_Catlin's Indian Gallery._--We have visited it repeatedly, and have

studied its contents with close attention, as the best exposition of

savage character and life that has ever been given to the world; and

the result of our impressions is, that whether we regard the historical

and philosophic value of this museum, its strangeness and interest as

matter of entertainment, or the wonderful toil and difficulty that

must have attended its formation, there is not in our country a work

more honourable to its author, or more deserving of the esteem and

admiration of the community. The hardships of Indian existence are

brought before us with a bold effect; the few refinements by which

it is comforted are impressively presented; the labours by which it

is sustained are shown; and the romance which makes it charming is

brilliantly and copiously exhibited. The gallery is a complete and

fascinating panorama of savage life; and all who have the smallest

interest in the wild and stirring existence of the Indian hunter should

hasten to contemplate this splendid picture. No man has tasted these

scenes of daring and peril with half the sympathy and understanding of

Mr. Catlin; and neither in the delicate touches of Irving, nor the more

vigorous drawings of Hoffman, is there anything like the intelligence

and interest of these animated sketches. Whoever would know to what

sounds of glee and exultation the northern forests, even at this hour,

are echoing, or with what spectacles of merriment or toil the flatness

of the prairie is enlivened, must view and ponder over this collection.

Mr. Catlin intends to remove this museum to England very soon, and from

that country it will probably never return. This, therefore, is the

last opportunity which Americans will have of ever inspecting this most

curious assemblage. We exhort every one who is a lover either of rare

entertainment or strange knowledge to lose no time in visiting this

gallery.

----*----

THE AMERICAN DAILY ADVERTISER.

_Catlin's Indian Gallery._--The collection embraces a wonderful extent

and variety of national history, likewise an exact and discriminating

range throughout the different tribes. They are all classed with the

method and arrangement of a philosopher, developed and associated with

the vivacity of a dramatist, and personated, defined, and coloured with

the eye and hand of a painter. Rarely, indeed, would one man be found

who could do all this; still more rarely a man, who to these various

offices and talents would add the courage, the patience, and the taste

to become an eye-witness of his subjects, and above all, would possess

the industry and the veracity to represent them to others, and thus to

command credibility and admiration.

I hope my fellow-citizens will give this exhibition their repeated

attention. They will find in it much more than has ever been combined

before. It will greatly abridge their labours in reading, nay, it

will tell them what books do not teach; and it will impress upon

their senses and upon their memories the living portraits of a race,

distinguished by inextinguishable ardour, unbounded ingenuity, and

indomitable determination--a race now fast eluding the projects of

the politician, the researches of the curious, and soon to cease from

demanding even the sympathies of the humane and conscientious.

We learn that Mr. Catlin is soon to embark for England, where

encouragement is offered to his remarkable talents and energy, and

we sincerely wish him the rewards due to native genius, exemplary

diligence, and moral integrity and refinement.

----*----

PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER.

_Catlin's Gallery._--We called the attention of our readers some days

ago to Catlin's Indian Gallery, now exhibiting in this city. This

collection is in every respect so remarkable and interesting, that we

again bring it before the notice of the community.

Mr. Catlin visited nearly fifty different tribes of Indians, and

resided familiarly among them for several years. He made their habits

and character his exclusive study. With the eye of a poet, the

judgment of a man of rare sagacity, and the hand of an accomplished

artist, he saw and scrutinized, and sketched the forms, the feats,

the entire style of life of the varied nations with whom he had made

his home. The general features of this strange and most interesting

people are presented to us in this collection with a copiousness

and variety which could only be attained by one who had devoted the

enthusiasm of years to a task, to which he had, in the first instance,

brought extraordinary talents. Whatever met his watchful glance that

was striking or peculiar in the religious ceremonies, the warlike

demonstrations, the festive celebrations of peace and leisure, the

separate acts and social habits of the wanderers of the distant wilds

of the west, was instantly transferred to his canvas, and fixed in

living colours on the very spot where the scene was shown. Accordingly

we have here illustrations of the mode in which almost every thing,

which is common or curious, usual or occasional, among the tribes

is performed. The chace, which there has no meaner object than the

"stately buffalo," is before us in full and numerous portraiture; the

rousing of the herd in the centre of some endless prairie, the reckless

vehemence of the pursuit by the wild horse and the wilder hunter, the

mad dashing of the fearless sportsman into the midst of the monstrous

throng, with nothing but bow and knife; the unhorsing of some, who roll

trampled under foot, and of others who are tossed high into the air;

the final capture and death of the huge victim of the sport, all these

are presented to us in the freshness and freedom of the very scenes

themselves of this magnificent excitement. Then there are dances

of an art and an intricacy that might instruct Almack's itself; the

bear dance, in which, clothed in skins, they imitate the postures and

movements of that animal; the buffalo dance, in which they are masked

in the skulls which they have taken in the hunt; the eagle dance, which

mimics the attitude of that bird; the dance on the snow in peculiar

shoes; and the numerous dances of war. Then we have bold and admirable

sketches of the scenery of the prairies and the hills 2000 miles above

St. Louis, presenting a richness and brilliance of verdure of which the

Atlantic resident has never formed a conception. In short, it would

be difficult to point out a single particular in which the sketches

of this ardent and able painter do not furnish the fullest and most

valuable information about the western continent and its inhabitants.

There are portraits, likewise, of all the remarkable persons whom the

artist encountered in his rambles, painted on the spot, in their actual

dresses and natural positions, certified as rigidly accurate, in every

instance, by officers of the United States, who were present at the

time.

But sketches are not all that this unique collection consists of.

There is a large number of the dresses of the chiefs and women, rich

and curious to a very great degree, implements of war and of social

life--articles by which friendship is promoted and leisure is amused.

----*----

PHILADELPHIA HERALD AND SENTINEL.

_Catlin's Indian Gallery_ is one of the most curious and interesting

collections ever brought before the public. The portraits of the chiefs

and warriors constitute perhaps the least striking portion of the

gallery; although the natural freedom and boldness of the attitudes,

and the life-like variety and expression of the countenances,

caught with a rare felicity by the accomplished artist, render them

immeasurably superior in attraction and value to anything of that kind

ever before presented to the community. They were all sketched on the

spots of their residence, and in the characteristic attire of their

tribes; and the certificates of different United States officers,

attached to the back of each picture, testify to the accuracy and

completeness of each individual portraiture. The largest and by far the

most engaging and peculiar part of the collection, consists of sketches

of groups occupied in the various games, sports, and diversions, by

which the monotony of savage life is amused.

Mr. Catlin visited forty-eight different tribes, and was domesticated

amongst them for eight years; and whenever any spectacle of merriment,

or business, or religion was got up, the painter drew apart from the

company, and producing the canvas which was always in readiness, seized

with an Hogarthian quickness and spirit the outlines and the impression

of the scene before him, and has perpetuated for the gratification

of posterity the faithful and vivid likenesses of some of the most

extraordinary acts and incidents which the history of man can exhibit.

Sketched with a distinctness and a particularity which indicate an

uncommon degree of talent and skill on the part of the artist, we

find among these paintings almost everything that is characteristic

in the life and conduct of the Indian: the energetic dance, marked

by a science and a significance, unknown to the amusements of more

cultivated nations,--the hunt of the buffalo, with its impressive

incidents of danger and daring--the religious rite--the military

council--the game--the fight--the voluntary torture by which the

"Stoic of the woods" displays his hardihood of nerve and spirit--and

the grotesque gaiety which marks the occasional mirthfulness of a

nature usually so much restrained. All these are brought before us

with a fidelity of delineation attested by the certificates of the

most competent and reputable witnesses, and animation and interest

acknowledged by all who have approached them.

This collection is not only unique, as it concerns the particular

people whose state and character it illustrates; but, as throwing light

upon a grade and condition of the human race of which little has ever

been known, it possesses an importance novel and unparticipated: for it

has never happened, in the history of the world, that a savage people

has been approached and depicted with this intelligent completeness.

He who would learn what are the dispositions and the faculties which

belong to the mind and heart of man, in the mere rudeness of his

natural state, will find more satisfactory sources of information in

this Indian gallery than in the fullest descriptions of travellers or

the astutest schemes of metaphysicians.

----*----

THE PHILADELPHIA GAZETTE.

_Catlin's Indian Gallery._--It is a remarkable circumstance, and one

very characteristic of the energy of this age, that the same year

and almost the same month should have witnessed the completion of

three independent collections, each of which, after its way, gives

us a complete portraiture of the nation to which it refers. What

Mr. Dunn's figures have accomplished for China, and Mr. Wilkinson's

drawings have done for Egypt, Mr. Catlin's paintings have performed for

the Indian tribes. The first of these has excited the admiration of

America, the second has won the applause of Europe; if the last is less

brilliant than the one, it is more lively than the other, and it is

not less complete than either. It is not merely a minute and thorough

description of a nation whose situation and history render everything

that relates to it in the highest degree curious and personal to

Americans, but it addresses itself to the admiration and instruction

of every philosophic mind as an encyclopædia picture of the savage

state. While no histories present us with such copious information of

the characteristics of those particular tribes, which are intimately

and eternally connected with our annals, no speculative treatises

contain anything like the knowledge here garnered of the qualities and

attributes of that condition which is called the state of nature. The

eye of childhood and the mind of age are alike astonished and informed

by the spectacles here strikingly presented by this unrivalled work.

Mr. Catlin is a native of Pennsylvania, and has therefore peculiar

claims upon the attention of Philadelphians. We know and are persuaded

that when this Museum, after the very few days allotted to its

continuance here, is closed and removed for ever from our land, it will

be a matter of deep and permanent regret to all who now fail to visit

it, that they have lost the sight.

----*----

THE PHILADELPHIA EVENING STAR.

_Catlin's Indian Gallery._--This interesting museum of curiosities,

collected by Mr. Catlin, during a residence of more than eight years

among forty tribes of Indians, and of sketches painted by him,

illustrative of their habits and customs, is now exhibited at the

Arcade in this city. It is an eloquent and illustrious witness of

the genius, disinterestedness, and toil of the person who brought it

together. Those productions of Mr. Catlin's pencil, which were given

to the world many years since, evinced his ability to rank, at some

day, with the first artists of this country; but instead of devoting

himself to those lucrative branches of his profession, which would

have gained him a sure return of wealth, he resolved, at the bidding

of an enthusiasm, perhaps inspired by the legends of his native valley

of Wyoming, to dedicate his life to the great and generous purpose of

presenting to his countrymen a satisfactory portraiture of a nation

which had so interesting a connexion with their own history, and

whose condition has always produced so strong an impression upon the

imagination of Americans. Alone and unsupported, save by a dauntless

spirit, he turned towards the western forests to seek the Indian in his

boundless home.

