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                             CATLIN'S NOTES

                                   OF

                   EIGHT YEARS' TRAVELS AND RESIDENCE

                               IN EUROPE,

                                WITH HIS

                   NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN COLLECTION.

                               VOLUME II.




                               ADVENTURES

                                 OF THE

                      OJIBBEWAY AND IOWAY INDIANS

                                   IN

                     ENGLAND, FRANCE, AND BELGIUM;

                             BEING NOTES OF

              EIGHT YEARS' TRAVELS AND RESIDENCE IN EUROPE

                                WITH HIS

                   NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN COLLECTION,

                            BY GEO. CATLIN.


                            IN TWO VOLUMES.

                                VOL. II.

                       With numerous Engravings.

                         _THIRD EDITION._

                                LONDON:
                        PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR,
            AT HIS INDIAN COLLECTION, NO. 6, WATERLOO PLACE.
                                 1852.




                          CONTENTS OF VOL. II.


                             CHAPTER XVII.

  Arrival of fourteen Ioway Indians in London--Their lodgings
      in St. James's Street--The Author visits them--Their
      portraits and names--Mr. Melody, their conductor--Jeffrey
      Doraway, their interpreter--Landlady's alarm--Indians
      visit the Author's Collection in the Egyptian
      Hall--Arrangement to dance in the Collection--The
      Doctor (Medicine or Mystery man) on top of the
      Hall--Their first drive in a bus--Doctor's appearance
      outside--Indians' first impressions of London--Lascars
      sweeping the streets--Man with a big nose--The
      Doctor lost, and found on the housetop--Their first
      exhibition in Egyptian Hall--Eagle-dance--The Doctor's
      speech--Great amusement of the ladies--His description
      of the railroad from Liverpool to London--War-dance,
      great applause--The "jolly fat dame"--She presents
      a gold bracelet to the Doctor by mistake--Her
      admiration of the _Roman-nose_--War-whoop--Description
      of--Approaching-dance--Wolf-song, and description
      of--Great amusement of the audience--Shaking
      hands--Mistake with the bracelet                            Page 1

                             CHAPTER XVIII.

  Character of the Doctor (_mystery_ or _medicine man_)--An
      omnibus-drive--The Doctor's admiration of the
      "jolly fat dame"--Jealousy--War-dress and war-paint
      of the _Roman-nose_--His appearance--He leads the
      War-dance--The Welcome-dance, and Bear-dance--Description
      of--Pipe-of-peace (or Calumet) dance, and
      Scalp-dance--_Chip-pe-ho-la_ (_the Author_)--Speech
      of the War-chief--The "jolly fat dame"--She presents a
      gold bracelet to _Roman-nose_--Jealousy and distress
      of the Doctor--She converses with Daniel--Two reverend
      gentlemen converse with the Indians about religion--Reply
      of White-cloud and War-chief--Questions by the reverend
      gentlemen--Answers by the War-chief--Indians invited to
      breakfast with Mr. Disraeli, M.P., Park Lane--Indians'
      toilette and dress--The Doctor and Jim (Wash-ka-mon-ya)
      fasting for the occasion                                        27

                              CHAPTER XIX.

  Kind reception at Mr. Disraeli's--View of Hyde Park from
      the top of his house--Review of troops, and sham
      fight--Breakfast-table--The Doctor missing--The Author
      finds him in the bathing-room--Champagne wine--Refused
      by the Indians--_Chickabobboo_: _Chippehola_ tells the
      story of it--The Indians drink--Presents--The "big
      looking-glass"--The Doctor smiles in it--Speech of the
      War-chief--Shake of hands, and return--Exhibition-room,
      Egyptian Hall--Doctor presents a string of wampum and
      the "_White-feather_" to the "jolly fat dame"--Indians
      talk about _chickabobboo_--The Rev. Mr. G---- calls--A
      different religion (a Catholic)--Interview appointed--Two
      Methodist clergymen call--Indians refuse to see them--The
      giant and giantess visit the Indians--The Doctor measuring
      the giantess--The talk with the Catholic clergyman Page 47

                              CHAPTER XX.

  The Doctor and Jim visit several churches--The Indians
      in St. Paul's--In Westminster Abbey--The exhibition
      at the Hall--The Doctor agrees to go in the carriage
      of the "jolly fat dame"--Mr. Melody objects--The
      Doctor's melancholy--Indians stop the bus to talk
      with Lascars--Make them presents of money--Indians
      discover _chickabobboo-ags_(gin-palaces)--and
      ladies lying down in their carriages reading
      books--_Chim-e-gotch-ees_ (or fish)--Jim's story
      of "Fish"--Experiments in mesmerism--Wash-ka-mon-ya
      (Jim) mesmerized--The Doctor's opinions on
      mesmerism--Ioways in Lord's Cricket-ground--Archery and
      ball-playing--Encampment--Wigwams--Indians invited by
      Mrs. Lawrence to Ealing Park--Their kind reception--Their
      Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge--The
      Princess Mary--The Duchess of Gloucester--The Hereditary
      Grand Duke and Duchess, and other distinguished
      guests--Amusements--Beautiful grounds--Indians dine on the
      lawn--Roast beef and plum-pudding--_Chickabobboo_--Alarm
      of the parrots--Doctor's superstition--_Chickabobboo_
      explained--Speech of the War-chief--Taking leave--Fright
      of the poor birds--Handsome presents--Conservatory--The
      Doctor's ideas of it--Indians visit Surrey Zoological
      Gardens--Fright of the birds and animals--Indians
      sacrifice tobacco to the lion and the rattle-snakes             63

                              CHAPTER XXI.

  Indians' remarks on the Zoological Gardens--Their pity for
      the poor buffalo and other animals imprisoned--Jim's talk
      with a clergyman about Hell and the hyaenas--Indians'
      ideas of astronomy--Jim and the Doctor hear of the hells
      of London--Desire to go into them--Promised to go--Indians
      counting the gin-palaces (_chickabobboo-ags_)in a
      ride to Blackwall and back--The result--Exhibition in
      the Egyptian Hall--A sudden excitement--The War-chief
      recognises in the crowd his old friend "Bobasheela"--Their
      former lives on the Mississippi and Missouri--Bobasheela
      an Englishman--His travels in the "Far West" of
      America--Story of their first acquaintance--The
      doomed wedding-party--Lieut. Pike--Daniel Boone and
      Son--Indians visit a great brewery--Kind reception by
      the proprietors--Great surprise of the Indians--Immense
      quantities of _chickabobboo_--War-dance in an empty
      vat--Daniel commences Jim's book of the statistics of
      England--Indians visit the Tunnel--Visit to the Tower--The
      Horse Armoury--The Royal Regalia--Indians' ideas of the
      crowns and jewels--"_Totems_"(arms) on the fronts of
      noblemen's houses--Royal arms over the shops--Strange
      notions of the Doctor--They see the "man with the big
      nose" again--And the "great white War-chief (the Duke of
      Wellington) on horseback, near his wigwam" Page 90

                             CHAPTER XXII.

  The Ioways in Vauxhall Gardens--Surrey Theatre--Carter
      in the lions' cage--Astonishment of the
      Indians--Indians in the Diving Bell, at the Polytechnic
      Institution--Indians riding--Shooting at target on
      horseback--Ball-play--"Jolly fat dame"--Ladies converse
      with the Doctor--His reasons for not marrying--Curious
      questions--Plurality of wives--Amusing scene--The
      Author in Indian costume--A cruel experiment--Ioways
      arrive in Birmingham--The Author's arrival
      there--Society of Friends--Indians all breakfast
      with Mr. Joseph Sturge--Kind treatment--Conversation
      after breakfast about religion and education--Reply
      of the War-chief--The button-factory of Turner and
      Sons--Generous presents to the Indians--_Bobasheela_
      arrives--Indians dividing their buttons--Doctor found
      on top of the Shakespeare Buildings--Indians' kindness
      to a beggar-woman--Poorhouses--Many Friends visit the
      Indians--Indians' visit to Miss Catherine Hutton--Her
      great age--Her kindness--Dinner--Her presents to them
      in money--Parting scene--The War-chief's speech to
      her--Her letters to the Author--Indians present to the
      two hospitals 370 dollars--Address read by the Presidents
      to the Indians--Doctor's reply--Indians start for York--A
      fox-hunt--Curious notions of Indians about it--Visit to
      York Minster--Ascend the grand tower--Visit to the castle
      and prison--Museum of the instruments of murder--Alarm of
      the Doctor--Kindness of the governor of the castle and
      his lady--Indians' ideas of imprisonment for debt, and
      punishment for murder                                          117

                             CHAPTER XXIII.

  Newcastle-on-Tyne--Indians' alarms about jails--Kind
      visits from Friends--Mrs. A. Richardson--Advice of the
      Friends--War-Chiefs reply--Liberal presents--Arrive
      at Sunderland--Kindness of the Friends--All breakfast
      with Mr. T. Richardson--Indians plant trees in
      his garden--And the Author also--The Doctor's
      superstition--Sacrifice--Feast--Illness of the Roman
      Nose--Indians visit a coalpit--North Shields--A sailors'
      dinner and a row--Arrive at Edinburgh--A drive--First
      exhibition there--Visit to Salisbury Crag--To Arthur's
      Seat--Holyrood House and Castle--The crown of Robert
      Bruce--The "big gun"--"Queen Mab"--Curious modes of
      building--"Flats"--Origin of--Illness of Corsair, the
      little _pappoose_--The old Doctor speaks--War-chief's
      speech--A feast of ducks--Indians' remarks upon the
      government of Scotland--"The swapping of crowns"--The
      Doctor proposes the crown of Robert Bruce for Prince
      Albert--Start for Dundee--Indians' liberality--A noble
      act--Arrival at Dundee--Death of little Corsair--Distress
      of the Little Wolf and his wife--Curious ceremony--Young
      men piercing their arms--Indians at Perth--Arrival in
      Glasgow--Quartered in the Town-hall--The cemetery--The
      Hunterian Museum--The Doctor's admiration of it--Daily
      drives--Indians throw money to the poor--Alarm for
      _Roman Nose_--Two reverend gentlemen talk with the
      Indians--War-chiefs remarks--Greenock--Doctor's regret at
      leaving Page                                                   155

                             CHAPTER XXIV.

  Arrival in Dublin--Decline of the _Roman Nose_--Exhibition
      in the Rotunda--Feast of ducks--First drive--Ph[oe]nix
      Park--Stags--Indians' ideas of game-laws and
      taxes--Annual expenses of British government--National
      debt--Daniel enters these in Jim's book--Indians
      called "Irishmen"--Author's reply--Speech of the
      War-chief--Jim's rapid civilization--New estimates for
      his book--Daniel reads of "Murders, &c.," in Times
      newspaper--Jim subscribes for the Times--Petition
      of 100,000 women--Society of Friends meet the
      Indians in the Rotunda--Their advice, and present
      to the chiefs 40_l._--Indians invited to Zoological
      Gardens--Presented with 36_l._--Indians invited to
      Trinity College--Conversation with the Rev. Master on
      religion--Liberal presents--They visit the Archbishop of
      Dublin--Presents--All breakfast with Mr. Joseph Bewly,
      a Friend--Kind treatment--Christian advice--Sickness of
      _Roman Nose_--Various entertainments by the Friends--A
      curious beggar--Indians' liberality to the poor--Arrival
      at Liverpool--Rejoicing and feast--Council--_Roman
      Nose_ placed in an hospital--Arrival in
      Manchester--Exhibition in Free Trade Hall--Immense
      platform--Three wigwams--Archery--Ball-play, &c.--Great
      crowds--_Bobasheela_ arrives--Death of the _Roman
      Nose_--Forms of burial, &c.                                 178

                              CHAPTER XXV.

  The Author arrives in Paris--Victoria Hotel--Mr. Melody
      and his Indians arrive--Doctor missing, and found
      on the top of the hotel--Alarm of servants--First
      drive in Paris--Visit to Mr. King, the American
      ambassador--French _chickabobboo_--M. Vattemare--Indians
      visit the Hotel de Ville--Prefet de Police--Magnificent
      salons--The "big looking-glasses" --The Prefet's
      lady--Refreshments and _chickabobboo_--Speech of the
      War-chief--Reply of the Prefet--Salle Valentino taken
      for the exhibition--Daniel arrives with the Collection
      from London--Indians visit the King in the palace of the
      Tuileries--Royal personages--Conversation--War-chief
      presents the calumet--His speech to the
      King--Eagle-dance--War-dance--Little Wolf presents his
      tomahawk and whip to the King--His speech--Refreshments
      and "Queen's _chickabobboo_"--Drinking the King's and
      Queen's health, and health of the Count de Paris--"Vive
      le Roi"--Jim's opinion of the King--An Indian's idea
      of descents--Presents in money from the King--Mode
      of dividing it--A drive--Ladies leading dogs with
      strings--The number counted in one drive--The Indians'
      surprise--An entry for Jim's book--Jim laments the loss
      of the Times newspaper and _Punch_--He takes Galignani's
      Messenger--Indians dine at W. Costar's--The Doctor's
      compliment to a lady's fine voice--Indians visit the Royal
      Academy of Sciences--Curious reception--M. Arago--Indians'
      suspicions and alarms--Jim's remarkable speech--Opening
      of the exhibition in Salle Valentino--Great
      excitement--Speech of the War-chief--Shaking hands--Public
      opinion of the Author's Collection                             203

                             CHAPTER XXVI.

  Indians at Madame Greene's party--Their ideas of
      waltzing--The Doctor's admiration of the young
      ladies--The King's fete, 1st of May--Indians in the
      Palace--Royal Family in the balcony--Grand and sublime
      scene on the river--Indians in a crowd of nobility in
      the Duc d'Aumale's apartments--Messenger to Indians'
      apartments with gold and silver medals--Medals to the
      women and children--Consequent difficulties--Visit to
      the Hospital of Invalids--Place Concorde--Column of
      Luxor--The fountains--Visit to the Triumphal Arch--Jim's
      description of an ugly woman--Victor Hugo--Madame Georges
      Sands--Indians visit the Louvre--M. de Cailleux--Baron
      de Humboldt--Illness of the wife of Little Wolf--A
      phrenologist visits the Indians--The phrenologist's head
      examined--Two Catholic priests visit the Indians--Indians
      visit the Garden of Plants--Alarm of the birds and
      animals--The "poor prisoner buffalo"--Visit to the
      _Salle aux Vins_--Astonishment of the Indians--The
      war-whoop--_Chickabobboo_-- Cafes explained--Indians visit
      _Pere la Chaise_--A great funeral--A speech over the
      grave--Hired mourners--Visit the _School of Medicine_--and
      "_Dupuytren's Room_"--Excitement of the Doctor--Visit
      to the _Foundling Hospital_--Astonishment and pity of
      the Indians--Entries in Jim's note-book, and Doctor's
      remarks--Visit the _Guillotine_--Indians' ideas of
      _hanging_ in England, and _beheading_ in France--Curious
      debate--Visit to the _Dog Market_--Jim's purchase and
      difficulty--The _Dog Hospital_--Alarm of the "petites
      malades"--Retreat--_Bobasheela_ arrives from London--Great
      rejoicing--Jim's comments on the Frenchwomen--The _little
      foundlings_ and the _little dogs_                      232

                             CHAPTER XXVII.

  _La Morgue_--The Catacombs--The Doctor's dream--Their great
      alarm--Visit to the _Hippodrome_--Jim riding M. Franconi's
      horse--Indians in the Woods of Boulogne--Fright of the
      rabbits--Jim and the Doctor at the _Bal Mabille_, Champs
      Elysees--At the _Masquerade_, _Grand Opera_--Their
      opinions and criticisms on them--Frenchwomen at
      confession in St. Roch--Doctor's ideas of it--Jim's
      speech--"_Industrious fleas_"--Death of the wife of Little
      Wolf--Her baptism--Husband's distress--Her funeral in the
      Madeleine--Her burial in Montmartre--Council held--Indians
      resolve to return to America--Preparations to depart in
      a few days--_Bobasheela_ goes to London to ship their
      boxes to New York--He returns, and accompanies the
      Indians to Havre--Indians take leave of _Chippehola_ (the
      Author)--M. Vattemare accompanies them to Havre--Kindly
      treated by Mr. Winslow, an American gentleman, at Havre--A
      splendid dinner, and (_Queen's_) _Chickabobboo_--Indians
      embark--Taking leave of _Bobasheela_--Illness of
      the Author's lady--His alarm and distress--Her
      death--Obituary--Her remains embalmed and sent to New York     261

                            CHAPTER XXVIII.

  Eleven Ojibbeway Indians arrive from London--Their
      exhibitions in the Author's Collection--Portraits and
      description of--Their amusements--Their pledge to
      sobriety--_Chickabobboo_ explained to them--Birth of a
      _Pappoose_--M. Gudin; Indians and the Author dine with
      him--His kind lady--The Author breakfasts with the Royal
      Family in the palace at St. Cloud--Two Kings and two
      Queens at the table--The Author presented to the King
      and Queen of the Belgians by Louis Philippe, in the
      salon--Count de Paris--Duc de Brabant--Recollects the
      Indian pipe and mocassins presented to him by the Author
      in the Egyptian Hall--Duchess of Orleans--The Princess
      Adelaide--The King relates anecdotes of his life in
      America--Washington's farewell address--Losing his dog in
      the Seneca village--Crossing Buffalo Creek--Descending the
      Tioga and Susquehana rivers in an Indian canoe to Wyoming,
      the Author's native valley--The King desires the Author to
      arrange his whole Collection in the Louvre for the private
      views of the Royal Family--He also appoints a day to see
      the Ojibbeways in the Park at St. Cloud--Great rejoicing
      of the Indians--A _dog-feast_--The Indians and the Author
      dine a second time at M. Gudin's                               278

                             CHAPTER XXIX.

  Indians' visit to the Palace of St. Cloud--The
      Park--Artificial lake--Royal Family--Prince de
      Joinville--Recollected seeing the Author and Collection in
      Washington--King and Queen of Belgians--The _regatta_--The
      birch-bark canoe, and the Prince de Joinville's
      "Whitehaller"--War-dance--Ball-play--Archery--Dinner
      prepared for the Indians--M. Gudin and the Author join
      them--Indians' return--Gossip at night--Their ideas of
      the King and Royal Family--Messenger from the King, with
      gold and silver medals and money, to the Indians--The
      War-chief cures a cancer--Author's Collection in the
      _Salle de Seance_, in the Louvre--The Indians and the
      Author dine with M. Passy, Member of Deputies--Kind
      treatment by himself and lady--King visits the Collection
      in the Louvre--The Author explains his pictures--Persons
      present--An hour's visit--The King retires--Second visit
      of the King and Royal Family to the Collection--The
      Author's four little children presented to the King--His
      Majesty relates the anecdote of bleeding himself in
      America, and his visit to General Washington at Mount
      Vernon--His descent of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers in
      a small boat, to New Orleans--Orders the Author to paint
      fifteen pictures for Versailles                                287

                              CHAPTER XXX.

  The Author leaves his Collection in the Louvre, and
      arrives with the Indians in Bruxelles--Indians at the
      soiree of the American Minister in Bruxelles--Author's
      reception by the King in the Palace--Small-pox among the
      Indians--Indians unable to visit the Palace--Exhibition
      closes--Seven sick with small-pox--Death of one of
      them--His will--A second dies--His will--The rest
      recover--Faithful attentions of Daniel--The Author
      accompanies them to Antwerp, and pays their expenses to
      London on a steamer--Death of the War-chief in London--His
      will--The Author raises money by subscription and sends
      to them--Letter from the survivors, in England, to the
      Author--Drawings by the War-chief--The Author stopped in
      the streets of London and invited to see the skeleton of
      the War-chief!--His indignation--Subsequent deaths of
      four others of this party in England--The three parties
      of Indians in Europe--Their objects--Their success--Their
      conduct--Their reception and treatment--Things which they
      saw and learned--Estimates and statistics of civilized
      life which they have carried home--Their mode of reasoning
      from such premises--And the probable results                   294

                             CHAPTER XXXI.

  The Author returns to his little children in Paris--His loss
      of time and money--The three Indian speculations--His
      efforts to promote the interests of the Indians, and the
      persons who brought them to Europe--His advice to other
      persons wishing to engage in similar enterprises--The
      Author retires to his atelier, and paints the fifteen
      pictures for the King--The pleasure of quiet and
      retirement with his four little children around
      him--He offers his Indian Collection to the American
      Government--And sends his memorial to Congress--Bill
      reported in favour of the purchase--The Author has an
      interview with the King in the Tuileries--Delivers
      the fifteen pictures--Subjects of the pictures
      painted--Conversations with the King--Reflections upon his
      extraordinary life--The Author's thoughts, while at his
      easel, upon scenes of his life gone by--And those that
      were about him, as he strolled, with his little children,
      through the streets and society of Paris--Distressing
      and alarming illness of the Author's four little
      children--Kindness of sympathizing friends--Death of
      "little George"--His remains sent to New York, and
      laid by the side of his mother--A father's tears and
      loneliness--The Author returns with his Collection to
      London                                                         311

  APPENDIX--A.

    Extracts of Letters from the Ioway Mission, Upper Missouri       327

  APPENDIX--B.

    Experiments in Horse-taming                                      332




                       CATLIN'S NOTES IN EUROPE,

                             _&c. &c._




                             CHAPTER XVII.

  Arrival of fourteen Ioway Indians in London--Their lodgings in
     St. James's Street--The Author visits them--Their portraits
     and names--Mr. Melody, their conductor--Jeffrey Doraway, their
     interpreter--Landlady's alarm--Indians visit the Author's
     Collection in the Egyptian Hall--Arrangement to dance in the
     Collection--The Doctor (Medicine or Mystery man) on top of
     the Hall--Their first drive in a bus--Doctor's appearance
     outside--Indians' first impressions of London--Lascars
     sweeping the streets--Man with a big nose--The Doctor lost,
     and found on the housetop--Their first exhibition in Egyptian
     Hall--Eagle-dance--The Doctor's speech--Great amusement of
     the ladies--His description of the railroad from Liverpool to
     London--War-dance, great applause--The "jolly fat dame"--She
     presents a gold bracelet to the Doctor by mistake--Her
     admiration of the _Roman-nose_--War-whoop--Description
     of--Approaching-dance--Wolf-song, and description of--Great
     amusement of the audience--Shaking hands--Mistake with the
     bracelet.


The event which I spoke of at the close of my last chapter--the arrival
of another party of Indians--was one which called upon me at once for
a new enterprise, and I suddenly entered upon it, again deferring the
time of my return to my native land.

The "fourteen Ioway Indians," as report had said, had arrived, and were
in apartments at No. 7, St. James's Street, with their interpreter.
This party was in charge of Mr. G. H. C. Melody, who had accompanied
them from their own country, with a permission gained from the
Secretary at War to bring them to Europe, which permission was granted
in the following words:--

            _War Department, Washington City, Sept. 14th, 1843._

  DEAR SIR,

  In answer to your application relative to Mr. Melody's making a tour
  to Europe with a party of Ioway Indians, as well as to a similar
  one on his behalf from the Rev. Wm. P. Cochran, of Marian County,
  Missouri, I beg leave to say, that it has not been usual to grant any
  permissions of the kind, and the verbal instructions to the Agents,
  Superintendents, &c. have been against permitting such tours, for the
  reason, I presume, that the persons having them in charge are usually
  men who merely wish to make money out of them by exhibitions, without
  taking any care of their habits or morals, or inducing them to profit
  by what they see and hear upon their route.

  In the present case, however, I do not think that the evils usually
  to be apprehended will occur, from the character of Mr. Melody, and
  the mode in which the Indians are proposed to be selected. This I
  understand is to be done by the Chief, White Cloud, with the full
  assent of the individuals thus selected, and their continuance on the
  tour to be their own act.

  Under all the circumstances, I suppose all the Department can do, is
  to allow Mr. Melody and the Chiefs of the tribe to do as they please,
  without imposing the usual or any prohibition.

                                 I am, yours, very truly,
                                                 J. M. PORTER,
                                                      Secretary at War.
  Vespasian Ellis, Esq.

                                     _Washington City, Sept. 1843._

  DEAR SIR,

  Under this letter you are authorised to make any arrangement with the
  Chief of the tribe of Indians that you and he may please to make;
  and the War Department agrees, in consideration of your well-known
  integrity of character, not to interfere with the arrangement which
  you and the Chief or the Indians may make.

                                   Your obedient Servant,
                                               VESPASIAN ELLIS.
  Mr. Melody.

Mr. Melody called upon me immediately on his arrival in London, and I
went with him to see his party, several of whom I at once recognized
as I entered their rooms. On seeing me they all rose upon their feet
and offered me their hands, saluting me by their accustomed word, "How!
how! how! _Chip-pe-ho-la!_" and evidently were prepared for great
pleasure on meeting me. _White Cloud_, the head chief of the tribe, was
of the party, and also the war-chief _Neu-mon-ya_ (the Walking Rain).
These two chiefs, whose portraits were then hanging in my collection,
had stood before me for their pictures several years previous in their
own village, and also one of the warriors now present, whose name
was _Wash-ka-mon-ya_ (the Fast Dancer). These facts being known, one
can easily imagine how anxious these good fellows had been, during a
journey of 2000 miles from their country to New York, and then during
their voyage across the ocean, to meet me in a foreign land, who had
several years before shared the hospitality of their village, and, to
their knowledge, had done so much to collect and perpetuate the history
of their race. They had come also, as I soon learned, in the full
expectation to dance in my collection, which they were now impatient to
see.

This first interview was during the evening of their arrival, and was
necessarily brief, that they might get their night's rest, and be
prepared to visit my rooms in the morning. A few pipes were smoked
out as we were all seated on the floor, in a "talk" upon the state
of affairs in their country and incidents of their long and tedious
journey, at the end of which they now required rest, and I left them.

By entering the city at night, they had created little excitement or
alarm, except with the landlady and her servants, where they had been
taken in. Their rooms had been engaged before their arrival, but the
good woman "had no idea they were going to look so savage and wild;
she was very much afraid that their red paint would destroy her beds,"
not yet knowing that they were to wash the paint all off before they
retired to rest, and that then they were to spread their buffalo robes
upon the floor and sleep by the side of, and under her beds, instead
of getting into them. These facts, when they became known, amused her
very much; and Mr. Melody's representations of the harmlessness and
honesty of the Indians, put her at rest with respect to the safety of
her person and her property about her house.

The objects of these being the same as those of the former party,
of seeing the country and making money by their exhibitions, I
entered into a similar arrangement with Mr. Melody, joining with my
collection, conducting their exhibitions, and sharing the expenses and
receipts of the same, on condition that such an arrangement should be
agreeable to the Indians.

Their first night's rest in London being finished, they were all up at
an early hour, full of curiosity to see what was around them; and their
fourteen red heads out of their front windows soon raised a crowd and
a novel excitement in St. James's. Every body knew that the "Indians
had gone," and the conjectures amongst the crowd were various and
curious as to this strange arrival. Some said it was "the wedding party
returned;" others, more sagacious, discovered the difference in their
appearance, and pronounced them "the real cannibals from New Zealand;"
and others said "their heads were too red, and they could be nothing
else than the real _red_-heads--the man-eaters--that they had read of
somewhere, but had forgotten the place."

The morning papers, however, which are the keys for all such mysteries,
soon solved the difficulty, but without diminishing the crowd, by the
announcement that a party of fourteen Ioway Indians, from the base of
the Rocky Mountains, had arrived during the night and taken up their
lodgings in St. James's Street.

After taking their breakfasts and finishing their toilets, they stepped
into carriages and paid their first visit to my collection, then open
in the Egyptian Hall. Instead of yelling and shouting as the Ojibbeways
did on first entering it, they all walked silently and slowly to the
middle of the room, with their hands over their mouths, denoting
surprise and silence. In this position, for some minutes (wrapped in
their pictured robes, which were mostly drawn over their heads or up
to their eyes), they stood and rolled their eyes about the room in all
directions, taking a general survey of what was around them, before
a word was spoken. There was an occasional "she-e" in a lengthened
whisper, and nothing more for some time, when at length a gradual
and almost imperceptible conversation commenced about portraits and
things which they recognized around the room. They had been in a moment
transferred into the midst of hundreds of their friends and their
enemies, who were gazing at them from the walls--amongst wig-wams and
thousands of Indian costumes and arms, and views of the prairies they
live in--altogether opening to their view, and to be seen at a glance,
what it would take them years to see in their own country. They met
the portraits of their chiefs and other friends, upon the walls, and
extended their hands towards them; and they gathered in groups in
front of their enemies, whom the warriors had met in battle, and now
recognized before them. They looked with great pleasure on a picture of
their own village, and examined with the closest scrutiny the arms and
weapons of their enemies. One may easily imagine how much there was in
this collection to entertain these rude people, and how much to command
their attachment to me, with whom they had already resolved to unite.

A council was held and the pipe lit under the Crow wig-wam, which
was standing in the middle of my room, when Mr. Melody explained to
the Indians that he had now got them safe across the ocean as he had
promised, and into the midst of the greatest city in the world, where
they would see many curious things, and make many good and valuable
friends, if they conducted themselves properly, which he was confident
they would do.

"You have met," said he, "your old friend _Chip-pe-ho-la_, whom you
have talked so much about on the way; you are now in his wonderful
collection, and he is by the side of you, and you will hear what he has
to say." ("_How! how! how!_")

I reminded the White-cloud of the time that I was in his village, and
lived under his father's tent, where I had been kindly treated, and
for which I should always feel grateful. That in meeting them here, I
did not meet them as strangers, but as friends. ("_How! how! how!_")
That they had come a great way, and with a view to make something to
carry home to their wives and little children; that Mr. Melody and I
had entered into an arrangement by which I was in hopes that my efforts
might aid in enabling them to do so. ("_How! how! how!_") That I was
willing to devote all my time, and do all that was in my power, but
the continuation of my exertions would depend entirely upon their own
conduct, and their efforts to gain respect, by aiding in every way they
could, and keeping themselves entirely sober, and free from the use of
spirituous liquors. ("_How! how! how!_")

Mr. Melody here remarked that they had pledged their words to him and
their Great Father (as the condition on which they were allowed to
come), that they would drink no ardent spirits while absent, and that
he was glad to say they had thus far kept their promise strictly.
("_How! how! how!_")

I told them I was glad to hear this, and I had no doubt but they would
keep their word with me on that point, for every thing depended on it.
We were amongst a people who look upon drunkenness as low and beastly,
and also as a crime; and as I had found that most white people were
of opinion that all Indians were drunkards, if they would show by
their conduct that such was not the case, they would gain many warm
and kind friends wherever they went. ("_How! how! how!_") I told them
that the Ojibbeways whom I had had with me, and who had recently gone
home, gave me a solemn promise when they arrived that they would keep
entirely sober and use no spirituous liquors,--that they kept that
promise awhile, but I had been grieved to hear that before they left
the country they had taken up the wicked habit of drinking whiskey, and
getting drunk, by which they had lost all the respect that white people
had for them when they first came over. (A great laugh, and "_How! how!
how!_")

_Neu-mon-ya_ (the war-chief) replied to me, that they were thankful
that the Great Spirit had kept them safe across the ocean and allowed
them to see me, and to smoke the pipe again with me, and to hear my
wise counsel, which they had all determined to keep ("_How! how!
how!_"). He said that they had been very foolish to learn to drink
"_fire-water_" in their country, which was very destructive to them,
and they had promised their Great Father, the President, that they
would drink none of it whilst they were abroad. He said he hoped I
would not judge them by the Ojibbeways who had been here, "for," said
he, "they are all a set of drunkards and thieves, and always keep their
promises just about as well as they kept them with you." (A laugh, and
"_How! how! how!_")[1]

  [1] Some allowance will be made for the freedom with which the Ioways
      occasionally speak of their predecessors, the Ojibbeways, as these
      two tribes have lived in a state of constant warfare from time
      immemorial.

This _talk_, which was short, was ended here, to the satisfaction of
all parties, and the Indians were again amusing themselves around the
room, leaving the wig-wam and further conversations to Mr. Melody, the
interpreter, and myself. Mr. Melody, though a stranger to me, bearing
the high recommendations contained in the letter of the Secretary at
War, already published, at once had my confidence (which I am pleased
to say his conduct has kept up) as an excellent and honest man.

Their interpreter, Jeffrey Doraway (a mulatto), and who had been one
of the first to recognize and hail me when I entered their rooms, had
been an old and attached acquaintance of mine while travelling in that
country, and that acquaintance had several times been renewed in St.
Louis, and New York, and other places where I had subsequently met him.
He had been raised from childhood in the tribe, and the chiefs and all
the party were very much attached to him, and his interest seemed to be
wholly identified with that of the tribe. He was of a most forbearing
and patient disposition, and of temperate habits, and as he was loved
by the chiefs, had great influence with them, and control over the
party.

I related to Mr. Melody and Jeffrey the difficulties that laid before
us; the prejudices raised in the public, mind by the conduct of Mr.
Rankin with his party of Ojibbeways, and the unfortunate season of the
year at which they had arrived in London. That the middle of July was
the very worst season in which to open an exhibition, and that it might
be difficult to raise a second excitement sufficiently strong to pay
the very heavy expenses we must incur; but that I had resolved to unite
my whole efforts to theirs, to bring their party into notice; which
formed so much more complete and just a representation of the modes and
appearance of the wild Indians of America than the Ojibbeways had given.

Finishing our conversation here, we found the Indians adjusting their
plumes, and their robes, and their weapons, preparing to step into
their "omnibus and four," to take their first rapid glance at the great
City of London, in "a drive," which was to pass them through some of
its principal thoroughfares for their amusement. At this moment of
excitement it was suddenly announced that one of the party (and a very
essential one), the "_Doctor_" (or _medicine man_), was missing! Search
was everywhere making for him, and when it was quite certain that he
could not have passed into the street, Jeffrey inquired of the curator
of the Hall if there was any passage that led out upon the roof? to
which the curator replied, "Yes." "Well then," said Jeffrey, "we may
be sure that he is there, for _it is 'a way that he has_:' he always
is uneasy until he gets as high as he can go, and then he will stay
there all night if you will let him alone." I went immediately to the
roof, and found him standing on one corner of the parapet, overlooking
Piccadilly,--wrapped in his buffalo robe, and still as a statue, while
thousands were assembling in the streets to look at him, and to warn
him of the danger they supposed him in.

The readers who have not had the pleasure of seeing this eccentric
character, will scarcely be able to appreciate the oddity of this freak
until they become better acquainted with the Doctor in the following
pages. I invited him down from his elevated position, which he seemed
reluctant to leave, and he joined his party, who passed into their
carriage at the door. In this moment of confusion, of escaping from
the crowd and closing the door, heads were counted, and the old Doctor
was missing again. A moment's observation showed, however, that his
_ascending_ propensity had gained him a position over their heads, as
he had seated himself by the side of the driver, with his buffalo robe
wrapped around him, the long and glistening blade of his spear passing
out from underneath it, near to his left ear, and his vermilioned face
surmounted by a huge pair of buffalo horns, rising out of a crest of
eagle's quills and ermine skins. Thus loaded, and at the crack of the
whip, and amidst the yelling multitude that had gathered around them,
did the fourteen Ioways dash into the streets, to open their eyes to
the sights and scenes of the great metropolis.

An hour or so in the streets, in a pleasant day, enabled them to see
a great deal that was unlike the green prairies where they lived; and
the "old Doctor," wrapped in his robe, and ogling the pretty girls, and
everything else that he saw that was amusing as he passed along, raised
a new excitement in the streets, and gave an extensive notification
that "the wedding party had actually got back," or that another party
of _red skins_ had arrived. They returned to their lodgings in great
glee, and amused us at least for an hour with their "first impressions"
of London; the _leading_, _striking_ feature of which, and the one that
seemed to afford them the greatest satisfaction, was the _quantity of
fresh meat_ that they saw in every street hanging up at the doors and
windows--pigs, and calves, and sheep, and deer, and prairie hens, in
such profusion that they thought "there would be little doubt of their
getting as much fresh meat as they could eat." Besides this, they had
seen many things that amused them, and others that excited their pity.
They laughed much about the "black fellows with white eyes" who were
carrying bags of coal, and "every one of them had got their hats on the
wrong side before." They had seen many people who seemed to be very
poor, and looked as if they were hungry: for they held out their hands
to people passing by, as if they were asking for something to eat.
"They had passed two _Indians_, with brooms in their hands, sweeping
the dirt in the streets!"

This occurrence had excited their greatest anxieties to know "what
Indians they could be, that would be willing to take a broom in their
hands and sweep the dirt from under white men's feet, and then hold
out their hands to white people for money to buy food to eat." They
all agreed "that _Ioways_ would not do it, that _Sioux_ would not,
that _Pawnees_ would not;" and when they were just deciding that their
enemies, the _Ojibbeways_, _might_ be _slaves_ enough to do it, and
that these were possibly a part of the Ojibbeway party that had been
flourishing in London, I explained the mystery to them, by informing
them that their conjectures were wrong--that it was true they were
Indians, but not from North America. I agreed with them that no North
American Indian would use that mode of getting his living, but that
there were Indians in different parts of the world, and that these were
from the East Indies, a country many thousands of miles from here; that
these people were Indians from that country, and were of a tribe called
_Lascars_; that many of them were employed by the captains of English
ships to help to navigate their vessels from that country to this;
and that in London they often come to want, and are glad to sweep the
streets and beg, as the means of living, instead of starving to death.
It seemed still a mystery to them, but partly solved, and they made
many further remarks among themselves about them. The good landlady at
this moment announced to Mr. Melody and Jeffrey that the dinner for the
Indians was ready, and in a moment all were seated save the Doctor; he
was missing. "That old fool," said Jeffrey, "there's no doubt but he
has found his way to the top of the house." I was conducted by one of
the servants through several unoccupied rooms and dark passages, and
at last through a narrow and almost impassable labyrinth that brought
me out upon the roof. The "Doctor" was _there_; and, wrapped in his
buffalo robe, with his red face and his buffalo horns, was standing
like a _Zealand penguin_, and smiling upon the crowds of gazers who
were gathering in the streets, and at the windows, and upon the
house-tops, in the vicinity.

