
Indian tongues; and, in the position of an interpreter for the party,
he would be the vehicle of communication between the two chiefs and his
numerous friends and relations, both ladies and gentlemen, whom he was
to meet in every part of the Rooms.
The least discerning will easily see that he was most ingeniously
laying his plans for a great deal of amusement; and if my readers could
have seen the manner in which he was dressed out and metamorphosed for
the occasion, they would have insured him, at a low premium, fun enough
on that evening to have lasted him for a week. Having arrayed our
persons in the respective costumes we had agreed upon, and arranged the
different characters which we were to sustain, I took the Indian drum
or tambour in my hand, and to the music of that and the chief's rattle,
and our combined voices in concert in an Indian song, we practised the
war-dance and scalp-dance of the Sioux, until we agreed that we could
"do them" beyond (at least) the reach of civilized criticisms, in
case we should be called upon to dance, which it was agreed should be
at first met as a condescension that the chiefs could not submit to,
but which it was understood we should yield to if the measure was to
be very strenuously urged. Matters being thus arranged, we adjourned
until nine o'clock, when we were to meet again, and make our final
preparations for our début in the ballroom.
At nine we were drawing on our buckskin leggings, and mocassins fringed
with scalp-locks and ornamented with porcupine quills of various
dyes; our shirts or tuniques were also of deerskins richly ornamented,
and their sleeves fringed, like the leggings, with locks of the hair
of Indian victims slain in battle. We painted our faces and hands
of a copper colour, in close imitation of the colour of the Indian,
and over and across that, to make the illusion more complete, gave
occasional bold daubs of vermilion and green or black paint, so that,
with our heavy and richly garnished robes of the buffalo, thrown over
our shoulders and trailing on the floor as we walked, with tomahawks
and scalping knives in our belts, our shields of buffalo hides on our
arms, with our quivers slung and our bows and arrows clenched in our
hands, we were prepared for the sensation we were in a few minutes
to make. We stood and smiled at each others' faces a few moments in
curious anticipation, practising over each other's names, which we had
almost forgotten to take. And having decided that the great chief was
_Wan-ne-ton_, that the warrior's name was _Na-see-us-kuk_, and that of
the interpreter _Pah-ti-coo-chee_, we seated ourselves in a carriage,
and in three minutes were being ushered through the crowded halls
leading to the splendid and brilliant array, into the midst of which a
long Indian step or two more placed us!
There was a little cruelty in the suddenness of our approach, and a
simultaneous yell which we gave, innocently mistaking the effect it
might have upon the nerves of ladies standing near us, several of whom,
on catching the sound and then the sight of us, gave sudden shrieks far
more piercing and startling than the savage war-whoop that had been
sounded over their shoulders. By this time we formed the centre of
attraction in the room, and we stood in so dense a crowd to be gazed
at, that nothing could be scanned of us lower down than our chins and
shoulders. The big Sioux chief, however, who was a head taller than
the crowd around him, flourishing his enormous head-dress of eagle's
quills, was quietly rolling his eagle eyes around over the multitude,
who were getting so satisfactory a view of him that it eased us a
little from the rush that otherwise would have been upon us.
We had made our entry into this world of fashion and splendour entirely
unexpected by any one, and of course unknown to all. Here was truly
a splendid field for my friend Mr. Murray, and the time for his
operations had now arrived. All questions (and there were many, and
in various languages) put to the big chief or the warrior were, by
the understanding, answered only by frowns; and the interrogations
referred to _Pah-ti-coo-chee_, the interpreter. This brought him at
once into great demand, and he replied at first in Indian, and then
strained a few distorted words of French and German into his replies,
by which he made himself partially understood. Lords and ladies, dukes
and duchesses, and princes and princesses of his acquaintance were in
the room, and now gazing at his copper colour, bedaubed with red and
black paint, and patiently listening to and endeavouring to translate
his garbled French and German and Indian for some description of the
grand personages he had in tow, without dreaming of the honourable
gentleman upon whose visage they were actually looking. From a custom
of the Prairie country, which he had wisely thought of, he carried a
rifle-bullet in his mouth whilst he was talking, and his voice was thus
as much a stranger as his face.