"The general garden, where all steps may roam,

Whose nature owns a nation for her child,

Exulting in the enjoyment of the wild."

The perils of more than a Ulyssean voyage were encountered before the

artist could feel that his object was accomplished, and before he would

permit himself to return to his family and friends.

We have devoted much time and a close attention to the sketches which

Mr. Catlin has brought back; and we are convinced that, severe as were

the labours and privations to which he was subject, they were less

than the value of this collection. Whoever will study the numerous and

varied representations here given of savage life, and will reflect how

complete a picture is presented of a most peculiar and unknown race,

will be persuaded, we think, that no greater accession has been made

to the sum of human knowledge and human entertainment, in this age and

country, than is produced by this Museum. The philosophy of Indian

character is revealed with curious distinctness by one portion of

the paintings, while another class presents the picturesque of that

existence with singular spirit. Many striking suggestions for the

history of civility, and many valuable metaphysical considerations, are

prompted by a survey of these illustrations of the intelligence and

the instincts of this people; and any man who would taste the poetry

of this wild life, will find enough to satisfy him in the animated

exhibitions of the hunt, the march, and the fight, which are here

brought before his eyes. In Mr. Irving's very graphic descriptions

of the amusements of the prairie, there is nothing half so bold and

stirring as the noble pictures which here bring the adventures of the

buffalo-hunt before us, or the terrors of the fight with the grisly

bear.

----*----

THE PENNSYLVANIAN.

_Catlin's Indian Gallery._--We alluded briefly a few days since

to Catlin's Indian Gallery, now open in the saloon at the Arcade,

and we again call attention to it as one of the most gratifying

exhibitions of the day, to all who feel the slightest interest in the

aborigines of our country, or desire to become acquainted with the

topographical features of the great western wild. This collection

is the result of years of toil and privation, sustained by a rare

and commendable enthusiasm. Mr. Catlin, who is an artist of much

ability, and is likewise in other respects well fitted for the task

which he voluntarily assumed, devoted himself to a study of the

Indian character, and steadily followed out his great object for a

considerable length of time. He has visited many of the tribes who yet

roam in their native wildness, and he became as it were domesticated

among them to study their habits and dispositions, encountering all

the perils and privations which necessarily attend an enterprise of

this nature. In the course of his rambles, he made paintings of every

thing calculated to give a vivid impression to others of the persons,

events, and scenes which fell under his notice, and the result is a

magnificent collection of portraits and views of the most interesting

character, made still more attractive by an immense variety of Indian

dresses, arms, and utensils of many kinds, which, with the illustrative

scenes, give a clear idea of aboriginal characteristics, and form a

pleasing evidence of the results which can be achieved by the untiring

perseverance of a single man. Mr. Catlin has in this way made a

contribution to American history which must gain for him an enduring

fame. It should form the nucleus of a national museum, that posterity

may have some relics of a people doomed to speedy destruction, as much

by their own inflexible nature as by the rolling tide of civilization.

----*----

THE PHILADELPHIA GAZETTE.

_Catlin's Indian Gallery._--We could scarcely recommend a more pleasing

and instructive collection than this to the notice of the community.

It is what only a Catlin, with his enthusiasm and perseverance, could

have accomplished. To him the study of nature is most appropriate in

her great hall or cathedral:--

"That vast cathedral, boundless as our wonder,

Whose quenchless lamps the sun and moon supply;

Its choir the winds and waves; its organ thunder;

Its dome the sky."

The boundless woods have been his home, and dwellers of the wilderness

the sitters for his art. So far as Indian life is concerned, the reader

will find a little of every thing in Catlin's gallery; not of faces

merely, but of grand western life and scene.

----*----

THE WORLD.

_Catlin's Indian Gallery._--I visited this collection with expectations

very highly excited by the strong and renewed expressions of admiration

which it had received from the press in New York and Boston; but my

anticipations had fallen below the reality in degree as much as they

had differed from it in kind. I had supposed that it was merely an

assemblage of the portraits of distinguished Indian chieftains, instead

of being, as we find that it is, a very complete and curious tableau

of the life and habits of the strange and interesting races which once

inhabited the soil we now possess. Mr. Catlin's advertisement does no

justice to the character of his collection. He does not state himself.

He is a person of lofty genius and disinterested ambition, and he has

abhorred to tarnish the purity of his self-respect by even claiming his

own.

Mr. Catlin spent eight years in the most intimate intercourse with the

tribes which occupy the territory lying 2000 miles above St. Louis.

His only purpose in visiting these remote and secluded nations was

to transfer to his canvas faithful representations of those scenes

of conduct which were most characteristic of that people, and those

personal traits which would best transmit the memory of the savage

to times which would no longer witness his existence. This design

he fulfilled by copying on the spot pictures of the sports, fights,

business, and religious ceremonies which passed before his sight; and

the gallery which he now opens to the community, revives before the

gaze of refinement, the whole condition and qualities of the wild

and far-roaming occupants of the prairies and forests. An attentive

examination of his museum has led us to the opinion that this is one

of the most striking triumphs that the pencil has ever achieved; for

while the brush of Lawrence preserves the likeness of an individual,

that of Catlin has perpetuated the portraits of a nation. Let every

American visit this exhibition; let every one who would be informed or

entertained give it his protracted study. The more it is examined the

more it will gratify.

FRENCH PRESS.

----*----

CONSTITUTIONNEL du 22 Juin.

Le musée Catlin est une des collections les plus curieuses qu'on ait

vues à Paris, tant à cause du caractère naïf de la peinture, qu'à cause

de l'originalité des sujets qu'elle représente.

M. Catlin a donc rapporté de son voyage aux Montagnes Rocheuses quatre

à cinq cents toiles, portraits ou paysages, tous peints d'après

nature. Parmi ces portraits, il y a des figures d'une beauté, d'une

élégance superbes. Il y a des profils, le croirait-on, qui rappellent

le type grec ou l'Antinoüs. Bien plus, dans les scènes de danse ou

de combat, dans les fêtes ou les assemblées de tribus, on remarque

tres souvent des personnages dont la pose, l'attitude, le geste,

ressemblent tout-à-fait à l'antique. Cela n'est pas, d'ailleurs, si

surprenant pour qui veut réflechir au caractère de la beauté antique.

Qu'est-ce donc qui distingue l'art grec entre tous les arts? n'est-ce

pas la simplicité et le naturel? Les artistes grecs avaient le bonheur

de trouver d'abord autour d'eux toutes les conditions premières de

race, de climat, de civilisation, qui favorisent le développement

de la beauté; et secondement, ils laissaient faire la nature et ne

torturaient jamais le mouvement de leur modèle. Il n'y a dans toute la

statuaire grecque que cinq ou six poses peut-être qui sont le type de

tous les autres mouvemens. Les hommes rapprochés de la nature ne se

tortillent pas comme les civilisés. Le calme est d'ordre naturel; et

c'est là un des premiers élémens de la beauté antique qu'on retrouve

dans la _beauté sauvage_.

Les paysagistes pourraient bien aussi étudier avec profit la peinture

facile et vraie de M. Catlin qui n'est pourtant initié à aucun des

procédés scabreux de l'art civilisé. M. Catlin peint tranquillement du

premier coup, en mettant un ton juste et franc à côté d'un autre, et il

ne paraît pas qu'il revienne jamais ni par glacis ni par empâtement.

Mais son sentiment est si vif et en quelque sorte si sincère, son

exécution si naïve et si spontanée, que l'effet, vu juste, est rendu

juste. Il a fait ainsi des ciels d'une transparence et d'une lumière

bien difficile à obtenir, même pour les praticiens les plus habiles

des lointains d'une finesse rare et bien balancés entre la terre et

le ciel. En présence de cette nature toute nouvelle, de ces formes

singulières du pays, de cette couleur du ciel et des arbres, si

originale, un peintre de profession se serait bien tourmenté pour

exprimer toutes ces belles choses, et il y aurait sans doute mis

beaucoup trop de ses préjugés et de sa personnalité civilisée. Il est

très heureux que M. Catlin ait été seulement assez peintre pour faire

tout bonnement sur la toile ce qu'il voyait, sans parti pris d'avance

et sans convention européenne. Nous avons ainsi des steppes dont nous

ne nous faisions pas une image, des buffles prodigieux, des chasses

fantastiques, et une foule d'aspects et de scènes plus intéressantes

l'une que l'autre. Ici, c'est un marais vert tendre, entouré d'arbres

sveltes et légers. Là, c'est la plaine infinie avec ses grandes herbes

mouvantes comme les vagues d'une mer sans repos, et l'on aperçoit une

course diabolique de quelques animaux dont on a peine à distinguer

la forme et qui fendent l'immensité. C'est un buffle poursuivi par un

cavalier penché sur la crinière de son cheval sauvage; mais au-dessus

des herbes profondes, on ne voit que les épaules bossues du buffle

et les oreilles dressées du cheval. Quel drame! Où vont-ils? où

s'arrêteront-ils? Quelques autres tableaux présentent les aventures

de la navigation et de la guerre, des chasses où les hommes, couverts

de peaux de loup, s'avancent à quatre pattes pour surprendre les

buffles, où les chevaux sauvages sont enveloppés de lacets perfides,

des cérémonies religieuses où de volontaires martyrs se font pendre et

torturer en l'honneur du Grand Esprit.

----*----

LE CHARIVARI, Paris, 1845.

Il y avait là une magnifique collection, un musée rare, que dis-je?

unique et précieux, amassé à grands frais, à grand' peine, par un

artiste passionné et patient, par M. Catlin, voyageur aussi intrépide

que peintre naïf et que sincère historien. Ce musée est à la fois une

collection d'objets d'art et un recueil de notes scientifiques sur une

classe d'hommes qui diminue de jour en jour devant les empiètemens de

la civilisation, et qui dans cinquante ans aura complètement disparu du

globe. C'est le portrait aussi fidèle que possible, le daguerréotype

d'un monde qu'on ne retrouvera plus, et le gouvernement l'a laissé

partir, l'a laissé perdre; il n'a pas même senti la nécessité de

l'acquérir. Il n'a fait ni une offre ni un prix à l'artiste qu'il eût

récompensé ainsi qu'il devait l'être de dix ans d'études et d'efforts.

Tout le monde y aurait gagné: le peintre qui craint devoir éparpiller

un jour le résultat de tant de peines et de travaux, eût été heureux

de le voir conservé, concentré, consacré à jamais, en lieu sûr, à la

science et à l'art.