For the several days succeeding this, while the Indians were lying
still, and resting from their long and tedious voyage, and I was
announcing in the usual way their arrival, and the time of the
commencement of their exhibitions, I held many curious and amusing
conversations with them about things they had already seen, and scenes
and events that were yet in anticipation and before them. These are
subjects, however, that must be passed over for events that were before
us, and fuller of interest and excitement.

They had much amusement at this time also, about a man they said
they had seen, with a remarkably big nose, which they said looked
like a large potato (or _wapsapinnakan_), and one of the women
sitting near the door of the omnibus declared "that it was actually a
_wapsapinnakan_, for she could distinctly see the little holes where
the sprouts grow out." The bus, they said, had passed on rather too
quick for all to have a fair look, but they believed they would at some
future time meet him again, and take a good look at him.

The evening for their first appearance before the public having
arrived, the Ioways were prepared in all their rouge and fine dresses,
and made their _debut_ before a fashionable, but not a crowded
audience. Their very appearance, as they entered the room, was so wild
and classic, that it called forth applause from every part of the hall.
The audience was composed chiefly of my friends, and others who had
been familiar with the other group, and who were able to decide as to
the comparative interest of the two parties; and it was proclaimed
in every part of the room, that they were altogether more primitive
in their appearance and modes, and decidedly a finer body of men.
I had accompanied them on to the platform, and when they had got
seated, and were lighting their pipe, I introduced them by stating,
that in the exhibition of this party of Indians, I felt satisfied
that I was bringing before the eyes of the audience the most just and
complete illustration of the native looks and modes of the red men of
the American wilderness, that had ever been seen on this side of the
Atlantic; and that I should take great pleasure in introducing them
and their modes, as they so satisfactorily illustrated and proved what
I had been for several years labouring to show to English people, by
my numerous paintings and Indian manufactures which I had collected,
as well as by my notes of travel amongst these people, which I had
recently published:

That the _Ioway_ was one of the remote tribes, yet adhering to all
their native customs and native looks; and that this party, composed,
as it was, of the two principal men of the tribe, and several of its
most distinguished warriors, not only conveyed to the eyes of people
in this country the most accurate account of primitive modes, but was
calculated to excite the deepest interest, and to claim the respect of
the community. That the position of this tribe being upon the great
plains between the Missouri and the Rocky Mountains, 1000 miles farther
west than the country from which the Ojibbeways came, their modes and
personal appearance were very different, having as yet received no
changes from the proximity of civilization:

That I had visited this tribe several years before, during my
travels in the Indian countries, and that I had there formed my
first acquaintance with the two chiefs who were now here, and which
acquaintance, from the hospitable manner in which they had welcomed
me in their humble wig-wams, I now felt great pleasure in renewing:
("_Hear, hear," and applause_.)

That these facts being known, with others which would be incidentally
given, I felt fully assured that they would meet with a kind reception
in this country, and that the audience were prepared for the
introduction I was now to make of them and their modes.[2] (_Great
applause_.)

  [2]               _Names of the Indians_.

      1. Mew-hew-she-kaw (the white cloud), first chief of the nation.
      2. Neu-mon-ya (the walking rain), war-chief.
      3. Se-non-ti-yah (the blistered feet), the medicine man (or
            Doctor).
      4. Wash-ka-mon-ya (the fast dancer).
      5. Shon-ta-yi-ga (the little wolf).
      6. No-ho-mun-ya (one who gives no attention), or Roman Nose.
      7. Wa-ton-ye (the foremost man).
      8. Wa-ta-we-buck-a-na (commanding general).

                             _Women_.

      9.  Ru-ton-ye-wee-ma (strutting pigeon), wife of White Cloud.
      10. Ru-ton-wee-me (pigeon on the wing).
      11. O-kee-wee-me (female bear that walks on the back of another).
      12. Koon-za-ya-me (female war-eagle sailing).
      13. Ta-pa-ta-me (wisdom), girl.
      14. Corsair (pap-poose).

I then pointed out and explained to the audience, the characteristic
differences between the appearance and modes of this party and the
Ojibbeways, whom they had seen, and which will be obvious to the reader
in the annexed illustration (_Plate No_. 9). The Ioways, like three
other tribes only, in North America, all adhere to their national mode
of shaving and ornamenting their heads. This is a very curious mode,
and presents an appearance at once that distinguishes them from the
Ojibbeways and other tribes, who cultivate the hair to the greatest
length they possibly can, and pride themselves on its jet and glossy
black. Every man in the Ioway tribe adheres to the mode of cutting all
the hair as close as he can, excepting a small tuft which is left upon
the crown, and being that part which the enemy takes for the scalp,
is very properly denominated the "_scalp-lock_." He then rouges with
vermilion the whole crown of his head (and oftentimes his whole face),
and surmounts his _scalp-lock_ by a beautiful crest, made of the hair
of the deer's tail, dyed of vermilion red.

The chief man of this party, the "_White Cloud_," the son of a
distinguished chief of the same name, who died a few years since,
was 35 years of age, and hereditary chief of the tribe. By several
humane and noble acts, after he received his office of chief, he
gained the admiration and friendship of the officers of the United
States Government, as well as of his tribe, and had therefore been
countenanced by the Government (as has been shown) in the enterprise of
going abroad.

_Neu-mon-ya_ (the Walking Rain), and war-chief of the tribe, was
54 years of age, and nearly six feet and a half in height. A noble
specimen of the manly grace and dignity that belong to the American
wilderness, and also a man who had distinguished himself in the wars
that he had led against his enemies.

_Se-non-ti-yah_ (the Blistered Feet), the _Medicine_ or _Mystery Man_,
was a highly important personage of the party, and held a high and
enviable position, as physician, soothsayer, and magician, in his tribe.

These personages are found in every tribe, and so much control have
they over the superstitious minds of their people, that their influence
and power in the tribe often transcend those of the chief. In all
councils of war and peace they have a seat by the chiefs, and are as
regularly consulted by the chiefs, as soothsayers were consulted in
ancient days, and equal deference and respect is paid to their advice
or opinions, rendering them _oracles_ of the tribe in which they live.

  [Illustration: N^o. 9.]

A good illustration of this was given by this magician, while on
their voyage to this country, a few weeks since, when near the land,
off the English coast. The packet ship in which the Indians were
passengers, was becalmed for several days, much to the annoyance of
the Indians and numerous other passengers, when it was decided, by the
Indian chief, that they must call upon the _Medicine Man_, to try the
efficacy of his magical powers in the endeavour to raise a wind. For
this purpose he very gradually went to work, with all due ceremony,
according to the modes of the country, and after the usual ceremony of
a mystery feast, and various invocations to the _spirit_ of the _wind_
and the _ocean_, both were conciliated by the sacrifice of many plugs
of tobacco thrown into the sea; and in a little time the wind began
to blow, the sails were filled, and the vessel soon wafted into port,
to the amusement of the passengers, and much to the gratification of
the Indians, who all believed, and ever will, that the vessel was set
in motion by the potency of the Doctor's mysterious and supernatural
powers.

Of the _Warriors_, _Shon-ta-yi-ga_ (the Little Wolf) and _Nu-ho-mun-ya_
(called the "Roman Nose") were the most distinguished, and I believe
the world will agree with me, that it would be an act of injustice on
my part, should I allow the poor fellows to carry through this country,
without giving them publication, the subjoined documents,[3] by which
it will be seen that they saved, in a humane manner, and worthy of
warriors of better _caste_, the lives of ten unarmed and unoffending
enemies.

  [3] KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, That Shon-ta-yi-ga or the
      _Little Wolf_, an Ioway brave, is well entitled to be called
      a brave, from the fact of his having been engaged in many
      expeditions against the enemies of his tribe: in all such
      excursions he has, I am informed, universally behaved bravely.
      But especially is he entitled to the love and confidence of
      all men, whether white or red, on account of his humanity and
      daring conduct in arresting from the cruel nation of which he
      is a member, a party of _Omahaws_. On last Sabbath day he saved
      from the tomahawk and scalping-knife ten unoffending Omahaws:
      one of the party was decoyed out of sight and murdered; the
      other ten consisting of the well-known and much-loved chiefs
      Big Elk, Big Eyes, and Washkamonia, one squaw and six young
      men. This party was on a visit of friendship, by special
      invitation from the Ioways. When they arrived within ten miles
      of this post, they were seen and conversed with by the son in
      law of Neu-mon-ya, a chief of the Ioways, who undertook to
      bring the _tobacco_ and _sticks_ to the Ioway chiefs, as is a
      custom of Indians when on a begging expedition. This young man
      proved treacherous, and failed to deliver his message to his
      chiefs, and gave information of the approach of the Omahaws to
      a man who was preparing to go on a war party. He and two-thirds
      of the nation started out to murder their visitors, and were
      only prevented by the timely assistance and interference of the
      Little Wolf, or Shon-ta-yi-ga, and one other Ioway, whose name
      is the Roman Nose.

      This man (the Little Wolf) interfered, as he says, and doubtless
      he tells the truth, because he considered it treacherous and
      cowardly to strike a brother, after having invited them to
      visit their nation. Such treachery is rare indeed among the
      wildest North-American Indians, and never occurred with the
      Ioways before. I met him and Jeffrey, the Ioway interpreter,
      together with two other Ioways, guarding the Big Elk and his
      party on to my agency, in a short time after this occurrence
      took place.

      I cannot close this communication without expressing my sincere
      thanks to the Little Wolf and his comrade for their good
      conduct; and I most respectfully beg leave to recommend them
      to the kind attention of their great father, the President of
      the United States, and all gentlemen to whom this paper may be
      shown.

                                         W. P. RICHARDSON.

      _Great Nemahaw Sub-Agency, Oct. 23, 1843._

      _Office of Indian Affairs, St. Louis, Missouri, April 10, 1844_.

      SIR,

      Permit me to introduce to you the bearer, No-ho-mun-ya (Roman
      Nose), an Ioway brave. Roman Nose, in company with Shon-ta-yi-ga,
      or Little Wolf, in October last defended and rescued from
      impending death by a party of his own nation, ten Omahaw Indians,
      consisting of four respected chiefs, braves, and squaws, under
      circumstances highly flattering to their bravery and humanity.

      I would recommend that a medal be presented to No-ho-mun-ya
      (Roman Nose) as a testimonial of his meritorious conduct on the
      occasion referred to. Medals from the Government are highly
      esteemed by the Indians; and if bravery and humanity are merits
      in the Indian, then I think Roman Nose richly merits one. His
      character in every respect is good.

      A notice by the Government of meritorious acts by the Indians has
      a happy tendency in making a favourable impression in reference
      to the act that may be the cause of the notice.

      I have presented Little Wolf with a medal that was in the office.
      On receiving it, he very delicately replied, that "he deserved
      no credit for what he had done--that he had only done his duty,
      but was gratified that his conduct had merited the approbation
      of his nation and his father."

                I have the honour to be, very respectfully, Sir,
                                       Your obedient servant,
                                           W. H. HARVEY, Sup. Ind. Aff.

      To his Excellency John Tyler, President of the
               United States, Washington City.

      I concur with Mr. Harvey in thinking this Indian Chief entitled
      for his bravery and humanity to a medal.

      June 8, 1844.
                          J. TYLER, Presid. U. States, Washington City.

      Medal delivered accordingly to Mr. Geo. H. C. Melody, for the
      Chief.

      June 8, 1844.
                                                    J. HARTLEY CRAWFORD.

_Okee-wee-me_ (the wife of the Little Wolf) is the mother of the infant
pappoose, called Corsair. This child is little more than three months
old, and slung in the cradle on the mother's back, according to the
general custom practised by all the American tribes, and furnishes one
of the most interesting illustrations in the group.

All tribes in America practise the same mode of carrying their infant
children for several months from their birth upon a flat board resting
upon the mother's back, as she walks or rides, suspended by a broad
strap passing over her forehead, or across her breast. By this mode
of carrying their children, the mothers, who have to perform all the
slavish duties of the camp, having the free use of their hands and
arms, are enabled to work most of the time, and, in fact, exercise and
labour nearly as well as if their children were not attached to their
persons. These cradles are often, as in the present instance, most
elaborately embroidered with porcupine quills, and loaded with little
trinkets hanging within the child's reach, that it may amuse itself
with them as it rides, with its face looking _from_ that of its mother,
while she is at work, so as not to draw upon her valuable time.

This rigid, and seemingly cruel mode of binding the child with its back
to a straight board, seems to be one peculiarly adapted to Indian life,
and, I believe, promotes straight limbs, sound lungs, and long life.

I having thus introduced the party to their first audience in England,
and left other remarks upon them for their proper place, the Indians
laid by their pipe, and commenced their evening's amusements by giving
first their favourite, the _Eagle-Dance_. The _Drum_ (and their
"_Eagle-Whistles_," with which they imitate the chattering of the
soaring eagle), with their voices, formed the music for this truly
picturesque and exciting dance. At their first pause in the dance,
the audience, who had witnessed nothing of this description in the
amusements of the Ojibbeways, being excited to the highest degree,
encouraged the strangers with rounds of applause. The song in this
dance is addressed to their favourite bird the war-eagle, and each
dancer carries a fan made of the eagle's tail, in his left hand, as he
dances, and by his attitudes endeavours to imitate the motions of the
soaring eagle. This, being a part of the war-dance, is a _boasting_
dance; and at the end of each strain in the song some one of the
warriors steps forth and, in an excited speech, describes the time and
the manner in which he has slain his enemy in battle, or captured his
horses, or performed some other achievement in war. After this the
dance proceeds with increased spirit; and several in succession having
thus excited their fellow-dancers, an indescribable thrill and effect
are often produced before they get through.

In the midst of the noise and excitement of this dance the Doctor (or
_mystery-man_) jumped forward to the edge of the platform, and making
the most tremendous flourish of his spear which he held in his right
hand, and his shield extended upon his left arm, recited the military
deeds of his life--how he had slain his enemies in battle and taken
their scalps; and with singular effect fitting the action to the word,
acting them out as he described.

The thrilling effect produced by the Doctor's boast brought him showers
of applause, which touched his vanity, and at the close of the dance
he imagined all eyes in admiration fixed upon him, and no doubt felt
himself called upon for the following brief but significant speech
which he delivered, waving his right hand over the heads of the
audience from the front of the platform where he stood, and from which
he dropped his most humble and obsequious smiles upon the groups of
ladies who were near him, and applauding at the end of every sentence:--

  "My Friends,--It makes me very happy to see so many smiling faces
  about me, for when people smile and laugh, I know they are not
  angry--"

_Jeffrey_, the _Interpreter_, now made _his_ debut; the Doctor had
beckoned him up by his side to interpret his speech to the audience,
and when he explained the above sentence, the "Doctor" received a round
of applause, and particularly from the ladies, who could not but be
pleased with the simple vanity of the speaker and the self-complacent
smiles which he always lavished upon the fair sex who were around him.
The Doctor, though advanced to the sound and efficient age of 45,
had never taken to him a wife; and, like too many of his fraternity,
had always lived upon the excessive vanity of believing that he was
the _beau ideal_ of his tribe, and admired too much by all to be a
legitimate subject of exclusive appropriation to any particular one.
And more than this (which may not have quite fallen to the happy lot
of any of his brother bachelors in the polished world), from the sort
of _charitable_ habit he had of spreading his glowing smiles upon the
crowds about him, one would almost be of opinion that, in his own
community, under the aids and charms of his profession, he in a measure
had existed upon the belief that his smiles were food and clothing for
the crowds upon whom they were bestowed.

The Doctor yet stood, the concentration of smiles and anxious looks
from every part of the room, and at length proceeded (_Plate No. 10_):--

  "My Friends,--I see the ladies are pleased, and this pleases
  me--because I know, that if they are pleased, they will please the
  men."

It was quite impossible for the Doctor to proceed further until he
had bowed to the burst of laughter and applause from all parts of the
room, and particularly from the ladies. This several times ceased,
but suddenly burst out again, and too quick for him to resume. He had
evidently made a "hit" with the ladies, and he was braced strong in
courage to make the best use of it, although the rest of his comrades,
who were seated and passing the pipe around, were laughing at him
and endeavouring to embarrass him. One of the party, by the name of
_Wash-ka-mon-ya_, and a good deal of the _braggart_, had the cruelty
to say to him, "You old fool, you had better sit down, the white
squaws are all laughing at you." To which the Doctor, deliberately
turning round, sarcastically replied, "You badger, go into your burrow
backwards: I have said more in two sentences than you ever said in
your life." He then turned round, and calling Jeffrey nearer to his
side, proceeded--

  "My Friends,"--[here was a burst of irresistible laughter from the
  ladies, which the drollness of his expression and his figure excited
  at the moment, and in which, having met it all in good humour, he was
  taking a part, but continued]--

  "My Friends,--I believe that our dance was pleasing to you, and that
  our noise has not given you offence. (_Applause._)

  "My Friends,--We live a great way from here, and we have come over
  a great salt lake to see you, and to offer you our hands. The Great
  Spirit has been kind to us; we know that our lives are always in his
  hands, and we thank him for keeping us safe. (_How, how, how!_ from
  the Indians, and applause, with _Hear, hear, hear!_)

  "My Friends,--We have met our friend _Chip-pe-ho-la_ here, and seen
  the medicine things that he has done, and which are hanging all
  around us, and this makes us happy. We have found our chiefs' faces
  on the walls, which the Great Spirit has allowed him to bring over
  safe, and we are thankful for this. (_How, how, how!_)

  "My Friends,--This is a large village, and it has many fine wig-wams;
  we rode in a large carriage the other day and saw it all. (_A laugh_,
  and _Hear!_) We had heard a great deal about the people on this side
  of the water, but we did not think they were so rich; we believe that
  the _Saganoshes_ know a great deal. (_How, how, how!_)

  "My Friends,--We have come on your great _medicine road_, and it
  pleased us very much. When we landed from our ship, we came on your
  _medicine road_, and were told it would be very fine; but when we
  started, we were all very much alarmed; we went in the dark; we all
  went right down into the ground, under a high mountain; we had heard
  that a part of the white people go into the ground when they die,
  and some of them into the fire; we saw some fire; there was a great
  hissing, and a great deal of smoke coming out of this place,[4] and
  we could not get out; we were then somewhat afraid, my friends and
  I began to sing our '_death-song_;' but when we had commenced, our
  hearts were full of joy, we came out again in the open air, and the
  country was very beautiful around us. (_How, how, how!_ and great
  applause.)

  "My Friends,--After we got out from under the ground, we were much
  pleased all the way on the _medicine road_ until we got to this
  village. There were many things to please us, and I think that before
  the trees were cut down, it was a very beautiful country. My friends,
  we think there were Indians and buffalos in this country then. (_How,
  how, how!_)

  "My Friends,--We think we saw some of the _k'nick k'neck_[5] as we
  came along the _medicine road_, and some _quash-e-gon-eh-co_,[6]
  but we came so fast that we were not certain; we should like to know.
  My Friends, this is all I have to say." (_How, how, how!_ and great
  applause.)

  [4] The railway tunnel at Liverpool.

  [5] The red willow, from the inner bark of which the Indians make
      their substitute for tobacco.

  [6] A medicinal herb, the roots of which the Indians use as a
      cathartic medicine.

  [Illustration: N^o. 10.]

The Doctor's speech, which would have been terminated much sooner if he
had been allowed to proceed unmolested, had a very pleasing effect upon
the audience, and had allowed abundant time for the rest of the party
to prepare for the next _dance_.

I now announced to the audience that the Indians were about to give the
_Warrior's-dance_, as performed by their tribe. I explained the meaning
of it, the circumstances under which it was given, and the respects
in which it differed from the War-dance as given by the Ojibbeways.
After which they were all upon their feet, and, with weapons in hand,
proceeded to give it the most exciting, and even _alarming_ effect.

They received great applause at the end of this dance, and also a
number of presents, which were handed and thrown on to the platform.
This created much excitement and good cheer among them, and I was not
a little surprised, nor was I less amused and gratified, to discover
at this moment, that the (so-called) "_jolly fat dame_," of Ojibbeway
notoriety, was along side of the platform, at her old stand, and, in
her wonted liberality, the first one to start the fashion of making the
poor fellows occasional presents. I regretted, however, that I should
have been the ignorant cause of her bestowing her first present upon a
person for whom she did not intend it. The finest-looking man of the
party, and one of the youngest, was _No-ho-mun-ya_ (the _Roman-nose_),
upon whom it seems this good lady's admiration had been fixed during
the evening, notwithstanding the smiles that had been lavished by the
Doctor, and the eloquence which he had poured forth in his boastings
and speeches.

The elegant limbs, Herculean frame, and graceful and terrible
movements of this six foot and a-half young man, as she had gazed
upon him in this last dance, had softened her heart into all its
former kindness and liberality, and she had at this moment, when I
first discovered her, unclasped a beautiful bracelet from one of her
arms, and was just reaching over the platform to say to me as she
did, "Wonderful! wonderful! Mr. Catlin; I think it one of the wonders
of the world! Will you hand this to that splendid fellow, with my
compliments--give him my compliments, will you--it's a bracelet for his
arm (Cadotte has got the other, you know). Oh! but he is a splendid
fellow--give him my compliments, will you. I think them a much finer
party than the other--oh, far superior! I never saw the like; hand it
to him, will you, and if he can't put it on, poor fellow, I will show
him how."

All this had been run over so rapidly that I scarcely could recollect
what she said, for several were speaking to me at the same time; and
at that unfortunate moment it was that I committed the error, for
which I was almost ready to break my own back when I found it out. I
presented it by mistake to the Doctor, who, I supposed, had of course
been winning all the laurels of the evening, and with them the good
lady's compliments, which it would have been quite awkward on her part
and mine also to have unpresented. The Doctor raised up the bracelet as
high as he could reach, and made the house ring and almost tremble with
the war-whoop, which he several times repeated.[7] What could be done?
_She_ was too gallant, and I did not yet know the mistake. The Doctor
happened to know how to put it on--it fitted to his copper- arm
above his elbow--and his true politeness led him to bow and to smile
a thousand thanks upon the fair dame as he bent over her from the
platform.

  [7] The frightful war-whoop is sounded at the instant when Indians
      are rushing into battle, as the signal of attack. It is a
      shrill sounded note, on a high key, given out with a gradual
      swell, and shaken by a rapid vibration of the four fingers of
      the right hand over the mouth. This note is not allowed to be
      given in the Indian countries unless in battle, or in the war
      or other dances, where they are privileged to give it.

The _Approaching-dance_[8] was now given, in which the Doctor took the
lead in great glee, and of course with great effect. He tilted off with
a light and elastic step, as he was "following the track of his enemy,"
and when he raised his brawny arm to beckon on his warriors to the
attack, he took great pains to display the glistening trinket which he
had accepted with such heartfelt satisfaction.

  [8] The Approaching Dance is a spirited part of the _War Dance_, in
      which the dancers are by their gestures exhibiting the mode of
      advancing upon an enemy, by hunting out and following up the
      track, discovering the enemy, and preparing for the attack,
      &c., and the song for this dance runs thus:--

          O-ta-pa!
                I am creeping on your track,
                Keep on your guard, O-ta-pa!
                Or I will hop on your back,
                I will hop on you, I will hop on you.

                Stand back, my friends, I see them;
                The enemies are here, I see them!
                They are in a good place,
                Don't move, I see them!
                    &c. &c. &c.

This dance finished, they all sat down upon the platform and passed
the pipe around, whilst I was further explaining upon their appearance
and modes, and the dance which they had just given. I asked them
what amusement they proposed next, and they announced to me, that as
the Doctor was taking all the honours and all the glory to himself
on that night (and of whom they all seemed extremely jealous), they
had decided that he should finish the amusements of the evening by
singing the "_Wolf-song_." He was so conscious of having engrossed the
principal attention of the house that he at once complied with their
request, though at other times it required a great effort to get him
to sing it. I had not myself heard this song, which seemed, from their
preparations, to promise some amusement, and which Jeffrey told me
belonged exclusively to the Doctor, he having composed it. The Doctor
was ready to commence, and wrapping his robe around him, having his
right arm out, he shook a rattle (she-she-quoin) in his right hand, as
he tilted about the platform, singing alone; at the end of a sentence
he commenced to bark and howl like a wolf, when another jumped upon
his feet and ran to him, and another, and another, and joined in the
chorus, with their heads turned up like wolves when they are howling.
He then sang another strain as he moved about the platform again, all
following him, singing, and ready to join in the deafening chorus.
This strange and comic song drew roars of laughter, and many rounds of
applause for the Doctor, and left him, sure enough, the lion of the
evening.[9]

  [9] WOLF SONG.--This amusing song, which I have since learned more
      of, and which I believe to be peculiar to the Ioways, seems to
      come strictly under the province of the _medicine_ or _mystery_
      man. I will venture to say, that this ingenious adaptation will
      excite a smile, if not some degree of real amusement, as well
      as applause, whenever it is fairly heard and understood by
      an English audience. The occasion that calls for this song
      in the Ioway country is, when a party of young men who are
      preparing to start on a war excursion against their enemy
      (after having fatigued the whole village for several days
      with the war dance, making their boasts how they are going
      to slay their enemies, &c.) have retired to rest, at a late
      hour in the night, to start the next morning, at break of day,
      on their intended expedition. In the dead of that night, and
      after the vaunting war party have got into a sound sleep, the
      serenading party, to sing this song, made up of a number of
      young fellows who care at that time much less about taking
      scalps than they do for a little good fun, appear back of the
      wig-wams of these "_men of war_" and commence serenading them
      with this curious song, which they have ingeniously taken
      from the howling of a gang of wolves, and so admirably adapted
      it to music as to form it into a most amusing duet, quartet,
      or whatever it may be better termed; and with this song, with
      its barking and howling chorus, they are sure to annoy the
      party until they get up, light the fire, get out their tobacco,
      and other little luxuries they may have prepared for their
      excursion, which they will smoke and partake with them until
      daylight, if they last so long, when they will take leave of
      their morning friends who are for the "death," thanking them
      for their liberality and kindness in starting, wishing them a
      good night's sleep (when night comes again) and a successful
      campaign against their enemies.

After he had finished his song, he traversed the platform a few times,
lavishing his self-complacent smiles upon the ladies around the room,
and then desired me to say to the audience, that on the next evening
they were going to give the _Pipe of Peace-dance, and the Scalp-dance_,
which he wished all the ladies to see, and that _now_ the chiefs and
himself were ready to shake hands with all the people in the room.

This of course brought a rush of visitors to the platform, anxious to
welcome the new comers by giving them their hands. A general shake of
the hands took place, and a conversation that occupied half an hour or
more, and much to the satisfaction of the Indians as well as to those
who came to see them.

Much curiosity was kept up yet about the Doctor. The impression that
his countenance and his wit had made upon the women had secured a knot
of them about him, from whom it was difficult to disengage him: some
complained that they were sick, and desired him to feel their pulse;
he did so, and being asked as to the nature of their disease, he
replied that "they were in love,"--and as to the remedy, he said, "Get
husbands, and in a day and a night you will be well." All this they
could have got from other quarters, but coming from an Indian, whose
naked shoulders were glistening around the room, it seemed to come with
the freshness and zest of something entirely new, and created much
merriment.

The amusements of their first night being over, the Indians were
withdrawn from the room, and the audience soon dispersed. Daniel, as
usual, had been at his post, and his report of a few moments' chat
with the "jolly fat dame" gave me the first intelligence of the awful
error I had committed in giving her bracelet to the Doctor instead of
the Roman-nose, for whom she had intended it. She had said to him,
however, that "it was no matter, and the error must not be corrected;
she would bring one on the following evening for the Roman-nose, and
begged that the Doctor might never be apprised of the mistake which had
resulted to his benefit." "They are a splendid set of men, Daniel--far
superior to the others. It is the greatest treat I ever had--I shall
be here every night. You'll think by and by that I am a pretty good
customer; ha, Daniel? That _Roman-nose_ is a magnificent fellow--he's
got no wife, has he, Daniel?" "No, Madam, he is the youngest man of the
party." "He is an _elegant_ fellow--but then his _skin_, Daniel. Their
skins are not so fine as the others--they are _too_ black, or red, or
what you call it; but Cadotte! what a beautiful colour he was, ha? But
I dare say a little _washing_ and living in a city would bring them
nearly white? These people love Mr. Catlin--he's a curious man--he's a
_wonderful_ man; these are his old acquaintance, he has boarded with
them; how they love him, don't they? Ah, well, good night, good night."
She was the last of the visitors going out of the door, and did not
know that I was so close behind her.




                             CHAPTER XVIII.

  Character of the Doctor (_mystery_ or _medicine man_)--An
     omnibus drive--The Doctor's admiration of the "jolly
     fat dame"--Jealousy--War-dress and war-paint of the
     _Roman-nose_--His appearance--He leads the War-dance--The
     Welcome-dance, and Bear-dance--Description of--Pipe-of-peace
     (or Calumet) dance, and Scalp-dance--_Chip-pe-ho-la (the
     Author)_--Speech of the War-chief--The "jolly fat dame"--She
     presents a gold bracelet to _Roman-nose_--Jealousy and distress
     of the Doctor--She converses with Daniel--Two reverend gentlemen
     converse with the Indians about religion--Reply of White-cloud
     and War-chief--Questions by the reverend gentlemen--Answers by
     the War-chief--Indians invited to breakfast with Mr. Disraeli,
     M.P., Park Lane--Indians' toilette and dress--The Doctor and Jim
     (Wash-ka-mon-ya) fasting for the occasion.


On paying a visit to the lodgings of the Indians, after they had
returned from the exhibition, I found them in a merry mood, cracking
their jokes upon the Doctor, who had put himself forward in so
conspicuous a manner, to the great amusement of the ladies. During the
exhibition, it would have appeared, from his looks and his actions,
that he was to be perfectly happy for a twelvemonth at least; but he
now appeared sad and dejected as he listened to their jokes, and turned
his splendid bracelet around with his fingers. Several of the women had
received brooches and other trinkets of value, and all had been highly
pleased.

It seemed that the War-chief was looked upon by the rest of the party
as their orator; and, on an occasion like that which had just passed
by, it was usual, and was expected, that he would have arisen and
made a speech; and it was as little expected that the Doctor, who,
they said, was a very diffident and backward man on such occasions,
should have had so much, or anything to say. But the Doctor was a
man of talent and wit, and with an exorbitant share of vanity and
self-conceit, which were excited to that degree by the irresistible
smiles of the ladies, that he was nerved with courage and ambition
to act the part that he did through the evening. Under the momentary
excitement of his feelings, he had, to be sure, but innocently, stepped
a little out of his sphere, and in the way of the chiefs, which had
somewhat annoyed them at the time, but of which they were now rather
making merry than otherwise. The Doctor was a good-natured and harmless
man, and entirely the creature of impulse. He was always polite, though
not always in good humour. The two leading traits in his character, one
or the other of which was always conspicuous, were extreme buoyancy of
spirits and good humour, when he smiled upon everybody and everything
around him, or silent dejection, which bade defiance to every social
effort. In either of these moods he had the peculiarities of being
entirely harmless, and of remaining in them but a very short time;
and _between_ these moods, he was like a _spirit level_, exceedingly
difficult to hold at a balance.

The jokes that had been concentrated on the Doctor had been rather
pleasant and amusing than otherwise, though there had been so many of
them from the chiefs, from the warriors, from the squaws, and also from
Mr. Melody, and Jeffrey and Daniel, all of whom were laughing at his
expense, that I found him, and left him, sitting in one corner of the
room, with his robe wrapped around him, in stoic silence, occasionally
casting his eyes on his gold bracelet, and then upon the smoking
beef-steaks and coffee which were on the table for their suppers, and
of which he partook not.

Whilst the rest were at the table, he silently spread his robe upon the
floor, and wrapped himself in it. In the morning he washed, as usual,
at the dawning of day, spent an hour or so in solitary meditation on
the roof of the house, and afterwards joined with a pleasant face at
the breakfast table, and through the amusements of the day and evening.

Mr. Melody had, with my cordial approbation, employed an omnibus
with four horses, to drive them an hour each day for the benefit of
their health; and, at the same time, to amuse and instruct them, by
showing them everything that they could see in the civilized world to
their advantage. The Doctor joined, in good spirits, in the "drive"
of that day; and, as on the day before, was wrapped in his buffalo,
and seated by the side of the driver, with the polished blade of his
lance glistening above his head, as many Londoners who read this will
forcibly recollect.

From their drive, in which they had seen many strange things, they
returned in good spirits, and received in their chambers a private
party of ladies and gentlemen, my esteemed friends, and several
editors of the leading journals of London. A long and very interesting
conversation was held with them on several subjects, and the clear and
argumentative manner in which their replies were made, and the truly
striking and primitive modes in which they were found, at once engaged
the profound attention of all, and procured for them, besides some
handsome presents at the time, the strongest recommendations from the
editors of the press, as subjects of far greater interest than the
party of Ojibbeways, whom they had before seen. Amongst these visiters
they recognized with great pleasure, and shook hands with, my kind
friend Dr. Thomas Hodgkin, at whose hospitable board they had, a few
days before, with the author, partaken of an excellent dinner prepared
for them. This was the first gentleman's table they were invited to in
the kingdom, and probably the first place where they ever tried the use
of the knife and fork in the English style.

Dr. Hodgkin being of the Society of Friends, they received much kind
and friendly advice from him, which they never forgot; and from the
unusual shape of his dress, they called him afterwards (not being able
to recollect his name) _Tchon-a-wap-pa_ (the straight coat).

At night they were in the Hall again, and around them, amidst a greatly
increased audience, had the pleasure of beholding nearly all the faces
they had seen the night before; and the Doctor, in particular, of
seeing the smiling ladies whom he had invited to see the _scalp-dance_
and the _scalps_, and, to his more identical satisfaction, of
beholding, at the end of the platform where he had taken pains to
spread his robe and seat himself, the fair dame of _gushing_ charms,
to whom he was occasionally gently turning his head on one side
and smiling, as he presented to her view his copper- arm,
encompassed with the golden bracelet.

This kind lady's goodness was such that she could not but respond
to the bows and the smiles of the Doctor, though (within herself)
she felt a little annoyed at the position which he had taken, so
immediately between her place, which the crowd prevented her from
changing, and that of the splendid "_Roman Nose_," who was now much
more an object of admiration than he had been the night before, and
more peremptorily called for all her attention. He had been selected
to lead in the _scalp-dance_ which was to be given that night; and
for this purpose, in pursuance of the custom of the country, he had
left off his shirt and all his dress save his beautifully garnished
leggings and mocassins, and his many- sash and kilt of eagle's
quills and ermine around his waist. His head was vermilioned red, and
dressed with his helmet-like red crest, and surmounted with a white and
a red eagle's quill, denoting his readiness for peace or for war. His
shoulders and his arms were curiously streaked with red paint, and on
his right and his left breast were the impresses, in black paint, of
two hands, denoting the two victims he had struck, and whose scalps he
then held attached to his painted tomahawk, which he was to wield in
triumph as he had in the _scalp-dance_. Thus arrayed and ornamented,
he appeared in his "war dress," as it is termed; and as he arose from
his seat upon the platform, and drew his painted shield and quiver
from his back, shouts of applause rung from every part of the hall,
and, of course, trepidation increased in the veins of the fair dame,
whose elbows were resting on the edge of the platform, while she was in
rapture gazing upon him, and but partly concealing at times a beautiful
trinket, the sparkling of which the sharp eyes of the Doctor had seen,
as she endeavoured to conceal it in her right hand.

The Doctor could not speak to this fair lady except with his eyes, with
the softest expressions of which he lost no time or opportunity; and
(for several combined reasons, no doubt) he seemed quite unambitious to
leave his seat to "_saw the air_," and strike for a repetition of the
applause he had gained the night before.

Unfortunately in some respects, and as fortunately no doubt in others,
the splendid "_Roman Nose_" held his position at the farther end of the
platform during the greater part of the evening; and the Doctor, for
the several reasons already imagined, remained in the close vicinity
of the fair dame, whose over-timidity, he feared, held her in an
unnecessary and painful suspense.

In this position of things and of parties, the amusements allotted for
the evening had commenced, and were progressing, amidst the roars of
applause that were ready at the close of each dance. They commenced by
giving the _"Welcome Dance" and song_[10] peculiar to their tribe. The
sentiment of this being explained by me, gave great pleasure to the
audience, and prepared them for the dances and amusements which were to
follow.

  [10] This peculiar dance is given to a stranger, or strangers,
       whom they are decided to welcome in their village; and out of
       respect to the person or persons to whom they are expressing
       this welcome, the musicians and all the spectators rise upon
       their feet while it is being danced.

       The song is at first a lament for some friend, or friends, who
       are dead or gone away, and ends in a gay and lively and cheerful
       step, whilst they are announcing that the friend to whom they
       are addressing it is received into the place which has been
       left.

They next announced the "_Bear Dance_" and amused the audience very
much in its execution. This curious dance is given when a party are
preparing to hunt the _black bear_, for its delicious food; or to
contend with the more ferocious and dangerous "_grizly bear_," when a
similar appeal is made to the _bear-spirit_, and with similar results,
(_i.e._) all hands having strictly attended to the important and
necessary form of conciliating in this way the good will and protection
of the peculiar _spirit_ presiding over the destinies of those animals,
they start off upon their hunt with a confidence and prospect of
success which they could not otherwise have ventured to count upon. In
this grotesque and amusing mode, each dancer imitates with his hands,
alternately, the habits of the bear when running, and when sitting up,
upon its feet, its paws suspended from its breast.