Amongst the gazers on, and those who questioned him, were many of his
most familiar friends; and even his own brother, the Earl of Dunmore,
drew some marvellous tales from him before he made himself known, which
he did at last to him and a few others of his friends, that he might
the better crack the good jokes he had come to enjoy.
The crowd, by this time, had completely wedged us in, so that there was
no apparent possibility of moving from our position, yet it was not a
crowd that was insupportable: it was, at least for a while, a pleasure
to be thus invested, as we were, by silks and satins, by necklaces
of diamonds and necks as fair as alabaster, by gold lace, and
golden epaulettes, chapeaux and small swords; but the weight of our
bison robes at length brought us to the expedient that our ingenious
interpreter put forth, which gained us temporary relief, and gave us
locomotive powers by which we could show ourselves at full length, and
occasionally escape investigations when they became too close for our
good friend or ourselves.
It was a lucky thought of our interpreter, which he divulged to some of
his confidential friends much to our advantage, that the paints which
the Indians used were indelible colours, and he regretted to learn that
some of the ladies had injured their costly dresses by being in too
close contact with us. And again he feared that some of the scalp-locks
on the dresses of the chief and the warrior were not quite dry, as they
were fresh from the country where they had just been at war with the
Sacs and Foxes. This had a delightful effect, and we were not again in
danger of suffocation, though the space we had to move in was limited
enough during the rest of the night for our warm dresses and our
enormous buffalo robes.
The introductions I had on that night, to lords and ladies, and to
dukes and duchesses, as _Na-see-us-huk_, a famous warrior of the Sacs,
and my nephew, as _Wan-ne-ton_, the great Sioux Chief, were honours
certainly that he or I could never have aspired to under any other
names; and our misfortune was, that their duration was necessarily as
brief as the names and titles we had assumed.
In the midst of this truly magnificent scene, where our interpreter
was introducing us as two dignified personages from the base of the
Rocky Mountains, and enjoying his own fun with his friends as he moved
around, and after a set of quadrilles had finished, it was announced
through the rooms that the Indians were going to give the War Dance!
This of course raised a new excitement, and the crowd thickened, until
at length a red rope or cord was passed around us three about as
high as our waists. The bystanders were desired to take hold of this
and walk back, which they did in all directions until a large space
was opened for us, and we were left standing in the centre. We found
ourselves there in full display in front of the ladies patronesses of
the ball, who were seated upon a platform, elevated several feet above
the level of the floor, and who, it was stated to us, had expressed a
desire to see the Indians dance.
Alas! poor Murray, he had then an off-hand use to make of his mongrel
dialect, which seemed to embarrass him very much, and which he had
found he got along with much better in the crowd. We were also
pledged to hesitate about our dignity in case we were asked to dance,
which here made a dialogue in Indian language indispensable, giving
our interpreter fresh alarm; nevertheless, with enough of the same
determination and firmness left that used to decide him to dash through
the turbid rivers of the prairie, or to face the menacing savages that
he met in the wilderness, he resolved to go through with it, and the
Indian dialogue that he opened with me was never doubted, I believe,
for it was never criticised. The objections raised by the chief and his
warrior were translated in tolerable French (with the bullet accent),
to their ladyships and the audience around us. The dignity of a Sioux
Chief could not be lowered by such a condescension, and the dance could
not be made without him. "Good Mr. _Pah-ti-coo-chee_," said her Grace
the Duchess of ---- (who was the presiding patroness on the occasion),
in excellent French, "do, I beg of you, do prevail on that fine old
fellow to gratify us with a dance--don't let him look so distressed
about it--tell him that he has just been looking on to see some of
the greatest chiefs in our country dance, and he must not think it
degrading to show us the mode in which the Indians dance; I dare say it
is very fine. Oh, dear, what shall we do? they are fine-looking men--I
wish I could speak to them--I dare say they know Charles A. Murray,--he
was in their country--I have read his book. Where's Murray? he ought to
be here to-night; I am sure he knows them. Do you know Murray, my good
fellows? Ah, no, they don't understand French, though."
Our interpreter smiled, and the Sioux chief and the Sac warrior came
very near the misfortune also. The arguments of the duchess were
translated to the chief and the warrior with great difficulty, when,
after a few moments of silence, they began to put off their robes,
which were very deliberately folded up and laid aside, to the great
gratification of the ladies patronesses and the rest of the crowd.