----*----

L'OBSERVATEUR, Oct. 9, 1845.

_Le Musée-Indien de M. Catlin._--Lorsque la civilisation recule partout

les bornes de son horison et resserre dans un étroit espace les

peuplades nomades et sauvages qui se refusent au joug de la domination

européenne, ce n'est pas sans un certain intérêt qu'on visite le Musée

Indien de M. Catlin. En voyant la collection du célèbre touriste,

l'esprit se refuse à croire que ce soit là l'oeuvre d'un seul homme.

Et cependant, rien n'est plus vrai. Explorateur hardi, M. Catlin a

passé huit années de sa vie à parcourir les Montagnes Rocheuses et

les parties les plus reculées de l'Amérique septentrionale; artiste

enthousiaste, il a bravé les dangers, supporté les fatigues et les

privations de toutes sortes pour mener à bonne fin son audacieuse

entreprise. Il a visité les Indiens dans leurs wig-wams; il les a

suivis dans leurs chasses; il a étudié leurs moeurs, leurs coutumes,

ne se laissant arrêter par aucun obstacle, tenant quelquefois son

pinceau d'une main, tandis qu'il conduisait son canot de l'autre.

Aussi, ne nous montrerons nous pas d'une grande sévérité à l'égard de

ses tableaux; ce n'est, pour la plupart, que des esquisses faites à

grands traits et dont le mérite consiste dans la vérité des costumes

et des sites et dans la ressemblance parfaite des portraits, ainsi

que l'attestent les certificats les plus flatteurs délivrés au hardi

voyageur, sur les lieux mêmes, par des personnes dont la véracité et la

compétence ne sauraient être mises en doute.

La collection que M. Catlin a rapportée de ses excursions est d'autant

plus curieuse qu'elle est unique en son genre. Elle se compose de plus

de cinq cents tableaux représentant des portraits, des paysages, et des

scènes de moeurs qui sont comme une histoire descriptive de ces races

primitives, que la guerre et la chasse déciment chaque jour, et qui

disparaîtront sans doute bientôt de la surface du globe.

Quant à M. Catlin, nous devrons à ses explorations et à sa collection

de ne pas voir tomber dans l'oubli les moeurs, les costumes, et

la physionomie de ces races, qui dans quelques siècles n'existeront

peut-être plus qu'à l'état de souvenir.

----*----

MONITEUR DE L'ARMÉE.

M. Catlin, c'est le nom de cet artiste plein de résolution et de

persévérance, a passé huit années au milieu des villages Indiens et sur

la prairie; il a connu tous les chefs des tribus et les guerriers les

plus renommés; il a assisté aux chasses dangereuses, aux jeux aminés

et quelquefois sanglans des sauvages; il a observé leurs coutumes et

leurs superstitions; il a recueilli leurs traditions orales, et tout

ce qu'il a vu, sous les yeux des Indiens, ses hôtes, et souvent au

péril de sa vie, il l'a représenté sur la toile, écrivant ainsi d'après

nature toute l'histoire de populations que la guerre, et surtout les

liqueurs fortes et la petite vérole, font décroitre d'année en année

dans une progression si rapide, que l'on peut prévoir que d'ici à

cinquante ans, la civilisation les pressant d'ailleurs et les refoulant

vers les montagnes, il ne restera peut-être plus d'elles que de très

petits groupes ou des individus isolés destinés à disparaître bientôt

de la terre. Les peaux ronges ne pouvant laisser aucune trace durable

de leur passage sur le globe,--car si quelques tribus out des cabanes

de terre, aucune n'a élevé de monumens qui puissent témoigner de leur

existence auprès des générations à venir--les résultats que M. Catlin a

si heureusement obtenus dans une entreprise si hasardeuse ne sauraient

être trop appréciés par les amis de la science, les ethnographes et les

artistes.

----*----

QUOTIDIENNE, Paris.

M. Catlin est un peintre plein de conscience et de talent, et un

voyageur aussi intrépide qu'intelligent, qui a passé huit ans de sa vie

à explorer les tribus sauvages du nord de l'Amérique et les rives du

Missouri. Les efforts et les travaux de cet Américain méritent qu'on

les examine avec attention, et qu'on les recommande à l'appréciation

des artistes et des savans.

----*----

GALIGNANI, 1845.

_The Catlin Museum._--The utter strangeness of this remarkable

exhibition--displaying, it may be said, a living _tableau_ of the

customs and habitudes of a race who, while the march of time has

been effecting the most extraordinary changes in the great family

of mankind, still remain in a primitive state of nature--at first

misunderstood by the Parisian public, has now become an object of

general and intense curiosity. Mr. Catlin's collection of the arms

and utensils of the various tribes, with their wigwams, the identical

habitations which have ere now sheltered them from the tempest in the

depths of some North American forest, they carry back the mind, as it

were, to the infancy of the human species, "when wild in woods the

noble savage ran." The illusion, for it nearly amounts to that, is

wonderfully aided by an examination of Catlin's sketches, taken upon

the spot, and often in the midst of the dangers he has depicted with

spirited fidelity. These paintings, boldly and rapidly thrown off,

are illustrative of every phase of savage existence. We have to thank

Mr. Catlin for an insight into the lives and history of this most

interesting race, which has all the charms of the wildest romance, but

which books can never supply.

----*----

GAZETTE DE FRANCE.

Grace à M. Catlin, l'anéantissement de ces intéressantes peuplades

n'est plus possible: leurs moeurs, leurs coutumes, leurs usages,

seront sans doute de sa part l'objet d'un travail consciencieux et

approfondi, en même temps que ces pinceaux conserveront les traits

et la physionomie de ces Peaux Rouges, que déjà le célèbre romancier

Américain nous avait fait connaître. Non content d'avoir transporté en

Europe les armes, les costumes, les tentes, et tous les instrumens qui

servent à l'usage des Indiens, et qui forment un singulier contraste

avec notre civilisation, M. Catlin a voulu que des monumens plus

durables conservassent le souvenir de ces sauvages de l'Amérique

du Nord; il a dessiné lui-même les portraits des Indiens les plus

remarquables, leurs danses, leur manière de fare la chasse, et leurs

expéditions guerrières.

On ne peut assez admirer comment un homme a pu tracer tant de figures

et de paysages, pris sur les lieux mêmes, dans des courses souvent

très longues et très fatigantes. C'est là un prodige de la science.

Assis au milieu des sauvages, M. Catlin employait son temps à retracer

sur la toile tout ce qu'il voyait. Aussi peut-on être assuré d'avoir

sous les yeux la représentation exacte des costumes des sauvages

du Nouveau-Monde. Si quelques-uns de ces portraits ne sont pas des

oeuvres d'art, du moins les savans leur doivent-ils l'histoire

d'une tribu sauvage, détruite entièrement par les ravages de la

petite-vérole. Sans M. Catlin, on ne saurait plus maintenant si elle a

existé, et son pinceau l'a sauvée de l'oubli.

----*----

L'ILLUSTRATION.

La présence à Paris des Indiens Y-o-Ways donne de l'àpropos au compte

rendu suivant d'un voyage chez les Indiens de l'Amérique du Nord,

voyage dû à M. Geo. Catlin, auquel un séjour de huit années parmi ces

diverses peuplades a permis de s'initier d'une manière complète a

leurs moeurs et à leurs habitudes. Dans un livre plein d'intérêt,

de faits curieux, de révélations si extraordinaires qu'on croit rêver

en les lisant, il a consigné les résultats de ses investigations et

des observations qu'il a recueillies sur une race d'hommes qui va

s'éteignant de jour en jour, et dont, sur l'affirmation de l'auteur,

il ne restera plus vestiges d'ici à peu d'années. Au charme de

ces récits, M. Geo. Catlin a ajouté des dessins d'une scrupuleuse

exactitude, des portraits des principaux chefs de tribus, dans leurs

riches costumes que nous aurons occasion de décrire, des paysages d'un

effet saisissant, des esquisses de jeux, de chasses, de cérémonies

religieuses, de combats, etc., etc. On peut donc dire que le livre

de M. Catlin est écrit aussi bien pour les hommes sérieux que pour

les grands enfants qui aiment tent les images, comme nous avouons les

aimer, et qui s'amuseront de la bizarrerie des costumes de tous ces

bons sauvages.

----*----

REVUE DE PARIS.

_Galerie Indienne de M. Catlin._--La salle Valentino, transformée en

une sorte de Musée Indien, au moyen des cinq à six cents peintures

et esquisses, exécutées toutes, d'après nature, par M. Catlin, cet

énergique et courageux voyageur, durant une pérégrination de huit

années, à travers l'immense territoire qui s'étend des Montagnes

Rocheuses aux derniers établissemens Américains ou Mexicains,--cette

salle offrait déjà un spectacle fort intéressant. M. Catlin a visité,

en bravant mille obstacles et souvent au péril de sa vie, quarante-huit

des tribus qui résident dans la prairie, où elles vivent dans un état

de guerre perpétuel. Installé sous le wigwam de l'Indien Corbeau ou

du Mandan, dans la cabane du Chérokee ou de l'Ariccara, il a exécuté

chacun des tableaux de cette immense collection ayant la nature

sous les yeux; aussi les présente-t-il au public plutôt comme des

_fac-similes_ identiques de la vie Indienne que comme des oeuvres

d'art. Ces _fac-similes_ sont on ne peut plus expressifs et curieux.

La collection des peintures de M. Catlin se compose de trois cent dix

portraits de chefs Indiens et de personnages de distinction, hommes ou

femmes de différentes tribus, et de deux cents esquisses représentant

les sites les plus remarquables des contrées qu'il a visitées, les

danses et les cérémonies des peuplades qui les habitent, et des scènes

de guerre et de chasse. C'est donc à la fois une représentation fidèle

de la physionomie du pays et des moeurs et coutumes de ses habitans,

représentation d'autant plus précieuse qu'elle a pour objet une race

qui s'éteint (_dying people_), et qui s'éteint avec une rapidité qui

tient du prodige.

----*----

MONITEUR INDUSTRIEL, Nov. 16, 1845.

Parmi tous les voyageurs qui ont exploré l'Amérique du Nord, aucun

ne s'est occupé des races Indiennes autant que M. Catlin. Presque

seul dans un canot d'écorce, il a suivi tout le cours du Missouri, et

pendant huit années il en a parcouru en tous sens l'immense bassin,

s'en allant de tribu en tribu, comme autrefois Hérodote, le père

de l'histoire, s'en allait de ville en ville, de région en région,

s'enquérant des moeurs, des traditions et des idées des populations

lointaines.