It was customary with them to be seated a few minutes after each dance,
and to pass around the pipe; and in the interval they were thus filling
up after this dance, the Indians, as well as the audience, were all
surprised at the appearance of a large square parcel handed in, and on
to the platform, by a servant in livery, as a present to the Indians
from his anonymous mistress. "Curiosity was on tip-toe" to know what
so bulky a parcel contained; and when it was opened, it was found to
contain 14 beautifully bound Bibles--the number just equal to the
number of Indians of the party; and a very kind letter addressed to
them, and which was read, exhorting them to change the tenor of their
lives, to learn to read, and to profit by the gifts enclosed to them.

The Bibles being distributed amongst them, the War-chief arose, and in
the most respectful and appropriate manner returned his thanks for the
liberal present and the kind wishes of the lady who gave them; he said
he was sorry he did not know which lady to thank, but by thanking all
in the room, he considered he was taking the surest way of conveying
his thanks to her.

After this, the _ne plus ultra_ (as the Doctor would undoubtedly call
it), the frightful "_Scalp Dance_,"[11] was announced. All parties,
the modest _squaws_ (of whom they had four with them) as well as the
men, were arranging their dresses and implements to take part in it.
The drums struck up, and the "splendid _Roman Nose_" led off, waving
his two scalps on the point of a lance, until he was once around the
circle, when they were placed in the hands of a squaw to carry, whilst
he wielded his tomahawk and scalping-knife, and showed the manner in
which his unfortunate enemies had fallen before him. This was probably
the first time that the Scalp Dance, in its original and _classic_
form, was ever seen in the city of London, and embellished by the
presence of real and _genuine scalps_.

  [11] This barbarous and exciting scene is the Indian mode of
       celebrating a victory, and is given fifteen nights in
       succession, when a war party returns from battle, having taken
       scalps from the heads of their enemies. Taking the scalp is
       practised by all the American tribes, and by them all very
       much in the same way, by cutting off a patch of the skin from
       a victim's head when killed in battle; and this piece of
       skin, with the hair on it, is the scalp, which is taken and
       preserved solely for a trophy, as the proof positive that its
       possessor has killed an enemy in battle, and this because they
       have no books of history or public records to refer to for the
       account of the battles of military men. The scalp dance is
       generally danced by torch light, at a late hour in the night;
       and, in all tribes, the women take a conspicuous part in it,
       by dancing in the circle with the men, holding up the scalps
       just brought from battle, attached to the top of a pole, or
       the handle of a lance.

       A scalp, to be a genuine one, must have been taken from the head
       of an _enemy_, and that enemy _dead_. The living are sometimes
       scalped, but whenever it occurs, it is on a field of battle,
       amongst the wounded, and supposed to be dead, who sometimes
       survive, but with the signal disgrace of having lost a patch
       of the skin and hair from the top of their heads.

This exciting scene, with its associations, had like to have been too
much for the nerves and tastes of London people; but having evidently
assembled here for the pleasure of receiving shocks and trying their
nerves, they soon seemed reconciled, and all looked on with amazement
and pleasure, whilst they were sure for once in their lives, at least,
that they were drawing information from its true and native source.
This dance was long and tedious, but when it was finished, it was
followed by a deafening round of applause, not of approbation of the
shocking and disgusting custom, but of the earnest and simple manner
in which these ignorant and thoughtless people were endeavouring to
instruct and to amuse the enlightened world by a strict and emphatic
illustration of one of the barbarous, but valued, modes of their
country.

The subject and mode of _scalping_, and of thus celebrating their
victories, so little understood in the enlightened world, afforded me
an interesting theme for remarks at this time; and when the Indians
were again seated and "_taking a smoke_," I took the occasion of this
complete illustration to explain it in all its parts and meanings, for
which, when I had done, I received five times as much applause as I
deserved for doing it.

_The Pipe of Peace_ (or Calumet) _Dance_[13] was the next announced;
and was danced with great spirit, and gained them much applause. At
the close of this, their favourite dance, it became peculiarly the
privilege of the War-chief to make his boast, as the dance is given
only at the conclusion of a treaty of peace between hostile tribes, and
at which treaty he is supposed to preside. For this purpose he rose,
and straightening up his tall and veteran figure, with his buffalo robe
thrown over his shoulder and around him, with his right arm extended
over the heads of his fellow warriors, made a most animated speech to
them for several minutes (with his back turned towards the audience),
reminding them of the principal exploits of his military life, with
which they were all familiar. He then called upon one of the younger
men to light his pipe, which being done, and placed in his hand, he
took several deliberate whiffs through its long and ornamented stem;
this done, and his ideas all arranged, he deliberately turned around,
and passing his pipe into his left hand, extended his right over the
heads of the audience and commenced:--

  "My Friends,--We believe that all our happiness in this life is given
  to us by the Great Spirit, and through this pipe I have thanked Him
  for enabling me to be here at this time, and to speak to you all who
  are around me. (_How, how, how!_ and applause)

  "My Friends,--We have had a long journey, and we are still very
  much fatigued. We prayed to the Great Spirit, and He has heard our
  prayers; we are all here, and all well. (_How, how, how!_ and _Hear!_)

  "My Friends,--We are poor and live in the woods, and though the
  Great Spirit is with us, yet He has not taught us how to weave the
  beautiful things that you make in this country; we have seen many
  of those things brought to us, and we are now happy to be where all
  these fine things are made. (_How, how, how!_)

  "My Friends,--The Great Spirit has made us with red skins, and taught
  us how to live in the wilderness, but has not taught us to live as
  you do. Our dresses are made of skins and are very coarse, but they
  are warm; and in our dances we are in the habit of showing the skins
  of our shoulders and our arms, and we hope you will not be angry with
  us--it is our way. (_How, how, how!_ and great applause.)

  "My Friends,--We have heard that your chief is a woman, and we know
  that she must be a great chief, or your country would not be so
  rich and so happy. (Cheers and _Hear!_) We have been told that the
  Ojibbeways went to see your queen, and that she smiled upon them;
  this makes us the more anxious to see her face, as the Ojibbeways are
  our enemies. (_How, how, how!_)

  "My Friends,--We hope to see the face of your queen, and then we
  shall be happy. Our friend _Chippehola_[12] has told us that he
  thinks we shall see her. My Friends, we do not know whether there are
  any of her relations now in the room. (_How, how, how!_ and a laugh.)

  "My Friends,--We shall be glad to shake your hands. This is all I
  have to say." (Great applause.)

  [12] The _Pipe of Peace_ (or calumet) is a sacred pipe, so held by
       all the American tribes, and kept in possession of the chiefs,
       to be smoked only at times of peace-making. When the terms of
       a treaty have been agreed upon, this sacred pipe, the stem of
       which is ornamented with eagle's quills, is brought forward,
       and the solemn pledge to keep the peace is passed through the
       sacred stem by each chief and warrior drawing the smoke once
       through it. After this ceremony is over, the warriors of the
       two tribes unite in the dance, with the pipe of peace held in
       the left hand, and a she-she-quoi (or rattle) in the right.

  [13] Geo. Catlin.

At the close of his speech, and as he turned around to meet the
approbation of his fellow-warriors, there was a sudden burst of
laughter amongst the Indians, occasioned by the sarcastic and exulting
manner in which the old Doctor told him he had better say something
more before he sat down, "because," said he, "you have not made half
as much laugh yet as I did last night." "I should be sorry if I had,"
said the War-chief; "the audience always laugh the moment they see your
ugly face."

The Doctor's troubles commenced here, for just at that moment the
"fair dame" had caught the eye of the "_Roman-nose_," and holding up
a beautiful bracelet enclosing a brilliant stone, she tempted him up,
while she clasped it upon his arm as it was extended immediately over
the Doctor's head, whose unfailing politeness induced him to bow down
his head to facilitate the operation.

When the "_Roman-nose_" had taken his seat, and the poor Doctor
had raised up his head to meet the eyes and the taunts of his
fellow-Indians, who were laughing at him, and the gaze of the visitors
from every quarter of the room, there _was_ a _smile_, but altogether
a _new_ one, and a _new word_ should be coined for the sudden and
singular distress of the dilemma he was in: it would not do to
undervalue the beautiful present that was already upon his arm, and to
save his life he could not smile as pleasantly upon the _fair hand_
that gave it as he had been smiling a few minutes before. The trinket
had instantly fallen fifty per cent. in its value--the _brilliant_
prospect that had been before him had fled, and left him in the dread,
not only that his beautiful commercial prospects were blighted, but
that he was to have an enemy in the field.

The _Roman-nose_ received his present in a respectful and thankful
manner, but it was too late to be _affectionately_ accepted, as it
was the _second_ one that was afloat, and taken by him, partly as
an evidence of a kind heart, and partly as a foil to cover the true
meaning of the first one that had been bestowed. However, he valued it
very much, and the secret respecting the mistake that had been made in
presenting the first, having been committed only to Daniel and myself,
was thought best, for the peace of all parties, not to be divulged.

The amusements of the evening being finished, there commenced a general
shake of the hands, and when it had been requested by some of the
audience that the Indians should come on to the floor, the request
was instantly complied with, which afforded the most gratifying
opportunity for the visitors to get near to them, and scan them and
their costumes and weapons more closely. There was a general outcry by
the ladies for the wife of the Little-wolf to descend from the platform
with her little pappoose slung on her back in its splendid cradle,
ornamented with porcupine's quills and ermine skins. It was a beautiful
illustration, and formed one of the most attractive features of the
exhibition, for gentlemen as well as for ladies, as thousands will
recollect.

The "jolly fat dame" had an opportunity of meeting the _Roman-nose_ and
of shaking his hand: but, "oh, the distress!" she could not speak to
him as she had done to Cadotte,--it was impossible for her to explain
to him the abominable mistake of the first night, and she feared he
never would properly appreciate the present which she had just made
him; nevertheless they were "a noble, fine set of fellows." The Doctor
passed about in the crowd shaking hands, and shaking his fan also,
which was made of the eagle's tail. He met the "fair dame," and (cruel
that he could not speak to her) he dropped many smiles as he looked
down upon and over her dimpled cheeks and round neck, as he raised and
showed her his brawny arm with the golden bracelet.

The Indians soon withdrew, and after them the crowd; and after the
crowd the "jolly fat dame," who said to Daniel as she passed, "I
can't stop to-night, Daniel, I am in a great hurry; but I gave the
bracelet to the _Roman-nose_--I got a good opportunity, Daniel--I
buckled it on myself: oh, yes, I did--that I did--the good fellow,
he stood it well--he never stirred. He'll recollect me, won't he,
Daniel? I am going; but oh, look here--I can't, to save my life, make
the poor fellow understand how the accident took place--it is so
provoking!--it's awkward--it is very annoying to me. _You_ can tell
him, Daniel--I wish you would tell him--I want you to explain it to
him. Come, will you, Daniel? that's a good fellow. Tell him I never
intended to give a bracelet to the old Doctor. But stop, he won't tell
the Doctor that, will he? I wouldn't for the world hurt the poor old
man's feelings--no, Daniel, not for twenty bracelets--what shall we
do?" "Oh, there is no danger, Madam, that the Doctor will ever hear of
it." "You think so?" "Oh, I am sure, Madam." "Then it's all right--good
night. I shall be here every night, you know."

The next morning after this, the Rev. Mr. ---- and Mr. ---- called upon
me at my family residence, to ask if it would be consistent with my
views and the views of the Indians for them to have some conversation
with them in private on the subject of religion and education. I
replied, that it was one of the greatest satisfactions I could have
during their stay in England, to promote as far as in my power such
well-meant efforts to enlighten their minds, and to enable them to
benefit in that way by their visit to this country. I told them also,
that I was very glad to say that this party was under the charge of
Mr. Melody, a man who was high in the confidence of the American
Government, and that I knew him to be a temperate and moral man: as he
was interested in the missionary efforts being made in this very tribe,
I felt quite certain that he would do all in his power to promote
their object, and they had better call on him. They did so, and an
appointment was made for them to visit the Indians in the afternoon,
subsequent to their usual daily "drive."

Mr. Melody had had a conversation with the Indians on the subject, and
although they felt some reluctance at first, on account of the little
time they would have to reflect upon it, they had agreed to see the
reverend gentlemen in the afternoon, and I was sent for to be present.
I was there at the time, and when the reverend gentlemen called, I
introduced them to the Indians in their rooms. The Indians were all
seated on the floor, upon their robes and blankets, and passing around
the pipe. After the usual time taken by strangers to examine their
curious dresses, weapons, &c., one of the reverend gentlemen mentioned
to the chiefs, in a very kind and friendly manner, the objects of their
visit, and with their permission gave them a brief account of the life
and death of our Saviour, and explained as well as he could to their
simple minds the mode of Redemption. He urged upon them the necessity
of their taking up this belief, and though it might be difficult for
them to understand at first, yet he was sure it was the only way to
salvation. This gentleman took full time to explain his views to them,
which was done in the most suitable language for their understanding,
and every sentence was carefully and correctly interpreted to them
by Jeffrey, who seemed to be himself much interested in hearing his
remarks.

After the reverend gentleman had finished, Mr. Melody stated to the
Indians that he believed all that the gentleman said was true, and that
he knew it to be worth their closest and most patient consideration.
He then asked White-cloud if he had anything to answer; to which he
said, "he had but a few words to say, as he did not feel very well, and
_Neu-mon-ya_ (the War-chief) was going to speak for him." He thought,
however, that it was a subject which they might as well omit until they
got home.

_Neu-mon-ya_ during this time was hanging his head quite down, and
puffing the smoke as fast as he could draw it through his pipe, in
long breaths, and discharging it through his nostrils. He raised up
after a moment more of pause, and passing the pipe into White-cloud's
hand, folded his arms, with his elbows on his knees, when he drew a
deep sigh, and followed it with the last discharge of smoke from his
lungs, which was now passing in two white streams through his distended
nostrils, as he said--

  "My friends,[14]--The Great Spirit has sent you to us with kind
  words, and he has opened our ears to hear them, which we have done.
  We are glad to see you and to hear you speak, for we know that you
  are our friends. What you have said relative to our learning to read
  and to write, we are sure can do us no good--we are now too old;
  but for our children, we think it would be well for them to learn;
  and they are now going to schools in our village, and learning to
  read and to write. As to the white man's religion which you have
  explained, we have heard it told to us in the same way, many times,
  in our own country, and there are white men and women there now,
  trying to teach it to our people. We do not think your religion good,
  unless it is so for white people, and this we don't doubt. The Great
  Spirit has made our skins red, and the forests for us to live in. He
  has also given us our religion, which has taken our fathers to 'the
  beautiful hunting grounds,' where we wish to meet them. We don't
  believe that the Great Spirit made us to live with pale faces in this
  world, and we think He has intended we should live separate in the
  world to come.

  "My friends,--We know that when white men come into our country we
  are unhappy--the Indians all die, or are driven away before the white
  men. Our hope is to enjoy our hunting grounds in the world to come,
  which white men cannot take from us: we _know_ that our fathers and
  our mothers have gone there, and we don't know why we should not go
  there too.

  "My friends,--You have told us that the Son of the Great Spirit was
  on earth, and that he was killed by white men, and that the Great
  Spirit sent him here to get killed; now we cannot understand all
  this--this may be necessary for white people, but the red men, we
  think, have not yet got to be so wicked as to require that. If it was
  necessary that the Son of the Great Spirit should be killed for white
  people, it may be necessary for them to believe all this; but for us,
  we cannot understand it."

  [14] Being a silent listener to these conversations, I took out my
       note book and wrote down the remarks here given, as they were
       translated by Jeffrey.

He here asked for the pipe, and having drawn a few whiffs, proceeded.

  "My friends,--You speak of the '_good book_' that you have in your
  hand; we have many of these in our village; we are told that 'all
  your words about the Son of the Great Spirit are printed in that
  book, and if we learn to read it, it will make good people of us.'
  I would now ask why it don't make good people of the pale faces
  living all around us? They can all read the good book, and they can
  understand all that the '_black coats_'[15] say, and still we find
  they are not so honest and so good a people as ours: this we are sure
  of; such is the case in the country about us, but _here_ we have no
  doubt but the white people who have so many to preach and so many
  books to read, are all honest and good. In _our_ country the white
  people have two faces, and their tongues branch in different ways;
  we know that this displeases the Great Spirit, and we do not wish to
  teach it to our children."

  [15] Clergymen.

He here took the pipe again, and while smoking, the reverend gentleman
asked him if he thought the Indians did all to serve the Great Spirit
that they ought to do--all that the Great Spirit required of them? to
which he replied--

  "My friends,--I don't know that we do all that the Great Spirit
  wishes us to do; there are some Indians, I know, who do not; there
  are some bad Indians as well as bad white people; I think it is very
  difficult to tell how much the Great Spirit wishes us to do."

The reverend gentleman said--

  "That, my friends, is what we wish to teach you; and if you can learn
  to read this good book, it will explain all that."

The chief continued--

  "We believe the Great Spirit requires us to pray to Him, which we
  do, and to thank Him for everything we have that is good. We know
  that He requires us to speak the truth, to feed the poor, and to love
  our friends. We don't know of anything more that he demands; he may
  demand more of white people, but we don't know that."

The reverend gentleman inquired--

  "Do you not think that the Great Spirit sometimes punishes the
  Indians in this world for their sins?"

  _War-chief._--"Yes, we do believe so."

  _Rev. Gentleman._--"Did it ever occur to you, that the small pox that
  swept off half of your tribe, and other tribes around you, a few
  years ago, might have been sent into your country by the Great Spirit
  to punish the Indians for their wickedness and their resistance to
  his word?"

  _War-chief._--"My Friends, we don't know that we have ever resisted
  the word of the Great Spirit. If the Great Spirit sent the small
  pox into our country to destroy us, we believe it was to punish us
  for listening to the false promises of white men. It is white man's
  disease, and no doubt it was sent amongst white people to punish
  _them_ for their sins. It never came amongst the Indians until we
  began to listen to the promises of white men, and to follow their
  ways; it then came amongst us, and we are not sure but the Great
  Spirit then sent it to punish us for our foolishness. There is
  another disease sent by the Great Spirit to punish white men, and it
  punishes them in the right place--the place that offends. We know
  that disease has been sent to punish them; that disease was never
  amongst the Indians until white men came--they brought it, and we
  believe we shall never drive it out of our country."

The War-chief here reached for the pipe again for a minute, and then
continued--

  "My Friends,--I hope my talk does not offend you; we are children,
  and you will forgive us for our ignorance. The Great Spirit expects
  us to feed the poor; our wives and children at home are very poor;
  wicked white men kill so many of our hunters and warriors with
  _fire-water_, that they bring among us, and leave so many children
  among us for us to feed, when they go away, that it makes us very
  poor. Before they leave our country they destroy all the game also,
  and do not teach us to raise bread, and our nation is now in that
  way, and very poor; and we think that the way we can please the Great
  Spirit first, is to get our wives and children something to eat, and
  clothes to wear. It is for that we have come to this country, and
  still we are glad to hear your counsel, for it is good."

The reverend gentlemen, and several ladies who had accompanied them,
here bestowed some very beautiful Bibles and other useful presents
upon the Indians; and thanking them for their patience, were about
to take leave of them, when Mr. Melody begged their attention for a
few moments while he read to them several letters just received from
reverend gentlemen conducting a missionary school in this tribe, giving
a flattering account of its progress, and presented them a vocabulary
and grammar, already printed in the Ioway language, by a printing-press
belonging to the missionary school in their country. This surprised
them very much, and seemed to afford them great satisfaction.

       *       *       *       *       *

The comments of the press, as well as the remarks of the public who had
seen them, now being made upon the superior interest of this party,
they were receiving daily calls from distinguished persons, and also
numerous invitations to gentlemen's houses, which daily increased their
consequence, and, of course, their enjoyment. Amongst the first of
these kind invitations was one from Mr. Disraeli, M.P., for the whole
party to partake of a breakfast at his house, in Park Lane.

This was for the next morning after the interview just described; and,
not knowing or even being able to imagine what they were to see, or
what sort of rules or etiquette they were to be subjected to, they were
under the most restless excitement to prepare everything for it, and
the greatest anxiety for the hour to approach. They were all up at
an unusually early hour, preparing every trinket and every article of
dress, and spent at least an hour at their toilets in putting the paint
upon their faces. The Doctor had been told that he would sit down at
the table amongst many very splendid ladies; and this, or some other
embarrassment, had caused him to be dissatisfied with the appearance of
the paint which he had put upon his face, and which he was carefully
examining with his little looking-glass. He decided that it would not
do, and some bear's grease and a piece of deer-skin soon removed it
all. He spent another half hour with his different tints, carefully
laying them on with the end of his forefinger; and, displeased again,
_they_ were all demolished as before. Alarm about time now vexed him,
and caused him to plaster with a more rapid and consequently with a
more "masterly touch." The effect was fine! He was ready, and so were
all the party, from head to foot. All their finest was on, and all
were prepared for the move, when I came in at about eight o'clock
to advise them of the hour at which we were to go, and which I had
forgotten to mention to them the evening before. I then referred to
the note of invitation, and informed them that the hour appointed was
twelve o'clock. The whole party, who were at that time upon their feet
around me, wrapped in their robes, their shields and quivers slung,
and the choice tints upon their faces almost too carefully arranged
to be exposed to the breath of the dilapidating wind, expressed a
decided shock when the hour of twelve was mentioned. They smiled, and
evidently thought it strange, and that some mistake had been made.
Their conjectures were many and curious: some thought it was _dinner_
that was meant, instead of _breakfast_; and others thought so late an
hour was fixed that they might get their own breakfasts out of the way,
and then give the Indians theirs by themselves. I answered, "No, my
good fellows, it is just the reverse of this; you are all wrong--it is
to _breakfast_ that you are invited, and lest their family, and their
friends whom they have invited to meet you, should not have the honour
of sitting down and eating with you, they have fixed the hour at twelve
o'clock, the time that the great and fashionable people take their
breakfasts. You must have your breakfasts at home at the usual hour,
and take your usual _drive_ before you go; so you will have plenty of
time for all, and be in good humour when you go there, where you will
see many fine ladies and be made very happy."

My remarks opened a new batch of difficulties to them that I had not
apprehended, some of which were exceedingly embarrassing. To wait four
hours, and to eat and to ride in the meantime, would be to derange the
streaks of paint and also to soil many articles of dress which could
not be put on excepting on very particular occasions. To take them off
and put them on, and to go through the vexations of the toilet again,
at eleven o'clock, was what several of the party could submit to, and
others could not. As to the breakfast of huge beefsteaks and coffee
which was just coming up, I had felt no apprehensions; but when it was
on the table I learned that the _old Doctor_ and _Wash-ka-mon-ya_ and
one or two others of the young men were adhering to a custom of their
country, and which, in my rusticity (having been seven or eight years
out of Indian life), I had at the moment lost sight of.

It is the habit in their country, when an Indian is invited to a feast,
to go as hungry as he can, so as to be as fashionable as possible, by
eating an enormous quantity, and for this purpose the invitations are
generally extended some time beforehand, paying the valued compliment
to the invited guest of allowing as much time as he can possibly
require for starving himself and preparing his stomach by tonics taken
in bitter decoctions of medicinal herbs. In this case the invitation
had only been received the day before, and of course allowed them much
less than the usual time to prepare to be _fashionable_. They had,
however, received the information just in time for the _Doctor_ and
_Wash-ka-mon-ya_ and the _Roman-nose_ to avoid the annoyance of their
dinners and suppers on that day, and they had now laid themselves
aside in further preparation for the _feast_ in which they were to be
candidates for the mastery in emptying plates and handling the "knife
and fork" (or "knife and fingers"), the custom of their country.

In this condition the _Doctor_ particularly was a subject for the
freshest amusement, or for the profoundest contemplation. With all
his finery and his trinkets on, and his red and yellow paint--with
his shield, and bow and quiver lying by his side, he was straightened
upon his back, with his feet crossed, as he rested in a corner of
the room upon his buffalo robe, which was spread upon the floor.
His little looking glass, which was always suspended from his belt,
he was holding in his hand, as he was still arranging his beautiful
feathers, and contemplating the patches of red and yellow paint, and
the _tout ensemble_ of the pigments and _copper colour_ with which he
was to make a sensation where he was going to _feast_ (as he had been
told) with ladies, an occurrence not known in the annals of the Indian
country. He had resolved, on hearing the hour was _twelve_, not to eat
his breakfast (which he said might do for women and children), or to
take his usual ride in the bus, that he might not injure his growing
appetite, or disturb a line of paint or a feather, until the hour had
arrived for the honours and the luxuries that awaited them.

I reasoned awhile with these three epicures of the land of "_buffaloes'
tongues_ and _beavers' tails_," telling them that they were labouring
under a misconception of the ideas of gentility as entertained in the
civilized and fashionable world; that in London, the genteel people
practised entirely the opposite mode from theirs; that light dinners
and light breakfasts were all the fashion, and the less a lady or
gentleman could be seen eating, the more sentimental he or she was
considered, and consequently the more transcendently genteel: and that
when they went to breakfast with their friends at 12, or to dine at
7 or 8, they were generally in the habit of promoting gentility by
eating a little at home before they started.

My reasoning, however, had no other effect than to excite a smile from
the Doctor, and the very philosophic reply, "that they should prefer
to adhere to their own custom until they got to the lady's house, when
they would try to conform to that of the white people of London." The
drollness of these remarks from this droll old gentleman entirely
prevented Mr. Melody and myself from intruding any further suggestions,
until the hour arrived, and it was announced that the carriage was at
the door.




                              CHAPTER XIX.

  Kind reception at Mr. Disraeli's--View of Hyde Park from
     the top of his house--Review of troops, and sham
     fight--Breakfast-table--The Doctor missing--The Author
     finds him in the bathing-room--Champagne wine--Refused by
     the Indians--_Chickabobboo: Chippehola_ tells the story of
     it--The Indians drink--Presents--The "big looking-glass"--The
     Doctor smiles in it--Speech of the War-chief--Shake of hands,
     and return--Exhibition-room, Egyptian Hall--Doctor presents
     a string of wampum and the "_White-feather_" to the "jolly
     fat dame"--Indians talk about _chickabobboo_--The Rev. Mr.
     G---- calls--A different religion (a Catholic)--Interview
     appointed--Two Methodist clergymen call--Indians refuse to see
     them--The giant and giantess visit the Indians--The Doctor
     measuring the giantess--The talk with the Catholic clergyman.


This chapter begins with the introduction of the Ioways into
fashionable life, through the various phases of which they had the good
or bad fortune to pass, in this and other countries, as will be seen,
before they returned to resume the tomahawk and scalping-knife in their
favourite prairies, and the Rocky Mountains in America.

Mr. Melody and myself accompanied the Indians, and all together were
put down at the door, where we met a host of waiters in livery, ready
to conduct us to the kind lady and gentleman, whom they instantly
recollected to have seen and shaken hands with in the exhibition room.
This gave them confidence, and all parties were made easy in a moment,
by a general introduction which followed. Through the interpreter, the
ladies complimented them for their dances and songs, which they had
heard, and pronounced to be very wonderful. Their women and little
children were kindly treated by the ladies, and seats were prepared
for them to sit down. The men were also desired to be seated, but
on looking around the room, upon the richness of its furniture,
the splendid carpet on which they stood, and the crimson velvet of
the cushioned chairs that were behind them, they smiled, and seemed
reluctant to sit upon them, for fear of soiling them. They were at
length prevailed upon to be seated, however, and after a little
conversation, were conducted by Mr. Disraeli through the different
apartments of his house, where he put in their hands, and explained
to them, much to their gratification, many curious daggers, sabres,
and other weapons and curiosities of antiquity. In passing through the
dining saloon, they passed the table, groaning under the weight of its
costly plate and the luxuries which were prepared for them; upon this
the old Doctor smiled as he passed along, and he even turned his head
to smile again upon it, as he left it.

After we had surveyed all below, the party were invited to the top of
the house, and Mr. Disraeli led the way. The ladies, of whom there were
a goodly number, all followed; and altogether, the pictured buffalo
robes--the rouged heads and red feathers--the gaudy silks, and bonnets,
and ribbons--glistening lances and tomahawks--and black coats, formed a
novel group for the gaze of the multitude who were gathering from all
directions, under the ever exciting cry of "Indians! Indians!"

Hyde Park was under our eye, and from our position we had the most
lovely view of it that any point could afford; and also of the drilling
of troops, and the sham-fight in the park, which was going on under our
full view. This was exceedingly exciting and amusing to the Indians,
and also the extensive look we had in turning our eyes in the other
direction, over the city. The ladies had now descended, and we all
followed to the saloon, where it was soon announced that the breakfast
was ready; and in a few moments all were seated at the table, excepting
the Doctor, who was not to be found. Jeffrey and I instantly thought
of his "_propensity_" and went to the house-top for him, but to our
amazement he was not there. In descending the stairs, however, and
observing a smoke issuing out of one of the chambers, into which we
had been led, on going up to examine the beautiful arrangement for
vapour and shower baths, we stepped in, and found the Doctor seated in
the middle of the room, where he had lit his pipe, and was taking a
more deliberate look at this ingenious contrivance, which he told us
pleased him very much, and which he has often said he thought would be
a good mode to adopt in his practice in his own country. He was easily
moved, however, when it was announced to him that the breakfast was on
the table and ready, where he was soon seated in the chair reserved for
him.

Great pains were taken by the ladies and gentlemen to help the Indians
to the luxuries they might like best; and amongst others that were
offered, their glasses were filled with sparkling champagne, in which
their health was proposed. The poor fellows looked at it, and shaking
their heads, declined it. This created some surprise, upon which Mr.
Melody explained for them that they had pledged their words not to
drink spirituous liquors while in this country. They were applauded
by all the party for it, and at the same time it was urged that this
was only a light _wine_, and could not hurt them: we were drinking it
ourselves, and the ladies were drinking it, and it seemed cruel to deny
them. Poor Melody!--he looked distressed: he had a good heart, and
loved his Indians, but he felt afraid of the results. The _Doctor_ and
_Wash-ka-mon-ya_ kept their hands upon their glasses, and their eyes
upon Melody and myself, evidently understanding something of the debate
that was going on, until it was agreed and carried, by the ladies and
all, that taking a little champagne would not be a breach of their
promise in the least, and that it would do them no harm. Their health
and success were then proposed, and all their glasses were drained to
the bottom at once.

The Doctor, after finding the bottom of his glass, turned round, and
smacking his lips, dropped me a bow and a smile, seeming to say that
"he was thankful, and that the wine was very good."

I told them that this was not "_fire-water_" as they could themselves
judge, but that it was "_chickabobboo_." This word seeming to them to
be an Indian word, excited their curiosity somewhat, and being called
upon by the ladies to explain the meaning of it, as they did not
recollect to have met such a word in Johnson's Dictionary or elsewhere,
I related to them the story of _chickabobboo_, as told by the war-chief
of the Ojibbeways, at Windsor Castle; and the manner in which those
Indians partook of the Queen's wine, or "_chickabobboo_" as they called
it, on that occasion.

This explanation afforded much amusement to the party, and to the
Indians also, as Jeffrey interpreted it to them; and it was soon
proposed that their glasses should be filled again with _chickabobboo_.
The Doctor sat next to me at the table, and every time he emptied
his glass of _chickabobboo_ I was amused to hear him pronounce the
word "good!"--the first word of English he had learned, and the first
occasion on which I had heard him sound it. After the wine was first
poured out, he had kept one hand around his glass or by the side of
it, and had entirely stopped eating. He had minced but a little in
the outset, and seeming to have a delicate stomach, was giving great
pain to the ladies who were helping him and urging him to eat, in his
irrevocable resolution to be _genteel_, as he had before suggested, and
which they probably never understood.

The last dish that was passed around the table, and relished by the
Indians quite as much as the _chickabobboo_, was a plate of trinkets
of various kinds, of brooches, bracelets, chains, and other ornaments
for their persons, which they received with expressions of great
thankfulness as they were rising from the table. Thus ended the
"feast," as they called it; and on entering the drawing-room the Doctor
became a source of much amusement to the ladies, as his attention was
arrested by the enormous size of a mirror that was before him, or by
the striking effect of his own beautiful person, which he saw at full
length in it. He affected to look only at the frame, as the ladies
accused him of vanity; and he drew out from under his belt his little
looking-glass, about an inch square, imbedded in a block of deal to
protect it from breaking. The contrast was striking and amusing, but
what followed was still more so. The ladies were anxious to examine
his looking-glass (which was fastened to his person with a leathern
thong), and in pulling it out, there necessarily came out with it,
attached to the same thong, a little wallet carefully rolled up in a
rattle-snake's skin; and which, on inquiry, was found to be his toilet
of pigments of various colours, with which he painted his face. A small
pair of scissors also formed a necessary appendage, and by the side of
them hung a boar's tusk and a human finger shrivelled and dried. This
he had taken from a victim he had slain in battle, and now wore as his
"_medicine_," or _talismanic charm_, that was to guard and protect
him in all times of trouble or danger. This remarkable trophy was
generally, on occasions when he was in full dress, suspended from his
neck by a cord, and hung amongst the strings of wampum on his breast;
but on this occasion he had so many other things to think of, that he
had forgotten to display it there.

The War-chief at this time preparing his mind to make some remarks
before leaving, and to thank the lady for her kindness, was asking "if
he should give any offence by lighting his pipe;" to which they all
answered at once, "No, oh no! we shall be glad to see the old chief
smoke; get him some fire immediately." When the fire arrived, he had
lighted his pipe with his flint and steel, and was arranging his ideas
as he was drawing the smoke through its long stem. It amused the ladies
very much to see him smoke, and when he was ready he passed the pipe
into White Cloud's hand, and rising, and throwing his head and his
shoulders back, he said to the lady that "he was authorized by the
chief to return to her and her husband his thanks, and the thanks of
all the party, for the kindness they had shown them." He said they were
strangers in the country, and a great way from home, and this would
make them more thankful for the kindness they had met this day.

  "My Friends (said he), the Great Spirit has caused your hearts to be
  thus kind to us, and we hope the Great Spirit will not allow us to
  forget it. We are thankful to all your friends whom we see around you
  also, and we hope the Great Spirit will be kind to you all.

  "My friend the chief wishes to shake hands with you all, and then we
  will bid you farewell."

The kindest wishes were expressed, in reply to the old man's remarks,
for their health and happiness; and after a general shaking of hands we
took leave, and our omnibus, for St. James's Street.

The usual dinner hour of the Indians was just at hand when they
returned, which was a joyful occurrence for the Doctor, who had, at
some inconvenience, been endeavouring to practise Indian and civilized
gentility at one and the same time. He smiled when dinner came on, and
others smiled to see him endeavouring to mend the breach that had been
made.

The excitements of this day had put the Indians in remarkably good
humour for their evening's amusements at the Hall, which they gave to
a crowded house, and, as usual, with great applause. The "jolly fat
dame" was there as she had promised, still admiring, and still "quite
miserable that she could not speak to them in their own language, or
something that they could understand." Daniel had taken a private
opportunity to tell the Doctor the whole story of her attachment to
Cadotte, and to assure him, at the same time, of her _extraordinary_
admiration of him, the evidence of which was, that "she had made him
the first present, after which all others were mere foils." The Doctor
took a peculiar liking to Daniel from that moment, and little else than
a lasting friendship could be expected to flow from such a foundation
as was then so kindly laid. This most welcome information had been
communicated to the Doctor's ear on the evening previous, and he had
now come prepared to present her (with his own hand, and the most
gracious smile, and at the end of the platform) a string of wampum from
his own neck, and a _white feather_ with two spots of red painted on
it, to which he pointed with great energy, and some expression that
she heard, but did not understand. The "_fair dame_" held her exciting
present in her hand during the evening, with some little occasional
trepidation, expecting to draw from Daniel some key to the meaning of
the mysterious gift as she was leaving the rooms. This hope proved
vain, however; for Daniel, it seems, was not yet deep enough in Indian
mysteries to answer her question, and she carried the present home,
with its mysterious meaning, to ruminate upon until the riddle could be
solved.

Mr. Melody and I visited the Indians in their apartments that evening
after their exhibition was over, and taking a beefsteak and a cup of
coffee with them, we found them still in high glee, and in good humour
for gossip, which ran chiefly upon the immense looking-glasses they
had seen (and "forgot to measure"), and the _chickabobboo_, which
they pronounced to be first-rate for a grand _feast_, which it would
be their duty to get up in a few days to thank the Great Spirit for
leading them all safe over the ocean, and to ensure their safe return
when they should be ready to go. I then told them of the kind of
_chickabobboo_ that the Ojibbeways liked very much, and of which I
had allowed each one glass every day at his dinner, and also at night
after their dances were done, and which the physicians thought would
be much better for them than the strong coffee they were in the habit
of drinking; that I had talked with Mr. Melody on the subject, and he
was quite willing, with me, that they should have it in the same way,
provided they liked it.

"_How, how, how!_" they all responded; and while the servant was gone
for a jug of ale, I explained to them that we did not consider that
this was breaking their solemn promise made to us, "_not to drink
spirituous liquors_." I stated to them, also, that it was possible to
get drunk by drinking _chickabobboo_; and if any of them drank so much
of it as to produce that effect, we should consider it the same as if
they had got drunk by drinking whiskey.

The ale came in foaming, and being passed round, they all decided that
"it was good, but not quite so good as that the kind lady gave us at
the _feast_ to-day."

These evening gossips with these good-natured fellows in their own
rooms, after their day's work and excitements were over, became
extremely pleasing to me; so completely reviving the by-gone pleasures
I had felt in whiling away the long evenings in their hospitable
wigwams, when I was a guest in their remote country, amused with their
never-ending fund of anecdotes and stories.

On the next morning, or the day after, at an early hour, Daniel
announced to the Indians that there was a reverend gentleman in the
sitting-room who wished to see them a little while, and to have some
talk with them if possible. Daniel had taken this liberty, as he
had heard Mr. Melody and myself say that we should feel disposed to
promote, as far as we could, all such efforts. The Indians had not
yet had their breakfasts, which were nearly ready, and felt a little
annoyed; the War-chief observing "that they had had a long council with
some clergymen, and had said to them all they had to say, and thought
this gentleman had better go and see and talk with them; and another
thing, as he believed that _Chippehola_[16] had written in a book all
that he and the clergymen had said, he thought he might learn it all by
going to him."