By three dancers the war dance of the Sioux is given with considerable
effect, and we were now ready to "go into it." The drum, which until
this moment had been slung on Mr. Murray's back, was taken into my
hands, the chief took his rattle in one hand and his war-club in the
other, while the interpreter's shield skilfully manoeuvred over his
left shoulder and his tomahawk brandished in his right hand, which,
with the shrill sounds of the war-song and the war-whoop, altogether
suddenly opened a new era in the musical and dancing sphere of Almack's.
When it was done, the whole house rung with applause; bouquets of
flowers were showered upon us, and many compliments were paid us by the
most bewitching young ladies, but which, unfortunately for us, we could
not understand. The crowd now thickened around us to shake hands with
us and lavish their praises upon us; and among them a lovely little
creature, whose neck seemed forged from a bouquet of white lilies, who
was supported on the arm of an officer, with her languishing soft blue
eyes, and breath sweeter than that of the antelope that jostles the
first dew-drops of the morning from the violets of the prairie, was
beseeching me to allow her to adjust on my wrist a magnificent bracelet
which she had taken from her own lovely arm, and for which she wished
only, as she made me understand by signs, a small scalp-lock from the
seams of my leggings. To play our parts well it was necessary, for
the time being, to do as an Indian warrior would do--I tore off the
scalp-lock and gave it to her, and when her fair hands had adjusted
the precious trinket on my wrist, I raised the leathern shirt a little
higher on my arm and showed her the colour of my skin. This unfolded a
secret to her which compelled me to speak, and I said to her and her
guardian, "Pray don't expose us; let us have our fun. Your precious
trinket I will restore to you in a little time." This was answered
with the sweetest of smiles, and, as my joke was thus ended, I turned
round and found the ring prepared again for another dance. Fair hands
had been lavish upon the other two Indians, who were already decorated
with several keepsakes of beautiful and precious workmanship. The
scalp-dance now commenced, and as I had brought with me a real scalp,
according to the custom of a warrior, we gave it the full effect and
fury of such scenes as they are acted in the wilderness. We entered
upon this unfortunate affair with our prizes displayed in the fullest
exultation, and no doubt might have gained many more but for the
unforeseen misfortune which our over exertions to please and astonish
had innocently brought upon us. The warmth of the rooms at this hour
had become almost insupportable, and, in the midst of it, our violent
exertions, under the heat of our Indian dresses, had produced a flow
of perspiration which had carried away the paint in streaks from our
foreheads to our chins, making us simple studies for the ethnologist,
if any there were present, and easy of solution. Poor Murray! he
had supplied himself with a red handkerchief, which he had often
pressed upon his face, the consequence of which was--and it was funny
enough--that his nose and his chin, and the other prominent points of
his face, had all become white, long before he had finished his fun or
been willing to acknowledge our true character and caste.
However, he had much merriment in receiving the cheerful
congratulations of his friends (who now recognised him once more as the
Honourable C. A. Murray), and in introducing my nephew and myself in
our real names to many of his friends, we distributed scalp-locks and
feathers to all the fair hands whose trinkets we held and restored;
and after partaking of the good things that were in store for us, and
looking and laughing at our white-washed faces in the mirrors, we made
our way to the front door as the first step towards a retreat to the
Egyptian Hall. We waited in vain full half an hour for a vehicle, such
was the rush of carriages at the door. The only alternative seemed
to be to take to our legs, and once resolved, we dashed out into the
street, and made our way in the best manner we could. It was now past
sunrise and raining in torrents, as it had been during the whole
night. We wended our way as fast as possible through the mud, with our
white and beautiful mocassins, and painted robes; and the reader must
excuse me here, and imagine, if he can, how we three looked when we
arrived at the door of the Egyptian Hall, with the gang of boys and
ragamuffins assembled around us, which the cry of "Indians, Indians!"
had collected as we passed through the streets. The poor porter, who
had waited up for us all night, happened _luckily to be_ ready for our
ring; and thus, fortunately, we were soon safely withdrawn from the
crowd assembling, to gaze and grin at each other, and deliberately and
leisurely to scour ourselves back again to our original characters.