M. Catlin est encore dans la force de l'âge, mais ses traits pâlis

portent l'empreinte d'une vie déjà longuement et péniblement éprouvée.

Son abord est froidement poli, son visage sévère et pensif, comme celui

d'un homme qui a vu beaucoup de choses. Toute sa personne révèle une

indomptable énergie. En public, il parle l'Anglais avec une remarquable

puissance; il y a dans son accentuation quelque chose du magnifique

enthousiasme d'un poète.

Le grand ouvrage de M. Catlin est un beau monument élevé à la science;

il faut espérer qu'on songera à en donner une traduction Française.

Chemin fesant, M. Catlin a dessiné et peint une étrange collection de

vues, de scènes naturelles, de portraits d'indigènes et de scènes de

moeurs. Cette nombreuse collection de toiles doit nécessairement

se sentir de la rapidité forcée du travail, et des circonstances

difficiles d'exécution où s'est trouvé l'artiste dans un voyage à

travers les déserts de l'Ouest. On demeure, au contraire, étonné que le

courageux explorateur ait pu mettre dans de telles peintures autant de

mouvement et de vérité. Ici, c'est un troupeau de bisons surpris par

des chasseurs qui se traînent en rampant, couverts de peaux trompeuses;

là, c'est un guerrier à cheval, poursuivant son ennemi dans une

course, sans hyperbole, vraiment échevelée; plus loin, c'est une danse

frénétique, excitation à la volupté ou au carnage; ou bien des scènes

de tortures qui semblent copiées dans l'enfer.

----*----

INDEPENDANCE, BRUSSELS, JAN. 4, 1846.

_Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the

North American Indians_, by G. Catlin (Lettres et Notes sur les

Moeurs, les Coutumes, et l'Etat Social des Indiens du Nord

de l'Amérique, par George Catlin). 2 vol. ornés de plusieurs

centaines de planches.

Fils d'un homme de loi, élevé lui-même pour figurer au barreau, devenu

enfin avocat, M. Catlin aimait trop le grand air et les voyages pour

se laisser claquemurer dans l'antre de la chicane. Deux passions

d'ailleurs se partageaient sa vie: la pêche et la peinture. Quand

il n'était pas au bord d'une rivière, il était devant une toile, et

vice-versâ. Il apprit la peinture sans maître, y devint habile après

trois ou quatre ans d'études, et se demandait à quel but il dévouerait

son existence, et l'esprit un peu enthousiaste qui l'animait,

lorsqu'arrivèrent à Washington, des pays bien loin à l'Ouest, une

douzaine d'Indiens au port noble et majestueux, accoutrés de leurs

vêtements bizarres, mais pittoresques, la tête ornée de leur casque,

le bras chargé de leur bouclier, le corps ceint de la tunique de peau

d'antilope, les épaules couvertes du manteau de buffle.

Ces braves gens firent l'admiration des gamins et du beau monde de

Washington et donnèrent beaucoup à réfléchir à notre peintre. Il se

dit que les vêtements de la civilisation ne servaient pas seulement à

voiler, mais à gâter la grâce et la beauté naturelles, que l'homme non

garrotté dans les liens de l'art, devait offrir à l'artiste le plus

magnifique modèle, et que l'histoire et les coutumes des peuplades

sauvages étaient des sujets dignes d'occuper la vie d'un homme.

Ces réflexions étaient à peine achevées que M. Catlin prit son parti.

Il consulta bien pour la forme quelques amis qui essayèrent de le

détourner de son projet; ils lui représentèrent les dangers auxquels

il allait s'exposer, les fatigues inouïes qu'il aurait à supporter

et bien d'autres arguments auxquels il fut insensible. M. Catlin fit

ses paquets qui n'étaient pas lourds, et qui se composaient de toiles

roulées, de brosses, de couleurs, de papier et de crayons; il mit

sa carabine en bandouliere; et le bâton blanc à la main il partit

pour l'Ouest en quête d'aventures, de Peaux-Rouges, de buffles et de

prairies.

Mais au train dont marchent les Yankees, il avait long à aller avant

d'atteindre les vastes solitudes où sont encore disséminées les

peuplades sauvages. La civilisation le poursuivait partout; là où

il espérait voyager en canot, il était forcé de prendre le bateau à

vapeur; là où il se croyait au milieu des sauvages, il se trouvait

avec des compatriotes; l'Ouest, but de son voyage, semblait le fuir à

mesure qu'il en approchait. Il maudissait les pionniers qui avec leur

bêche et leur marteau ont implanté la civilisation dans les parties

les plus reculées de l'Amérique, et il désespérait de rencontrer les

Peaux-Rouges qui devenaient un mythe pour lui, lorsqu'il tomba au

milieu d'un village Mandan. Sa joie fut un peu calmée en apercevant

que la civilisation avait encore passé par là sous la forme d'un agent

de la compagnie des fourrures du Missouri. Mais il restait assez de

sauvagerie dans la localité pour le satisfaire provisoirement. Quand

il eut bien vu et bien observé, quand il eut bien fumé le calumet de

paix; bien vécu sur un quartier de buffle braisé, bien dormi sous le

wigwam hospitalier, et "pourtraicté" le chef Mandan, revêtu de son

grand costume de guerre, depuis les cornes de buffle dont il s'orne le

front jusqu'à ses mocassins brodés de paille, y compris la longue bande

de plumes d'aigle qui descend depuis le derrière de la tête jusqu'aux

talons, M. Catlin reprit sa course vers les regions inconnues, en

s'arrêtant en route chaque fois qu'un site ou quelques aventures ou des

figures d'Indiens fournissaient des sujets à son pinceau.

M. Catlin est resté huit ans en voyage; il a visité quarante-huit

tribus dont la population totale s'élevaient à plusieurs centaines

de mille individus. Il a rapporté chez lui 350 portraits à l'huile

d'Indiens, 200 tableaux représentant des vues de leurs villages, leurs

wigwams, leurs jeux, et leurs cérémonies religieuses, leurs danses,

leurs chasses, des paysages admirables, et enfin une nombreuse et

très-curieuse collection de leurs costumes et vêtements, et d'autres

objets de leur fabrique, depuis une de leurs maisons jusqu'à de petits

riens qui leur servent de jouets.

Toute cette collection avec les portraits et les tableaux figurent

au Louvre où le Roi Louis-Philippe leur a fait donner une place. La

galerie Indienne de l'Amérique du Nord, de M. Catlin, est bien connue

et montre le résultat auquel peut arriver un homme entreprenant,

patient et ferme qu'inspirent le goût de l'art et une certaine dose

d'enthousiasme.

C'est l'histoire de cet intéressant voyage que M. Catlin a écrite dans

une série de lettres au nombre de 58, et accompagnées de 310 gravures

au trait et de cartes géographiques. Ces lettres étaient écrites sur

les lieux et envoyées par des Indiens jusqu'aux bureaus de postes

placés par cette maudite civilisation jusqu'aux frontières les plus

reculées de l'Ouest.

Peu de livres ont plus d'intérêt que celui de M. Catlin. On lit cet

ouvrage avec le plaisir que l'on prendrait à la lecture d'un bon roman,

s'il y avait encore de bons romans pour servir de point de comparaison.

On suit M. Catlin dans ses courses vagabondes, on aime avec lui ces

Indiens qu'il a toujours trouvés francs et hospitaliers, généreux

et dignes. Ces Indiens si méconnus ont, quoique sauvages, toutes

les qualités qui distinguent l'épicier le plus civilisé de la rue

Saint-Denis, caporal de la garde nationale; comme celui-ci, ils sont

bons pères, bons époux, amis dévoués; la seule différence entr'eux,

c'est qu'ils ne payent pas très-exactement leurs contributions par

la raison qu'on ne leur en demande pas, et qu'ils ne montent pas

assidument leur garde, par l'autre raison qu'on ne connaît pas les

guérites dans ce pays.

Une Odyssée de huit ans a fait apprécier à M. Catlin les mérites et les

vertus des sauvages; et, après avoir lu son livre, j'ai fini par croire

avec Jean-Jacques Rousseau que l'homme, tel que nous avons le malheur

de le connaître, est un animal dépravé par la civilisation.

Rien de plus touchant que l'apologie des Indiens faite par M. Catlin,

dans sa neuvième lettre; partout où il peut mettre en saillie la

noblesse de leur caractère, M. Catlin le fait avec bonheur; il se

souvient du bon temps passé au milieu d'eux, des marques d'affection

qu'ils lui out données, et il les venge du mépris que les civilisés

déversent sur ces pauvres et braves gens, contents de leur sort, sans

regret du passé, sans souci de l'avenir, sans autres lois que celles de

l'honneur qui est tout puissant chez eux.

Tous ceux qui ont lu les admirables romans de Cooper retrouvent dans

l'ouvrage de M. Catlin les scènes, mais cette fois vraies, animées,

vivantes, décrites avec tant de talent par le fécond romancier

Américain. M. Catlin a décrit aussi l'embrâsement des prairies, et

pouvait dire: _Quorum pars magna fui_; car il ne dut qu'à la vitesse de

son "pony" Indien d'échapper à la flamme immense qui courait sur lui

avec plus de rapidité qu'une locomotive lancée à fond de train. J'étais

en sûreté, dit-il, que je tremblais encore. Une autre fois, plus de

2000 buffles se jettent à l'eau pour atteindre le canot dans lequel

il nageait, et c'est à grand'peine qu'il se sauve et que le canot ne

chavire pas, soulevé par le dos d'un de ces animaux; une autre fois

encore, il se rencontre nez à nez avec une ourse grise accompagnée de

ses deux petits, bête énorme de la taille d'un rhinocéros et qui vous

dépèce un homme en un tour de main, à l'aide de ses ongles longs d'un

décimètre et larges à la base de cinq centimètres pour finir par la

pointe la plus aiguë.

Un des plus agréables épisodes de ce voyage, c'est la rencontre que

fait M. Catlin, dans un immense désert et au détour d'un bois, d'un

trappeur Canadien qui sifflait entre ses lèvres un vaudeville Français

du temps de Louis XIV. et se mit à entrer en conversation avec M.

Catlin, moyennant un langage dans lequel le Français, l'Anglais et

l'Indien entraient chacun pour un tiers. L'honnête Baptiste, descendant

d'un de ces hommes que les racoleurs allaient _presser_ sur le quai

de la Ferraille pour en faire des colons _volontaires_ destinés à

peupler le Canada, devint le compagnon de voyage de M. Catlin, le

Vendredi dévoué de ce nouveau Robinson de terre ferme, et n'est pas le

personnage le moins intéressant de la relation.