  [16] The author.

Daniel whispered to him, in an earnest manner, that "this was a
_Catholic priest_, a different kind of religion altogether." This
created some little surprise and conversation around the room, that
the white people should have two kinds of religion; and it was at last
agreed that the War-chief and Jeffrey should step into the other room a
few minutes and see him, the White Cloud saying "he did not care about
going in."

It seems that Jeffrey took some interest in this gentleman, as the
little that his ancestors had learned of religion had been taught
them by Roman Catholic clergymen, who have been the first to teach
the Christian religion in most parts of the American wilderness. The
conversation and manner of the priest also made some impression on
the mind of the War-chief; and as they heard the others using their
knives and forks in the adjoining room, they took leave of the reverend
gentleman, agreeing to a council with him and a number of his friends
in a few days. _White Cloud_ and _Wash-ka-mon-ya_ excited much laughter
and amusement amongst the party, on learning that the War-chief had
appointed another council, "when he was to make his talk all over
again." They told him "they expected to take him home a preacher, to
preach white man's religion when he got back;" and they thought he had
better get a "black coat" at once, and be called "_Black-coat to the
party of Ioway Indians_."

The next day after the above interview, Daniel again announced to the
chiefs and Jeffrey that there were two reverend gentlemen waiting to
see them, who had seen Mr. Melody on the subject, and were to meet him
there at that hour. White Cloud told the War-chief, that "as he had
promised to meet them, he must do it; but as for himself, he would
rather not see them, for he was not well." _Wash-ka-mon-ya_ laughed at
the old chief and Jeffrey as they went out. "Now," said he, "for your
grand council!" The War-chief lit his long pipe, and he and Jeffrey
entered the room; but finding they were not the persons whom they were
expecting to meet, they had a few words of conversation with them,
taking care not to approach near to the subject of religion, and left
them, as they had some other engagements that took up their time.

There was much merriment going on in the meantime in the Indians' room,
and many jokes ready for the War-chief and Jeffrey when they should
get back, as Daniel had returned to their room, and told them that,
by the cut of their clothes and their manners, he was quite sure that
these two gentlemen were of a different religion still; he believed
they were _Methodist preachers_.

The War-chief, who was always dignified and contemplative in his
manners, and yet susceptible of good humour and jokes, returned to the
Indians' room at this time, apparently quite insensible to the mirth
and the remarks around him, as he learned from the Indians, and got the
confirmation from Daniel, that this was the _third_ kind of religion,
and that there were the _Baptists_, the _Jews_, and several other kinds
yet to come. He seated himself on his robe, which he spread upon the
floor, and taking out of his pouch his flint and steel, and spunk,
struck a light in the true Indian way (though there was fire within
reach of his arm), and, lighting his pipe, commenced smoking. During
this silent operation he seemed downcast, and in profound meditation.
Mr. Melody and I entered the room at this moment, but seeing the mood
he was in, did nothing to interrupt the train of his thoughts. When
his pipe was smoked out, he charged it again with tobacco, but before
lighting it he laid it aside, and straightening his long limbs upon the
floor, and drawing another buffalo robe over his body and his head, he
went to sleep.[17]

  [17] Though the old War-chief, who was their speaking oracle on
       the subject of religion, remained sad and contemplative,
       there was daily much conversation and levity amongst the
       rest of the party on the subject of the "six religions of
       white men," which they had discovered; and either Jim or the
       little "commanding general" (son of the War-chief), both of
       whom were busy with their pencils, left on the table for my
       portfolio the subjoined curious, but significant illustration
       of their ideas of white man's paradise, and the six different
       modes of getting to it. _Plate No._ 11 is a _fac simile_ of
       this curious document, which the reader will appreciate on
       examination.

  [Illustration: N^o. 11.]

This was the day for "seeing the _Giants_," and they were soon after
announced as having arrived, according to appointment. During one of
the Indians' exhibitions there had been a great excitement produced
amongst them by the appearance in the crowd, of two immense persons,
a man and a woman, who stood nearly the whole length of their bodies
above the heads of others about them! This had excited the amazement
of the Indians so much, that for a while they stopped their dances, to
sit down and smoke a pipe. They must necessarily make some sacrifice
on such an occasion, and it was decided to be done with a piece of
tobacco, which being duly consecrated by them, was carried by the
Doctor (the medicine man) to an adjoining room, and burned in the fire.

There were no questions asked by the Indians about these unaccountable
people, where they came from, &c., but they wished me to invite them to
call at their lodgings at No. 7, St. James's-street, the next day at
twelve o'clock, where they would be glad to see them a little while.
This wish was communicated to them in a note which I wrote on my knee,
and was passed to them over the heads of the audience; the _giant man_
read it, and smiling, nodded his head, accepting of their invitation.
This pleased the Indians, who all joined in sounding the war-whoop.
These two extraordinary personages proved to be the well-known "Norfolk
giants," who were brother and sister, and walking "arm-in-arm," so high
that the eye of an ordinary man was just on a level with the apron
string of the fair damsel; and the waist of the brother was, of course,
yet some inches higher. I regret that I have not preserved the exact
elevation of these two extraordinary persons, which I took pains to
procure, but have somehow mislaid.

The invitation thus given brought them on their present visit to
the Indians, who had great satisfaction in shaking their hands, and
closely inspecting them: and not many minutes after their arrival a
scene ensued that would have made a sick man laugh, or a rich subject
for the pencil of Hogarth. The Indians had sent Daniel for a ball of
twine, which they had unfolded upon the floor, and each one having cut
off a piece of sufficient length, was taking for himself the measure
of the "_giant man_," from head to foot--from hand to hand, his arms
extended--the span of his waist--his breast and his legs--the length of
his feet, and his fingers; and tying knots in their cords to indicate
each proportion. In the midst of all this, the Doctor presented the
most queer and laughable point in the picture, as he had been applying
his string to the back of the fair damsel, having taken her length,
from the top of her head to the floor, and tied a knot in his cord at
the place where the waist of her dress intersected it; he had then
arrested the attention of all, and presented his singular dilemma, when
he stood with both ends of his cord in his hands, contemplating the
enormous waist and other proportions before him, which he coveted for
other knots on his string, but which his strict notions of gallantry
were evidently raising objections to his taking. I whispered to him,
and relieved him from his distressing state of uncertainty, by saying I
thought he had been particular enough, and he withdrew, but with a sigh
of evident regret.

They insisted on the _giant_ and _giantess_ receiving from them some
little keepsakes of trinkets, &c., as evidences of the pleasure they
had afforded them by calling on them.

This extraordinary occurrence, like most others of an exciting or
interesting nature which these jovial and funny fellows met with, made
subject for much subsequent anecdote and amusement. _Wash-ka-mon-ya_
(the fast dancer), a big-mouthed and waggish sort of fellow (who for
brevity's sake was called, in English parlance, "Jim"), was continually
teasing the Doctor about his gallantry amongst the ladies; and could
rather easily and coolly do it, as he was a married man, and had his
wife constantly by the side of him. He had naturally an abundant
stock of wit and good humour, and being so much of a wag withal, he
was rather a painful companion for the Doctor all the way, and was
frequently passing jokes of a cruel as well as of a light and amusing
kind upon him. It was known to the whole party that there was no
record kept of the length and breadth of the _giant lady_, except the
one that the Doctor had taken, and carefully rolled up and put away in
a little box, amongst other precious things, at the head of his bed,
and which he generally used as his pillow. It was known also that much
stress would be laid upon this in his own country, when they returned
home, as something which the rest of the party could not produce, and
which for him, therefore, would be of great and peculiar interest
there, and probably on other occasions, when it might be proper to
refer to it as a thing he could swear to as a subject of interest in
this country. Jim's best jokes (like most Indian jokes) were those
which no one else takes a share in; and a piece of the twine that
had caught his eye as it was lying upon the floor, probably first
suggested the wicked idea of being cut about two feet longer than the
Doctor's measure of the fair giantess, and with a knot about one foot
higher than the one made for her waist, and of being rolled up in the
same way, and slipped (in place of the other) into the same corner of
the box, to which the Doctor had a key, but, according to all Indian
practice, he never made use of it. The sequel to all this, and the fun
it might have subsequently made for "Jim," with his "big mouth," the
reader may as well imagine here, or patiently wait till we come to it.

In the afternoon the Catholic clergyman called with a couple of
friends, for the interview which _Jeffrey_ and the _War-chief_ had
promised. Mr. Melody sent me word when they called, and I came to the
meeting, having taken a great interest in these interviews, which were
eliciting opinions from the Indians which are exceedingly difficult
to obtain in any other way, and which I was careful on all occasions
to write down, as translated at the time. These opinions, however
unimportant they may seem to be, I am sure many of my readers will find
to be of curious interest; and I fully believe, if rightly appreciated,
of much importance in directing future efforts to the right points in
endeavouring to impress upon these ignorant and benighted people the
importance of education, and a knowledge of the true Christian religion.

On this occasion _Wash-ka-mon-ya_ (or "_Jim_" as I shall often call
him) endeavoured to make himself conspicuous by teasing the War-chief
and Jeffrey about "going to pray with the black-coats," and springing
upon his feet, took his tomahawk in his hand, and throwing off his
robe, jumped to the middle of the floor, where, naked down to the hips,
he landed, in an attitude not unlike that of the colossal statue of
Rhodes. He frowned a moment upon all around him, and then said, "Let
me go in--I have said nothing yet; I want to make a speech to the
black-coats."

White-cloud, who was at that moment taking up his robe to accompany
Jeffrey and the War-chief to the "talk," very mildly said to _Jim_,
that "he would look much more respectful if he would sit down again
and hold his tongue, for these were very good people who were calling
to talk with them, and must be treated with respect, however their
opinions might differ from those of the Indians." This severe rebuke
from the chief instantly silenced Jim, who quietly and respectfully
joined the rest of the party, at White-cloud's request, who seated
themselves in the room where the talk was to be held. The pipe was lit
and passing around, while one of the reverend gentlemen stated the
views with which they had come to visit them, and asked the Indians
if it was perfectly convenient and agreeable for them to hear what
they had to say, to which the chief replied in the affirmative. The
reverend gentleman then proceeded with his remarks upon the importance
of education and religion, the nature of which the reader can easily
imagine, and save the time it would require to record them here. To
these the chiefs and all the party (excepting Jim and the Doctor, who
had fallen asleep) listened with patience and profound silence, as the
pipe was passing around. The reverend gentleman having finished, the
War-chief took a few deep-drawn breaths through the pipe, and passing
it along, said--

  "My Friends,--I speak for the chief who is here, and not very well.
  My words are his words, and the words of all our party. We have heard
  what you had to say, because we had promised to do so.

  "My Friends,--We have talked many times on this subject, and some of
  our talks have been long; but at this time our words will be few,
  for we are weary, and as we have before said, we are poor, and our
  wives and children are hungry, and we have come over here to try to
  make some money to get them warm clothes and food to eat. (_How, how,
  how!_)

  "My Friends,--Many of our children are now in schools in our country,
  and the '_good book_' which is in your hands is in their hands at
  this time. We believe that the Great Spirit has made our religion
  good and sufficient for us if we do not in any way offend him. We see
  the religion of the white people dividing into many paths, and we
  cannot believe that it is pleasing to the Great Spirit. The Indians
  have but one road in their religion, and they all travel in that, and
  the Great Spirit has never told them that it was not right.

  "My Friends,--Our ears have been open since we came here, and the
  words we have heard are friendly and good; but we see so many kinds
  of religion, and so many people drunk and begging when we ride in the
  streets, that we are a little more afraid of white man's religion
  than we were before we came here.

  "My Friends,--The Indians occupied all the fine hunting grounds long
  before the white men came to them, but the white men own them nearly
  all now, and the Indians' hunting grounds are mostly all gone. The
  Indians never urge white men to take up their religion, they are
  satisfied to have them take a different road, for the Indians wish
  to enjoy their hunting grounds to themselves in the world to come.
  (_How, how, how!_)

  "My Friends,--We thank you, and shall wish the Great Spirit may be
  kind to you. I have no more to say."

Thus ended the conversation this time, and the Indians all rising
(except the Doctor, who was still asleep) shook hands with the
clergymen and retired to their own room.

These excellent gentlemen then expressed to Mr. Melody and myself their
high admiration and respect for them as men, and said that they could
make every allowance for them, travelling here only for the laudable
objects which they had so clearly explained, and their patience taxed
in so many instances as I had mentioned, of a similar nature. They
agreed that it would be cruel to urge them to listen any further under
their present circumstances, and that they had already exercised far
greater patience than white men would in a similar condition. They said
they should feel bound to call on another day (and did so), not to talk
with them about religion, but to bring them some presents that would be
serviceable to their wives and little children, and took leave.




                              CHAPTER XX.

  The Doctor and Jim visit several churches--The Indians in St.
     Paul's--In Westminster Abbey--The exhibition at the Hall--The
     Doctor agrees to go in the carriage of the "jolly fat dame"--Mr.
     Melody objects--The Doctor's melancholy--Indians stop the bus
     to talk with Lascars--Make them presents of money--Indians
     discover _chickabobboo-ags_ (gin-palaces)--and ladies lying
     down in their carriages reading books--_Chim-e-gotch-ees_
     (or fish)--Jim's story of "Fish"--Experiments in
     mesmerism--Wash-ka-mon-ya (Jim) mesmerized--The Doctor's
     opinions on mesmerism--Ioways in Lord's Cricket-ground--Archery
     and ball-playing--Encampment--Wigwams--Indians invited by Mrs.
     Lawrence to Ealing Park--Their kind reception--Their Royal
     Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge--The Princess
     Mary--The Duchess of Gloucester--The Hereditary Grand Duke and
     Duchess, and other distinguished guests--Amusements--Beautiful
     grounds--Indians dine on the lawn--Roast beef and
     plum-pudding--_Chickabobboo_--Alarm of the parrots--Doctor's
     superstition--_Chickabobboo_ explained--Speech of the
     War-chief--Taking leave--Fright of the poor birds--Handsome
     presents--Conservatory--The Doctor's ideas of it--Indians
     visit Surrey Zoological Gardens--Fright of the birds and
     animals--Indians sacrifice tobacco to the lion and the
     rattle-snakes.


Mr. Melody, feeling the high importance of the charge of these
fourteen wild people intrusted to his hands by the Government while
they were to see the sights of a foreign country, and feeling the
strongest attachment to them personally, was stimulated to every
exertion by which he could properly open their eyes to the benefits
of civilization, and consequently was inquiring from day to day "what
shall be shown them next?"

I had also, with feelings of the highest respect for the chiefs of the
nation, knowing them to be of the party, enlisted my warmest exertions
in their behalf, and resolved to render them, in all ways I could, the
aid that was due from me for their hospitality which benefited me when
I was in their country.

With these views we continued our omnibus in driving them about
the City and country, and one or the other of us was almost daily
accompanying them to some institution or public works from which they
might derive some useful information. To these they generally went
together and in their native dresses, but there were others where
their costumes and their paint would render them too conspicuous,
and for such purposes two or three suits of clothes, beaver hats and
wigs, became necessary for such a number as wished at any time to look
further (and unobserved) into the arcana and hidden mysteries of the
great metropolis. And the reader will be ready to exclaim with me, that
the field before us was a vast and boundless one.

The two most ambitious to profit by such adventures were "_Jim_" (as
I have before denominated him) and the "_Doctor_:" the _first_, from
a peculiar faculty he had of learning the English language (in which
he was making daily progress), and a consequent insatiable desire to
see and learn the modes, and everything he could, of white people,
excepting their religion; and the _second_, from an indomitable desire
to look in everywhere and upon everything, more for the pleasure of
gratifying a momentary curiosity, and enjoying a temporary smile, than
from any decided ambition to carry home and adopt anything, unless it
might be a vapour-bath, or something of the kind, in the way of his
profession.

In frock-coats and beaver hats, and boots, with a large stick or an
umbrella under the arm, and the paint all washed off, there was not
much in the looks of these two new-fangled gentlemen to attract the
public gaze or remark; and consequently little in the way of the sights
and treasures of London being opened to their view.

From the time that this expedient was adopted, our avocations became
more diversified and difficult; our anxieties and cares increased, and
with them our amusement: for with Melody the sights of London were as
yet prospective; and with me, whether old or new, I met them with an
equal relish with my unsophisticated brethren from the wilderness.

The amusement of "trying on" and "getting the hang" of the new dresses
made merriment enough for the party for one day; and all but these
two were quite willing to forego all the pleasures they could afford,
rather than cover their cool and naked heads with beaver hats, their
shoulders with frock-coats, and substitute for their soft and pliant
mocassins and leggings of buckskin, woollen pantaloons and high-heeled
boots. The two wiseacres, however, who had adopted them were
philosophers, and knew that they were only for certain occasions, after
which they were to be dropped off, and their limbs "at home again"
in their light and easy native dresses. They were obliged, on such
occasions (to be in keeping), to leave their long and ornamented pipes
and tomahawks behind, and (not to lose the indispensable luxury of
smoking) to carry a short and handy civilized pipe, with their tobacco,
and a box of lucifers, in their pockets.

Reader, pray don't try to imagine what a figure these two
copper- "swells" cut, when they first sallied forth in their
new attire, for it will be in vain: but behold them and me, in the
future pages of this book, and when their dresses had got to work easy,
profiting by gazing upon the wonders and glories of civilization, which
we never otherwise could have beheld together.

As one of the first fruits of the new expedient (and while the subject
was fresh and revolving in the minds of all), there was now a chance of
gratifying the Doctor's desire to see the modes and places of worship
of some of the different denominations of religion, of which he had
heard so much, from Daniel and others, within the few days past. These
visits were their first attempts in their assumed characters, and were
mostly made in the company of Mr. Melody or Jeffrey, and without any
amusing results either for the congregations or the Ioways, save an
incident or two, such as must be expected in the first experiments with
all great enterprises. The Doctor had been told that when he entered
the Protestant Church, he must take his hat off at the door, and had
practised it before he started; but, seeing such an immense number of
ladies, he had unfortunately forgot it, and being reminded of it when
he had been placed in his seat, his wig came off with it, exposing, but
a moment however, his scalp-lock and the top of his head, where he had
not deemed it necessary to wash off the red paint.

In the Methodist chapel, where these two queer fellows had ventured one
day with Daniel, the sermon was long and tedious, and there was nothing
observed curious excepting a blue smoke rolling up over the top of
the pew, where the Doctor's pipe had been lit, and his head sunk down
between his knees; and one other occurrence, that afterwards happened
in the heat of the exhortation from the pulpit, and much to the
amusement of the Doctor and Jim, of a young woman, in their immediate
vicinity, who began to groan, then to sing, and at length tumbled down
from her seat upon the floor. The Doctor thought at first she was very
sick, and wondered there was no physician there to bleed her; but when
Daniel told him what was the matter, the old man smiled, and often
talked about it afterwards.

I took the whole party through Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's, where
they stood and contemplated in amazement the works of human hands, so
entirely beyond their comprehension that they returned in reserved and
silent contemplation.

Returning again to the Exhibition-room at the Egyptian Hall, several
evenings of which have passed by without mention, but much in the
same way, we find the same excitement and applause, and the "jolly
fat dame" at the end of the platform, nightly receiving the Doctor's
impressive smiles, which are constantly ready for her; and which by
this time, aided by the continued coldness of the _Roman-nose_, were
making visible inroads upon her tender affections. She had had, it
seemed, on this evening, some conversation with the Doctor, through the
interpreter, who had heretofore studiously kept out of the way, and she
had invited the Doctor to ride to her house in her carriage, after the
exhibition was over, believing that he would be able to find in her
garden, some roots which he was in great distress to find, and that she
would bring him home again safe. Mr. Melody objected to this, which
seemed to puzzle the fair dame, and to throw the Doctor into a profound
melancholy and dejection.

This rebuff from Mr. Melody was so unexpected and so provoking, when
she had so nearly accomplished her object, that the good lady passed
out of the room earlier than usual, and tossed her head about with her
ostrich plumes as she passed along in the crowd, without having the
heart to stop and speak a few words to Daniel, as she had been in the
habit of doing. Mr. Melody retired with the Indians, and I remained
after the crowd had left, at the solicitation of a party of ladies,
who had sent me their card and wished to see me after the exhibition
was over. The room being nearly emptied, I saw a party of several
fashionably-dressed ladies at the further end of the room, examining
the paintings on the walls. In advancing towards them, the one who
seemed to be the leader of the party turned around and exclaimed, "Oh,
here comes Mr. Catlin, I believe?" "Yes, Madam, I am Mr. Catlin." "Oh,
I am so happy to have the honour of seeing you, Sir, and of speaking
to you--you have made all these paintings?" "Yes." "These Indians are
curious fellows, and well worth seeing, but I consider you ten times
more of a curiosity. Look here, ladies, here's Mr. Catlin, the very
man that I have so often told you about. Dear me, what dangers and
hardships you must have been through! Oh, I do think you are one of the
wonders of the world--and not a grey hair in your head yet! My dear
Sir, I know your whole history-- you'd scarcely believe it--I know it
'like a book,' as they say. I recollect the very day when you started
for India, and I have followed you the whole way--I have your book--I
bought several copies to give to my friends; I have read every word of
it over and over again--and, oh! it's wonderful--it's charming--one
can't stop in it--there's no stopping place in it. By the way, I don't
suppose you were down much in the neighbourhood of Chusan (I've got a
nephew there--a fine fellow--he's a surgeon). I suppose you kept pretty
much back in the mountains? You had no object in coming down about the
coast; and they have had rather hot work there." "No, Madam, I had not
the slightest object to take me near Chusan--I kept a great way back."
"That was right; oh, how judicious! Oh, I have read your interesting
work so often. By the way, these fellows are not from the coast--they
are from a great way back, I dare say?" "Yes, Madam, they are a great
way in the interior." "I thought so, I knew so--I can tell, d' ye
see--I can always tell a coaster. These are fine men--they grow tea, I
suppose, though?" "No, these people don't grow tea." "Ah, well, it's
late, we won't take up your time; but I have been so happy to have seen
you--glad, glad to see you home alive to your native soil, and out of
that plagued India. Good night." "Good night, ladies."

As they left me, I turned round, and met a poor fellow approaching me
on one leg and a pair of crutches, and his wife holding on to his arm.
He said he had been waiting some time to have the honour of speaking to
me before he left, having heard my name pronounced. He told me he lived
at Woolwich, where he held some situation for life, as he had lost his
leg in the service of his country, and it was a good living for him,
luckily, though he had been so unfortunate as to lose his leg.

"My wife and I (said he) ave long eard of this extro'nary hexibition,
and she as often hax'd me to come to see it; and though we ave been off
and hon about it a great many times, we never got off together until
this hafter-noon--it's a wonderful sight, sir, hand we are appy to ave
seen you halso."

I thanked the poor fellow, and asked him how he lost his leg.

"It was done by the kick of a orse, Sir."

"But your leg has been taken off above your knee."

"Yes, Sir, the bone was broken, hand it ad to be hamputated."

"It must have been very painful!"

"Ah, hit urt a little; though as for the pain of hamputation, I woudn't
give a penny for it: but the loss of my leg is worth a great deal to
me; it's hall ealed up now, Sir, though it's very hunandy."

This simple and unfortunate man and his very pretty little wife left
me, and I repaired to the Indians' rooms in St. James's Street, where
I found them finishing their suppers and taking their _chickabobboo_.
Here was in readiness a long catalogue of the adventures of the day--of
things they had seen in their drive, &c., to be talked over, as well as
the cruel jokes to be listened to, which they were all passing upon the
poor Doctor, for the sudden failure of his prospects of digging roots
in the fair dame's garden.

There were many subjects of an amusing nature talked over by these
droll fellows during the pipes of this evening, and one of the themes
for their comments was the drive which we had given them in two open
carriages through Hyde Park, at the fashionable hour. They decided
that "the Park, along the banks of the Serpentine, reminded them of
the prairies on the shores of the Skunk and the Cedar rivers in their
own country; and in fact, that some parts of it were almost exactly
the same." They were amused to see many of the ladies lying down as
they rode in their carriages; and also, that many of the great chiefs,
pointed out to them riding on horseback, "didn't know how to ride--that
they were obliged to have a man riding a little behind them to pick
them up if they should fall off."

Jim, who was in an unusual good humour this evening, either from
the effects of his _chickabobboo_ or from some fine present he might
have received in the room, seemed to be the chief "spokesman" for the
evening, and for the purpose of assisting his imagination or aiding
his voice had laid himself flat upon his back upon his robe, which was
spread upon the floor. His loquacity was such, that there was little
else for any of us to do than sit still and excessively laugh at the
dryness of his jokes, and his amusing remarks upon the things they had
seen as they were taking their ride on this and past mornings. He had
now got, as has been said, a facility of using occasional words of
English, and he brought them in once in a while with the most amusing
effect.

He said they had found another place where there were two more
Ojibbeway Indians (as he called them), Lascars. sweeping the streets;
and it seems that after passing them they had ordered their bus to
stop, and called them up and shook hands, and tried to talk with them.
They could speak a few words in English, and so could _Jim_: he was
enabled to ask them if they were Ojibbeways, and they to answer, "No,
they were Mussulmen." "Where you live?" "Bombay." "You sweep dirt in
the road?" "Yes," "Dam fool!" _Jim_ gathered a handful of pennies and
gave them, and they drove off.

It seemed that in their drive this day, Jim and the Doctor had both
rode outside, which had afforded to Jim the opportunity of seeing to
advantage, for the first time. the immense number of "gin palaces,"
as they passed along the streets; and into which they could look from
the top of the bus, and distinctly see the great number of large kegs,
and what was going on inside. The Doctor had first discovered them
in his numerous outside rides, and as he was not quite sure that he
had rightly understood them, hearing that the English people detested
drunkards so much, he had not ventured to say much about them. He had
been anxious for the corroboration of _Jim's_ sharper eyes, and during
this morning they had fully decided that the hundreds of such places
they were in all directions passing, were places where people went
to drink _chickabobboo_, and they were called _chickabobbooags_. The
conversation of Jim and the Doctor enlarged very much on this grand
discovery, and the probable effects they had upon the London people.
They had seen many women, and some of them with little babies in their
arms, standing and lying around them, and they were quite sure that
some of those women were drunk. Jim said that he and the Doctor had
counted two or three hundred in one hour. Some of the party told him
he had made his story too big, so he said he and the Doctor next day
would mark them down on a stick. Jim said there was one street they
came through, where he hoped they would never drive them again, for it
made their hearts sore to see so many women and little children all
in dirty rags: they had never seen any Indians in the wilderness half
so poor, and looking so sick. He was sure they had not half enough to
eat. He said he thought it was wrong to send missionaries from this
to the Indian country, when there were so many poor creatures here
who want their help, and so many thousands as they saw going into the
_chickabobbooags_ to drink fire-water.

He said they came through a very grand street, where every thing looked
so fine and splendid in the windows, and where the ladies looked so
beautiful in their carriages, many of them lying quite down, and seemed
as if they were very rich and happy; and some of them lay in their
carriages, that were standing still, so as to let them read their
books. And in this same grand street they saw a great many fine-looking
ladies walking along the sides of the roads, and looking back at the
gentlemen as they passed by them. These ladies, he and the Doctor
observed, looked young, and all looked very smiling, and they thought
they wanted husbands. A great deal, Jim said, they had seen of these
ladies as they were every day looking out of their own windows in St.
James's Street. A great many of these women, he said, behave very
curious; he said he didn't know for certain but some of these might
be _chimegotches_. This excited a tremendous laugh with the Doctor and
several of the young men, and made some of the women smile, though
it was rather hushed by the chiefs as an imprudent word for Jim to
apply in the present case. This did little, however, to arrest the
effects of Jim's joke, and he continued with some further ingenious
embellishments, which set the chiefs into a roar, and Jim then kept the
field. Melody and myself laughed also, not at the joke, for we did not
understand it, but at their amusement, which seemed to be very great,
and led us to inquire the meaning of _chimegotches_. "Fish," said
Jim, "fish!" We were still at a loss for the meaning of his joke; and
our ignorance being discovered, as well as our anxiety to know, they
proposed that Jim should relate the story of _Chimegotches_, or "Fish."
Some one was charging and lighting the pipe in the mean time, which was
handed to him, as he rose and took a whiff or two, and then, resuming
his former position, flat upon his back, he commenced--

  "When the great Mississippi river was a young and beautiful stream,
  and its waters were blue and clear, and the Ioways lived on its
  banks, more than a thousand snows since, _Net-no-qua_, a young man
  of great beauty, and son of a great chief, complained that he was
  sick. His appetite left him, and his sleep was not good. His eyes,
  which had been like those of the war-eagle, grew soft and dim, and
  sunk deep in his head. His lips, that had been the music for all
  about him, had become silent; his breast, that had always been calm,
  was beating, and deep sighs showed that something was wrong within.
  _O-za-pa_, whose medicine was great, and to whom all the plants and
  roots of the prairies were known, was quite lost; he tried all, and
  all was in vain; the fair son of the chief was wasting away, as each
  sweet breath that he breathed went off upon the winds, and never
  came back to him. Thus did _Net-no-qua_, the son of _Ti-ah-ka_, pine
  away. The medicine man told him at last that there was but one thing
  that could cure him, and that was attended with great danger. In his
  dream a small prairie snake had got upon a bush, and its light, which
  was that of the sun, opened his eyes to its brightness, and his ears
  to its words: 'The son of _Ti-ah-ka_ grieves--this must not be--his
  breast must be quiet, and his thoughts like the quiet waters of the
  gliding brook; the son of _Ti-ah-ka_ will grow like the firm rocks of
  the mountain, and the chiefs and warriors, who will descend from him,
  will grow like the branches of the spreading oak.' The medicine man
  said to the son of _Ti-ah-ka_ that he must now take a small piece of
  the flesh from his side for his bait, and in a certain cove on the
  bank of the river, the first fish that he caught was to be brought to
  his wigwam alone, under his robe, and she, whose blood would become
  warm, would be to him like the vine that clings around and through
  the branches of the oak: that then his eyes would soon shine again
  like those of the eagle; the music of his lips would soon return, and
  his troubled breast would again become calm, his appetite would be
  good, and his sleep would be sweet and quiet like that of a babe.

  "_Net-no-qua_ stood upon a rock, and when the hook, with a piece
  of his side, lay upon the water, the parting hair of _Lin-ta_ (the
  river-born) was seen floating on the water, and its black and oily
  tresses were glistening in the sun as the water glided off from them;
  and her lips were opening to enclose the fatal hook that raised
  her beautiful breasts above the water. Her round and delicate arms
  shone bright with their beauty as she extended them to the shore,
  and the river shed its tears over her skin as her beautiful waist
  glided through its surface, above which the strong and manly arm of
  _Net-no-qua_ was gently raising her. The weeping waves in sparkling
  circles clung around her swelling hips and pressing knees, until the
  folding robe of the son of _Ti-ah-ka_ was over the wave and around
  her bending form. One hand still held her slim and tapering fingers,
  and with the other he encompassed her trembling form, as their equal
  steps took them from the shore and brought them to the wig-wam of
  _Net-no-qua_. His silent house was closed from the footsteps of the
  world; her delicate arms clung around the neck of the son of the
  chief, and her black and glossy tresses fell over and around his
  naked shoulders and mingled with his own. The same robe embraced
  them both, and her breath was purer than the blue waves from which
  she came. Their sleep was like the dreams of the antelope, and they
  awoke as the wild rose-buds open amidst the morning dew; the breast
  of _Net-no-qua_ was calm, his eyes were again like the eyes of the
  eagle, his appetite was keen, and his lips sounded their music in the
  ears of Lin-ta. She was lovely, she was the wife of the son of the
  chief, and like the vine that clings around and through the branches
  of the oak, did she cling to _Net-no-qua_. They were happy, and many
  have been the descendants that have sprung from the dreams of the son
  of _Ti-ah-ka_ and the beautiful _Lin-ta_ (the river-born).

  "_O-ne-ak'n_ was the brother of _Net-no-qua_, and _Di-ag-gon_ was
  his cousin: and _they_ were sick; and they sat upon the rock in the
  cove in the river: and the two sisters of Lin-ta shone as they lifted
  their graceful forms above the wave, and their beautiful locks spread
  as they floated on the surface. The two young warriors sighed as
  they gazed upon them. The two sisters embraced each other as they
  glided through and above the waves. They rose to full view, and had
  no shame. The river 'shed no tears, nor did the sparkling waves hang
  in circles about their swelling hips and pressing knees;' and as they
  sank, they beckoned the two young warriors, who followed them to
  their water-bound caves. They stole back in the morning, and were
  ashamed and sick. Their tongues were not silent, and others went.
  The two sisters again showed their lovely forms as they glided above
  the water, and they beckoned all who came to their hidden caves, and
  all came home in the morning sick and sad, while every morning saw
  the son of the chief and his river-born Lin-ta calm and bright as
  the rising sun. Shame and fear they knew not, but all was love and
  happiness with them; very different were the sisters of Lin-ta, who
  at length ventured from their caves at night, and strolled through
  the village; they were hidden again at the return of the light. Their
  caves were the resorts of the young men, but the fair daughters of
  Lin-ta knew them not.

  "Such was the story of Lin-ta (the river-born); she was the loved of
  her husband, and the virtuous mother of her children. Her beautiful
  sisters were the loved of all men, but had no offspring. They live
  in their hidden caves to this day, and sometimes in the day as well
  as in the night are seen walking through the village, though all the
  Indians call them _Chim-ee-gotch-es_, that is, _Cold-bloods_, or
  _Fish_."

Jim got a round of applause for his story, though the Doctor thought
he had left out some of the most essential and funny parts of it. Jim,
however, seemed well content with the manner in which it was received,
and continued to remark that he and the Doctor had come to the
conclusion that those beautiful young women, that they saw looking back
at the gentlemen in the streets, as well as those who were standing in
front of their windows, and bowing to them, and kissing their hands
every day, must be "fish;" and that in the great village of London,
where so much _chickabobboo_ is drunk, there must be a great number of
"fish." And they thought also that some of these they had seen in the
Egyptian Hall when they were giving their dances.

The above and other critiques of Jim upon London modes seemed to the
chiefs to be rather too bold, and an impolitic position for Jim to
take; and whilst their reprimands were being passed upon him, the train
of humour he had happened to get into on that night turned all their
remarks into jokes, and they were obliged to join in the irresistible
merriment he produced on this occasion, merely from his having taken
(as his wife had refused it on this evening as it was just now
discovered) the additional mug of his wife's _chickabobboo_.

Much merriment was produced amongst the Indians about this time by an
appointment that had been made to see some experiments in mesmerism,
to be performed by a Dr. M---- at the Indians' rooms. The Doctor was
received at the appointed hour, and brought with him a feeble and
pale-looking girl of 14 or 15 years of age to operate upon. This had
taken the Indians rather by surprise, as no one had fully explained the
nature of the operations to them. I got Jeffrey, however, to translate
to them, as near as he could, the nature of this extraordinary
discovery, and the effects it was to produce; and the doors being
closed, and the young woman placed in a chair, the mesmeriser commenced
his mysterious operations. I had instructed the Indians to remain
perfectly still and not to laugh, lest they might hinder the operator,
and prevent the desired effect. With one knee upon the floor, in
front of her, and placing both of his extended thumbs (with his hands
clenched) just in front of her two eyebrows, he looked her steadily
in the face. This eccentric position and expression disposed Jim to
laugh, and though he covered his huge mouth with his hand, and made no
noise, still the irresistible convulsions in his fat sides shook the
floor we were standing on; and the old Doctor at the same time, equally
amused, was liable to do less harm, for all his smiles and laughter,
however excessive, were produced by the curious machinery of his face,
and never extended further down than the chin or clavicles. The little
patient, however, was seen in a few minutes to be going to sleep, and
at length fell back in the chair, in the desired state of somnambulism.
The operator then, by mesmeric influences, opened her eyes, without
touching them, and without waking her, and by the same influence closed
them again. In the same way he caused her hand to close, and none of
us could open it. Here our Doctor, who tried it, was quite at a stand.
He saw the fingers of the operator pass several times in front of it,
and its muscles relaxed--it opened of itself. He then brought, by the
same influence, her left arm to her breast, and then the right, and
challenged the strength of any one in the room to unbend them. This was
tried by several of us, but in vain; and when his fingers were passed
a few times lightly over them, they were relaxed and returned to their
former positions. By this time the Indian women, with their hands over
their mouths, began to groan, and soon left the room in great distress
of mind. The chiefs, however, and the Doctor and Jim, remained until
the experiments were all tried, and with unaccountable success. The
operator then, by passing his fingers a few times over the forehead of
his patient, brought her gradually to her senses, and the exhibition
ended. The convulsions of Jim's broad sides were now all tempered down
into cool quiet, and the knowing smiles of the old Doctor had all run
entirely off from, and out of, the furrows of his face, and a sort of
painful study seemed to be contracting the rigid muscles that were
gathering over them.

  [Illustration: N^o. 12.]