M. Catlin, indépendamment de son mérite d'écrivain et de dessinateur,

aura celui d'avoir donné l'histoire la plus complète des moeurs de

ces peuplades que la civilisation balaye devant elle et qu'elle tue

avec de l'eau-de-vie et la variole. Ces peuplades, autrefois maîtresses

du grand continent du nord de l'Amérique, s'éteignent rapidement;

leur mémoire s'éteindrait même si de hardis voyageurs n'allaient pas

recueillir parmi elles les renseignements qui peuvent la préserver

de l'oubli. Au nombre de ces voyageurs il faut citer au premier rang

l'honorable M. Catlin, qui a rectifié bien des idées erronnées et fait

connaître bien des faits jusqu'ici ignorés.

APPENDIX--(B).

MUSEUM OF HISTORY.

_Established 1844._

This institution is intended to illustrate the History of Man by means

of popular Lectures, aided and enforced by scenery, maps, and national

costumes, adding every scenic attraction to the higher views of

instruction, and combining art, history, philology, and geography; the

audience, as it were, being thus transported to the sites themselves.

It is also in contemplation to add _gradually_, as funds shall

accumulate--

1. Models and coloured portraits of the races of man.

2. A gallery of architectural models.

3. A cabinet of coins and inscriptions.

4. Collection of views and drawings.

5. Collection of objects illustrative of the arts, sciences,

navigation, commerce, agriculture, amusements, and domestic

economy of ancient and modern nations.

6. Specimens of manufactures.

7. A library and reading-room, to contain the principal British

and foreign periodicals and newspapers, and without distinction of

party; as also the latest publications on subjects connected with

the objects of the institution.

The transactions of the institution will be published.

Illustrated lectures will be given on ancient and modern history, as

also on New Zealand and Australia, embracing the modern settlements,

and their capabilities for the colonist or emigrant.

Amongst the illustrated lectures to be given will be the following:--

On the Grecians.

On the Byzantines.

On the Modern Greeks.

On the Egyptians.

On the Arabians.

On the Romans.

On Russia and Siberia.

On New Zealand.

On Japan.

On the Ruined Cities of America.

With the aid of transparent maps (on a scale never before attempted)

the spectator can follow the historian or traveller step by step, and

with the advantages and beauties of scenery combined, is enabled to

locate, classify, define, and retain the knowledge thus acquired.

The scenery and machinery have been so constructed, that whilst one

series is used in London, others may be speedily sent to Edinburgh and

elsewhere, where branch societies will be formed.

The management of the institution to be vested in a council elected by

the subscribers, two of whom to retire annually, who may however be

eligible for re-election.

TERMS.

For permanently reserved places at the lectures, five guineas per annum.

Ordinary subscribers, two guineas per annum.

Authors, artists, ladies, members of learned societies, and foreigners,

one guinea per annum.

Ambassadors, foreign ministers, consuls, and secretaries of learned

societies _only_ can become honorary members.

Admission to the public, two shillings for reserved places at the

lectures; one shilling for ordinary visitors.

Subscribers to possess the right to be present at all lectures.

Subscribers to meet annually.

Trustees and auditors to be chosen by the subscribers.

* * * * *

All communications may be addressed to W. H. SHIPPARD, Esq.,

Turnham Green.

_Museum of History,

28th April, 1845._

A DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE

OF

CATLIN'S INDIAN COLLECTION;

CONTAINING

PORTRAITS, LANDSCAPES, COSTUMES, ETC.,

AND

REPRESENTATIONS OF THE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS

OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS.

COLLECTED AND PAINTED ENTIRELY BY MR. CATLIN,

DURING EIGHT YEARS' TRAVEL AMONGST FORTY-EIGHT TRIBES, MOSTLY SPEAKING

DIFFERENT LANGUAGES.

_Exhibited three years, with great success, in the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly,

London._

I wish to inform the visitors to my Collection that, having some

years since become fully convinced of the rapid decline and certain

extinction of the numerous tribes of the North American Indians;

and seeing also the vast importance and value which a full _pictorial

history_ of these interesting but dying people might be to future

ages--I sat out alone, unaided and unadvised, resolved (if my life

should be spared), by the aid of my brush and my pen, to rescue

from oblivion so much of their primitive looks and customs as the

industry and ardent enthusiasm of one lifetime could accomplish,

and set them up in a _Gallery unique and imperishable_, for the use

and benefit of future ages.

I devoted eight years of my life exclusively to the accomplishment

of my design, and that with more than expected success.

I visited with great difficulty, and some hazard to life, forty-eight

tribes (residing within the United States, British, and

Mexican Territories), containing about half a million of souls. I

have seen them in their own villages, have carried my canvas and

colours the whole way, and painted my portraits, &c., from the life,

as they now stand and are seen in the Gallery.

The collection contains (besides an immense number of costumes

and other manufactures) near six hundred paintings, 350 of which

are _Portraits_ of distinguished men and women of the different

tribes, and 250 _other Paintings_, descriptive of _Indian Countries_,

their _Villages_, _Games_, and _Customs_; containing in all above 3000

figures.

As this immense collection has been gathered, and _every painting

has been made from nature_, BY MY OWN HAND--and that too

when I have been paddling my canoe, or leading my pack-horse

over and through trackless wilds, at the hazard of my life--the

world will surely be kind and indulgent enough to receive and

estimate them, as they have been intended, as _true and fac-simile

traces of individual life and historical facts_, and forgive me for

their present unfinished and unstudied condition as works of art.

GEO. CATLIN.

INDIAN PORTRAITS.

CERTIFICATES.

----*----

I hereby certify that the persons whose signatures are affixed to the certificates

used below, by Mr. Catlin, are officers in the service of the United States,

as herein set forth: and that their opinions of the accuracy of the likenesses, and

correctness of the views, &c., exhibited by him in his "Indian Gallery," are

entitled to full credit,

J. E. POINSETT, Secretary of War, Washington.

----*----

With regard to the gentlemen whose names are affixed to certificates

below, I am fully warranted in saying, that no individuals have had

better opportunities of acquiring a knowledge of the persons, habits,

costumes, and sports of the Indian tribes, or possess stronger claims

upon the public confidence in the statements they make respecting the

correctness of delineations, &c., of Mr. Catlin's "Indian Gallery;" and

I may add my own testimony, with regard to many of those Indians whom

I have seen, and whose likenesses are in the collection, and sketched

with fidelity and correctness.

C. A. HARRIS, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Washington.

----*----

I have seen Mr. Catlin's collection of Portraits of Indians, many of

which were familiar to me, and painted in my presence; and, as far

as they have included Indians of my acquaintance, the _likenesses_

are easily recognised, bearing the most striking resemblance to the

originals, as well as faithful representations of their costumes.

W. CLARK, Superintendent of Indian Affairs, St. Louis.

----*----

I have examined Mr. Catlin's collection of the Upper Missouri Indians

to the Rocky Mountains, all of which I am acquainted with, and indeed

most of them were painted when I was present, and I do not hesitate to

pronounce them correct likenesses, and readily to be recognised. And

I consider the _costumes_, as painted by him, to be the _only correct

representations_ I have ever seen.

JOHN F. A. SANFORD,

U. SS. Indian Agent for Mandans, Rickarees, Minatarees,

Crows, Knisteneaux, Assinneboins, Blackfeet, &c.

----*----

Having examined Mr. Catlin's collection of Portraits of Indians of the

Missouri and Rocky Mountains, I have no hesitation in pronouncing them,

so far as I am acquainted with the individuals, to be the best I have

ever seen, both as regards the expression of countenance and the exact

and complete manner in which the costume has been painted by him.

J. L. BEAN, S. Agent for Indian Affairs.

----*----

I have been for many years past in familiar acquaintance with the

Indian tribes of the Upper Missouri and the Rocky Mountains, and

also with the landscape and other scenes represented in Mr. Catlin's

collection, and it gives me great pleasure to assure the world that, on

looking them over, I found the likenesses of my old friends easily to

be recognised, and his sketches of Manners and Customs to be portrayed

with singular truth and correctness.

J. PILCHER, Agent for Upper Missouri Indians.

----*----

It gives me great pleasure in being enabled to add my name to the list

of those who have spontaneously expressed their approbation of Mr.

Catlin's collection of Indian Paintings. His collection of materials

places it in his power to throw much light on the Indian character;

and his portraits, so far as I have seen them, are drawn with great

fidelity as to character and likeness.

H. SCHOOLCRAFT, Indian Agent for Wisconsin Territory.

----*----

Having lived and dealt with the Black feet Indians for five years

past, I was enabled to recognise _every one_ of the portraits of those

people, and of the Crows also, which Mr. Catlin has in his collection,

from the faithful likenesses they bore to the originals.

_St. Louis_, 1835.

J. E. BRAZEAU.

----*----

Having spent sixteen years in the continual acquaintance with the

Indians of the several tribes of the Missouri represented in Mr.

Catlin's Gallery of Indian Paintings, I was enabled to judge of the

correctness of the likenesses, and I _instantly recognised every one of

them_, when I looked them over, from the striking resemblance they bore

to the originals; so also of the landscapes on the Missouri.

HONORE PICOTTE.

----*----

The portraits in the possession of Mr. Catlin of Pawnee Picts, Kioways,

Camanches, Wecos, and Osages, were painted by him _from life_, when

on a tour to their country with the United States Dragoons. The

_likenesses_ are good, very easily to be recognised, and the _costumes_

faithfully represented.

HENRY DODGE, Col. of Drag.

R. H. MASON, Major of ditto.

D. HUNTER, Capt. of ditto.

D. PERKINS, Capt. of Drag.

M. DUNCAN, ditto.

T. B. WHEELOCK, Lieut, ditto.

----*----

We have seen Mr. Catlin's Portraits of Indians east of the Rocky

Mountains, many of which are familiar to us: the likenesses are easily

recognised, bearing a strong resemblance to the originals, as well as a

faithful representation of their costumes.

J. DOUGHERTY, Indian Agent.

J. GANTT.

_November 27th, 1837._

----*----

We hereby certify that the portraits of the Grand Pawnees, Republican

Pawnees, Pawnee Loups, Tappage Pawnees, Otoes, Omahaws, and Missouries,

which are in Mr. Catlin's Indian Gallery, were painted from life by

Mr. George Catlin, and that the individuals sat to him in the costumes

precisely in which they are painted.

J. DOUGHERTY, I. A. for Pawnees, Omahaws, and Otoes.

J. GANTT.

_New York, 1837._

----*----

I have seen Mr. Catlin's collection of Indian Portraits, many of which

were familiar to me, and painted in my presence at their own villages.

I have spent the greater part of my life amongst the tribes and

individuals he has represented, and I do not hesitate to pronounce them

correct likenesses, and easily recognised; also his sketches of their

_manners_ and _customs_, I think, are excellent; and the _landscape

views_ on the Missouri and Mississippi are correct representations.

K. M'KENZIE, of the Am. Fur Co., Mouth of Yellow Stone.

----*----

We hereby certify that the portraits of Seminoles and Euchees, named in

this catalogue, were painted by George Catlin, from the life, at Fort

Moultrie; that the Indians sat or stood in the costumes precisely in

which they are painted, and that the likenesses are remarkably good.

P. MORRISON, Capt. 4th Inft.

J. S. HATHAWAY, 2nd Lieut. 1st Art.

H. WHARTON, 2nd Lieut. 6th Inft.

F. WEEDON, Assistant-Surgeon.

_Fort Moultrie, Jan. 26, 1838._

----*----

In addition to the above certificates, nearly every portrait has

inseparably attached to its back an _individual_ certificate, signed by

Indian agents, officers of the army, or other persons, who were present

when the picture was painted. The form of these certificates is as

follows:--

No. 131, BLACKFOOT, PE-TOH-PE-KISS (THE EAGLE-RIBS).

I hereby certify that this portrait was painted from the life, at Fort

Union, mouth of Yellow Stone, in the year 1832, by George Catlin, and

that the Indian sat in the costume in which it is painted.

JOHN F. A. SANFORD, United States Indian Agent.

_Légation des Etats Unis, Paris, Dec. 8, 1841._

DEAR SIR,

No man can appreciate better than myself the admirable fidelity of

your drawings and book which I have lately received. They are equally

spirited and accurate--they are true to nature. Things that _are_ are

not sacrificed, as they too often are by the painter, to things as in

his judgment they should be.

During eighteen years of my life I was Superintendent of Indian Affairs

in the north-western territory of the United States; and during more

than five I was Secretary of War, to which department belongs the

general control of Indian concerns. I know the Indians thoroughly--I

have spent many a month in their camps, council-houses, villages,

and hunting-grounds--I have fought with them and against them--and I

have negotiated seventeen treaties of peace or of cession with them.

I mention these circumstances to show you that I have a good right

to speak confidently upon the subject of your drawings. Among them I

recognise many of my old acquaintances, and everywhere I am struck with

the vivid representations of them and their customs, of their peculiar

features, and of their costumes. Unfortunately they are receding before

the advancing tide of our population, and are probably destined, at no

distant day, wholly to disappear; but your collection will preserve

them, as far as human art can do, and will form the most perfect

monument of an extinguished race that the world has ever seen.

LEWIS CASS.

_To George Catlin._

----*----

_Cottage, Haddington, 15th April, 1843._

DEAR SIR,

I have enjoyed much pleasure in attending your lectures at the Waterloo

Rooms in Edinburgh. Your delineations of the Indian character, the

display of beautiful costumes, and the native Indian manners, true to

the life, realised to my mind and view scenes I had so often witnessed

in the parts of the Indian countries where I had been; and for twenty

years' peregrinations in those parts, from Montreal to the Great Slave

River north, and from the shores of the Atlantic, crossing the Rocky

Mountains, to the mouth of the Columbia River, on the Pacific Ocean,

west, I had opportunities of seeing much. Your lectures and exhibition

have afforded me great pleasure and satisfaction, and I shall wish you

all that success which you so eminently deserve for the rich treat

which you have afforded in our enlightened, literary, and scientific

metropolis.

I remain, dear Sir, yours very truly,

JOHN HALDANE.

_To George Catlin, Esq._

The following is an extract of a letter received some days since by a

gentleman in Edinburgh, from Mr. James Hargrave, of the Hudson's Bay

Company, dated York Factory, Hudson's Bay, 10th December, 1842:--

"Should you happen to fall in with Catlin's Letters on the North

American Indians, I would strongly recommend a perusal of them for

the purpose of acquiring a knowledge of the habits and customs of

those tribes among whom he was placed. Catlin's sketches are true

to life, and are powerfully descriptive of their appearance and

character."

CATLIN'S INDIAN COLLECTION

INDIAN PORTRAITS.

SACS (SÁU-KIES).

A Tribe of Indians residing on the Upper Mississippi and Desmoines

rivers. Present number (in 1840) about 5000. The smallpox carried

off half their population a few years since; and a considerable

number were destroyed in the "Black Hawk War" in 1832-3. This tribe

shave the head, leaving only a small tuft of hair on the top, which

is called the "scalplock."

[The _acute accent_ is used in the spelling of the Indian names merely

to denote the emphasis.]

1. _Kee-o-kúk_, the Running Fox; present Chief of the Tribe.

Shield on his arm and staff of office (sceptre) in his hand;

necklace of grisly bear's claws, over the skin of a white

wolf, on his neck.

This man, during the Black Hawk War, kept two-thirds of the

warriors of the tribe neutral, and was therefore appointed chief by

General Scott, in treaty, with the consent of the nation.

2. _Múk-a-tah-mish-o-káh-kaik_, the Black Hawk; in his war dress

and paint. Strings of wampum in his ears and on his neck, and

his _medicine-bag_ (the skin of the black hawk) on his arm.

This is the man famed as the conductor of the Black Hawk War.

Painted at the close of the war, while he was a prisoner at

Jefferson Barracks, in 1832.

3. _Náh-se-ús-kuk_, the Whirling Thunder; eldest son of Black

Hawk.

A very handsome man. He distinguished himself in the Black Hawk War.

4. _Wa-sáw-me-saw_, the Roaring Thunder; youngest son of Black

Hawk.

Painted while a prisoner of war.

5. ( ), wife of Kee-o-kúk (No. 1); in a dress of civilized

manufacture, ornamented with silver brooches.

This woman is the eldest of seven wives whom I saw in his lodge,

and, being the mother of his favourite son, the most valued one. To

her alone would he allow the distinguished honour of being painted

and hung up with the chiefs.

6. _Me-sóu-wahk_, the Deer's Hair; the favourite son of

Kee-o-kúk, and by him designated to be his successor.

7. _Wah-pe-kée-suck_, White Cloud, called the "Prophet;" one of

Black Hawk's principal warriors and advisers.

Was a prisoner of war with Black Hawk, and travelled with him

through the Eastern States.

8. _Náh-pope_, the Soup; another of Black Hawk's principal

advisers; and travelled with him, when he was a prisoner of

war, to the Eastern cities.

He desired to be painted with a white flag in his hand.

9. _Ah-móu-a_, the Whale, one of Kee-o-kúk's principal braves;

holding a handsome war-club in his hand.

10. _Wa-quóth-e-qua_, the Buck's Wife, or Female Deer; the wife

of Ah-móu-a.

11. _Pash-ee-pa-hó_, the Little Stabbing Chief; holding his staff

of office in his hand, shield and pipe.

A very venerable old man, who has been for many years the first

civil chief of the Sacs and Foxes.

12. _I-o-wáy_, the Ioway; one of Black Hawk's principal warriors;

his body curiously ornamented with his "war-paint."

13. _Pam-a-hó_, the Swimmer; one of Black Hawk's warriors.

Very distinguished.

14. _No-kúk-qua_, the Bear's Fat.

15. _Pash-ee-pa-hó_, the Little Stabbing Chief (the younger); one

of Black Hawk's braves.

16. _Wáh-pa-ko-lás-kuk_, the Bear's Track.

FOXES.

On the Desmoines River; present number (in 1840), 1500.

17. _Aíh-no-wa_, the Fire; a doctor or _"medicine" man_; one half

of his body painted red, and the other yellow.

18. _Wée-sheet_, the Sturgeon's Head; one of Black Hawk's

principal warriors; his body most singularly ornamented with

his _war-paint_.

This man held a spear in his hand, with which, he assured me, he

killed four white men during the war.

19, 20, 21. Three in a group; names not known.

KON-ZAS.

A tribe of 1560 souls, residing on the Konza river, sixty or eighty

miles west of the Missouri. Uncivilized remains of a powerful and warlike

tribe. One-half died with the smallpox a few years since. This tribe

shave the head like the Osages, Sacs, and Foxes.

22. _Shó-me-kós-see_, the Wolf; one of the Chiefs; his head curiously

ornamented, and numerous strings of wampum on his

neck.

23. _Jee-hé-o-hó-shah_, He who cannot be thrown down; a warrior.

24. _Wá-hón-ga-shee_, No Fool; a very great fop.

Used half the day in painting his face, preparing to sit for his picture.

25. _Meach-o-shín-gaw_, Little White Bear; a spirited and distinguished

brave, with a scalping-knife grasped in his hand.

26. _O-rón-gás-see_, the Bear-catcher; a celebrated warrior.

27. _Chésh-oo-hong-ha_, the Man of Good Sense; a handsome

young warrior; style of his head-dress like the Grecian

helmet.

28. _Hón-je-a-pút-o_, a woman; wife of O-rón-gás-see.

O-SÁGE, OR WA-SÁW-SEE.

A tribe in their primitive state, inhabiting the head-waters of

the Arkansas and Neosho or Grand Rivers, 700 miles west of the

Mississippi. Present number of the tribe, 5200; residing in three

villages; wigwams built of barks and flags, or reeds. The Osages

are the tallest men on the continent, the most of them being over

six feet in stature, and many of them seven. This tribe shave the

head, leaving a small tuft on the top, called the "scalp-lock."

29. _Cler-mónt_, ----; first Chief of the tribe; with his

war-club in his hand, and his leggins fringed with

scalp-locks taken from his enemies' heads.

This man is the son of an old and celebrated chief of that name,

who died a few years since.

30. _Wáh-chee-te_, ----; woman and child; wife of Cler-mónt.

31. _Tchong-tas-sáb-bee_, the Black Dog; second Chief of the

Osages; with his pipe in one hand and tomahawk in the other;

head shaved, and ornamented with a crest made of the deer's

tail, coloured red.

This is the largest man in the Osage nation, and blind in his left

eye.

32. _Tál-lee_,----; an Osage warrior of distinction; with his

shield, bow, and quiver.

33. _Wa-ho-béck-ee_,----; a brave; said to be the handsomest

man in the nation; with a profusion of wampum on

his neck, and a fan in his hand made of the eagle's

tail. 34. _Mun-ne-pús-kee_, He who is not afraid. }

} 35. _Ko-ha-túnk-a_, the Big Crow. } group. } 36.