The chiefs pronounced the unaccountable operation to be the greatest
of medicine, and themselves quite satisfied, as they retired; but the
old Doctor, not yet quite sure, and most likely thinking it a good
thing for his adoption among the mysteries of his profession in his own
country, was disposed to remain, with his untiring companion Jim, until
some clue could be got to this mystery of mysteries. With this view he
had the curiosity of feeling the little girl's pulse, of examining and
smelling the operator's fingers, &c., and of inquiring whether this
thing could be done by any others but himself; to which I replied, that
it was now being done by hundreds all through the country, and was no
secret. The charm had then fled--it had lost all its value to the old
Doctor. The deep thoughts ceased to plough his wrinkled face, and his
self-sufficient, happy smiles were again playing upon his front. His
views were evidently changed. _Jim_ caught the current of his feelings,
and amusement was their next theme. The old Doctor "thought that _Jim_
could easily be frightened," and would be a good subject. It was
proposed that _Jim_ should therefore take the chair, and it was soon
announced to the squaws, and amongst them to his wife, that _Jim_ had
gone to sleep, and was _mesmerised_. They all flew to the room, which
upset the gravity of his broad mouth, and, with its movements, as a
matter of course, the whole bearing of his face; and the operator's
fingers being withdrawn from his nose, he left the chair amidst a roar
of laughter. It was then proposed that the old Doctor should sit down
and be tried, but he resisted the invitation, on the grounds of the
_dignity of his profession_, which he got me to explain to the medical
man, whom he was now evidently disposed to treat rather sarcastically,
and his wonderful performance as a piece of extraordinary juggling,
or, at least, as divested of its supposed greatest interest, that of
novelty. He told him "that there was nothing new or very wonderful in
the operation, that he could discover; it was no more than the charm
which the snakes used to catch birds; and the more frightful and ugly
a man's face was, the better he could succeed in it. He had no doubt
but many ill-looking men amongst white people would use it as a mode of
catching pretty girls, which they could not otherwise do, and therefore
it would be called amongst white people a very useful thing."

"All the _medicine-men_ (said he) in the Indian country have known for
many years how to do the same thing, and what the white people know
of it at this time they have learned from the Indians; but I see that
they don't yet half know how to do it; that he had brought a _medicine
dress_ all the way with him for the very purpose, and if the mesmeriser
would come the next morning at 9 o'clock, he should see him with it on,
and he would engage to frighten any white lady to sleep in five minutes
who would take a good look at him without winking or laughing." The
mesmeriser did not come, though the Doctor was on the spot and ready.
(_Plate No. 12._)

An event which they had long been looking for with great solicitude
took place about this time--the prorogation of Parliament, which
afforded the poor fellows their only opportunity of seeing the Queen.
They were driven off in good season in their bus, and succeeded in
getting the most favourable view of the Queen and the Prince as they
were passing in the state-carriage; and, to use their own words for
it, "The little Queen and the Prince both put their faces quite out of
their carriage of gold to look at us and bow to us." There is no doubt
but by the kindness of the police they were indulged in a favourable
position and had a very satisfactory view of Her Majesty the Queen,
and it is equally certain that they will never cease to speak of the
splendour of the effect of the grand pageant as long as they live.

The nightly excitements and amusements going on at the Egyptian Hall
were increasing the public anxiety to see these curious people more at
large, and we resolved to procure some suitable ground for the purpose,
where their active limbs could be seen in full motion in the open air,
as they are seen on their native prairies with their ball-sticks, in
their favourite game of the ball, and the use of their bows and arrows,
all of which they had brought with them, but could not use in their
amusements at the Hall. Their dances, &c., were, however, to be kept
up as usual, at night; and for their afternoon exercises in the open
air, an arrangement was made for the use of "Lord's Cricket Ground,"
and on that beautiful field (prairie, as they called it) they amused
thousands, daily, by their dances, archery, and ball-playing.[18]
For this purpose an area of an acre or two was enclosed by a rope,
and protected for their amusements by the police. To this the
visitors advanced on every side, and seemed delighted with their rude
appearance and native sports. This arrangement afforded the Indians
the opportunity of showing their games and amusements to the greatest
advantage, and also of meeting again the acquaintances they had made
at the Egyptian Hall, and shaking hands with all who felt disposed to
do them that honour. They had also brought with them, to illustrate
the whole of Indian life, no less than three tents (wig-wams) made of
buffalo hides, curiously but rudely painted, which the squaws daily
erected on the ground, in presence of the spectators, forming by no
means the least accurate and pleasing part of the exhibition.

  [18] This is, undoubtedly, the favourite and most manly and
       exciting game of the North American Indians, and often played
       by three or four hundred on a side, who venture their horses,
       robes, weapons, and even the very clothes upon their backs,
       on the issue of the game. For this beautiful game two byes or
       goals are established, at three or four hundred yards from
       each other, by erecting two poles in the ground for each, four
       or five feet apart, between which it is the strife of either
       party to force the ball (it having been thrown up at a point
       half-way between) by catching it in a little hoop, or racket,
       at the end of a stick, three feet in length, held in both
       hands as they run, throwing the ball an immense distance when
       they get it in the stick. This game is always played over an
       extensive prairie or meadow, and the confusion and laughable
       scrambles for the ball when it is falling, and often sought
       for by two or three hundred gathered to a focus, are curious
       and amusing beyond the reach of any description or painting.

The beautiful scenes presented there could be repeated but a few
days, owing to other uses to be made of the grounds; but during that
time they were visited by vast numbers of the nobility of London, and
several members of the Royal Family. The incidents of those days, which
were curious and many, must be passed over, excepting that the Doctor
daily beheld in front of the crowd, and at full length, the "jolly fat
dame," to whom he as often advanced, with a diffident smile, to receive
a beautiful rose, which she handed to him over the rope.

These amusements in the open air in the daytime, with the dances,
&c., at the Hall in the evenings, with their "drive" in the morning,
and civil attentions to persons calling on them at their rooms, now
engrossed completely all their time, and they were actually compelled
to give offence to some parties who called on them, and to whom they
could not devote the time. Amongst those were several deputations from
public schools, of clergymen, and Sunday school teachers; and also
three very excellent Christian ladies in a party, one of whom, Mrs.
E----, I was well acquainted with, and knowing her extensive Christian
and charitable labours, I had encouraged to call, as she had expressed
a strong desire to talk with them on the subject of religion. They
appealed to me, and I desired them to call at another hour, which they
did, and I said to the chief that there was another proposition for a
talk on the subject of religion. This seemed to annoy them somewhat,
and after smoking a pipe, they decided not to see them. I then told
them that they were three ladies; this seemed to startle them for a
few moments, but they smoked on, and finally the War-chief said "it
was a subject on which, if they had anything more to say, they would
rather say it to the men than to women--they can talk with our women if
they like." I then invited the Indian women into the room, and Jeffrey
interpreted for the ladies, who had a long conversation with them, but,
as the ladies afterwards told me, few words on the subject of religion:
as to the first questions on that subject, the squaws answered that
they left that mostly to their husbands, and they thought that if they
loved their husbands, and took good care of their children, the Great
Spirit would be kind to them. These kind ladies called the next day
and left them fourteen Bibles and some other very useful presents,
and their prayers for their happiness, feeling convinced that this
was the most effectual and best way of making lasting and beneficial
impressions on their minds.

One of the very high compliments paid them from the fashionable world
was now before them, and this being the day for it, all parties were
dressing and painting for the occasion. I had received a very kind note
from Mrs. Lawrence, inviting me to bring them to pay her a visit in her
lovely grounds at Ealing Park, a few miles from the city of London.
The omnibus was ready, and being seated, we were there with an hour's
drive, and received on the fine lawn in the rear of her house. Here was
presented the most beautiful scene which the Ioways helped to embellish
whilst they were in the kingdom--for nothing more sweet can be seen
than this little paradise, hemmed in with the richness and wildness
of its surrounding foliage, and its velvet carpet of green on which
the Indians were standing and reclining, and the kind lady and her
Royal and noble guests, collected in groups, to witness their dances
and other amusements. Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge, with the lovely Princess Mary, the Hereditary Grand Duke
and Duchess of Mecklenburgh Strelitz, the Duchess of Gloucester, and
many of the nobility, formed the party of her friends whom this lady
had invited, and who soon entered the lawn to meet these sons of the
forest, and witness their wild sports.

At the approach of the lady and her Royal party, the Indians all
arose, and the chiefs having been introduced, half an hour or more
was passed in a conversation with them, through Jeffrey and myself,
and an examination of their costumes, weapons, &c., when they seated
themselves in a circle, and passing the pipe around, were preparing for
a dance. The first they selected was their favourite, the eagle-dance,
which they gave with great spirit, and my explanation of the meaning
of it seemed to add much to its interest. (_Plate No. 13._) After the
dance they strung their bows and practised at the target, and at length
Mr. Melody tossed up the ball, when they snatched up their ballsticks,
which they had brought for the purpose, and darted over and about the
grounds in the exciting game of the ball. This proved more amusing
to the spectators than either of the former exercises, but it was
short, for they soon lost their ball, and the game being completed,
they seated themselves again, and with the pipe were preparing for the
_war-dance_, in which, when they gave it, the beautiful lawn, and the
forests around it, resounded with the shrill notes of the _war-whoop_,
which the frightened parroquets and cockatoos saucily echoed back with
a laughable effect, and a tolerable exactness. The pipe of peace (or
calumet) dance was also given, with the pipes of peace in their hands,
which they had brought out for the purpose.

While these exciting scenes were going on, the butler was busy
spreading a white cloth over a long table arranged on the lawn, near
the house, and on it the luxuries that had been preparing in the
kitchen, for their dinners. This arrangement was so timed that the
roast beef was on and smoking just when their amusements were finished,
and when the announcement was made that their "dinner was up," all
parties moved in that direction, but in two divisions, the one to
partake, and the other to look on and see how wild people could handle
the knife and fork. This was to be the _last_, though (as I could see
by the anxiety of the spectators) not the _least amusing_ of their
amusements, and it was in the event rendered peculiarly so to some of
us, from the various parts which the kind and illustrious spectators
were enabled to take in it, when in all their former amusements there
was no possible way in which they could "lend a hand." Every one could
here assist in placing a chair or handing a plate, and the Indians
being seated, all were ready and emulous, standing around the table and
at their elbows, to perform some little office of the kind, to assist
them to eat, and to make them comfortable. His Royal Highness proposed
that I should take my stand at the head of the table, before a huge
sirloin of roast beef, and ply the carving knife, which I did; whilst
he travelled, plates in hand, until they all were helped. The young
Princess Mary, and the two little daughters of the kind lady, like the
three Graces, were bending about under loads of bread and vegetables
they were helping the Indians to, and the kind lady herself was filling
their glasses from the generous pitcher of foaming ale, and ordering
the butler to uncork the bottles of champagne which were ready and
hissing at the delay.

[Illustration: N^o. 13.]

This unusual scene was taking place in the nearer vicinity of the
poor parroquets and cockatoos, who seemed, thus far, awed into a
discretionary silence, but were dancing to the right and the left,
and busily swinging their heads to and fro, with their eyes and their
ears open to all that was said and done. When the cork flew from the
first bottle of champagne, the parrots squalled out, "There! there!!
there!!!" and the Indians as suddenly, "_Chickabobboo! chickabobboo!_"
Both laughed, and all the party _had_ to laugh, at the simultaneous
excitement of the parrots and the Indians; and most of them were as
ignorant of the language (and of course of the wit of) the one as of
the other. _Chickabobboo_, however, was understood, at least by the
Indians; and their glasses being filled with champagne, the moment they
were raising it to their lips, and some had commenced drinking, the
cockatoos suddenly squalled out again, "_There! there!! there!!!_" The
old Doctor, and his superstitious friend Jim, who had not got their
glasses quite to their mouths, slowly lowered them upon the table, and
turned, with the most beseeching looks, upon Mr. Melody and myself, to
know whether they were breaking their vow to us. They said nothing, but
the question was sufficiently plain in their _looks_ for an answer, and
I replied, "No, my good fellows, the parrots are fools, they don't know
what they are talking about; they, no doubt, thought this was whiskey,
but we know better; it's some of the '_Queen's chickabobboo_,' and
you need not fear to drink it." This curious affair had been seen but
by a part of the company, and only by the Indians at our end of the
table, and therefore lost its general effect until I related it. The
queer-sounding word "_chickabobboo_" seemed to amuse, and to excite the
curiosity of many, and there was no understanding it without my going
over the whole ground, and explaining how and where it originated,
which, when finished, created much amusement. While I was relating this
story the plates were being changed, and just at the end of it the
parrots sang out again, "_There! there!! there!!!_" as before; but it
was discovered that, at that instant, one of the waiters was passing
near them with a huge and smoking plum-pudding, and so high that we
could but just see his face over the top of it. This was placed before
me, and as I divided and served it, the same hands, Royal and fair,
conveyed it to the different parts of the table. This was a glorious
pudding, and I had helped each one abundantly, expecting, as all did,
that they would devour it without mincing; but, to the surprise of all,
they tasted a little, and left the rest upon their plates. Fears were
entertained that the pudding did not suit them, and I was constrained
to ask why they did not eat more. The reply was reluctant, but very
significant and satisfactory when it came. Jim spoke for all. He said,
"They all agreed that it was good--very good; but that the beef was
also very good, and the only fault of the pudding was, that it had come
too late."

The War-chief at this time was charging his long pipe with _k'nick
k'neck_, and some fire being brought to light it, it was soon passed
from his into the chiefs hands, when he arose from the table, and
offering his hand to His Royal Highness, stepped a little back, and
addressed him thus:--

  "My Great Father,--Your face to-day has made us all very happy. The
  Great Spirit has done this for us, and we are thankful for it. The
  Great Spirit inclined your heart to let us see your face, and to
  shake your hand, and we are very happy that it has been so. (_How,
  how, how!_)

  "My Father,--We have been told that you are the uncle of the Queen,
  and that your brother was the King of this rich country. We fear we
  shall go home without seeing the face of your Queen, except as we saw
  it in her carriage; but if so, we shall be happy to say that we have
  seen the great chief who is next to the Queen. (_How, how, how!_)

  "My Father,--We are poor and ignorant people from the wilderness,
  whose eyes are not yet open, and we did not think that we should be
  treated so kindly as we have to-day. Our skins are red, and our ways
  are not so pleasing as those of the white people, and we therefore
  feel the more proud that so great a chief should come so far to see
  us, and to help to feed us; this we shall never forget. (_How, how,
  how!_)

  "My Father,--We feel thankful to the lady who has this fine house and
  these fine fields, and who has invited us here to-day, and to all the
  ladies and gentlemen who are here to see us. We shall pray for you
  all in our prayers to the Great Spirit, and now we shall be obliged
  to shake hands with you and go home. (_How, how, how!_)"

His Royal Highness replied to him,--

  "That he and all his friends present had been highly pleased with
  their appearance and amusements to-day, and most of all with the
  reverential manner in which he had just spoken of the Great Spirit,
  before whom we must all, whether red or white, soon appear. He
  thanked the chiefs for the efforts they had made to entertain them,
  and trusted that the Great Spirit would be kind to them in restoring
  them safe home to their friends again."

At this moment, when all were rising and wrapping their robes around
them preparing to start, the lady appeared among them, with a large
plate in her hands, bearing on it a variety of beautiful trinkets,
which she dispensed among them according to their various tastes; and
with a general shake of the hand, they retired from the grounds to take
their carriage for town. The parrots and cockatoos all bowed their
heads in silence as they passed by them; but as the old Doctor (who
always lingers behind to bestow and catch the last smile, and take the
second shake of the hand where there are ladies in question) extended
his hand to the kind lady, to thank her the second and last time, there
was a tremendous cry of "_There! there!! there!!!_" and "_Cockatoo!
cockatoo!_"--the last of which the poor Doctor, in his confusion, had
mistaken for "_Chickabobboo! chickabobboo!_" He, however, kept a steady
gait between the din of "_There! there!! there!!!_" and "_Cockatoo!_"
that was behind him, and the inconceivable laughter of his party in the
carriage, who now insisted on it (and almost made him believe), that
his ugly face had been the sole cause of the alarm of the birds and
monkeys since the Indians entered the ground.[19]

  [19] The polite Doctor often spoke of his admiration of this
       excellent lady and of her beautiful park, and expressed his
       regrets also that the day they spent there was so short; for
       while hunting for the ball which they had lost, it seemed he
       had strolled alone into her beautiful _Conservatoire_, where
       he said, "in just casting his eyes around, he thought there
       were roots that they had not yet been able to find in this
       country, and which they stood much in need of." He said "he
       believed from what he had seen when he was looking for the
       ball, though nobody had ever told him, that this lady was a
       great root-doctor."

This was theme enough, to ensure them a merry ride home, where they
arrived in time, and in the very best of humour, for their accustomed
evening amusements at the Hall; and after that, of taking their suppers
and _chickabobboo_ in their own apartments, which resounded with songs
and with encomiums on the kind lady and her _chickabobboo_, until they
got to sleep.

The next morning we had an appointment to visit the Surrey Zoological
Gardens, and having the greatest curiosity to witness the mutual
surprise there might be exhibited at the meeting of wild men and wild
animals, I was one of the party. The interview, in order to avoid the
annoyance of a crowd, had been arranged as a private one: we were,
therefore, on the spot at an early hour; and as we were entering (the
Doctor, with his jingling dress and red face, being in advance of the
party, as he was sure to be in _entering_ any curious place, though
the last to _leave_ if there were ladies behind), we were assailed
with the most tremendous din of "_There! there!! there!!!" "Cockatoo!
cockatoo!_" and "_God dam!_" and fluttering of wings of the poor
affrighted parrots, that were pitching down from their perches in all
directions. I thought it best that we should retreat a few moments,
until Mr. Cross could arrange the front ranks of his aviary a little,
which he did by moving back some of their outposts to let us pass. We
had been shown into a little office in the meantime, where Mr. Melody
had very prudently suggested that they had better discharge as many of
their rattling gewgaws as possible, and try to carry into the ground as
little of the frightful as they could. Amusing jokes were here heaped
upon the Doctor for his extreme ugliness, which, as Jim told him,
had terrified the poor birds almost to death. The Doctor bore it all
patiently, however, and with a smile; and partially turned the laugh
upon Jim with the big mouth, by replying that it was lucky for the
gentleman owning the parrots that Jim did not enter first; for if he
had, the poor man would have found them all dead, instead of being a
little alarmed, as they then were.

We were now entering upon the greatest field for the speculations and
amusement (as well as astonishment) of the Indians that they were to
meet in the great metropolis. My note-book was in my hand and my pencil
constantly employed; and the notes that I then and in subsequent visits
made, can be allowed very little space in this work. All were ready,
and we followed Mr. Cross; the Indians, fourteen in number, with their
red faces and red crests, marching in single file. The squalling of
parrots and barking of dogs seemed to have announced to the whole
neighbourhood that some extraordinary visitation was at hand; and when
we were in front of the lions' cage, their tremendous bolts against
its sides, and unusual roar, announced to the stupidest animal and
reptile that an enemy was in the field. The terrible voice of the king
of beasts was heard in every part, and echoed back in affrighted notes
of a hundred kinds. Men as well as beasts were alarmed, for the men
employed within the grounds were retreating, and at every turn they
made amidst its bewildering mazes, they imagined a roaring lion was to
spring upon their backs. The horrid roaring of the lions was answered
by lions from another part of the garden. Hyenas and panthers hissed,
wolves were howling, the Indians (catching the loved inspiration of
nature's wildness) sounded their native war-whoop, the buffaloes
bellowed, the wild geese stretched their necks and screamed; the deer,
the elk, and the antelopes were trembling, the otters and beavers dived
to the bottom of their pools, the monkeys were chattering from the tops
of their wire cages, the bears were all at the summit of their poles,
and the ducks and the geese whose wings were not cropped, were hoisting
themselves out of their element into quieter regions.

The whole establishment was thus in an instant "brushed up," and
in their excitement, prepared to be seen to the greatest possible
advantage; all upon their feet, and walking their cages to and fro,
seemingly as impatient to see what they seemed to know was coming, as
the visiting party was impatient to see them.

I explained to the Indians that the lion was the king of beasts--and
they threw tobacco before him as a sacrifice. The hyenas attracted
their attention very much, and the leopards and tigers, of the nature
of all of which I promised to give them some fuller account after we
got home. They met the panther, which they instantly recognized, and
the recognition would seem to have been mutual, from its evident alarm,
evinced by its hissing and showing its teeth. _Jim_ called for the
Doctor "to see his brother," the wolf. The Doctor's _totem_ or _arms_
was the wolf--it was therefore _medicine_ to him. The Doctor advanced
with a smile, and offering it his hand, with a smirk of recognition,
he began, in a low and soft tone, to howl like a wolf. All were quiet
a moment, when the poor animal was led away by the Doctor's "_distant
howlings_," until it raised up its nose, with the most pitiable looks
of imploration for its liberty, and joined him in the chorus. He turned
to us with an exulting smile, but to his "poor imprisoned brother,"
as he called it, with a tear in his eye, and a plug of tobacco in his
hand, which he left by the side of its cage as a _peace-offering_.

The ostrich (of which there was a noble specimen there) and the
kangaroo excited the admiration and lively remarks of the Indians; but
when they met the poor distressed and ragged prisoner, the buffalo
from their own wild and free prairies, their spirits were overshadowed
with an instant gloom; forebodings, perhaps, of their own approaching
destiny. They sighed, and even wept, for this worn veteran, and walked
on. With the bears they would have shaken hands, if they could have
done it, "and embraced them too," said the Little-wolf, "for he had
hugged many a one." They threw tobacco to the rattlesnake, which is
_medicine_ with them, and not to be killed. The joker, _Jim_, made
us white men take off our hats as we passed the beaver, for it was
his relation; and as he had learned a little English, when he heard
the ducks cry "quack," he pointed to them and told the Doctor to go
there--he was called for.

Thus rapid were the transitions from surprise to pity, and to mirth,
as we passed along, and yet to wonder and astonishment, which had been
reserved for the remotest and the last. Before the massive _elephant_
little or nothing was said; all hands were over their mouths; their
tobacco was forgotten, they walked quietly away, and all of us being
seated under an arbour, to which we were conducted, our kind guide
said to Jeffrey, "Tell the Indians that the immense arch they see now
over their heads is made of the jaw-bones of a whale, and they may now
imagine themselves and the whole party sitting in its mouth." "Well,
now," said Jeffrey, "you don't say so?" "Yes, it's even so." "Well,
I declare! why, the elephant would be a mere baby to it." Jeffrey
explained it to the Indians, and having risen from their seats, and
being satisfied, by feeling it, that it was actually bone, they wished
to go home, and "see the rest at a future time." We were then near the
gate, where we soon took our carriage, and returned to their quarters
in St. James's Street.




                              CHAPTER XXI.

  Indians' remarks on the Zoological Gardens--Their pity for
     the poor buffalo and other animals imprisoned--Jim's talk
     with a clergyman about Hell and the hyaenas--Indians' ideas
     of astronomy--Jim and the Doctor hear of the hells of
     London--Desire to go into them--Promised to go--Indians
     counting the gin-palaces (_chickabobboo-ags_)in a ride to
     Blackwall and back--The result--Exhibition in the Egyptian
     Hall--A sudden excitement--The War-chief recognises in the
     crowd his old friend "Bobasheela"--Their former lives on
     the Mississippi and Missouri--Bobasheela an Englishman--His
     travels in the "Far West" of America--Story of their first
     acquaintance--The doomed wedding-party--Lieut. Pike--Daniel
     Boone and Son--Indians visit a great brewery--Kind reception
     by the proprietors--Great surprise of the Indians--Immense
     quantities of _chickabobboo_--War-dance in an empty
     vat--Daniel commences Jim's book of the statistics of
     England--Indians visit the Tunnel--Visit to the Tower--The
     Horse Armoury--The Royal Regalia--Indians' ideas of the crowns
     and jewels--"_Totems_" (arms) on the fronts of noblemen's
     houses--Royal arms over the shops--Strange notions of the
     Doctor--They see the "man with the big nose" again--And the
     "great white War-chief (the Duke of Wellington) on horseback,
     near his wig-wam."


Three or four of my particular friends had joined us in our visit
to the Zoological Gardens this morning, and amongst them a reverend
gentleman, whose professional character was not made known to the
Indians. He kept close to Jeffrey and the Indians all the way, and
his ears were open to the translation of everything they said. He was
not only highly amused at their remarks, but told me he heard enough
to convince him that lessons of morality, of devotion, and religion,
as well as of philosophy, might be learned from those poor people,
although they were the savages of the wilderness, and often despised
as such. Mr. Melody and I accompanied them to their rooms, and as we
came in when their dinner was coming up, we sat down and partook of
it with them. The Indian's mode is to _eat exclusively_ while he eats,
and to talk afterwards. We adhered to their rule on this occasion, and
after the dinner was over, and a pipe was lit, there were remarks and
comments enough ready, upon the strange things they had just seen.

As usual, the first thing was, to have a laugh at the Doctor for having
frightened the parrots; and then to reflect and to comment upon the
cruelty of keeping all those poor and unoffending animals prisoners
in such a place, merely to be looked at. They spoke of the doleful
looks they all wore in their imprisoned cells, walking to and fro, and
looking through the iron bars at every person who came along, as if
they wished them to let them out. I was forcibly struck with the truth
and fitness of their remarks, having never passed through a menagerie
without coming out impressed, even to fatigue, with the sympathy I had
felt for the distressed looks and actions of these poor creatures,
imprisoned for life, for man's amusement only.

Jim asked, "What have all those poor animals and birds done that they
should be shut up to die? They never have murdered anybody--they have
not been guilty of stealing, and they owe no money; why should they be
kept so, and there to die?" He said it would afford him more pleasure
to see one of them let loose and run away over the fields, than to see
a hundred imprisoned as they were. The Doctor took up the gauntlet and
reasoned the other way. He said they were altogether the happiest wild
animals he ever saw; they were perfectly prevented from destroying each
other, and had enough to eat as long as they lived, and plenty of white
men to wait upon them. He did not see why they should not live as long
there as anywhere else, and as happy. He admitted, however, that his
heart was sad at the desolate look of the old buffalo bull, which he
would like to have seen turned loose on the prairies.

The Roman-nose said he heard one of the parrots say "God dam." "So he
did," said Jim; "and who could say otherwise, when the Doctor poked his
ugly face so suddenly in amongst them? They know how to speak English,
and I don't wonder they say God dam."[20]

  [20] No Indian language in America affords the power of swearing,
       not being sufficiently rich and refined.

I here diverted their attention from the jokes they were beginning
upon the Doctor, by asking them how they liked the _chickabobboo_ they
got in the gardens, which they recollected with great pleasure, and
which they pronounced to have been very good. Mr. Cross had invited
the whole party to a private view, and after showing us, with great
politeness, what he had curious, invited us into one of his delightful
little refreshment rooms, and treated all to cold chickens, pork pies,
pastries, and champagne, which the Indians called _chickabobboo_; and
as he did not know the meaning of the word, I related the story of it,
which pleased him very much.

The Doctor made some laugh, by saying that "he was going over there
again in a few days, if he could find some strings long enough, to
measure the elephant and the bones of the whale, as he had got the
dimensions of the giant man." Jim told him "he had not got the measure
of the _giant man_--he had only measured the _giant woman_, and
getting scared, he only half measured her; and he was so much afraid
of women, that he didn't believe he could ever take the measure of one
of them correct, if a hundred should stand ever so still for him."
The Doctor smiled, and looked at me as if to know if I was going to
ask some question again. He was fortunately relieved at that moment,
however, by Mr. Melody's question to Jim, "how he liked the looks of
the hyenas, and whether he would like him to buy one to carry home
with him?" Jim rolled over on to his back, and drew his knees up (the
only position in which he could "think fast," as he expressed it;
evidently a peculiarity with him, and a position, ungraceful as it
was, which it was absolutely necessary for him to assume, if he was
going to tell a story well, or to make a speech); and after thinking
much more profoundly than it required to answer so simple a question,
replied, "Very well, very well," and kept thinking on. The Little Wolf,
who was lying by his side, asked him "what he was troubled about?--he
seemed to be thinking very strong." Jim replied to this, that "he was
thinking a great way, and he had to think hard." He said, that when he
was looking at the hyenas, he said to Jeffrey that he thought they were
the wickedest looking animals he ever saw, and that he believed they
would go to hell; but that the gentleman who came to the garden with
Mr. Melody[21] said to him, "No, my friend, none but the animals that
laugh and cry can go to heaven or to hell." He said that this gentleman
then wanted to know how he had heard of hell, and what idea he had of
it. He said, he told Jeffrey to say to him that some white men (_black
coats_) had told amongst his people, that there was such a place as
hell, very low under the earth, where the wicked would all go, and for
ever be in the fire. He said, the gentleman asked him if he believed
it? and that he told him he thought there might be such a place for
white people--he couldn't tell--but he didn't think the Indians would
go to it. He said, the gentleman then asked him why he thought those
poor ignorant animals the hyenas would go there? And he replied to him
that _Chippehola_[22] said "the hyenas live by digging up the bodies of
people after they are buried;" and he therefore thought they were as
wicked as the white people, who also dig up the Indians' graves, and
scatter their bones about, all along our country;[23] and he thought
such white people would go to hell, and ought to go there. He said he
also told the gentleman he had heard there were some hells under the
city of London, and that he had been invited to go and see them: this,
he said, made the gentleman laugh, and there was no more said: that he
had begun to think that this gentleman was a _black coat_, but when he
saw him laugh, he found out that he was not. "Just the time you were
mistaken," said Mr. Melody; "for that gentleman _was_ a clergyman, and
you have made a very great fool of yourself." "I will risk all that,"
said Jim; "I have wanted all the time to make a speech to some of them,
but the chiefs wouldn't let me."

  [21] The reverend gentleman.

  [22] Mr. Catlin.

  [23] One of the most violent causes of the Indian's hatred of white
       men is, that nearly every Indian grave is opened by them on
       the frontier for their skulls or for the weapons and trinkets
       buried with them.

The pipe, during these conversations, was being handed around, and
Jim's prolific mind, while he was "thinking fast" (as he had called
it), was now running upon the elephant, and he was anxious to know
where it came from. I told him it was from the opposite side of the
globe: he could not understand me, and to be more explicit, I told him
that the ground we stood upon was part of the surface of the earth,
which was round like a ball, and many thousands of miles around; and
that these huge animals came from the side exactly opposite to us. I
never could exactly believe that Jim, at the moment, doubted my word;
but in the richness of his imagination (particularly in his thinking
position) he so clearly saw elephants walking underside of the globe,
with their backs downwards, without falling, that he broke out into
such a flood of laughter, that he was obliged to shut out his thoughts,
and roll over upon his hands and knees until the spasms went gradually
off. The rest of the group were as incredulous as Jim, but laughed less
vehemently; and as it was not a time to lecture further on astronomy,
I thought it best to omit it until a better opportunity: merely
waiting for Jim's pencil sketch (and no doubt according to his first
impression), which he was then drawing, with considerable tact; and
with equal wit, proposed I should adopt as my "arms" or _totem_, the
globe with an inverted elephant.

Melody and I strolled off together, leaving the Indians in this
amusing mood, while we were agreeing that they were a good-natured
and well-disposed set of men, determining to take everything in the
happiest way; and that they were well entitled to our protection, and
our best energies to promote their welfare. We saw that they enjoyed
every thing that we showed them, with a high relish; and in hopes that
they might profit by it, and feel a stronger attachment to us, we
resolved to spare no pains in showing them whatever we could, that they
might wish to see, and which would be likely, in any way, to render
them a benefit.

The reader will have seen, by this time, that they were a close
observing and an amusing set of fellows: and knowing also that at this
time nearly all the curious sights of London were still before us, he
will be prepared to meet the most exciting and amusing parts of this
book as he reads on.

We continued to give these curious and good fellows their daily drives
in their bus, and by an hour spent in this way each day, for several
months, they were enabled to form a tolerably correct idea of the
general shapes and appearance of the city, and its modes, as seen in
the streets. In these drives, as well as in institutions of various
kinds, which they visited, they saw many curious things which amused
them, and others which astonished them very much; but their private
room was the place for their amusing debates, and remarks upon them,
when they returned: and to that I generally repaired every night before
they went to bed, to hear what they had to say and to think, of the
sights they had seen during the day.

_Chickabobboo_, though an Ojibbeway word, had now become a frequent and
favourite theme with them, inasmuch as it was at this time an essential
part of their dinners and suppers, and as, in all their drives about
town, they were looking into the "gin palaces" which they were every
moment passing, and at the pretty maids who were hopping about, and
across the streets, in all directions, both night and day, with
pitchers of ale in their hands. The elevated positions of the Doctor
and Jim, as they were alongside of the driver of the bus, enabling
them, in the narrow streets, to peep into the splendid interior of many
of these, as they were brilliantly illumined, and generally gay with
bonnets and ribbons, and imagining a great deal of happiness and fun
to reign in them, they had several times ventured, very modestly, to
suggest to me a wish to look into some of them--"not to drink," as they
said, "for they could get enough to drink at home, but to see how they
looked, and how the people acted there."

I had told them that if they had the least curiosity, there should
be no objection to their going with me on some proper occasion,
when they again got on their frock coats and beaver hats; and also
that if there were any other curious places they wished to see in
London, Mr. Melody or I would take them there. Upon hearing this the
big-mouthed and quizzical Jim at once took me at my word, and told me
that "some gentleman with Daniel had been telling him and the Doctor
that there were several '_hells_' under the city of London, and that
they ought some time to go down and see them." He didn't think from
what Daniel and that man said that they were hells of "fire," but he
thought as Daniel had been to them, there could not be much danger,
and he thought they would be very curious to see; he knew these were
not the hells which the _black coats_ spoke of, for Daniel told him
there were many beautiful ladies, and fine music, and _chickabobboo_
there; that they did not wish to drink the _chickabobboo_, but merely
to look and see, and then come away; and they had no objections to
put on the black coats for that purpose; he said, in fact, that
Daniel had invited them to go, and that Jeffrey had agreed to go with
them. Jim had me thus "upon the hip" for this enterprise, and when I
mentioned it to poor Melody, he smiled as he seemed to shrink from
it, and said, "Ah, Catlin, that never will do: we are going to spoil
these Indians, as sure as the world; there will be in a little time
nothing but what they will want to see, and we shall have no peace of
our lives with them. They have all gone now, and Daniel and Jeffrey
with them, in their bus, all the way to Blackwall, merely to see how
many _chickabobbooags_ (gin palaces) they can count in the way, going
by one route and returning by another. Their minds are running on
_chickabobboo_ and such things already, and they are in the midst of
such a scene of gin-drinking and drunkenness as they see every day,
that I am almost sorry we ever undertook to drive them out at all. I
am daily more and more afraid that they will all become drunkards, in
spite of all I can do, and I sometimes wish I had them safe home, where
we started from. You have no idea what a charge I have on my hands,
and the annoyance I have about the front of their apartments every
night, from women who are beckoning them down from their windows to
the door, and even into the passages and streets. They seem daily to
be losing their respect for me, and I find it every day more and more
difficult to control them." "And so you will continue to find it," said
I, "unless privileges and freedom to a reasonable extent are granted
to them, while they are strictly adhering to the solemn promises and
restraints we have laid them under. These people have come here under
your promises to show them everything you can, and to teach them
how the civilized world live and act. They have reposed the highest
confidence in you to take care of and protect them, and in return they
have solemnly promised to conduct themselves properly and soberly; and
as long as they adhere to that, you should not let them doubt your
confidence in them, by fearing to show them some parts of the shades as
well as the lights of civilization. They are here to learn the ways of
civilization, and I should deem it wrong to deny them the privilege,
if they ask for it, of seeing such parts of it as you and myself would
go to see. I have been to see the 'hells of London' myself, and would
much sooner take my son there, and there give him the most impressive
lesson in morality, than forbid him to go, expressing to him my fears
of his contamination. These people are like children in some respects,
and they are men in others; and while I fully appreciate all your noble
attachment to them, and your anxieties for them, with the knowledge I
have gained of the Indian character, I feel assured that as they are
brought here to be shown everything of civilization, to restrict them
in seeing the parts of it they desire to see, will be to exhibit to
them a want of confidence which would be apt to lead to worse and more
injurious results before you get home with them. I should have been
very far from mentioning such places to them, or the many other dens
of iniquity which exist in the great city of London and the cities of
our own country, and which I hope they may remain strangers to; but
they having heard of the hells of London, and expressed a desire to see
them, I should feel no hesitation in giving Jim and the Doctor a peep
into them, instead of representing them (as the means of keeping them
away from them) as being a much greater degradation of human nature
than they actually are."

Good, kind Melody looked so much distressed, that I finished my
arguments here, and told him to "rest quite easy; there was a way by
which we could get over it, and I not break my promise with Jim and
the Doctor. That a friend of mine who had been into them recently and
narrowly escaped with his life, would have a talk with them on the
subject in a few days, and all would be right.[24] As for the joke
they are on to-day, about the _gin-shops_, I don't see the least harm
in it. They must have something to laugh at, and while they are getting
their usual daily ride in the open air, they are passing one of the
best comments that ever was made upon one of the greatest vices of the
greatest city in the world."

  [24] This unfortunate "friend of mine" called the next day, with a
       handkerchief tied over one eye, and one arm in a sling; and
       while we _happened_ to be talking of their intended visit to
       some of the "hells," he took occasion to exclaim at once, "My
       good fellows, let me advise you, go and see everything else in
       London, but take especial care you don't go into any of those
       infernal regions, and get served as I have been, or ten times
       worse, for I was lucky that I didn't lose my life." "Then you
       have seen them?" said I. "Seen them? yes, I _saw_, till I was
       knocked down three or four times, and my pockets picked, after
       I paid out to those infernal demons fifteen pounds; so I lost
       about thirty pounds altogether, and have not been able to see
       since. Nat B--n of New York was with me, and he got off much
       worse than I did; he was carried home for dead and hasn't been
       out of his room since. When I get a little better, my good
       fellows, I will give you a long account of what we saw, and
       I'll venture you never will want to risk your heads there."
       My friend here left us, and Jim and the Doctor had evidently
       changed their minds about going to see the "Hells of London."

The simple old Doctor, in his curious cogitations amidst the din of
civilised excitements, while he had been ogling the thousands of
ladies and gin-palaces, and other curious things all together, from
the pinnacle of his bus, had brought home one day in round numbers the
total amount of _chickabobbooags_ that he had seen during the hour's
drive on one morning. The enormous amount of these, when added up,
seemed too great for the most credulous; and Jim, seeming to think that
the Doctor had counted the ladies instead of the grog-shops, disputed
the correctness of his report, which had led to the result that was
being carried out to-day, by some pretty spirited betting between the
Doctor, Jim, Daniel, and Jeffrey, as to the number of _gin palaces
(chickabobbooags)_ they should pass on their way from St. James's
Street to Blackwall (where they had curiosity to taste "white bait"),
and back again by a different route, taking _Euston Station_ in their
way as they returned. For this purpose it was arranged that the Doctor
and Jim should take their customary seats with the driver; and _Roman
Nose_ and the _Little Wolf_ inside of the bus, where there was less
to attract their attention, should each take his side of the street,
counting as they passed them, while the old War-chief should notch them
on a stick which they had prepared for the purpose, having Daniel and
Jeffrey by their sides to see that there was no mistake.