_Nah-cóm-ee-shee_, Man of the Bed. }

Three distinguished young warriors, who desired to be painted on

one canvas.

37. _Moi-eén-e-shee_, the Constant Walker.

38. _Wa-másh-ee-sheek_, He who takes away. }

}

39. _Wa-chésh-uk_, War. } group.

}

40. _Mink-chésk_,----. }

Three distinguished young men, full length.

41. _Tcha-tó-ga_, Mad Buffalo; bow and quiver on his back.

This man was tried and convicted for the murder of two white men,

under Mr. Adams's administration, and was afterwards pardoned, but

is held in disgrace in his tribe since.

42. _Wash-ím-pe-shee_, the Madman; a distinguished warrior; full

length.

43. _Pa-hú-sha_, White Hair; the younger; with lance and quiver.

Chief of a band, and rival of Cler-mónt.

44. _Shin-ga-wás-sa_, the Handsome Bird; a splendid-looking

fellow, six feet eight inches high; with war-club and quiver.

45. _Cáh-he-ga-shín-ga_, the Little Chief; full-length, with bow

and quiver.

CA-MÁN-CHEES.

One of the most powerful and hostile tribes in North America,

inhabiting the western parts of Texas and the Mexican provinces,

and the south-western part of the territory of the United States

near the Rocky Mountains; entirely wild and predatory in their

habits; the most expert and effective lancers and horsemen on the

continent. Numbering some 25,000 or 30,000; living in skin lodges

or wigwams; well mounted on wild horses; continually at war with

the Mexicans, Texians, and Indian tribes of the north-west.

46. _Eé-shah-kó-nee_, the Bow and Quiver; first Chief of the

tribe. Boar's tusk on his breast, and rich shells in his ears.

47. _Ta-wáh-que-nah_, the Mountain of Rocks; second Chief of the

tribe, and largest man in the nation.

This man received the United States Regiment of Dragoons with great

kindness at his village, which was beautifully situated at the base

of a huge spur of the Rocky Mountains: he has decidedly African

features, and a beard of two inches in length on his chin.

48. _Ish-a-ró-yeh_, He who carries a Wolf; a distinguished

brave; so called from the circumstance of his carrying a

_medicine-bag_ made of the skin of a wolf: he holds a whip in

his hand.

This man piloted the dragoons to the Camanchee village, and

received a handsome rifle from Colonel Dodge for so doing.

49. _Kots-o-kó-ro-kó_, the Hair of the Bull's Neck; third grade

Chief; shield on his arm and gun in his hand.

50. _Is-sa-wáh-tám-ah_, the Wolf tied with Hair; a Chief, third

rate: pipe in his hand.

51. _His-oo-sán-chees_, the Little Spaniard; a brave of the

highest order in his tribe; armed as a warrior, with shield,

bow and quiver, lance fourteen feet long, and war-knife.

This was the first of the Camanchees who daringly left his own

war-party and came to the regiment of dragoons, and spoke with

our interpreter, inviting us to go to their village. A man of

low stature, but of the most remarkable strength and daring

courage.--See him approaching the dragoons on horseback, No. 489.

52. _Háh-nee_, the Beaver; a warrior of terrible aspect.

53-54. Two Camanchee Girls (sisters), showing the wigwam of the

Chief, his dogs, and his five children.

PAW-NEE PÍCTS (['T]OW-EE-AHGE).

A wild and hostile tribe, numbering about 6000, adjoining the

Camanchees on the north. This tribe and the Camanchees are in

league with each other, joining in war and in the chase.

55. _Wee-tá-ra-shá-ro_,----; head Chief; an old and very

venerable man.

This man embraced Colonel Dodge, and others of the dragoon officers

in council, in his village, and otherwise treated them with great

kindness, theirs being the first visit ever made to them by white

people.

56. _Sky-se-ró-ka_,----; second Chief of the tribe.

A fine-looking and remarkably shrewd and intelligent man.

57. _Kid-á-day_,----; a brave of distinction.

58. _Káh-kée-tsee_, the Thighs. } } 59. _Shé-de-ah_, Wild Sage. }

Both of these women were prisoners amongst the Osages; they were

purchased by the Indian Commissioner, and sent home to the nation

by the dragoons.

60. _A[h´]-sho-cole_, Rotten Foot; a noted warrior.

61. _A[h´]-re-ka[h´]-na-có-chee_, the Mad Elk; a great warrior.

KÍ-O-WA.

Also a wild and predatory tribe of 5000 or 6000, living on the west

of the Pawnee Picts and Camanchees, and also in alliance with those

warlike and powerful tribes. They inhabit the base of, and extend

their wars and hunts through a great extent of the Rocky Mountains:

and, like the Camanchees, are expert and wonderful horsemen.

62. _Téh-tóot-sah_,----, first Chief.

This man treated the dragoons with great kindness in his country,

and came in with us to Fort Gibson; his hair was very long,

extending down as low as his knees, and put up in clubs, and

ornamented with silver brooches.

63. _Kotz-a-tó-ah_, the Smoked Shield; a distinguished warrior;

full-length.

64. _Bón-són-gee_, New Fire; Chief of a band; boar's tusk and

war-whistle on his breast.

65. _Quáy-hám-kay_, the Stone Shell; a brave, and a good specimen

of the wild untutored savage.

66. _Túnk-aht-óh-ye_ the Thunderer (boy).

67. _Wun-pán-to-mee_, the White Weasel (girl).

This boy and girl, who had been for several years prisoners amongst

the Osages, were purchased by the Indian Commissioner; the girl was

sent home to her nation by the dragoons, and the boy was killed by

a ram the day before we started. They were brother and sister.

WÉE-CO.

A small tribe, living near to, and under the protection of, the

Pawnee Picts, speaking an unknown language; probably the remnant of

a tribe conquered and enslaved by the Pawnee Picts.

68. _U'sh-ee-kitz_, He who fights with a Feather. Chief of the

tribe.

This man came into Fort Gibson with the dragoons; he was famous for

a custom he observed after all his speeches, of _embracing_ the

officers and chiefs in council.

SIÓUX (DAH-CÓ-TA).

This is one of the most numerous and powerful tribes at present

existing on the continent, numbering, undoubtedly, some 40,000,

occupying a vast tract of country on the upper waters of the

Mississippi and Missouri rivers, and extending quite to the base of

the Rocky Mountains. They live in skin lodges, and move them about

the prairies, without any permanent residence. This tribe lost

about 8000 by smallpox a few years since.

69. _Ha-wón-je-tah_, the One Horn; first Chief of the tribe;

_Mee-ne-cow-e-gee_ band, Upper Missouri; hair tied on his

head in form of a turban, and filled with glue and red earth,

or vermilion.

The Sioux have forty-one bands; every band has a chief, and this

man was head of all: he has been recently killed by a buffalo-bull.

#/

70. _Wá-nah-de-túnk-ah_, the Big Eagle, or Black Dog;

at the Falls of St. Anthony. Chief of the

_O-hah-has-ka-toh-y-an-te_, or _Long Avenue_ band.

71. _Tchán-dee_, Tobacco; second Chief of the nation, of the

_O-gla-la_ band, Upper Missouri.

72. _Wán-ee-ton_, ----; Chief of the _Sus-se-ton_ band, Upper

Missouri; full-length, in a splendid dress; head-dress of

war-eagle's quills and ermine, and painted robe.

One of the most noted and dignified, as well as graceful chiefs of

the Sioux tribe.

73. _Tóh-to-wah-kón-da-pee_, the Blue Medicine; a noted

"medicine-man," or doctor, at the St. Peter's, of the

_Ting-ta-to-ah_ band; with his _medicine_ or mystery drum and

rattle in his hands, his looking-glass on his breast, his

rattle of antelope's hoofs, and drum of deer-skins.

These "_medicine-men_" are conjurers as well as physicians,

paying their dernier visits to the sick, with their _mysteries_,

endeavouring and pretending to cure by a charm.

74. _Ah-nó-je-nahge_, He who stands on both Sides; and

75. _We-chúsh-ta-dóo-ta_, the Red Man; the two most distinguished

ball-players of the Sioux tribe, in their ball-play dress, with

their ball-sticks in their hands.

In this beautiful and favourite game, each player is adorned with

an embroidered belt, and a tail of beautiful quills or horse-hair;

the arms, legs, and feet are always naked, and curiously painted.

(See two paintings of ball-plays, and further description of the

game, under _Amusements_, Nos. 428, 429, 430, and the ball-sticks

among the manufactures.)

76. _Ka-pés-ka-da_, the Shell; a brave of the _O-gla-la_ band.

77. _Táh-zee-keh-dá-cha_, the Torn Belly; a very distinguished

brave of the _Yank-ton_ band, Upper Missouri.

78. _Wúk-mi-ser_, Corn; a warrior of distinction, of the

_Ne-caw-ee-gee_ band.

79. _Chá-tee-wah-née-che_, No Heart; a very noted Indian. Chief

of the _Wah-ne-watch-to-nee-nah_ band.

80. _Ee-áh-sá-pa_, the Black Rock; Chief of the _Nee-caw-wee-gee_

band; a very dignified chief, in a beautiful dress, full

length, head-dress of eagles' quills and ermine, and horns

of the buffalo; lance in his hand, and battles of his life

emblazoned on his robe.

81. _Wi-lóoh-tah-eeh-tcháh-ta-máh-nee_, the Red Thing that

touches in Marching; a young girl; and the daughter of _Black

Rock_ (No. 80), by her side--her dress of deer-skin, and

ornamented with brass buttons and beads.

82. _Toh-kí-e-to_, the Stone with Horns. Chief of the Yank-ton

band, and principal orator of the nation; his body curiously

tattooed.

83. _Mah-tó-rah-rísh-nee-eéh-ée-rah_, the Grisly Bear that runs

without Regard; a brave of the _Onc-pah-pa_ band.

84. _Mah-tó-che-ga_, the Little Bear; a distinguished brave.

85. _Shón-ka_, the Dog; Chief of the _Bad Arrow Points_ band.

86. _Táh-téck-a-da-háir_, the Steep Wind; a Brave of the

_Ca-za-zhee-ta_ (or Bad Arrow Points) band.

These three distinguished men were all killed in a private quarrel

(while I was in the country), occasioned by my painting only _one

half_ of the face of the first (No. 84); ridicule followed, and

resort to fire-arms, in which that side of the face which I had

left out was blown off in a few moments after I had finished the

portrait; and sudden and violent revenge for the offence soon laid

the other two in the dust, and imminently endangered my own life.

(For a full account of this strange transaction, see Catlin's

'Letters and Notes on North American Indians.')