The amusements of this gigantic undertaking were not to be even
anticipated until they got back, nor its difficulties exactly
appreciated until they appeared in the prosecution of the design. At
starting off, the _Roman Nose_ and _Little Wolf_ took their positions
on opposite seats, each one appropriating a pane of glass for his
observations, and the old War-chief with his deal stick in one hand
and a knife in the other; and in this way they were ready for, and
commenced operations. Each one as he passed a gin-shop, called out
"_chickabobbooag!_" and the old chief cut a notch. This at first seemed
to be quite an easy thing, and even allowed the old man an occasional
moment to look around and observe the direction in which they were
going, while the two amusing chubs who were outside could pass an
occasional remark or two upon the ladies as they were commencing to
keep an oral account, to corroborate or correct the records that were
making inside. As they gradually receded from the temperate region of
St. James's (having by an ignorant oversight overlooked the numerous
_club-houses_), their labours began to increase, and the old War-chief
had to ply his knife with precision and quickness; the two companions
outside stopped all further conversation, holding on to their fingers
for tens, hundreds, &c. The word _chickabobbooag_ was now so rapidly
repeated at times inside (and oftentimes by both parties at once),
that the old chief found the greatest difficulty in keeping his record
correct. The parties all kept at their posts, and attended strictly to
their reckonings, until they arrived at Blackwall. They cast up none of
their accounts there, but the old chief's record was full--there was
no room for another notch. He procured another stick for the returning
memorandums, and the route back, being much more prolific and much
longer, filled each of the four corners of his new stick, and when it
was full he set down the rest of his sum in black marks, with a pencil
and paper which Daniel took from his pocket.

The reckoning, when they got back, and their curious remarks upon the
incidents of their ride, were altogether very amusing, and so numerous
and discordant were their accounts, that there was no final decision
agreed upon as to the bets.

Their results were brought in thus:

      War-chief               notches 446
      Jim                        oral 432 doubtful 60
      Doctor                     oral 754 doubtful  0
                                     ----
                              Average 544.

What route they took I never was able to learn, but such were their
accounts as they brought them in; and as it was ascertained that the
Doctor had been adding to his account all the shops where he saw
bottles in the windows, it was decided to be a reasonable calculation
that he had brought into the account erroneously:

      Apothecaries and confectioners--say                       300
      Leaving the average of all together (which was no doubt
      very near the thing) Chickabobbooags                      450

So ended (after the half-hour's jokes they had about it) this novel
enterprise, which had been carried out with great pains and much
fatigue, and in which, it was suggested by them, and admitted by me,
they had well earned a jug of _chickabobboo_.

The settlement of this important affair was not calculated by any means
to lessen the Doctor's curiosity in another respect, and which has been
alluded to before--his desire to visit some of those places, to see
the manner in which the _chickabobboo_ was made. I put him at rest on
that subject, however, by telling him that there was none of it made
at those shops where it was sold, but that I had procured an order to
admit the whole party to one of the greatest breweries in the city,
where the _chickabobboo_ was made, and that we were all to go the next
day and see the manner in which it was done. This information seemed to
give great pleasure to all, and to finish for the present the subject
of _chickabobboo_.

The night of this memorable day I had announced as the last night of
the Indians at the Egyptian Hall, arrangements having been effected
for their exhibitions to be made a few days in Vauxhall Gardens before
leaving London for some of the provincial towns. This announcement, of
course, brought a dense crowd into the Hall, and in it, as usual, the
"jolly fat dame," and many of my old friends, to take their last gaze
at the Indians.

The amusements were proceeding this evening, as on former occasions,
when a sudden excitement was raised in the following manner. In the
midst of one of their noisy dances, the War-chief threw himself, with a
violent jump and a yell of the shrill war-whoop, to the corner of the
platform, where he landed on his feet in a half-crouching position,
with his eyes, and one of his forefingers, fixed upon something that
attracted his whole attention in a distant part of the crowd. The
dance stopped--the eyes of all the Indians, and of course those of
most of the crowd, were attracted to the same point; the eyes of the
old War-chief were standing open, and in a full blaze upon the object
before him, which nobody could well imagine, from his expression, to be
anything less exciting than a huge panther, or a grizly bear, in the
act of springing upon him. After staring awhile, and then shifting his
weight upon the other leg, and taking a moment to wink, for the relief
of his eyes, he resumed the intensity of his gaze upon the object
before him in the crowd, and was indulging during a minute or two in a
dead silence, for the events of twenty or thirty years to run through
his mind, when he slowly straightened up to a more confident position,
with his eyes relaxed, but still fixed upon their object, when, in an
emphatic and ejaculatory tone, he pronounced the bewildering word of
_Bobasheela!_ and repeated it, _Bobasheela?_ "Yes, I'm _Bobasheela_,
my good old fellow! I knew your voice as soon as you spoke (though
you don't understand English yet)." _Chee-au-mung-ta-wangish-kee,
Bobasheela._ "My friends, will you allow me to move along towards
that good old fellow? he knows me;" at which the old chief (not of a
_hundred_, but) of _many_ battles, gave a yell, and a leap from the
platform, and took his faithful friend _Bobasheela_ in his arms, and
after a lapse of thirty years, had the pleasure of warming his cheek
against that of one of his oldest and dearest friends--one whose heart,
we have since found, had been tried and trusted, and as often requited,
in the midst of the dense and distant wildernesses of the banks of
the Mississippi and Missouri. Whilst this extraordinary interview was
proceeding, all ideas of the dance were for the time lost sight
of, and whilst these veterans were rapidly and mutually reciting the
evidences of their bygone days of attachment, there came a simultaneous
demand from all parts of the room, for an interpretation of their
conversation, which I gave as far as I could understand it, and as far
as it had then progressed, thus:--The old Sachem, in leading off his
favourite war-dance, suddenly fixed his eye upon a face in the crowd,
which he instantly recognized, and gazing upon it a moment, decided
that it was the well-known face of an old friend, with whom he had
spent many happy days of his early life on the banks of the Mississippi
and Missouri rivers in America. The old chief, by appealing to this
gentleman's familiar Indian cognomen of _Bobasheela_, brought out an
instant proof of the correctness of his recognition; and as he held
him by both hands, to make proof doubly strong, he made much merriment
amongst the party of Indians, by asking him if he ever "floated down
any part of the great Mississippi river in the night, astride of two
huge logs of wood, with his legs hanging in the water?" To which
_Bobasheela_ instantly replied in the affirmative. After which, and
several _medicine_ phrases, and masonic grips and signs had passed
between them, the dance was resumed, and the rest of the story, as
well as other anecdotes of the lives of these extraordinary personages
postponed to the proper time and place, when and where the reader will
be sure to hear them.

  [Illustration: N^o. 14.]

The exhibition for the evening being over, Bobasheela was taken home
with the Indians, to their lodgings, to smoke a pipe with them; and
having had the curiosity to be of the party, I was enabled to gather
the following further information. This _Bobasheela_ (Mr. J. H., a
native of Cornwall) (Plate No. 14), who is now spending the latter part
of a very independent bachelor's life amongst his friends in London,
left his native country as long ago as the year 1805, and making his
way, like many other bold adventurers, across the Alleghany Mountains
in America, descended into the great and almost boundless valley of
the Mississippi, in hopes by his indefatigable industry, and daring
enterprise, to share in the products that must find their way from that
fertile wilderness valley to the civilized world.

In this arduous and most perilous pursuit, he repeatedly ascended and
descended in his bark canoe--his pirogue or his Mackinaw boat, the
Ohio, the Muskingham, the Cumberland, the Tennessee, the Arkansas,
the Missouri, and Mississippi rivers; and amongst the thousand and
one droll and amusing incidents of thirty years spent in such a sort
of life, was the anecdote which the War-chief alluded to, in the
unexpected meeting with his old friend in my exhibition-room, and which
the two parties more fully related to me in this evening's interview.
The good-natured Mr. H. told me that the tale was a true one, and the
awkward predicament spoken of by the War-chief was one that he was
actually placed in when his acquaintance first began with his good
friend.

Though the exhibition had kept us to a late hour, the greetings and
pleasing reminiscences to be gone over by these two reclaimed friends,
and (as they called themselves) "brothers" of the "Far West," over
repeatedly charged pipes of k'nick k'neck, were pleasing, and held
us to a most unreasonable hour at night. When the chief, amongst his
rapid interrogations to Bobasheela, asked him if he had preserved his
_she-she-quoin_, he gave instant relief to the mind of his friend,
from which the lapse of time and changes of society had erased the
recollection of the chief's familiar name, _She-she-quoi-me-gon_,
by which his friend had christened him, from the circumstance of
his having presented him a _she-she-quoin_(or mystery rattle), the
customary badge bestowed when any one is initiated into the degree of
"doctor" or "brother."

From the forms and ceremonies which my good friend _Bobasheela_ had
gone through, it seems (as his name indicates) that he stood in
the relationship of brother to the chief; and although the chief's
interrogations had produced him pleasure in one respect, one can easily
imagine him much pained in another, inasmuch as he was obliged to
acknowledge that his sacred badge, his _she-she-quoin_, had been lost
many years since, by the sinking of one of his boats on the Cumberland
river. For his standing in the tribe, such an event might have been
of an irretrievable character; but for the renewed and continued good
fellowship of his friend in this country, the accident proved to be one
of little moment, as will be learned from various incidents recited in
the following pages.

In this first evening's interview over the pipe, my friend Mr. H., to
the great amusement of the party of Indians, and of Daniel and the
squaws, who had gathered around us, as well as several of my London
friends, related the story of "floating down the Mississippi river on
two logs of wood," &c., as follows:--

  "This good old fellow and I formed our first acquaintance in a very
  curious way, and when you hear me relate the manner of it, I am
  quite sure you will know how to account for his recognizing me this
  evening, and for the pleasure we have both felt at thus unexpectedly
  meeting. In the year 1806 I happened to be on a visit to St. Louis,
  and thence proceeded up the Missouri to the mouth of the 'Femme
  Osage' to pay a visit to my old friend Daniel Boone, who had a short
  time before left his farm in Kentucky and settled on the banks of
  the Missouri, in the heart of an entire wilderness, to avoid the
  constant annoyance of the neighbours who had flocked into the country
  around him in Kentucky. The place for his future abode, which he
  had selected, was in a rich and fertile country, and forty or fifty
  miles from any white inhabitants, where he was determined to spend
  the remainder of his days, believing that for the rest of his life
  he would be no more annoyed by the familiarity of neighbours. I
  spent several weeks very pleasantly with the old pioneer, who had
  intentionally built his log cabin so small, with only one room and
  one bed for himself and his wife, that even his best friends should
  not break upon the sacred retirement of his house at night, but
  having shared his hospitable board during the day were referred to
  the cabin of his son, Nathan Boone, about four hundred yards distant,
  where an extra room and an extra bed afforded them the means of
  passing the night.

  "The old hunter and his son were thus living very happily, and made
  me comfortable and happy whilst I was with them. The anecdotes of his
  extraordinary life, which were talked over for amusement during that
  time, were enough to fill a volume. The venerable old man, whose long
  and flowing locks were silvery white, was then in his 78th year, and
  still he almost daily took down his trusty rifle from its hooks in
  the morning, and in a little time would bring in a saddle of venison
  for our breakfast, and thus he chiefly supported his affectionate
  old lady and himself, and the few friends who found their way to his
  solitary abode, without concern or care for the future. The stump of
  a large cotton-wood tree, which had been cut down, was left standing
  in the ground, and being cut square off on the top, and his cabin
  being built around it, answered the purpose of a table in the centre
  of his cabin, from which our meals were eaten. When I made my visit
  to him, he had been living several years in this retired state and
  been perfectly happy in the undisturbed solitude of the wilderness,
  but told me several times that he was becoming very uneasy and
  distressed, as he found that his days of peace were nearly over, as
  two Yankee families had already found the way into the country, and
  one of them had actually settled within nine miles of him.

  "Having finished my visit to this veteran and his son, I mounted my
  horse, and taking leave followed an Indian trail to the town of St.
  Charles, some thirty or forty miles below, on the north banks of the
  Missouri. I here visited some old friends with whom I had become
  acquainted on the lower Mississippi in former years, and intending
  to descend the river from that to St. Louis by a boat had sold my
  horse when I arrived there. Before I was ready to embark, however,
  an old friend of mine, Lieutenant Pike, who had just returned from
  his exploring expedition to the Rocky Mountains, had passed up
  from St. Louis to a small settlement formed on the east bank of
  the Mississippi, and a few miles below the mouth of the Missouri,
  to attend a wedding which was to take place on the very evening
  that I had received the information of it, and like himself, being
  intimately acquainted with the young man who was to be married, I
  resolved to be present if possible, though I had had no invitation to
  attend, it not being known to the parties that I was in that part of
  the country. The spot where the wedding was to take place being on
  the bank of the river, and on my route to St. Louis, I endeavoured
  to procure a canoe for the purpose, but not being able to get such
  a thing in St. Charles at that time for love or money, and still
  resolved to be at the wedding, I succeeded in rolling a couple of
  large logs into the stream, which laid upon the shore in front of
  the village, and lashing them firmly together, took a paddle from
  the first boat that I could meet, and seating myself astride of
  the two logs I pushed off into the muddy current of the Missouri,
  and was soon swept away out of sight of the town of St. Charles.
  My embarkation was a little before sundown, and having fifteen or
  twenty miles to float before I should be upon the waters of the
  Mississippi, I was in the midst of my journey overtaken by night, and
  had to navigate my floating logs as well as I could among the snags
  and sandbars that fell in my way. I was lucky, however, in escaping
  them all, though I sometimes grazed them as I passed, and within a
  few inches of being hurled to destruction. I at length entered the
  broad waters of the Mississippi, and a few miles below on the left
  bank saw the light in the cabins in which the merry circle of my
  friends were assembled, and with all my might was plying my paddle to
  propel my two logs to the shore. In the midst of my hard struggle I
  discovered several objects on my right and ahead of me, which seemed
  to be rapidly approaching me, and I concluded that I was drifting
  on to rocks or snags that were in a moment to destroy me. But in an
  instant one of these supposed snags silently shot along by the side
  of my logs, and being a canoe with four Indians in it, and all with
  their bows and war-clubs drawn upon me, they gave the signal for
  silence, as one of them, a tall, long-armed, and powerful man, seized
  me by the collar. Having partially learned several of the languages
  of the Indian tribes bordering on the Mississippi, I understood him
  as he said in the Ioway language, 'Not a word! if you speak you die!'
  At that moment a dozen or more canoes were all drawn close around my
  two logs of wood, astride of which I sat, with my legs in the water
  up to my knees. These canoes were all filled with warriors with
  their weapons in their hands, and no women being with them, I saw
  they were a war party, and preparing for some mischief. Finding that
  I understood their language and could speak a few words with them,
  the warrior who still held me by the collar made a sign to the other
  canoes to fall back a little while he addressed me in a low voice.
  'Do you know the white chief who is visiting his friends this night
  on the bank yonder where we see the lights?' to which I replied 'Yes,
  he is an old friend of mine.' 'Well,' said he, 'he dies to-night,
  and all those wig-wams are to be laid in ashes. _Stet-e-no-ka_ was a
  cousin of mine, and _Que-tun-ka_ was a good man, and a friend to the
  white people. The pale faces hung them like two dogs by their necks,
  and the life of your friend, the white warrior, pays the forfeit
  this night, and many may be the women and children who will die by
  his side!' I explained to him as well as I could that my friend,
  Lieutenant Pike, had had no hand in the execution of the two Indians;
  that they were hung below St. Louis when Lieutenant Pike was on his
  way home from the Rocky Mountains. I told him also that Lieutenant
  Pike was a great friend of the Indians, and would do anything to aid
  or please them; that he had gone over the river that night to attend
  the wedding of a friend, and little dreamed that amongst the Indians
  he had any enemies who would raise their hands against him.

  "'My friend,' said he, 'you have said enough: if you tell me that
  your friend, or the friend or the enemy of any man, takes the hand
  of a fair daughter on that ground to-night, an Ioway chief will not
  offend the Great Spirit by raising the war-cry there. No Ioway can
  spill the blood of an enemy on the ground where the hands and the
  hearts of man and woman are joined together. This is the command of
  the Great Spirit, and an Ioway warrior cannot break it. My friend,
  these warriors you see around me with myself had sworn to kill the
  first human being we met on our war excursion; we shall not harm
  you, so you see that I give you your life. You will therefore keep
  your lips shut, and we will return in peace to our village, which is
  far up the river, and we shall hereafter meet our friends, the white
  people, in the great city,[25] as we have heretofore done, and we
  have many friends there. We shall do no harm to any one. My face is
  now blackened, and the night is dark, therefore you cannot know me;
  but this arrow you will keep--it matches with all the others in my
  quiver, and by it you can always recognize me, but the meeting of
  this night is not to be known.' He gave me the arrow, and with these
  words turned his canoe, and joining his companions was in a moment
  out of sight. My arrow being passed under my hat-band, and finding
  that the current had by this time drifted me down a mile or two below
  the place where I designed to land, and beyond the power of reaching
  it with my two awkward logs of wood, I steered my course onward
  toward St. Louis, rapidly gliding over the surface of the broad
  river, and arrived safely at the shore in front of the town at a late
  hour in the night, having drifted a distance of more than thirty-five
  miles. My two logs were an ample price for a night's lodging, and
  breakfast and dinner the next day; and I continued my voyage in a
  Mackinaw boat on the same day to _Vide Pouche_, a small French town
  about twenty miles below, where my business required my presence. The
  wedding party proceeded undisturbed, and the danger they had been in
  was never made known to them, as I promised the War-chief, who gave
  me as the condition of my silence the solemn promise, that he would
  never carry his feelings of revenge upon innocent persons any farther.

  "Thus ends the story of 'floating down the Mississippi River on the
  two logs of wood,' which the War-chief alluded to in the question he
  put to me this evening. On a subsequent occasion, some two or three
  years afterwards, while sitting in the office of Governor Clark, the
  superintendent of Indian affairs in St. Louis, where he was holding
  'a talk' with a party of Indians, a fine-looking fellow, of six
  feet or more in stature, fixed his eyes intently upon me, and after
  scanning me closely for a few moments, advanced, and seating himself
  on the floor by the side of me, pronounced the word '_Bobasheela_,'
  and asked me if ever I had received an arrow from the quiver of an
  Indian warrior. The mutual recognition took place by my acknowledging
  the fact, and a shake of the hand, and an amusing conversation about
  the circumstances, and still the facts and the amusement all kept to
  ourselves. This step led to the future familiarities of our lives
  in the various places where the nature of my business led me into
  his society, and gained for me the regular adoption as Bobasheela
  (or Brother) and the badge (the _she-she-quoin_, or Mystery Rattle)
  alluded to in the previous remarks, and which, it has been already
  stated, was lost by the sinking of one of my boats on the Cumberland
  River."

  [25] St Louis.

There was a burst of laughter and mirth amongst the squaws and others
of us who had listened to this curious tale, and, as the reader will
easily decide, a great deal of pleasure produced by its relation. The
supper-table by this time was ready, and Bobasheela took a seat by the
side of his old friend. The author was also in the humour, and joined
them at their beef-steak and _chickabobboo_, and so did Mr. Melody
and Daniel, and all who had joined in the merriment of the occasion
of _Bobasheela's_ relation of the story of his going to the wedding
astride of the two logs of wood. After the supper was over, and while
the pipe was passing around, a number of other recitals of adventures
in the "Far-West" continued the amusements of the evening to a late
hour, when the author retired and left them to their own jokes and
their night's rest.

The next morning after this was an exciting and bustling one, as all
were preparing, at an early hour, to visit the great brewery on that
day, as had been promised; and on their way back to see the Thames
Tunnel, and the treasures of the Tower of London. One will easily see
that here was a gigantic day's work struck out, and that material
enough was at hand for my note-book. _Bobasheela_ must be of this
party, and therefore was not left behind: with all in (except the two
bucks, who habitually went outside), the Indian bus, with four horses,
was a travelling _music_ box as it passed rapidly through the streets;
and the clouds of smoke issuing from it at times often spread the alarm
that "she was all on fire within" as she went by. At the brewery, where
they had been invited by the proprietors, servants in abundance were
in readiness to turn upon their giant hinges the great gates, and pass
the carriage into the court; and at the entrance to the grand fountain
of _chickabobboo_ there were servants to receive them and announce
their arrival, when they were met, and with the greatest politeness
and kindness led by one of the proprietors, and an escort of ladies,
through the vast labyrinths and mazes, through the immense halls and
courts, and under and over the dry-land bridges and arches of this
smoking, steeping, and steaming wonder of the world, as they were sure
to call it when they got home. The vastness and completeness of this
huge manufactory, or, in fact, village of manufactures, illustrated and
explained in all its parts and all its mysterious modes of operation,
formed a subject of amazement in our own as well as the Indians'
minds--difficult to be described, and never to be forgotten.

When the poor untutored Indians, from the soft and simple prairies of
the Missouri, seated themselves upon a beam, and were looking into
and contemplating the immensity of a smoking steeping-vat, containing
more than 3000 barrels, and were told that there were 130 others of
various dimensions in the establishment--that the whole edifice covered
twelve acres of ground, and that there were necessarily constantly on
hand in their cellars 232,000 barrels of ale, and also that this was
only one of a great number of breweries in London, and that similar
manufactories were in every town in the kingdom, though on a less
scale, they began, almost for the first time since their arrival, to
evince profound astonishment; and the fermentation in their minds,
as to the consistency of white man's teachings of temperance and
manufacturing and selling ale, seemed not less than that which was
going on in the vast abyss below them. The pipe was lit and passed
around while they were in this contemplative mood, and as their ears
were open, they got, in the meantime, further information of the
wonderful modes and operations of this vast machine; and also, in round
numbers, read from a report by one of the proprietors, the quantity of
ale consumed in the kingdom annually. Upon hearing this, which seemed
to cap the climax of all their astonishment, they threw down the pipe,
and leaping into an empty vat, suddenly dissipated the pain of their
mental calculations by joining in the Medicine (_or Mystery_) Dance.
Their yells and screaming echoing through the vast and vapouring halls,
soon brought some hundreds of maltsmen, grinders, firers, mashers,
ostlers, painters, coopers, &c., peeping through and amongst the
blackened timbers and casks, and curling and hissing fumes, completing
the scene as the richest model for the infernal regions.

Every reader will paint (and _must_ paint) this picture for himself,
imagining the steeping vapour everywhere rising in curling clouds
of white towards the blackened walls, and timbers, and wheels, and
stairways, and arches, and bridges, and casks, and from amongst and
between all of these, the blackened faces and glaring eyeballs piercing
through the steam, upon the unusual, and to them as yet unaccountable,
_fermentation_ going on (to the admiration and amusement of those who
were in the secret) in the empty vat!

At the end of their dance, a foaming mug of the _delicious_ was passed
around, enabling them more easily and lightly to comprehend the wonders
of this mighty scene; and after they had finished their round, and seen
its varied mysteries, a huge and delicious beefsteak, and foaming mugs
of the _cream of chickabobboo_, prepared for them by the kind lady of
one of the proprietors of the establishment, soon smoothed off all the
edges of their astonishment; and after the war-dance and the war-whoop,
given to please the ladies, they again passed under the huge arches and
gateways, and took their omnibus for a visit to the _Tower_.

The mood in which these good-natured fellows had left the brewery was a
very merry one; they had got just ale enough for the present emergency,
and seen an abundant and infallible source at the great fountain of
_chickabobboo_ to ensure them a constant supply, and seemed, as they
passed along the streets, to be pleased with everything they saw. They
met the man again with the "big nose," and succeeded in stopping the
bus to take a good look at his wonderful proboscis. As the bus stopped,
he, like many others, came up to catch a glimpse of the red skins, and
they all declared, on close examination, that his nose at least must
have been begot by a potato; for, as the women had before said, they
could distinctly see the sprouts, and Jim and the Doctor both insisted,
that "if it were planted it would sprout and grow."

They stopped the bus again to speak with some poor Lascars sweeping the
streets; it was difficult to get any interpretation from them, though
the Indians tried their own language on both sides, but in vain; they
gave them fifteen shillings, and passed on.

The Tower, from its outward appearance, did not seem to excite in them
any extravagant expectation of what they were to see within its gloomy
walls. They remarked, when going in, that "they were going to prison;"
and they were of opinion, no doubt, that it consisted of little else,
as they had as yet heard no other description of it than that it was
the "_Tower of London_" and they were going to see it. Poor fellows!
they guessed right; they knew not of the illustrious prisoners who had
pined within its gloomy walls, nor of the blood that had been shed
within and around it. They went to _see_, and had enough to engage
all their thoughts and attention without referring to the events of
history. We were kindly conducted through the different rooms, and most
of its curiosities explained to us. The "small-arms room," containing
200,000 muskets, had been burned. The "horse armoury" seemed to afford
them much delight; the thousands of various spears and lances, they
thought, presented some beautiful models for Indian warfare, and
hunting the buffaloes. The _beheading block_, on which Lords Balmerino,
Kilmarnock, and Lovat were beheaded in the Tower in 1746, attracted
their attention, and the axe that severed the head of Anne Boleyn.

In the _Regalia Room_, the crown of her Majesty and four other crowns,
the sceptres and staffs, and orbs, swords of justice, swords of
mercy, royal spurs, salts, baptismal fonts, &c., in massive gold and
brilliant stones, seemed rather to disappoint than to astonish them;
and to us, who knew better than they did the meaning and value of these
magnificent treasures, there seemed a striking incongruity in the
public exhibition of them in so confined and humble an apartment.

The _Thames Tunnel_ was our next object, and a drive of a quarter of an
hour brought us to the dismal neighbourhood of its entrance. Paying our
fees, and descending some hundred or more steps by a spiral staircase,
we were ready to enter the tunnel. Walking through its gloomy halls,
and spending a few shillings for toys protruded under our faces at
every rod we advanced, by young women sitting at their little stalls
under each of its arches, we at length ascended an equal number of
steps, and came to the light of day on the opposite side of the Thames;
and in the midst of one of the most unintelligible, forlorn, and
forsaken districts of London or the world, we waited half an hour or
more for our omnibus to make its circuit across the bridge and take us
up. We sauntered and loitered our way through, and as long as we were
passing this monster speculation of the world, we met, to the best of
our recollection, but four or five persons passing through, who had
paid their penny a-head for the privilege.

While waiting for the bus, some "on-the-spot" remarks were made by the
Indians, which I thought had some sound sense in them. They thought it
must have cost a great deal of money, and believed it was too far out
of London ever to pay; and they did not see that it was any curiosity
for them, as they had passed through several on the railway ten times
as long. They did not think, however, that it need be time and money
thrown away, as "they thought it might make a first-rate place to twist
ropes." These and other remarks they were making about the great tunnel
as we were jogging along towards home, and evidently somewhat surprised
that we should have excited their curiosity so high about it.

On our return, after this fatiguing day's work was finished, their
dinner was ready; and after that their pipe was smoked, a nap taken,
and then their accustomed amusements in the Egyptian Hall. Their supper
was the next thing, and with it their mug of _chickabobboo_, then their
pipe, passing around as they all reclined on their buffalo robes on the
floor, and then began the gossip about the sights they had seen and
incidents they had witnessed during the day.

This extraordinary day's rambling had taken them across more bridges
and through a greater number of crooked and narrow streets than they
had passed on any former occasion, which brought the Doctor to one of
the first and shrewdest remarks of the evening. He said "he thought
from all that he had seen, sitting on top of the bus all day, that the
English people had the best way in the world for crossing rivers, but
he thought their _paths_ were many of them too narrow and much too
crooked."

"The poor people, and those who seemed to be drunk, were much more
numerous than they had seen them in any other of their drives;" and
they were counting the money left in their pouches to see how much they
had thrown out to the poor. They soon agreed that "they had given away
something more than thirty shillings, which they thought would do a
great deal of good, and the Great Spirit would reward them for it."

The _Doctor_ and _Jim_, the everlasting cronies, on the outside, were
comparing their estimates of the numbers they had counted of the
"_Kon-to-too-ags_ (fighters with one horn)[26] that they had seen over
the doors and shops as they had passed along, which they had been
looking at every day since they came to London, but had never yet been
able quite to learn the meaning of," and also "the _totems_ (arms, as
they supposed) of great chiefs, so beautifully painted and put out
between their chamber windows."

  [26] The Royal Arms (the Lion and the Unicorn).

The Doctor said "he believed the white people had got this custom from
the Indians, as it was the habit of the great chiefs and warriors to
put their '_totems_' over their wig-wam doors, but when they did so,
they always put out scalps on certain days, to show what they had
done. He had watched these totems in London as he had been riding, in
all sorts of weather, and as he had seen no scalps or anything hung
out by the side of them, he couldn't exactly see how all these people
were entitled to them; still, it might all be right." Daniel put
the Doctor's inquiries all at rest on the subject of totems and the
"one-horn fighters," by telling him that if he would wait a little
until Mr. Catlin and Mr. Melody had gone, he would give him the whole
history of white men's totems, how they got them and the use they made
of them; and he would also tell him all about the "Lion and the Unicorn
fighting for the Crown," &c.

The Doctor here made some comments on the great white war-chief (the
Duke of Wellington) who had been pointed out to them on horseback as
they passed him in the street, and his wig-wam was also shown to them
(_i.e._ to the Doctor and Jim as they sat outside with the driver). He
was disposed to learn something more of him, and Daniel silenced him by
saying, "Let that alone too for awhile, and I will tell you all about
him."

Daniel and Jim I found at this time very busily engaged in a corner
of the room, with a candle on the floor; whilst Daniel was entering
in a little book the astonishing estimates given us at the brewery,
of the quantity of ale on hand, the size and number of the vats, and
the almost incredible quantity consumed in the kingdom each year.
Jim, as I have before said, was the only one of the party who seemed
ambitious to civilize; and as he was daily labouring to learn something
of the English language, he had this day conceived the importance of
instituting a little book of entries in which he could carry home, to
enlighten his people, something like a brief statistical account of
the marvellous things he was seeing, and was to see, amongst the white
people.

Daniel had at this moment finished entering into it the estimates of
the brewery and _chickabobboo_, which had opened their eyes wider,
perhaps, than anything else they had seen; and he had very wisely left
a few blank pages in the beginning of the book for other retrospective
notes and estimates of things they had already seen since the day
they left home. Jim's Journal was thus established, and he was, with
Daniel's aid, to become a sort of historian to the party; and as the
sequel will show, he became stimulated thereby to greater exertions
to see and to understand what was curious and interesting, and to get
estimates of the beauties and blessings of civilization to carry home.
He laboured from that moment indefatigably, not to write or to read,
but to speak; and made rapid progress, as will be seen hereafter,
having known, as he said, but two English sentences when he came to
England, which were, "How do do?" and "God dam."




                             CHAPTER XXII.

  The Ioways in Vauxhall Gardens--Surrey Theatre--Carter in
     the lions' cage--Astonishment of the Indians--Indians in
     the Diving Bell, at the Polytechnic Institution--Indians
     riding--Shooting at target on horseback--Ball-play--"Jolly
     fat dame"--Ladies converse with the Doctor--His reasons for
     not marrying--Curious questions--Plurality of wives--Amusing
     scene--The Author in Indian costume--A cruel experiment--Ioways
     arrive in Birmingham--The Author's arrival there--Society of
     Friends--Indians all breakfast with Mr. Joseph Sturge--Kind
     treatment--Conversation after breakfast about religion and
     education--Reply of the War-chief--The button-factory of Turner
     and Sons--Generous presents to the Indians--_Bobasheela_
     arrives--Indians dividing their buttons--Doctor found
     on top of the Shakespeare Buildings--Indians' kindness
     to a beggar-woman--Poor-houses--Many Friends visit the
     Indians--Indians' visit to Miss Catherine Hutton--Her
     great age--Her kindness--Dinner--Her presents to them in
     money--Parting scene--The War-chief's speech to her--Her
     letters to the Author--Indians present to the two hospitals 370
     dollars--Address read by the Presidents to the Indians--Doctor's
     reply--Indians start for York--A fox-hunt--Curious notions
     of Indians about it--Visit to York Minster--Ascend the grand
     tower--Visit to the castle and prison--Museum of the instruments
     of murder--Alarm of the Doctor--Kindness of the governor of the
     castle and his lady--Indians' ideas of imprisonment for debt,
     and punishment for murder.


The scene of the Indians' amusements was now changed from the Egyptian
Hall to the open air in Vauxhall Gardens, and their dances and other
exercises were given in the afternoon. Their lodgings were also changed
at the same time to the buildings within the enclosure of the gardens.
This arrangement was one of very great pleasure to the Indians, as it
allowed a free space to exercise in during their leisure hours, amongst
trees and shrubbery, affording them almost a complete resumption of
Indian life in the wilderness, as they had the uninterrupted range
of the gardens during the hours that the public were not there to
witness their amusements. This arrangement was pleasing to them in
another respect, and to us also, as there were many things they were
yet anxious to see in London, and which, as they could only be seen at
night, our former arrangements had entirely precluded them from seeing.
Under these new arrangements they still had their omnibus drives,
and at night attended the parties of numerous friends who had been
desirous to show them some attentions, and also were taken to several
instructive exhibitions, and to two or three of the principal theatres.

We were then in the vicinity of the Surrey Theatre, where Mr. Carter,
"the lion-tamer," invited them several times to witness his wonderful
feat of going into the lion's cage. This scene was one of the most
impressive and exciting nature to them, and will probably be as long
recollected by them as the wonders opened to their minds at the
_fountain of chickabobboo_.

The Polytechnic Institution was one I took great pleasure in
accompanying them to; and a scene of much amusement for a numerous
audience as well as amusing and astonishing to themselves, was that
of their descending in the diving-bell. They were at first afraid of
it, but after the Doctor had made a descent with me, and come out
unhurt and unwet, several others went down with Mr. Melody, others with
Jeffrey--the old War-chief with his old friend _Bobasheela_, and so
on, until every one of the party, men, women, and children, went down
and experienced the curious sensation of that (to them) greatest of
_medicine affairs_.

In Vauxhall Gardens the Indians erected their four wig-wams of buffalo
hides, and in darting into and about them during their various games
and amusements, whilst the blue smoke was curling out of their tops,
presented one of the most complete and perfect illustrations of an
Indian encampment that could possibly have been designed. It was _the
thing itself_, and the very men, women, and children living and acting
on a similar green turf, as they do on the prairies of the Missouri.

In the amusements as there given, there was an addition to those which
had been made in _Lord's Cricket-ground_ some weeks before, having in
Vauxhall brought horses in to add, with equestrian exercises, to the
completion of all the modes practised by this tribe. The Ioways, like
most of the Indians of the prairies of America, subsist upon the food
of the buffalo, and kill them from their horses' backs, with their bows
and arrows, while running at full speed. In the same manner they meet
their enemies in battle, in which they carry their shield and lance.
Thus fully equipped, with their own native shields and lances, and
bows, and even the saddles and trappings for their horses, they all
mounted upon their backs, in the midst of their amusements, and dashing
off at full speed, illustrated their modes of drawing the bow as they
drove their arrows into the target, or made their warlike feints at it
with their long lances as they passed.

This formed the most attractive part of their exhibition, and thousands
flocked there to witness their powers of horsemanship and skill in
prairie warfare. This exciting exhibition which pleased the visitors, I
could have wished might have been less fatiguing, and even dangerous,
to the limbs of the Indians than it actually was from the awkwardness
and perverseness and fright of the horses, not trained to Indian modes.
With all these difficulties to contend with, however, they played
their parts cheerfully and well, and the spectators seemed highly
pleased. Amidst the throngs who visited them here, we could discover
most of their old standard friends and admirers, who came to see them
on horseback, and in the beautiful game of ball, in the open grounds
of Vauxhall, where they could more easily approach and converse with
them; and amongst such, the "jolly fat dame" was present, and more
pleased than ever, when she could catch the Doctor's smile as he passed
by her at full speed, and raising his shield of buffalo's hide upon
his arm, he darted his long lance in feints at her breast, and sounded
the piercing war-cry. The vanity of the Doctor was so well suited in
this mode of the exhibition, where he could dash by ranks and files,
and even phalanxes of ladies, with the endless flourishes of his shield
and lance, that he soon began to exhibit convincing evidences that
his ambition and his vanity were too much for his bodily resources,
which it became necessary to replenish occasionally by refusing him
his horse, on which occasions he made good use of his time, by placing
himself, wrapped in his robe, with his fan in his hand, by the side
of the ladies, with whom he could exchange by this time a few words,
and many significant looks and gestures, which never failed to amuse,
and seldom failed to operate upon their generous feelings, which were
constantly adding to the contents of his tobacco pouch, which was
now known to be a reservoir for money and trinkets of various kinds,
instead of tobacco.

I happened to be by the side of the Doctor on one of these occasions,
when I became so much amused with the questions and answers, that I
immediately after retired and committed them to my note book. A number
of jolly fat dames, of middle and knowing age, had drawn themselves
around the Doctor, and looking over their shoulders and under their
arms, a number of delicate and coy little girls. And having called
Jeffrey to translate, they were enabled to get the gist of all he
said, without loss from modesty or evasion, which seemed to be exactly
what they most desired. His friend Jim having seen him thus enveloped,
turned _his_ horse loose and came to his aid (or countenance), and as
the old man hesitated, Jim gave him the nod and the wink to be plain
in his replies. They had first asked him if he was married? to which
he replied "No." They then asked him why he did not get him a wife? he
said "He had always been very particular about giving offence to the
women, and he had feared that if he selected one in preference to the
others, that the others would all be offended." This queer reply raised
a great laugh amongst the crowd, and encouraged the Doctor to go on.
Some one of the ladies then told him she feared he did not admire the
ladies enough? he said, "he had always believed that the reason he did
not get married was, that he admired them too much; he saw so many that
he wanted, that he had never decided which to take, and so had taken
none." Melody came up at this time, and seemed a little vexed, and
said, "Catlin, you had better call that old fool away, those people
will spoil him, he is quite vain enough now." "Oh, no," said I, "let
him alone, he is gratifying the ladies, and we shall see, in a few
moments, which is the fool, he or the ladies who are questioning him."
Melody smiled, and looked on.

"I have been told," said one of the ladies, "that some of the Indians
have a number of wives: is that so?"

"Yes," the Doctor replied in English, "sometimes have a heap." (The
ladies all laughed.) Two or three inquired what a "_heap_" was? Jeffrey
said, "Why, ma'am, it is what in our country means a '_lot_:' you know
what they call a '_lot_' here?" "Oh, yes! it means a great many." "Yes,
a number." "Well, tell the Doctor I want to know what they do with so
many?"

Here the poor Doctor was quite at a loss to know what to say; one thing
he was sure to do--he smiled--and it seemed as if he wished that to
go for an answer: and it might have done so with most of her sex, but
in this instance it was not quite satisfactory, and the question was
again put: to which the big-mouthed Jim, who I said had come to the
relief of his friend, and who had a wife of his own, put in an instant
reply, which relieved the Doctor, and seemed very much to embarrass the
lady, for she instantly added, (as all were bursting with laughter,)
"That isn't what I mean: I want to know how a chief can get along with
so many, how he can manage them all, and keep them in good humour and
satisfied; for," said she, "in this country, one is quite as much as a
man can manage."

This seemed to afford the Doctor a little relief, and he was evidently
able to go on again, as he smilingly said, "It was quite easy, as
Indian women were much more peaceable and quiet than white women,
it was much more easy he thought to manage them; they drank no
_chickabobboo_, and therefore did not require so much watching as white
women."

The lady seemed quite balked in the debate she was about entering on
with the Doctor, from her ignorance of the meaning of _chickabobboo_,
and asked for an explanation of it, as if for all the company about; to
which Jim put in (again in plain English), "Gin!" "Oh! Doctor," said
she, "I hope you don't accuse the ladies of London of drinking gin?"
The Doctor replied, that "he had not seen them do it, but that he had
been told that they did, and that it was the reason why the ladies here
grew so large and so fat." He said, "that they could always look out of
the windows, where he lived, and just before going to bed they could
see any night a hundred women going home with pitchers full of it,
to drink after they got into bed, so as to sleep sound: and that one
night, coming home in their carriage at a late hour, from a distance,
where they had been to see a show, he and Jim had counted more than
three hundred women running along in the street, with pitchers filled
with it in their hands, to drink as they were going to bed."

The lady's explanation of this, that "It was only harmless ale that
these women were carrying in for their masters and mistresses," excited
the Doctor's smiles, but no reply.

She seemed not satisfied yet about the first subject that she had
started, and reverting to it again, said, "Well, Doctor, I can't excuse
the Indians for having so many wives. I like the Indians very much, but
I don't like that custom they have; I think it is very cruel and very
wicked. Don't you think it is wrong?"

The Doctor studied a moment, and replied, "that it might be wrong, but
if it was, he didn't see that it was any worse than for white women
to have a number of husbands." "But what, Doctor, what do you mean? I
hope you have not so bad an opinion of white women as that?" To this
he very coolly replied, "that when they drank a great deal of gin, he
believed, from what he had seen in his practice, that a woman would
require more than one husband; and that since he had been in London
he had seen many walking in the streets, and some riding in fine
carriages, whom he thought, from their looks, must have more than one
husband: and from what he had been told, he believed that many women in
London had a _heap_!" "That's a _lot_!" (cried out a very pretty little
girl, who had been listening, and, frightened at her own unintentional
interpretation, started to run.)

"Come, come, Catlin," said Melody, "pull the old fellow out, and take
him away;" and so the debate ended, amidst a roar of laughter from all
sides.

One more of the hundred little reminiscences of Vauxhall, and we will
leave it. I have already said, that in the spacious apartments of
Vauxhall, unoccupied, the Indians were quartered, and took their meals;
and during the forepart of the day, between their breakfast and the
hour of their afternoon exhibitions, their time was mostly spent in
strolling around the grounds, or at their varied amusements. Many of
my personal friends finding this a pleasing opportunity to see them,
were in the habit of coming in, and amusing themselves with them. I
had accidentally heard of a party of ladies preparing to come on a
certain morning, some of them my esteemed friends, and others strangers
to me: and from a wish to get relieved from a fatiguing conversation,
as well as from a still stronger desire for amusement, I selected
from my wardrobe a very splendid dress, head-gear and all complete,
and fully arranged myself in Indian costume, "cap-a-pied," with face
fully painted, and weapons in hand; and at the hour of their arrival
in the house, took care to be strolling about in the grounds with
Wash-ka-mon-ya (Jim). Whilst the ladies were amused with the party in
the house, where there were constant inquiries for me, two of them
observing us two beaus sauntering about in the garden, came out to keep
us company, and to talk to us, and with themselves, in the English
language, which of course we Indians knew nothing of: when we shook
our heads to their inquiries, "Do you speak English, good Indians?" I
saw they did not recognize me, yet I trembled for fear, for they were
lovely women, and every sentence almost which they uttered would have
made the discovery more cruel: we held ourselves dignified and dumb;
whilst they, poor things, were so much regretting that we could not
understand what they said. They finished their visit to us and their
remarks, and returned, leaving me to regret my folly upon which I had
thoughtlessly entered.

Several weeks were spent in their daily exhibitions in Vauxhall, and,
as one can easily imagine, much to the satisfaction of the Indians,
and, I believe, much to the amusement of the visitors who came to see
them. Within the last week of their exhibition I admitted from charity
schools 32,000 children, with their teachers, free of charge; to all of
whom I gave instructive lectures on the position of the tribe, their
condition, their customs and character: and explained also the modes,
which were acted out by 14 living Indians before their eyes; and but
one of these schools ever communicated with me after, to thank me for
the amusement or instruction; which might not have been a _curious
omission_, but I thought it _was_, at the time.

With the amusements at Vauxhall ended my career in London; and
contemplating a tour to several of the provincial towns, in company
with the Indians, I took my little family to Brighton, and having
left them comfortably situated and provided for, I joined the party
in Birmingham, where they had arrived and taken lodgings. The idea
of moving about pleased the Indians very much, and I found them all
in high spirits when I arrived, delighted to have found that the
_chickabobboo_ was the same there as in London, and was likely to
continue much the same in all parts of the kingdom to which they should
go. There was an unfortunate offset to this pleasing intelligence,
however, which seemed to annoy them very much, and of which they were
making bitter complaint. On leaving London for the country, they had
spent some days, and exercised all their ingenuity, in endeavouring
to clean their beautiful skin dresses, which the soot of London had
sadly metamorphosed; and on arriving in Birmingham they had the extreme
mortification to anticipate, from appearances, an equal destruction of
that soft and white surface which they give to their skin dresses, and
which (though it had been entirely lost sight of during the latter part
of their stay in London) had, with great pains, been partially restored
for a more pleasing appearance in the country.

Though I had several times passed through Birmingham, and on one
occasion stopped there a day or two, I entered this time a total
stranger, and in rather a strange and amusing manner. On my journey
there by the railway, I had fallen in company and conversation with a
very amusing man, who told me he was a commercial traveller, and we had
had so much amusing chat together, that when we arrived, at a late hour
at night, I was quite happy to follow his advice as to the quarters we
were to take up in the town, at least for the night. He said it was
so late that the hotels would be closed, and that the commercial inn,
where he was going, was the only place open, and I should find there
everything to make me comfortable, and a very nice sort of people. We
took an omnibus for town, and as there was only room for one inside, he
got upon the top, and so we went off; and getting, as I supposed, into
or near the middle of the town, the bus stopped at a "commercial inn,"
which was open, and lighted up in front, and a number of passengers
getting out, and others down from the top, I was seeing to get my
luggage in safe, and the omnibus drove off with my jolly companion
still on the top; or this I presumed, as he was not left behind. My
only alternative now was, to make the best of it, and be as comfortable
as I could; so I got into the "commercial room," and having been told
that I should have a bed, I felt quite easy, and told the plump, tidy
little landlady, who was waiting upon me herself, that I would have
a mug of ale and a biscuit, and then be ready to go to bed. As she
turned round to execute my command, she met a party consisting of three
young women, and a man leading one of them on his arm, and in his hands
carrying three or four carpet-bags and band-boxes, just got down from
the same bus, and entering the inn on the same errand that I was on.
" Madam," said he, "what have you?"--"Hevery-think, sir, that you can
wish." "Well, one thing we must have, that is, two beds."--"They are
ready, sir." "Well, ladies," said he, "suppose we take a drop of wet."
This agreed to, the "wet" was brought in in a moment, and also my mug
of ale.

A very genteel-looking little man whom I had seen in the same carriage
with me, and now sitting in the room before me, with his carpet-bag
by the side of him, and his umbrella in his hand, addressed me,
"Stranger, you'll allow me."--"Certainly, sir." "I think I heard you
tell a gentleman in the carriage that you were from New York."--"Yes,
I did so." "_I'm_ from there. I left there four months ago, and I've
gone ahead, or I'll be shot. How long have _you_ bin from there,
sir?"--"About five years." "Hell! there's been great fixins there in
that time; you'd scarcely know New York now; look here, isn't this the
darndest strange country you ever saw in your life? rot 'em, I can't
get 'em to do anything as I want it done; they are the greatest set of
numskulls I ever saw; now see, that little snub of a petticoat that's
just gone out there, I suppose she is cock of the walk here too; she's
been all civility to you, but I've had a hell of a blow up with her;
I was in here not five minutes before you by the watch, and I spoke
for a bed and a mug of ale; she brought me the ale, and I told her to
bring me a tumbler and a cracker, and she turned upon me in a hell of a
flare-up. She said she was very much obliged to me for my himpudence,
she didn't allow crackers in her house, and as for 'tumblers,' they
were characters she never had anything to do with, thank God; they
were a low set of creatures, and they never got any favour about her
house. She wanted to know what quarter I came from. I told her I wasn't
from _any quarter_, I was from _half_--half the globe, by God, and the
better half too--wasn't I right, stranger? She said her house was a
hinn, to be sure, but she didn't hentertain blackguards, so there was
my hale, and I might drink it hup and be hoff, and be anged, and then
she cut her string quicker than lightning; now isn't she a hard un? I
don't suppose there is another house open in this darned outlandish
place at this time of the night; what the devil shall I do? _you_ are
fixed snug enough." "Oh, well, never mind," said I, "be quite easy, it
is settled in a moment,"--as I rung the bell. The tidy little landlady
came in again, and I said, "This gentleman will have a glass if you
please, and a biscuit."--"Hif he was a gentleman, Sir," said she,
"but I assure you, Sir, is beaviour as'nt been much like it." "Well,
well," said I, "never mind it now, you will be good friends after a
little better understanding--he comes from a country where a glass
is a _tumbler_ and a biscuit is a _cracker_: now, if you had known
this, there would have been no difficulty between you." "Ho, that I
hadmit, but it's very hodd." "Never mind that, you will find him a good
fellow, and give him his bed." "Is bed, Sir?--hit's too late; it's been
hoccupied hever since you entered the ouse--the only chance his for you
and im to turn hin." "Well," said I, "never mind, he and I will manage
that; it is after midnight, and I suppose the other houses are all
shut?" "I'll hanswer for that: hif you are ready, gentlemen, I'll show
you hup." My friend kept by my side, but knowing the gloomy fate that
awaited him if he got into the street again, he kept entirely quiet
until the little landlady was down stairs. "There," said he, "isn't she
a roarer? I could have settled the hash with her myself in a twinkling,
if she had only let me have said five words, but her tongue run so
slick that I couldn't get the half of a word in edgewise."

My new acquaintance and I talked a little more before we "turned in,"
but much more after we had got into bed. He could command words and
ideas fast enough when he was on his feet; but I found in him something
of Jim's peculiarity, that he thought much faster and stronger when
on his back; and for half an hour or so I reaped the benefit of the
improvement. How long I heard him, and how much he actually said, I
never could tell exactly; but what he said before I went to sleep I
always distinctly recollected, and a mere sentence or two of it was
as follows:--"Well, stranger, here we are: this is droll, ain't it?
'hodd,' as the landlady would call it. I'd a been in the streets
to-night as sure as catgut if it hadn't been for you. God knows I am
obliged to you. Youv'e got a sort o' way o' gettin' along ur' these
ere darned, ignorant, stupid sort o' beings. I can't do it: dod rot
'em! they put me out at every step; they are so eternally ignorant;
did you ever see the like? I suppose you are going to stop awhile in
Birmingham?" "A few days." "_I_ shall be here a week, and be bright
and early enough to get into a decenter house than this is, and be
glad to join you. I was told in London that the Ioway Indians went on
here yesterday. I'm damned anxious to meet them: you've seen them, I
suppose?" "Yes, I saw them in London." "Well, _I_ did not; I was just
too late; but I must go and look 'em up to-morrow: they know me." "Then
you have seen them'?" "Oh, dam 'em, yes: I've known 'em for several
years: they'll be at home with me at once. I've run buffaloes with
White-Cloud, the chief, many and many a time. He and I have camped out
more than once. They are a fine set of fellows. I'm going to spend some
time with them in Birmingham. I know 'em like a book. Oh yes, they'll
know me quick enough. I was all through their country. I went clean
up Lake Superior, nearly to Hudson's Bay. I saw all the Chippeways,
and the Black-feet, and the Crows, Catlin's old friends. By the way,
Catlin, I'm told, is with these Indians, or was, when they were in
London--he's all sorts of a man." "Have you seen him?" "Seen him?
why, dam it, I raised him, as the saying is: I have known him all
my life. I met him a number of times in the Prairie country; he's a
roarer." This was about the last that I distinctly recollected before
going to sleep; and the next morning my vigilant and wide-awake little
bedfellow, being about the room a little before me, where my name was
conspicuous on my carpet bag and writing-desk, &c., had from some cause
or other thought it would be less trouble and bother to wend his way
amongst these "stupid and ignorant beings" alone, than to encounter
the Indians and Mr. Catlin, and endeavour to obliterate the hasty
professions he had made; and therefore, when I came down and called for
breakfast for two, the landlady informed me that my companion had paid
his bill and left at an early hour. I was rather sorry for this, for he
was quite an amusing little man, and I have never heard of him since.

I found the dumpy little landlady kindly disposed, and she gave me a
very good breakfast, amusing me a great deal with anecdotes of the
party who called for "a little bit of wet;" she informed me they were
a wedding-party, and the man who had the lady on his arm was the
bride-groom. While waiting for my breakfast I was much amused with
some fun going on in the street before the window. It seems that the
house directly opposite had been taken by a couple of tidy-looking
young women who were sisters, and that, having established a millinery
business on the lower floor, they had several apartments which they
were anxious to underlet in order to assist them in paying their heavy
rent. Young gentlemen are everywhere in this country considered the
most desirable lodgers, as they give less trouble than any others,
are less of the time at home, and generally pay best. These young
adventurers had been therefore anxious to get such a class of lodgers
in their house, and had, the day before, employed a sign-painter to
paint a conspicuous board, in bright and glaring letters, which was
put up on a post erected in the little garden in front of their house,
near the gate. The announcement ran, when the young ladies retired to
bed, "_Lodgings for single gentlemen_"--a customary and very innocent
way of offering apartments; but owing to the cruelty of some wag during
the night it was found in the morning, to the great amusement of the
collected crowd, to read, "_Longings for single gentlemen_." How long
this continued to amuse the passers-by, or how it might have affected
the future prospects of the poor girls, I cannot of course tell, as I
forthwith proceeded to a more pleasant part of the town. Birmingham
I found on further acquaintance to be one of the pleasantest towns
I visited in the kingdom, and its hotels and streets generally very
different from those into which my commercial travelling acquaintance
had that night led me.

Mr. Melody had all things prepared for our exhibition when I arrived,
having taken the large hall in the Shakspeare Buildings, and also
procured rooms for the Indians to sleep in in the same establishment.

The Indians and myself were kindly received in Birmingham, for which,
no doubt, they, like myself, will long feel grateful. The work which I
had published had been extensively read there, and was an introduction
of the most pleasing kind to me, and the novelty and wildness of the
manners of the Indians enough to ensure them much attention.

In their exhibition room, which was nightly well attended, we observed
many of the Society of Friends, whom we could always easily distinguish
by their dress, and also more easily by the kind interest they
expressed and exhibited, whenever opportunity occurred, for the welfare
of those poor people. The Indians, with their native shrewdness and
sagacity, at once discovered from their appearance and manner that
they were a different class of people from any they had seen, and were
full of inquiries about them. I told them that these were of the same
society as their kind friend Dr. Hodgkin, whom they so often saw in
London, who is at the head of the _Aborigines Protection Society_, who
was the first person in England to invite them to his table, and whom
the reader will recollect they called _Ichon-na Wap-pa_(the straight
coat); that they were the followers of the great William Penn, whom I
believed they had heard something about. They instantly pronounced the
name of "Penn, Penn," around the room, convincing me, as nearly every
tribe I ever visited in the remotest wildernesses in America had done,
that they had heard, and attached the greatest reverence to, the name
of Penn.

These inquiries commenced in their private room one evening after the
exhibition had closed, and they had had an interview in the exhibition
room with several ladies and gentlemen of that society, and had
received from them some very valuable presents. They all agreed that
there was something in their manners and in their mode of shaking
hands with them that was more kind and friendly than anything they had
met amongst other people; and this I could see had made a sensible
impression upon them.

I took this occasion to give them, in a brief way, an account of the
life of the immortal William Penn; of his good faith and kindness in
all his transactions with the Indians, and the brotherly love he had
for them until his death. I also gave them some general ideas of the
Society of Friends in this country, from whom the great William Penn
came;--that they were the friends of all the human race; that they
never went to war with any people; that they therefore had no enemies;
they drink no spirituous liquors; that in America and this country
they were unanimously the friends of the Indians; and I was glad to
find that in Birmingham we were in the midst of a great many of them,
with whom they would no doubt become acquainted. There were here some
inquiries about the religion of the Friends, which I told them was the
Christian religion, which had been explained to them; that they were
all religious and charitable, and, whatever religion the Indians might
prefer to follow, these good people would be equally sure to be their
friends. They seemed, after this, to feel an evident pleasure whenever
they saw parties of Friends entering the room: they at once recognised
them whenever they came in, and, on retiring to their own room,
counted up the numbers that had appeared, and made their remarks upon
them. In one of these conversations I pleased them very much by reading
to them a note which I had just received from Mr. Joseph Sturge, with
whom I had been acquainted in London, and who was now residing in
Birmingham, inviting me to bring the whole party of Indians to his
house to breakfast the next morning. I told them that Mr. Sturge was a
very distinguished man, and one of the leading men of the Society of
Friends. This pleased them all exceedingly, and at the hour appointed
this kind gentleman's carriages were at the door to convey the party
to his house. Mr. Melody and Jeffrey accompanied us, and there were
consequently seventeen guests to be seated at this gentleman's
hospitable board, besides a number of his personal friends who were
invited to meet the Indians. After receiving all in the most cordial
manner, he read a chapter in his Bible, and then we were invited to
the table. This interview elicited much interesting conversation, and
gained for the Indians and Mr. Melody many warm and useful friends.

Before taking leave, the War-chief arose, and, offering his hand to Mr.
Sturge, made the following remarks:--

  "My Friend,--The Great Spirit, who does everything that is good, has
  inclined your heart to be kind to us; and, first of all, we thank Him
  for it.

  "The Chief, White Cloud, who sits by me, directs me to say that we
  are also thankful to you for this notice you have taken of us, poor
  and ignorant people, and we shall recollect and not forget it.

  "We hope the Great Spirit will be kind to you all. I have no more to
  say."

The simplicity of this natural appeal to the Great Spirit, and its
close (in which they were commended by the poor and unenlightened
Indian of the wilderness to the care and kindness of their God), seemed
to create surprise in the minds of the audience, and to excite in the
Indians' behalf a deep and lively interest.

After the breakfast and conversation were over, the whole party was
kindly sent back by the same carriages, and the Indians returned in a
state of perfect delight with the treatment they had met with, and the
presents they had received.

Poor _Jim_ (the student and recorder) was anxious that I should write
down the name of _William Penn_ in his book, and also that of the
gentleman who had just entertained us, that he might be able to repeat
them correctly when he got back to the wilderness again, and have
something to say about them.

We found on our return that the hour of another engagement was at hand,
and carriages were soon prepared to take us to the button-factory of
Messrs. Turner and Son, to which we had been kindly invited; and on our
arrival we found ourselves most cordially received and entertained.
The proprietor led the party through every room in his extensive
establishment, and showed them the whole process of striking the
buttons and medals from various dies, which pleased them very much,
and, after showing and explaining to them all the different processes
through which they passed in their manufacture, led them into his
ware-room or magazine, where his stock on hand was exhibited, and
package after package, and gross upon gross, of the most splendid and
costly buttons were taken down, and by his own generous hand presented
to them. These were such _brilliant evidences_ of kindness, and would
be so ornamental to the splendid dresses which they and their wives
were to have when they got home, that they looked upon them as more
valuable than gold or silver. These were presented to them in the
aggregate, and all carried in a heavy parcel by the interpreter; and
when they had thanked the gentleman for his munificent liberality and
got back to their rooms, a scene of great brilliancy and much interest
and amusement was presented for an hour or two, while they had their
treasures spread out, covering half of the floor on which they lodged,
and making a _per capita_ division of them.

In the midst of this exhilarating and dazzling scene, their old friend
_Bobasheela_ made his appearance, having just arrived from London on
his way to Cornwall. He could not, he said, pass within a hundred
miles of them without stopping to see them a few days, and smoke a
pipe or two with them again. _Bobasheela_ was stopped at the door,
notwithstanding their love for him; he could not step in without doing
sacrilege with his muddy boots to the glittering carpet of buttons
which they had formed on the floor, and upon which his eyes were
staring, as he thought at the first glance they could have committed
no less a trespass than to have plundered a jeweller's shop. A way was
soon opened for his feet to pass, and, having taken a hearty shake of
the hand with all, he was offered a seat on the floor, and in a few
moments found that an equal parcel was accumulating between his knees
as in front of each, and that, instead of fourteen, they were now
dividing them into fifteen parcels. This he objected to, and with much
trouble got them to undo what they had done, and go back to the first
regulation of dividing them equally amongst fourteen.

The Shakspeare Buildings afforded the Indians a fine promenade in its
large portico overlooking the street, where all Birmingham passed
before their eyes, giving them one of the most gratifying privileges
they had had, and promising them a rich and boundless means of
amusement; but their enjoyment of it was short, for the crowds that
assembled in the streets became a hinderance to business, and they were
denied the further privilege of their delightful look-out. They were
therefore called in, and stayed in, and yet the crowd remained, and
could not be dispersed, while their attention seemed fixed upon some
object higher up than the portico, which led us at once to surmise its
cause, and, searching for the old Doctor, he was not to be found: he
was, of course, upon the pinnacle of the house, wrapped in his robe,
smiling upon the crowd beneath him, and taking a contemplative gaze
over the city and country that lay under his view. I could only get
to him by following the intricate mazes through which the old lady
(curatress) conducted me, and through which the Doctor said he had
required several days of investigation to find his way, and which he
had never succeeded in until just at that moment.

Under this rather painful embargo there was no satisfactory way of
peeping into the amusements of the streets but by going down the
stairs, which Jim and his ever-curious friend the Doctor used daily
and almost hourly to do, and, standing in the hall, see all they could
that was amusing, until the crowd became such that it was necessary to
recall them to their room. On one of these occasions they had espied
a miserably poor old woman, with her little child, both in rags, and
begging for the means of existence. The pity of the kind old Doctor was
touched, and he beckoned her to come to him, and held out some money;
but fear was superior to want with her, and she refused to take the
prize. The Doctor went for Daniel, who, at his request, prevailed upon
the poor woman to come up to their room, by assuring her that they
would not hurt her, and would give her much more than white people
would. She came up with Daniel, and the Indians, all seated on the
floor, lit a pipe as if going into the most profound council; and so
they were, for with hearts sympathizing for the misery and poverty
of this pitiable-looking object, a white woman and child starving to
death amidst the thousands of white people all around her in their fine
houses and with all their wealth, they were anxious to talk with her,
and find out how it was that she should not be better taken care of.
Jeffrey was called to interpret, and Melody, _Bobasheela_, Daniel, and
myself, with two or three friends who happened to be with us at the
time, were spectators of the scene that ensued. The War-chief told her
not to be frightened nor to let her little child be so, for they were
her friends; and the Doctor walked up to her, took his hand out from
under his robe, put five shillings into hers, and stepped back. The
poor woman curtsied several times, and, crossing her hands upon her
breast, as she retreated to the wall, thanked "his Honour" for his
kindness. "The Lard be with your Honours for your loving kindness, and
may the Lard of Haven bless you to al etarnity, for ee niver e thaught
af sich threatment fram sich fraightful-lukin gantlemin as ee was a
thakin you to ba."

The War-chief then said to her, "There, you see, by the money we have
been all of us giving out of our purses, that we wish to make you happy
with your little child, that you may have something for it to eat;
you see now that we don't wish to hurt you, and we shall not; but we
want to talk with you a little, and before we talk we always make our
presents, if we have anything to give. We are here poor, and a great
way from home, where we also have our little children to feed; but the
Great Spirit has been kind to us, and we have enough to eat." To this
the Indians, who were passing the pipe around, all responded "_How!
how! how!_"

The old chief then proceeded to ask the poor woman how she became so
poor, and why the white people did not take care of her and her child.
She replied that she had been in the workhouse, and her husband was
there still; she described also the manner in which she had left it,
and how she became a beggar in the streets. She said that when she
and her husband were taken into the poorhouse they were not allowed
to live together, and that she would rather die than live in that way
any longer, or rather beg for something to eat in the streets as she
was now doing; and as the cold weather was coming in, she expected her
child and herself would be soon starved to death.

The poor Indians, women and all, looked upon this miserable
shivering object of pity, in the midst of the wealth and luxuries of
civilization, as a mystery they could not expound, and, giving way to
impulses that they could feel and appreciate, the women opened their
trunks to search for presents for the little child, and by White
Cloud's order filled her lap with cold meat and bread sufficient to
last them for a day or two. The good old Doctor's politeness and
sympathy led him to the bottom of the stairs with her, where he made
her understand by signs that every morning, when the sun was up to a
place that he pointed to with his hand, if she would come, she would
get food enough for herself and her little child as long as they
stayed in Birmingham; and he recollected his promise, and made it his
especial duty every morning to attend to his pensioners at the hour
appointed.[27]

  [27] It is worthy of remark, and due to these kind-hearted people,
       that I should here explain that this was by no means a
       solitary instance of their benevolence in Birmingham. Whenever
       they could get out upon the portico to look into the streets,
       they threw their pence to the poor; and during the time they
       were residing in London, we ascertained to a certainty that
       they gave away to poor Lascars and others in the streets, from
       their omnibus, many pounds sterling.

The moral to be drawn from all this was one of curious interest and
results in the minds of the Indians, and a long conversation ensued
amongst them, in which _Daniel_ and their friend _Bobasheela_ (who were
familiar with the sufferings and modes of treatment of the poor) took
part, and which, as Melody and I had withdrawn, afterwards gave us
some cause to regret that such a pitiable object of charity had been
brought into their presence for the temporary relief they could give
her, and which resulted in so glaring an account of the sum total of
misery and poverty that was constantly about them, of the extent of
which we both began to think it would have been better to have kept
them ignorant. Daniel and _Bobasheela_ had opened their eyes to the
system of poorhouses and other public establishments for the employment
and protection of the poor; and until this account, which was already
entered in _Jim's_ book, had been given them by these two knowing
politicians, they had but little idea of this enormous item that was to
go into the scales in weighing the blessings of civilization.

Almost daily visits were now being made to their private rooms by
parties of ladies and gentlemen of the Society of Friends, with whom
they were rapidly advancing into the most interesting acquaintance,
and which I observed it was affording Mr. Melody almost unspeakable
satisfaction to behold. They were kindly invited to several houses, and
treated at their tables with the greatest friendship. Of these, there
was one visit that it would be wrong for me to overlook and to neglect
to give here the notes that I made of it at the time.

A note was written to me in a bold and legible hand by Miss Catherine
Hutton, desiring to know "at what hour it would be suitable for her to
come from her house, a few miles out of town, to see the Indians (for
whom she had always had a great love), so as not to meet a crowd, for
her health was not very good, being in the ninety-first year of her
age." This venerable and most excellent lady I held in the highest
respect, from a correspondence I had held with her on the subject
of the Indians ever since I had been in England, though I never had
seen her. Her letters had always teemed with love and kindness for
these benighted people, and also with thanks to me for having done so
much as I had for their character and history. I therefore deemed it
proper to respond to her kindness by proposing to take the whole party
to her house and pay her the visit. Her note was answered with that
proposition, which gave her great pleasure, and we took a carriage and
went to her delightful residence.

We were received with unbounded kindness by this most excellent and
remarkable lady, and spent a couple of hours under her hospitable roof
with great satisfaction to ourselves, and with much pleasure to her,
as her letter to me on the following day fully evinced.[28] After a
personal introduction to each one in turn, as she desired, and half
an hour's conversation, they were invited into an adjoining room to a
breakfast-table loaded with the luxuries she had thought most grateful
to their tastes. This finished, another half-hour or more was passed in
the most interesting conversation, containing her questions and their
answers, and her Christian advice to prepare their minds for the world
to which, said she, "we must all go soon, and, for myself, I am just
going, and am ready." When we were about to take our leave of her, she
called each one up in succession, and, having a quantity of money in
silver half-crowns placed on the sofa by her side, she dealt it out to
them as they came up, shaking hands at the same time and bidding each
one a lasting farewell, embracing each of the women and children in her
arms and kissing them as she took leave. This kindness melted their
hearts to tears, and brought old _Neu-mon-ya_ (the War-chief) up before
her at full length, to make the following remarks:--

  "My Friend,--The Great Spirit has opened your heart to feel a
  friendship for the red people, and we are thankful to Him for it. We
  have been happy to see your face to-day, and our hearts will never
  forget your kindness. You have put a great deal of money into our
  hands, which will help to feed our little children, and the Great
  Spirit will not forget this when you go before him.

  "My kind Mother,--You are very old. Your life has been good; and the
  Great Spirit has allowed you to live to see us; and He will soon call
  you to Him. We live a great way from here, and we shall not look upon
  your face again in this world; though we all believe that, if we
  behave well enough, we shall see your face in the world to come."

  [28]              _Bennett's Hill, near Birmingham, Nov. 1st, 1844._

       My dear Mr. Catlin,--I have seen the nobility of England at a
       birth-night ball in St. James's palace. I have seen the King
       and Queen move around the circle, stopping to speak to every
       individual, and I have wondered what they could have to say. I
       have seen the Prince of Wales (afterwards George the Fourth)
       open the ball with a minuet, and afterwards dance down a country
       dance; and I thought him a handsome young man, and a fine
       dancer. This was in the year 1780.

       Yesterday, as you well know, for you brought them to visit me,
       I saw the fourteen Ioway Indians. I shook hands with each,
       and told them, through the interpreter, that red men were my
       friends. I looked at them, as they were seated in a half-circle
       in my drawing-room, immoveable as statues, and magnificently
       dressed in their own costume, with astonishment. I had never
       seen a spectacle so imposing. At my request, you presented
       them to me separately--first the men, and then the women and
       children--and I gave each a small present, for which they were
       so thankful. At parting, the War-chief stood before me and made
       a speech, thanking me for my kindness to them, which they should
       long recollect, and saying, "that, although we should meet no
       more in this world, yet he hoped the Great Spirit would make us
       meet in the next." The action of the chief was free and natural,
       and most graceful; far superior to anything I ever saw. Indeed,
       these people are the nobility of nature.

         I am, my dear Sir, your very obliged and very respectful
                                                      CATHERINE HUTTON.

The chief here stopped, and, shaking her hand again, withdrew. The
excellent lady was overwhelmed in tears, and called to her maid,
"Betty, bring all the silver that I left in the drawer there; bring the
whole of it and divide it among them; my eyes are so weak that I cannot
see it--give it to them, dear creatures! May God bless their dear
souls!" Such had been the meeting, and such were her parting words as
we came away.

The Indians continued to speak in terms of the greatest admiration of
this kind old lady, and the certainty that they should never see her
face again made them for some days contemplative and sad. They had many
civilities extended to them in town, however, which were calculated to
dissipate melancholy and contemplation. Their repeated visits to the
house and the table of Doctor Percy were exceedingly pleasing to them,
where they were amused with experiments in electricity and galvanism,
and other chemical results, to them new, and far beyond the reach of
their comprehensions.

Their days and nights were now passing away very pleasantly, visited
by and visiting so many kind friends, doing all they could to make
them happy--giving their nightly amusements at the Shakspearian
Rooms, and enjoying the society and western jokes of their old friend
_Bobasheela_, and, after their dinners and suppers, their other old
friend, _chickabobboo_.

About this time some very kindly-disposed friends proposed that a
couple of nights of their exhibitions should be given in the immense
room of the Town-hall, and one half of the receipts be presented
to the two hospitals, representing that upon such conditions they
thought the use of the hall would be granted free of expense, and
believing that the results would be beneficial to both parties. Mr.
Melody and I at once consented, and, the entertainments on those two
nights being for a charitable purpose, the crowds that came in were
very great, and the receipts beyond what we expected, the profits
being 145_l._ 12_s._, the half of which, 72_l._ 16_s._, the Ioways
presented to the two hospitals, and on the following day were invited
to attend at the Town-hall at eleven o'clock in the morning, to
receive an acknowledgment of it from the venerable Presidents of the
two institutions, and to hear an address which was prepared to be
read and given to them. The Indians met the two kind and excellent
gentlemen (both of whom were Friends), and many others, both ladies and
gentlemen, of their society; and seeing the results of this meeting
likely to be of a very interesting nature, I took pains to make notes
of all that was said on the occasion. The venerable Mr. R. T. Cadbury,
from the General Hospital, in a very impressive manner, and suited
to their understandings, explained to the Indians, through their
interpreter, the purpose for which the hospital was built and carried
on, after which he read the following resolution, which had been passed
at the weekly meeting of the Board of Governors on the preceding day:--

  "Resolved,--That the Chairman be requested to present the thanks of
  this Board to Mr. Catlin, Mr. Melody, and the Ioway Indians, for
  the donation of 36_l._ 8_s._, being a moiety of the net proceeds of
  two exhibitions made for the benefit of the two hospitals at the
  Town-hall; and to assure them their generous gift shall be faithfully
  applied to the relief of the sick and maimed, for whose benefit the
  said hospital was instituted, and for sixty-five years has been
  supported by voluntary donations and subscriptions."

After reading this, Mr. Cadbury presented to each of them a copy of the
annual report and rules of the institution, and expressed a hope that
all of them would reach their distant homes in safety, and that their
visit to this country would be beneficial to them.

The chief, _White Cloud_, shook hands with Mr. Cadbury, and replied as
follows:--

  "My Friend,--I have very few remarks to make to you. We are all very
  thankful to you for the speech you have made to us, and for the
  prayer you have made that we may all reach home safe. Those words
  pleased all my people here very much, and we thank you for them.

  "My Friend,--We have now been some time in England, and, amongst all
  the words of friendship we have heard, nothing has been more pleasing
  to us than the words we have heard from your lips. We have seen some
  of the greatest men in this country, and none have delighted us so
  much as you have by the way in which you have spoken; and we believe
  that the service we have rendered to the hospital will be looked on
  with mutual satisfaction.

  "My Friend,--The Americans have been long trying to civilize us, and
  we now begin to see the advantages of it, and hope the Government of
  the United States will do us some good. I hope some of the people of
  my nation will place their children with white people, that they may
  see how the white children live.

  "My Friend,--I have nothing more to say, but to thank you."

After the speech of White Cloud, Mr. J. Cadbury, at the head of a
deputation from the "_Temperance Society_" (to which the Indians had
sent also the sum of 36_l._ 8_s._), presented himself, and read an
address from that association, thanking them for the amount received,
and advising the Indians to abstain from the use of "_fire-water_" and
to practise _charity_, which was one of the greatest of virtues.

Mr. Cadbury then addressed the Indians, in all the fervency and
earnestness of prayer, on the all-important subject of temperance. His
words and sentences, selected for their simple understandings, were in
the simplicity, and consequently the eloquence of nature, and seemed to
win their highest admiration and attention. He painted to them in vivid
colours the horrors and vice of intemperance, and its consequences; and
also the beauty and loveliness of sobriety, and truth, and charity,
which he hoped and should pray that they might practise in the
wilderness, with constant prayers to the Great Spirit in the heavens,
when they returned to their own country.

When this venerable gentleman's remarks were finished, the old Doctor
(or Medicine-man) arose from his seat upon the floor, with his pipe in
his lips, and, advancing, shook hands with the two Messrs. Cadbury,
and, handing his pipe to the chief, spoke as follows:--

  "My Friends,--I rise to thank you for the words you have spoken to
  us: they have been kind, and we are thankful for them.

  "My Friends,--When I am at home in the wilderness, as well as when I
  am amongst you, I always pray to the Great Spirit; and I believe the
  chiefs and the warriors of my tribe, and even the women also, pray
  every day to the Great Spirit, and He has therefore been very kind to
  us.

  "My Friends,--We have been this day taken by the hand in friendship,
  and this gives us great consolation. Your friendly words have opened
  our ears, and your words of advice will not be forgotten.