87. _Heh-háh-ra-pah_, the Elk's Head; Chief of the

_Ee-ta-sip-shov_ band, Upper Missouri.

88. _Máh-to-een-náh-pa_, the White Bear that goes out; Chief of

the _Black Foot Sioux_ band.

89. _Tchón-su-móns-ka_, the Sand Bar; woman of the _Te-ton_ band,

with a beautiful head of hair; her dress almost literally

covered with brass buttons, which are highly valued by the

women, to adorn their dresses.

90. _Wá-be-shaw_, the Leaf; Upper Mississippi, Chief of a band,

blind in one eye; a very distinguished man, since dead.

91. _Shón-ga-tón-ga-chésh-en-day_, the Horse-dung; Chief of a

band; a great conjurer and magician.

92. _Tah-tón-ga-mó-nee_, the Walking Buffalo; Red Wing's son.

93. _Múz-za_, the Iron; St. Peters; a brave of distinction, and a

very handsome fellow.

94. _Te-o-kún-ko_, the Swift.

An ill-visaged and ill-natured fellow, though reputed a desperate

warrior. #/

PÚN-CAH.

A small tribe residing on the west bank of the Missouri River, 900

in number, reduced one-half by the smallpox in 1824-5.

95. _Shoo-de-gá-cha_, the Smoke; Chief of the Tribe.

A very philosophical and dignified man.

96. _Hee-láh-dee_, the Pure Fountain; wife of Shoo-de-gá-cha (No.

95).

97. _Hongs-káy-dee_, the Great Chief; son of the Chief.

This young fellow, about 18 years of age, glowing red with

vermilion, signalised himself by marrying _four wives in one day_,

whilst I was in his village! He took them all at once to his

wigwam, where I saw them, and painted one of them.

98. _Mong-shóng-sha_, the Bending Willow; one of the four wives

of Hongs-káy-dee (No. 97), about 13 years old, and wrapped in

a buffalo robe, prettily garnished.

PÁW-NEES,--OF THE PLATTE.

A wild and very warlike tribe of 12,000, occupying the country

watered by the river Platte, from the Missouri to the Rocky

Mountains. This once very powerful tribe lost one-half of their

numbers by the small-pox in 1823: they are entirely distinct from

the Pawnee Picts, both in language and customs, and live 1000 miles

from them. This tribe shave the head like the Sacs and Foxes.

FIRST BAND.--GRAND PA´WNEES.

99. _Shón-ka-ki-he-ga_, the Horse Chief; head Chief of the tribe.

This chief, and a number of his braves, visited Washington in 1837.

100. _La-dóo-ke-a_, the Buffalo Bull; his _medicine_ or _totem_

(the head of a buffalo bull) painted on his face and breast,

his bow and arrow in his hands.

101. _Ah-sháw-wah-róoks-te_, the Medicine Horse; a brave, or

soldier.

SECOND BAND.--TAP-PA´HGE PA´WNEES.

102. _La-kée-too-wi-rá-sha_, the Little Chief; a great warrior.

103. _Loo-rá-wée-re-coo_, the Bird that goes to War.

THIRD BAND.--REPUBLICAN PA´WNEES.

104. _A´h-sha-la-cóots-ah_, the Mole in the Forehead; Chief of his

band; a very distinguished warrior.

105. _Lá-shah-le-stáw-hix_, the Man Chief.

106. _La-wée-re-coo-re-shaw-wee_, the War Chief.

107. _Te-ah´-ke-ra-lée-re-coo_, the Chayenne; a fine-looking

fellow, with a pipe in one hand and his whip in the other.

FOURTH BAND.--WOLF PA´WNEES.

108. _Le-sháw-loo-láh-le-hoo_, the Big Elk; Chief of the band.

109. _Lo-lóch-to-hóo-lah_, the Big Chief; a very celebrated man.

110. _La-wáh-he-coots-la-sháw-no_, the Brave Chief; impressions of

hands painted on his breast.

111. _L'har-e-tar-rúshe_, the Ill-natured Man; a great warrior.

O-MÁ-HAS.

The remains of a numerous tribe, nearly destroyed by the small-pox

in 1823, now living under the protection of the Pawnees: their

numbers, about 1500.

112. _Man-sha-qúi-ta_, the Little Soldier; a brave.

113. _Ki-hó-ga-waw-shú-shee_, the Brave Chief; Chief of the tribe.

114. _Om-pah-tón-ga_, the Big Elk; a famous warrior, his tomahawk

in his hand, and face painted black, for war.

115. _Sháw-da-mon-nee_, There he goes; a brave.

116. _Nóm-ba-mon-nee_, the Double Walker; a brave.

OTE-TOES.

These are also the remains of a large tribe, two-thirds of which

were destroyed by small-pox in 1823: they are neighbours and

friends of the Pawnees, numbering about 600.

117. _Wah-ro-née-sah_, the Surrounder; Chief of the tribe, quite

an old man; his shirt made of the skin of a grisly bear, with

the claws on.

118. _Nón-je-ning-a_, No Heart; a distinguished brave.

119. _No-wáy-ke-súg-gah_, He who Strikes Two at Once. Sketch quite

unfinished; beautiful dress, trimmed with a profusion of

scalp-locks and eagles' quills; pipe in his hand, and

necklace of grisly bears' claws.

120. _Ráw-no-way-wóh-krah_, the Loose Pipe-stem; a brave (full

length); eagle head-dress, shirt of grisly bear's skin.

121. _Wée-ke-rú-law_, He who Exchanges; beautiful pipe in his hand.

MIS-SÓU-RIES.

Once a very numerous and powerful nation, occupying the States of

Illinois and Indiana. Reduced in wars with Sacs and Foxes, and

lastly by the small-pox in 1823; now merged into the Pawnee tribe.

Numbers at present, 400; twenty years ago, 18,000.

122. _Háw-che-he-súg-ga_, He who kills the Osages; Chief of the

tribe; an old man, necklace of grisly bears' claws, and a

handsome carved pipe in his hand.

RÍC-CA-EEES.

A small but very hostile tribe of 2500, on the west bank of the

Missouri, 1600 miles above its junction with the Mississippi;

living in one village of earth-covered lodges.

123. _Stán-au-pat_, the Bloody Hand; Chief of the tribe. His face

painted red with vermilion, scalping-knife in his hand;

wearing a beautiful dress.

124. _Kah-béck-a_, the Twin; wife of the Chief (No. 123).

125. _Pshán-shaw_, the Sweet-scented Grass; a girl of twelve years

old, daughter of the Chief (No. 123), full length, in a

beautiful dress of the mountain-sheep skin, neatly garnished,

and robe of the young buffalo.

126. _Páh-too-cá-ra_, He who Strikes; a distinguished brave.

MAN-DANS,

(SEE-PO'HS-KA-NU-MA'H-KA'-KEE,) PEOPLE OF THE PHEASANTS.

A small tribe of 2000 souls, living in two permanent villages on

the Missouri, 1800 miles above its junction with the Mississippi.

Earth-covered lodges; villages fortified by strong piquets,

eighteen feet high, and a ditch. [_This friendly and interesting

tribe all perished by the small-pox and suicide in 1837 (three

years after I lived amongst them), excepting about forty, who have

since been destroyed by their enemy, rendering the tribe entirely

extinct, and their language lost, in the short space of a few

months!_ The disease was carried amongst them by the traders, which

destroyed in six months, of different tribes, 25,000!]

127. _Ha-na-tá-nu-maúk_, the Wolf Chief; head of the tribe, in

a splendid dress, head-dress of raven-quills, and two

_calumets_ or pipes of peace in his hand.

128. _Máh-to-toh-pa_, the Four Bears; second Chief, but the

favourite and popular man of the nation; costume splendid,

head-dress of war-eagles' quills and ermine, extending quite

to the ground, surmounted by the horns of the buffalo and

skin of the magpie.

129. _Mah-tó-he-ha_, the Old Bear; a very distinguished brave; but

here represented in the character of a _Medicine Man_ or

Doctor, with his _medicine_ or _mystery_ pipes in his hands,

and foxes' tails tied to his heels, prepared to make his last

visit to his patient, to cure him, if possible, by _hocus

pocus_ and magic.

130. _Mah-táhp-ta-a_, He who rushes through the Middle; a brave,

son of the former Chief, called "the Four Men." Necklace of

bears' claws.

131. _Máh-to-tóh-pa_, the Four Bears; in _undress_, being in

mourning, with a few locks of his hair cut off. His hair put

up in plaits or slabs, with glue and red paint, a custom of

the tribe.

The scars on his breast, arms, and legs, show that he has

several times in his life submitted to the propitiatory tortures

represented in four paintings, Nos. 505, 506, 507, 508.

132. _Seehk-hée-da_, the Mouse-coloured Feather, or "_White

Eyebrows_;" a very noted brave, with a beautiful pipe in his

hand; his hair quite yellow.

This man was killed by the Sioux, and scalped, two years after I

painted his portrait: his scalp lies on the table, No. 10.

133. _Mi-néek-ee-súnk-te-ka_, the Mink; a beautiful Mandan

girl, in mountain-sheep skin dress, ornamented with

porcupine-quills, beads, and elk's teeth.

134. _Sha-kó-ka_, Mint.

A very pretty and modest girl, twelve years of age, with _grey

hair! peculiar to the Mandans_. This unaccountable peculiarity

belongs to the Mandans alone, and about one in twelve, of both

sexes and of all ages, have the hair of a bright silvery grey, and

exceedingly coarse and harsh, somewhat like a horse's mane.

135. _[U']n-ka-hah-hón-shee-kow_, the Long Finger-nails; a brave.

136. _Máh-ta[h']p-ta-hah_, the One who rushes through the Middle.

137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142. _San-ja-ka-kó-koh_, the Deceiving

Wolf; and five others, in a group; names not preserved.

SHI-ENNE.

A small but very valiant tribe of 3000, neighbours of the Sioux, on

the west, between the Black Hills and the Rocky Mountains: a very

tall race of men, second in stature to the Osages.

143. _Né-hee-ó-ee-wóo-tis_, the Wolf on the Hill; Chief of the

tribe; a noble and fine-looking fellow: this man has been

known to own 100 horses at one time.

144. _Tis-se-wóo-na-tís_, She who bathes her Knees; Wife of the

Chief (No. 143); her hair in braid.

FLAT HEADS, or NEZ PERCÉS.

On the head-waters of the Columbia, west of the Rocky Mountains.

145. _Hee-oh'ks-te-kin_, the Rabbit's Skin Leggins; a brave, in a

very beautiful dress.