  "My Friends,--You have advised us to be charitable to the poor, and
  we have this day handed you 360 dollars to help the poor in your
  hospitals. We have not time to see those poor people, but we know you
  will make good use of the money for them; and we shall be happy if,
  by our coming this way, we shall have made the poor comfortable.

  "My Friends,--We Indians are poor, and we cannot do much charity.
  The Great Spirit has been kind to us though since we came to this
  country, and we have given altogether more than 200 dollars to the
  poor people in the streets of London before we came here; and I need
  not tell you that this is not the first day that we have given to the
  poor in this city.

  "My Friends,--If we were rich, like many white men in this country,
  the poor people we see around the streets in this cold weather, with
  their little children barefooted and begging, would soon get enough
  to eat, and clothes to keep them warm.

  "My Friends,--It has made us unhappy to see the poor people begging
  for something to eat since we came to this country. In our country
  we are all poor, but the poor all have enough to eat, and clothes to
  keep them warm. We have seen your poorhouses, and been in them, and
  we think them very good; but we think there should be more of them,
  and that the rich men should pay for them.

  "My Friends,--We admit that before we left home we all were fond of
  '_fire-water_,' but in this country we have not drunk it. Your words
  are good, and we know it is a great sin to drink it. Your words to us
  on that subject, can do but little good, for we are but a few; but if
  you can tell them to the white people, who make the '_fire-water_,'
  and bring it into our country to sell, and can tell them also to the
  thousands whom we see drunk with it in this country, then we think
  you may do a great deal of good; and we believe the Great Spirit will
  reward you for it.

  "My Friends,--It makes us unhappy, in a country where there is so
  much wealth, to see so many poor and hungry, and so many as we see
  drunk. We know you are good people, and kind to the poor, and we give
  you our hands at parting; praying that the Great Spirit will assist
  you in taking care of the poor, and making people sober.

  "My Friends,--I have no more to say." #/

Temperance medals were then given to each of the Indians, and the
deputation took leave.

A council was held that evening in the Indians' apartments, and several
pipes smoked, during which time the conversation ran upon numerous
topics, the first of which was the interesting meeting they had held
that day, and on several former occasions, with the Friends, and which
good people they were about to leave, and they seemed fearful they
should meet none others in their travels. They were passing their
comments upon the vast numbers which Daniel and _Bobasheela_ had told
them there actually were of poor people shut up in the poorhouses,
besides those in the streets, and underground in the coal-pits; and
concluded that the numerous clergymen they had to preach to them, and
to keep them honest and sober, were not too many, but they thought they
even ought to have more, and should at least keep all they had at home,
instead of sending them to preach to the Indians. _Jim_ was busy poring
over his note-book, and getting Daniel to put down in round numbers the
amount of poor in the poorhouses and in the streets, which they had
found in some newspaper. And he was anxious to have down without any
mistake the large sum of money they had presented to the hospitals, so
that when they got home they could tell of the charity they had done
in England; and if ever they got so poor as to have to beg, they would
have a good paper to beg with. The sum, in American currency (as they
know less of pounds, shillings, and pence), amounted to the respectable
one of 370 dollars.

This last night's talk in Birmingham was rather a gloomy one, for it
was after leave had been taken of all friends. _Bobasheela_ was to
start in the morning for Liverpool, and I for London, where I had
been summoned to attend as a witness in court, and Mr. Melody and the
Indians were to leave for Nottingham and other towns in the north. So
at a late hour we parted, and early in the morning set out for our
different destinations, bearing with us many warm attachments formed
during our short stay in the beautiful town of Birmingham.

For what befel these good fellows in Nottingham and Leeds there will
probably be no historian, as I was not with them. I commenced with
them in York, where I became again the expounder of their habits and
mysteries, and was delighted to meet them on classic ground, where
there is so much to engage the attention and admiration of civilized
or savage. I had visited York on a former occasion, and had the most
ardent wish to be present at this time, and to conduct these rude
people into the noble cathedral, and on to its grand tower. I had
this pleasure; and in it accomplished one of my favourite designs in
accompanying them on their northern tour.

On my return from London I had joined the Indians at Leeds, where they
had been exhibiting for some days, and found them just ready to start
for York. I was their companion by the railway, therefore, to that
ancient and venerable city; and made a note or two on an occurrence
of an amusing nature which happened on the way. When we were within a
few miles of the town the Indians were suddenly excited and startled
by the appearance of a party of fox-hunters, forty or fifty in number,
following their pack in full cry, having just crossed the track ahead
of the train.

This was a subject entirely new to them and unthought of by the
Indians; and, knowing that English soldiers all wore red coats, they
were alarmed, their first impression being that we had brought them on
to hostile ground, and that this was a "war-party" in pursuit of their
enemy. They were relieved and excessively amused when I told them it
was merely a fox-hunt, and that the gentlemen they saw riding were
mostly noblemen and men of great influence and wealth. They watched
them intensely until they were out of sight, and made many amusing
remarks about them after we had arrived at York. I told them they
rode without guns, and the first one in at the death pulled off the
tail of the fox and rode into town with it under his hatband. Their
laughter was excessive at the idea of "such gentlemen hunting in open
fields, and with a whip instead of a gun; and that great chiefs, as I
had pronounced them, should be risking their lives, and the limbs of
their fine horses, for a poor fox, the flesh of which, even if it were
good to eat, was not wanted by such rich people, who had meat enough
at home; and the skin of which could not be worth so much trouble,
especially when, as everybody knows, it is good for nothing when the
tail is pulled off."

On our arrival in York one of the first and most often repeated
questions which they put was, whether there were any of the "good
people," as they now called them, the Friends, living there. I told
them it was a place where a great many of them lived, and no doubt
many would come to see them, which seemed to please and encourage them
very much. Mr. Melody having taken rooms for them near to the York
Minster, of which they had a partial view from their windows, their
impatience became so great that we sallied out the morning after our
arrival to pay the first visit to that grand and venerable pile. The
reader has doubtless seen or read of this sublime edifice, and I need
not attempt to describe it here. Were it in my power to portray the
feelings which agitated the breasts of these rude people when they
stood before this stupendous fabric of human hands, and as they passed
through its aisles, amid its huge columns, and under its grand arches,
I should be glad to do it; but those feelings which they enjoyed in the
awful silence, were for none but themselves to know. We all followed
the guide, who showed and explained to us all that was worth seeing
below, and then showed us the way by which we were to reach the summit
of the grand or middle tower, where the whole party arrived after a
laborious ascent of 273 steps. We had luckily selected a clear day;
and the giddy height from which we gazed upon the town under our feet,
and the lovely landscape in the distance all around us, afforded to
the Indians a view far more wonderful than their eyes had previously
beheld. Whilst we were all engaged in looking upon the various scenes
that lay like the lines upon a map beneath us, the old Doctor, with his
_propensity_ which has been spoken of before, had succeeded in getting
a little higher than any of the rest of the party, by climbing on to
the little house erected over the gangway through which we entered upon
the roof; and, upon the pinnacle of this, for a while stood smiling
down upon the thousands of people who were gathering in the streets. He
was at length, however, seen to assume a more conspicuous attitude by
raising his head and his eyes towards the sky, and for some moments he
devoutly addressed himself to the Great Spirit, whom the Indians always
contemplate as "in the heavens, above the clouds." When he had finished
this invocation, he slowly and carefully "descended on to the roof,
and as he joined his friends he observed that when he was up there
"he was nearer to the Great Spirit than he had ever been before." The
War-chief excited much merriment by his sarcastic reply, that "it was
a pity he did not stay there, for he would never be so near the Great
Spirit again." The Doctor had no way of answering this severe retort,
except by a silent smile, as, with his head turned away, he gazed on
the beautiful landscape beneath him. When we descended from the tower,
the Indians desired to advance again to the centre of this grand
edifice, where they stood for a few minutes with their hands covering
their mouths, as they gazed upon the huge columns around them and the
stupendous arches over their heads, and at last came silently away, and
I believe inspired with greater awe and respect for the religion of
white men than they had ever felt before.

Our stay of three days in York was too short for the Indians to make
many acquaintances; but at their exhibitions they saw many of the
Society of Friends, and these, as in other places, came forward to
offer them their hands and invite them to their houses.

Amongst the invitations they received was one from the governor of
the Castle, who with great kindness conducted us through the various
apartments of the prison, explaining the whole of its system and
discipline to us. We were shown the various cells for different
malefactors, with their inmates in them, which no doubt conveyed to
the minds of the Indians new ideas of white men's iniquities, and the
justice of civilized laws.

When we were withdrawing we were invited to examine a little museum of
weapons which had been used by various convicts to commit the horrid
deeds for which they had suffered death or transportation. A small
room, surrounded by a wire screen, was devoted to these, and as it was
unlocked we were invited in, and found one wall of the room completely
covered with these shocking records of crime.

The turnkey to this room stepped in, and in a spirit of the greatest
kindness, with a rod in his hand to point with, commenced to explain
them, and of course add to their interest, in the following manner:--

  "You see here, gentlemen, the weapons that have been used in the
  commission of murders by persons who have been tried and hung in this
  place, or transported for life. That long gun which you see there is
  the identical gun that Dyon shot his father with. _He was hung._

  "That club and iron coulter you see there, gentlemen, were used
  by two highwaymen, who killed the gatekeeper, near Sheffield, by
  knocking out his brains, and afterwards robbed him. _They were both
  hung._

  "This club and razor here, gentlemen (you see the blood on the razor
  now), were used by Thompson, who killed his wife. He knocked her down
  with this club, and cut her throat with this identical razor.

  "This leather strap--gentlemen, do you see it? Well, this strap was
  taken from a calf's neck by Benjamin Holrough, and he hung his father
  with it. _He was hung here._

  "That hedging-bill, razor, and tongs, gentlemen, were the things used
  by Healy and Terry, who knocked an old woman down, cut her throat,
  and buried her. _They were hung in this prison._

  "Now, gentlemen, we come to that hammer and razor you see there. With
  that same hammer Mary Crowther knocked her husband down, and then
  with that razor cut his throat. _She was hung._

  "Do you see that club, gentlemen? That is the club with which Turner
  and Swihill, only nineteen years of age, murdered the bookkeeper near
  Sheffield. _Both were hung._

  "Do you see this short gun, gentlemen? This is the very gun with
  which Dobson shot his father. _He was hung._

  "This hat, gentlemen, with a hole in it, was the hat of Johnson, who
  was murdered near Sheffield. The hole you see is where the blow was
  struck that killed him."

The Indians, who had looked on these things and listened to these
recitals with a curious interest at first, were now becoming a little
uneasy, and the old Doctor, who smiled upon several of the first
descriptions, now showed symptoms of evident disquiet, retreating
behind the party, and towards the door.

  "Do you see this knife and bloody cravat, gentlemen? With that same
  knife John James stuck the bailiff through the cravat, and killed
  him. _He was executed here._

  "A fire-poker, gentlemen, with which King murdered his wife near
  Sheffield. _He was hung here._

  "These things, gentlemen--this fork, poker, and bloody shoes--with
  this poker Hallet knocked his wife down, and stabbed her with the
  fork; and the shoes have got the blood on them yet. _Hallet was hung._

  "That rope there is the one in which Bardsley was hung, who killed
  his own father.

  "A bloody axe and poker, gentlemen. With that axe and poker an old
  woman killed a little boy. She then drowned herself. _She was not
  executed._

  "This shoe-knife, gentlemen, is one that Robert Noll killed his wife
  with in Sheffield. _He was executed._

  "Another knife, with which Rogers killed a man in Sheffield. He
  ripped his bowels out with it. _He was hung._

  "A club, and stone, and hat, gentlemen. With this club and stone
  Blackburn was murdered, and that was his hat: you see how it is all
  broken and bloody. This was done by four men. _All hung._

  "The hat and hammer here, gentlemen--these belonged to two robbers.
  One met the other in a wood, and killed him with the hammer. _He was
  hung._

  "That scythe and pitchfork, you see, gentlemen"----

When our guide had thus far explained, and Jeffrey had translated
to the Indians, I observed the old Doctor quite outside of the
museum-room, and with his robe wrapped close around him, casting his
eyes around in all directions, and evidently in great uneasiness. He
called for the party to come out, for, said he, "I do not think this
is a good place for us to stay in any longer." We all thought it was
as well, for the turnkey had as yet not described one-third of his
curiosities; so we thanked him for his kindness, and took leave of him
and his interesting museum.

We were then conducted by the governor's request to the apartments
of his family, where he and his kind lady and daughters received the
Indians and ourselves with much kindness, having his table prepared
with refreshments, and, much to the satisfaction of the Indians (after
their fatigue of body as well as of mind), with plenty of the _Queen's
chickabobboo_.

The sight-seeing of this day and the exhibition at night finished our
labours in the interesting town of York, where I have often regretted
we did not remain a little longer to avail ourselves of the numerous
and kind invitations which were extended to us before we left. After
our labours were all done, and the Indians had enjoyed their suppers
and their _chickabobboo_, we had a pipe together, and a sort of
recapitulation of what we had seen and heard since we arrived. The two
most striking subjects of the gossip of this evening were the cathedral
and the prison; the one seemed to have filled their minds with
astonishment and admiration at the ingenuity and power of civilized
man, and the other with surprise and horror at his degradation and
wickedness; and evidently with some alarm for the safety of their
persons in such a vicinity of vice as they had reason to believe they
were in from the evidences they had seen during the day. The poor old
Doctor was so anxious for the next morning to dawn, that we might be on
our way, that he had become quite nervous and entirely contemplative
and unsociable. They had heard such a catalogue of murders and
executions explained, though they knew that we had but begun with the
list, and saw so many incarcerated in the prison, some awaiting their
trial, others who had been convicted and were under sentence of death
or transportation, and others again pining in their cells, and weeping
for their wives and children (merely because they could not pay the
money that they owed), that they became horrified and alarmed; and as
it was the first place where they had seen an exhibition of this kind,
there was some reason for the poor fellows' opinions that they were in
the midst of the wickedest place in the world.

They said that, from the grandeur and great number of their churches,
they thought they ought to be one of the most honest and harmless
people they had been amongst, but instead of that they were now
convinced they must be the very worst, and the quicker Mr. Melody made
arrangements to be off the better. The Indians had been objects of
great interest, and for the three nights of their amusements their room
was well filled and nightly increasing; but all arguments were in vain,
and we must needs be on the move. I relieved their minds in a measure
relative to the instruments of death they had seen and the executions
of which they had heard an account, by informing them of a fact that
had not occurred to them--that the number of executions mentioned had
been spread over a great number of years, and were for crimes committed
amongst some hundreds of thousands of inhabitants, occupying a tract of
country a great many miles in every direction from York; and also that
the poor men imprisoned for debt were from various parts of the country
for a great distance around. This seemed to abate their surprise to a
considerable degree; still, the first impression was here made, and
made by means of their eyes (which they say they never disbelieve,
and I am quite sure they will never get rid of it), that York was the
"wicked town," as they continued to call it during the remainder of
their European travels. I explained to them that other towns had their
jails and their gallows--that in London they daily rode in their buss
past prison walls, and where the numbers imprisoned were greater than
those in York, in proportion to the greater size of the city.

Their comments were many and curious on the cruelty of imprisoning
people for debt, because they could not pay money. "Why not kill
them?" they said; "it would be better, because when a man is dead he
is no expense to any one, and his wife can get a husband again, and
his little children a father to feed and take care of them; when he
is in jail they must starve: when he is once in jail he cannot wish
his face to be seen again, and they had better kill them all at once."
They thought it easier to die than to live in jail, and seemed to be
surprised that white men, so many hundreds and thousands, would submit
to it, when they had so many means by which they could kill themselves.

They saw convicts in the cells who were to be transported from the
country: they inquired the meaning of that, and, when I explained it,
they seemed to think that was a good plan, for, said they, "if these
people can't get money enough to pay their debts, if they go to another
country they need not be ashamed there, and perhaps they will soon
make money enough to come back and have their friends take them by the
hand again." I told them, however, that they had not understood me
exactly--that transportation was only for heinous crimes, and then a
man was sent away in irons, and in the country where he went he had to
labour several years, or for life, with chains upon him, as a slave.
Their ideas were changed at once on this point, and they agreed that it
would be better to kill them all at once, or give them weapons and let
them do it themselves.

While this conversation was going on, the Recorder Jim found here very
interesting statistics for his note-book, and he at once conceived the
plan of getting Daniel to find out how many people there were that
they had seen in the prison locked up in one town; and then, his ideas
expanding, how many (if it could be done at so late an hour) there were
in all the prisons in London; and then how many white people in all the
kingdom were locked up for crimes, and how many because they couldn't
pay money. His friend and teacher, Daniel, whose head had become a
tolerable gazetteer and statistical table, told him it would be quite
easy to find it all ready printed in books and newspapers, and that he
would put it all down in his book in a little time. The inquisitive
Jim then inquired if there were any poorhouses in York, as in other
towns; to which his friend Daniel replied that there were, and also in
nearly every town in the kingdom; upon which Jim started the design
of adding to the statistical entries in his book the number of people
in poorhouses throughout the kingdom. Daniel agreed to do this for
him also, which he could easily copy out of a memorandum-book of his
own, and also to give him an estimate of the number of people annually
transported from the kingdom for the commission of crimes. This all
pleased Jim very much, and was amusement for Daniel; but at the same
time I was decidedly regretting with Mr. Melody that his good fellows
the Indians, in their visit to York, should have got their eyes open
to so much of the dark side of civilization, which it might have been
better for them that they never had seen.

Jim's book was now becoming daily a subject of more and more excitement
to him, and consequently of jealousy amongst some of the party, and
particularly so with the old Doctor; as Jim was getting more rapidly
educated than either of the others, and his book so far advanced as
to discourage the Doctor from any essay of the kind himself. Jim that
night regretted only one thing which he had neglected to do, and which
it was now too late to accomplish--that was, to have measured the
length of the cathedral and ascertained the number of steps required to
walk around it. He had counted the number of steps to the top of the
grand tower, and had intended to have measured the cathedral's length.
I had procured some very beautiful engravings of it, however, one of
which Daniel arranged in his book, and the length of the building and
its height we easily found for him in the pocket Guide.

The Doctor, watching with a jealous eye these numerous estimates going
into Jim's book, to be referred to (and of course sworn to) when he
got home, and probably on various occasions long before, and having
learned enough of arithmetic to understand what a wonderful effect a
cipher has when placed on the right of a number of figures, he smiled
from day to day with a wicked intent on Jim's records, which, if they
went back to his tribe in anything like a credible form, would be
a direct infringement upon his peculiar department, and materially
affect his standing, inasmuch as Jim laid no claims to a knowledge of
_medicine_, or to anything more than good eating and drinking, before
he left home.

However, the Doctor at this time could only meditate and smile, as his
stiff hand required some practice with the pen before he could make
those little 0's so as to match with others in the book, which was
often left carelessly lying about upon their table. This intent was
entirely and originally wicked on the part of the old Doctor, because
he had not yet, that any one knew of, made any reference to his measure
of the giant woman, since he had carefully rolled up his cord and put
it away amongst his other estimates, to be taken home to "astonish the
natives" on their return.




                             CHAPTER XXIII.

  Newcastle-on-Tyne--Indians' alarms about jails--Kind visits from
     Friends--Mrs. A. Richardson--Advice of the Friends--War-Chiefs
     reply--Liberal presents--Arrive at Sunderland--Kindness of
     the Friends--All breakfast with Mr. T. Richardson--Indians
     plant trees in his garden--And the Author also--The Doctor's
     superstition--Sacrifice--Feast--Illness of the Roman
     Nose--Indians visit a coalpit--North Shields--A sailors' dinner
     and a row--Arrive at Edinburgh--A drive--First exhibition
     there--Visit to Salisbury Crag--To Arthur's Seat--Holyrood
     House and Castle--The crown of Robert Bruce--The "big
     gun,"--"Queen Mab"--Curious modes of building--"Flats"--Origin
     of--Illness of Corsair, the little _pappoose_--The old Doctor
     speaks--War-chief's speech--A feast of ducks--Indians'
     remarks upon the government of Scotland--"The swapping of
     crowns"--The Doctor proposes the crown of Robert Bruce for
     Prince Albert--Start for Dundee--Indians' liberality--A noble
     act--Arrival at Dundee--Death of little Corsair--Distress of the
     Little Wolf and his wife--Curious ceremony--Young men piercing
     their arms--Indians at Perth--Arrival in Glasgow--Quartered in
     the Town-hall--The cemetery--The Hunterian Museum--The Doctor's
     admiration of it--Daily drives--Indians throw money to the
     poor--Alarm for _Roman Nose_--Two reverend gentlemen talk with
     the Indians--War-chief's remarks--Greenock--Doctor's regret at
     leaving.


Newcastle-on-Tyne was the next place where we stopped, and when I
arrived there I found Mr. Melody and his friends very comfortably
lodged, and all in excellent spirits. The Indians, he told me, had been
exceedingly buoyant in spirits from the moment they left York, and the
old Doctor sang the whole way, even though he had been defeated in his
design of riding outside on the railway train, as he had been in the
habit of doing on the omnibus in London. I told them I had remained a
little behind them in York to enjoy a few hours more of the society of
an excellent and kind lady of the Society of Friends,[29] whom they
would recollect to have seen in the exhibition room when they had
finished their last night's exhibition, who came forward and shook
hands in the most affectionate manner, and left gold in their hands as
she bade them good bye, and commended them to the care of the Great
Spirit.

  [29] Miss E. Fothergill.

I told them that this good lady had only returned from the country
on the last evening of their exhibiting in York, and was exceedingly
disappointed that she could not have the pleasure of their society at
her house. I then sat down and amused them an hour with a beautiful
manuscript book, by her own hand, which she had presented to me,
containing the portraits of seven Seneca chiefs and braves, who were
in England twenty-five years before, and whom she entertained for
three weeks in her own house. This interesting work contains also some
twenty pages of poetry glowing with piety, and written in a chaste and
beautiful style; and an hundred or more pages in prose, giving a full
description of the party, their modes, and a history of their success,
as they travelled through the kingdom. This was a subject of much
pleasure to them, but at the same time increased their regret that they
had not seen more of this kind lady before they left the town of York.

Their first inquiries after their arrival in Newcastle were whether
they would meet any of the "good people" in that town, and whether
that was a place where they had prisons and a gallows like those in
London and in York. I answered that they would no doubt find many of
the Friends there, for I knew several very kind families who would call
upon them, and also that the good lady who gave me the book in York had
written letters to several of the Friends in Newcastle to call on them;
and that, as to the jails, &c., I believed they were much the same.

In a sort of council which we held there, as we were in the Indian
habit of convening one whenever we were leaving an old lodging or
taking possession of a new one, it was very gravely and diffidently
suggested by the Doctor, as the desire of the whole party, that they
presumed _Chippehola_[30] had money enough left in London (in case
they should fail in this section of the country to make enough to
pay their debts) to keep them clear from being taken up and treated
like white men who can't pay what they owe. I approved this judicious
suggestion, and assured them they might feel quite easy as long as
they were in the kingdom. I told them I was quite sure they had a
good and faithful friend in Mr. Melody, and, if anything happened to
him, they would be sure to find me ready to take care of them, and
that, if we were both to die, they would find all the English people
around them their friends. This seemed to satisfy and to cheer them
up, and our few days in Newcastle thus commenced very pleasantly. From
their first night's exhibition they all returned to their lodgings
with peculiar satisfaction that they had observed a greater number of
Friends in the crowd than they had seen in any place before, and many
of these had remained until everybody else had gone away, to shake
hands and converse with them. They found roast beef and beef-steaks and
_chickabobboo_ also, the same as in other places, and altogether there
was enough around them here to produce cheerful faces.

  [30] The Author.

I need not describe again to the reader the nature and excitement of
the dances, &c., in their exhibitions, which were nightly repeated
here as they had been in London; but incidents and results growing out
of these amusements were now becoming exceedingly interesting, and
as will be found in the sequel of much importance, I trust, to those
poor people and their descendants. Very many of the Society of Friends
were nightly attending their exhibitions, not so much for the purpose
of witnessing or encouraging their war-dances and customs, as for
an opportunity of forming an acquaintance with them, with a view to
render them in some way an essential good. With this object a letter
was addressed to me by Mrs. Anna Richardson (with whom I had formerly
corresponded on the subject of the Indians), proposing that a number of
the Friends should be allowed to hold a conversation with them in their
apartments, on some morning, for the purpose of learning the true state
of their minds relative to the subjects of religion and education, and
to propose some efforts that might result to their advantage, and that
of their nation. Mr. Melody and myself embraced this kind proposal at
once, and the Indians all seemed delighted with it when it was made
known to them. The morning was appointed, and this kind and truly
charitable lady came with fifteen or twenty of her friends, and the
Indians listened with patience and apparent pleasure to the Christian
advice that was given them by several, and cheerfully answered to the
interrogatories which were put to them.

The immediate appeal and thanks to the "Great Spirit, who had sent
these kind people to them," by the War-chief in his reply, seemed to
impress upon the minds of all present the conviction of a high and
noble sentiment of religion in the breasts of these people, which
required but the light of the Christian revelation. His replies as to
the benefits of education were much as he had made them on several
occasions before, that, "as for themselves, they were too far advanced
in life to think of being benefited by it, but that their children
might learn to read and write, and that they should be glad to have
them taught to do so." Here seemed to dawn a gleam of hope, which that
pious lady, in her conversation and subsequent correspondence with me,
often alluded to, as the most favourable omen for the desire which the
Friends had of rendering them some lasting benefit. Mr. Melody on this
occasion produced a little book printed in the Ioway language, in the
missionary school already in existence in the tribe, and also letters
which he had just received from the Rev. Mr. Irvin, then conducting
the school, giving an encouraging account of it, and hoping that the
Indians and himself might return safe, and with means to assist in
the noble enterprise. This information was gratifying in the extreme,
and all seemed to think that there was a chance of enlightening these
benighted people. The heart of this Christian woman reached to the
American wilderness in a letter that she directed to this reverend
gentleman, believing that there, where were the wives and children of
the chiefs and warriors who were travelling, was the place for the
efforts of the Society of Friends to be beneficially applied; and
thus, I believe, formed the chain from which I feel confident the most
fortunate results will flow.[31]

  [31] See in Appendix (A) to this volume Correspondence, &c.,
       relative to Ioway Mission.

Several subsequent interviews were held with the Indians by these kind
people, who took them to their houses and schools, and bestowed upon
them many tangible proofs of their attachment to them, and anxiety
for their welfare. The Indians left Newcastle and these suddenly made
friends with great reluctance, and we paid a visit of a couple of days
to Sunderland. Here they found also many of the "good people" attending
their exhibitions, and received several warm and friendly invitations
to their houses. Amongst these kind attentions there was one which
they never will forget: they were invited to breakfast at the table
of Mr. T. Richardson, in his lovely mansion, with his kind family
and some friends, and after the breakfast was over all were invited
into his beautiful garden, where a spade was ready, and a small tree
prepared for each one to plant and attach his name to. This ceremony
amused them very much, and, when they had all done, there was one left
for _Chippehola_, who took the spade and completed the interesting
ceremony. This had been kindly designed for their amusement, and for
the pleasing recollections of his family, by this good man; and with
all it went off cheerfully, except with the Doctor, who refused for
some time, but was at length induced to take the spade and plant his
tree. I observed from the moment that he had done it that he was
contemplative, and evidently apprehensive that some bad luck was to
come from it--that there was _medicine_ in it, and he was alarmed.
He was silent during the rest of the interview, and after they had
returned to their rooms he still remained so for some time, when he
explained to me that "he feared some one would be sick--some one of
those trees would die, and he would much rather they had not been
planted." He said "it would be necessary to make a great feast the next
day," which I told him would be difficult, as we were to leave at an
early hour. This puzzled him very much, as it was so late that, "if
they were to try to give it that night, there would not be time for the
ducks to be well cooked." They all laughed at him for his superstition,
and he got the charm off as well as he could by throwing some tobacco,
as a sacrifice, into the fire.

We travelled the next day to North Shields, and the gloom that was
still evidently hanging over the old man's brow was darkened by the
increased illness of the _Roman Nose_, who had been for some weeks
slightly ailing, but on that day was attacked for the first time with
some fever. The Doctor's alarm was such that he stayed constantly
by him, and did not accompany his friend Jim and one or two others
with Daniel to the coalpit. This, from the repeated representations
of Daniel and their old friend _Bobasheela_, was one of the greatest
curiosities in the kingdom, and they were not disappointed in
it. In this enterprise I did not accompany them, but from their
representations ascertained that they descended more than two thousand
feet and then travelled half a mile or so under the sea--that there
were fifty horses and mules at that depth under the ground, that
never will come up, drawing cars loaded with coal on railways, and
six or seven hundred men, women, and children, as black as <DW64>s,
and many of these who seldom come up, but sleep there at nights. This
scene shocked them even more than the sights they had seen in York,
for they seemed to think that the debtors' cells in a prison would be
far preferable to the slavery they there saw, of "hundreds of women
and children drawing out, as they said, from some narrow places where
the horses could not go, little carriages loaded with coal; where the
women had to go on their hands and knees through the mud and water, and
almost entirely naked, drawing their loads by a strap that was buckled
around their waists; their knees and their legs and their feet, which
were all naked, were bleeding with cuts from the stones, and their
hands also; they drew these loads in the dark, and they had only a
little candle to see the way." This surprising scene, which took them
hours to describe to their companions, became more surprising when
Daniel told them of "the vast number of such mines in various parts of
the kingdom, and of the fact that many people in some parts have been
born in those mines, and gone to school in them, and spent their lives,
without ever knowing how the daylight looked."

Daniel reminded them of the hundreds of mines he had pointed out to
them while travelling by the railroads, and that they were all under
ground, like what they had seen. Here was rich subject for Jim, for
another entry in his book, of the statistics of England; and Daniel,
always ready, turned to the page in his own note-book, and soon got for
Jim's memorandum the sum total of coalpits and mines in the kingdom,
and the hundreds of thousands of human _civilized_ beings who were
imprisoned in them.

It happened, on the second day that we were stopping in North Shields,
much to the amusement of the Indians, that there was a sailors' dinner
prepared for an hundred or more in the large hall of the hotel where we
were lodging; and, from the rooms which the Indians occupied, there was
an opportunity of looking through a small window down into their hall,
and upon the merry and noisy group around the table. This was a rich
treat for the Indians; and, commencing in an amusing and funny manner,
it became every moment more and more so, and, finally (when they began
to dance and sing and smash the glasses, and at length the tables,
and from that to "set-to's," "fisticuffs," and "knockdowns," by the
dozens, and, at last, to a general _melee_, a row, and a fight in the
street) one of the most decidedly exciting and spirited scenes they had
witnessed in the country.

It afforded them amusement also for a long time after the day on which
it took place, when they spoke of it as the "great fighting feast."

Two days completed our visit to North Shields, and on the next we
were in comfortable quarters in Edinburgh. The Indians were greatly
delighted with the appearance of the city as they entered it, and more
so daily, as they took their omnibus drives around and through the
different parts of it.

The Doctor, however, who was tending on his patient, _Roman Nose_,
seemed sad, and looked as if he had forebodings still of some sad
results to flow from planting the trees; but he took his seat upon
the bus, with his old joking friend Jim, by the side of the driver,
smiling occasionally on whatever he saw amusing, as he was passing
through the streets. Their novel appearance created a great excitement
in Edinburgh; and our announcements filled our hall with the most
respectable and fashionable people.

Their dances called forth great applause; and, in the midst of it, the
War-chief, so delighted with the beauty of the city, and now by seeing
so numerous and fashionable an audience before him, and all applauding,
arose to make a speech. As he straightened up, and, wrapping his
buffalo robe around him, extended his long right arm, the audience gave
him a round of applause, occasioned entirely by the dignified and manly
appearance he made when he took the attitude of the orator, and he
commenced:--

  "My friends, I understand by the great noise you have made with your
  hands and feet, that something pleases you, and this pleases us, as
  we are strangers amongst you, and with red skins. (Applause.)

  "My friends, we have but just arrived in your beautiful city, and
  we see that you are a different people from the English in London,
  where we have been. In going into a strange place, amongst strange
  people, we always feel some fear that our dances and our noise may
  not please--we are showing you how we dance in our own country, and
  we believe that is what you wish to see. (Applause and '_How, how,
  how!_')

  "My friends, we are delighted with your city, what we have seen of
  it--we have seen nothing so handsome before--we will try to please
  you with some more of our dances, and then we will be happy to shake
  hands with you. ('_How, how, how!_')

  "This is all I have to say now." (Great applause.)

We were now in the most beautiful city in the kingdom, if not one of
the most beautiful in the world; and the Indians, as well as ourselves,
observed the difference in the manners and appearance of the people.
The Indians had been pleased with their reception in the evening, and,
in their drive during the day, had been excited by the inviting scenery
overtowering the city,--the castle, with its "big gun," gaping over the
town--the _Salisbury Crag_, and _Arthur's Seat_--all of which places
they were to visit on that day; and, having swallowed their breakfasts
and taken their seats in their carriage, seemed to have entered upon a
new world of amusement. Their views from, and runs over, these towering
peaks afforded them great amusement; and the castle, with its crown of
Robert Bruce, and other insignia of royalty--its mammouth gun, and the
little room in which King James I. of England was born; and in Holyrood
House,--the blood of Rizzio upon the floor, and the bed in which Queen
Mary had slept--were all subjects of new and fresh excitement to them.

Nor was their amusement less whilst they were riding through the
streets, at the constant variety and sudden contrasts--from the low
and poverty-stricken rabble of High-street and its vicinity, to the
modern and splendid sections of the city--of crossing high bridges over
gardens, instead of rivers; of houses built upon the sides of the hills
and on rocks; and many other amusing things that they talked about when
they got back.

To Mr. Melody and Jeffrey also, and to Daniel, all these scenes were
new; and the Indians, therefore, had companions and guides enough, and
enough, also, to explain to them the meaning of all they saw.

I had been in Edinburgh on a former occasion, and was now engaged in
looking up and conversing with old friends, whose former kindness now
claimed my first attention; and in hunting for one of them, I found
his office had been removed to another part of the city; and, making
my way towards it as well as I could, I was amused at the instructions
given to me when I inquired of a man whom I met in the street, and
who, it happened, was acquainted with my friend and his location, and
who relieved me instantly from further embarrassment by the following
most lucid and simple direction, as he pointed down the street:--"You
have only to take the first turning to the right, Sir, and it is the
top flat at the bottom." This seemed queer and amusing to me, though
not in the least embarrassing, for I had been long enough in Edinburgh
before to learn that a "flat" was a "story" or floor; and long enough
in London to know that one _end_ of a street is the "top" and the other
the "bottom."

To a stranger, however, such an answer as the one I received might have
been exceedingly bewildering, and increased his difficulties rather
than diminished them.

The old law maxim of "_Cujus est solum, ejus est usque ad coelum_,"
would scarcely apply to real estate in the city of Edinburgh; for
houses are not only _rented_ by floors or _flats_, but titles, in fee
simple and by deed, are given for floor above floor, oftentimes in the
same house; a custom that is difficult to account for, unless from the
curious fact that so many of the houses in Edinburgh are built so high,
by the sides of hills and precipitous ledges, that an adjoining tenant
may oftentimes step from the surface of his cultivated fields into the
tenth or twelfth story of his neighbour's back windows, and, by this
singular mode of conveyance, able to walk into a comfortable dwelling
without the expense of building, and without curtailing the area of his
arable ground. By thus getting, for a trifle, the fee simple for the
upper story, and of course the privilege of building as many stories
on the top of it as he should require, when he could afford the means
to do it, his neighbour below was called a "flat." The law, which is
generally cruel to most flats, relinquished one of its oldest and most
sacred maxims, to support the numerous claims of this kind which the
side-hills and ledges in the building-grounds of the city had produced;
and so numerous were the _flats_, and so frequent the instances of
this new sort of tenure, that the term "flat" has become carelessly
and erroneously applied to all the floors or stories of buildings in
Edinburgh that are to be let or sold separately from the rest of the
house.

It was arranged that our stay in Edinburgh was to be but for a few
days; and, with this view, we had begun to see its sights pretty
rapidly during the two first since our arrival. Many fashionable
parties were calling on the Indians in their apartments, and leaving
them presents; and at their second night's exhibition the room was
crowded to great excess with the fashion and nobility of the city. The
Indians discovered at once that they never before were in the midst of
audiences so intellectual and genteel. There was nothing of low and
vulgar appearance in any part of the room; but all had the stamp of
refinement and gentility, which stimulated their pride, and they did
their utmost.

In the midst of their amusements on that evening there was a general
call upon me from the ladies, to explain why the little "pappoose in
its cradle" was not shown, as announced in the bills; to which I was
sorry to reply that it was so ill that it could not be seen. This
having been interpreted to the Indians by Jeffrey, and also heard by
the Little Wolf's wife, the mother of the child, and then nursing it
in the room behind their platform, she suddenly arranged it, sick as
it was, in its beautifully ornamented little cradle, and, having slung
it upon her back, and thrown her pictured robe around her, walked into
the room, to the surprise of the Indians, and to the great satisfaction
of the gentlemen as well as the ladies of the whole house. Her
appearance was such, when she walked across the platform, that it
called forth applause from every quarter. Many were the ladies who
advanced from their seats to the platform, to examine so interesting a
subject more closely; and many presents were bestowed upon the mother,
who was obliged to retire again with it, from the feeble state it was
then in. This fine little child, of ten or twelve months old, and the
manner in which it was carried in its Indian cradle upon its mother's
back, had formed one of the most interesting parts of the exhibition
the whole time that the Indians were in London, and since they had
left. Its illness now becoming somewhat alarming, with the increasing
illness also of the _Roman Nose_, was adding to the old Doctor's
alarms, growing out of the _planting of the little trees_, which he had
insisted was ominous of something that would happen, but what, he did
not attempt to predict.

He was daily prescribing and attending his patients, but, being without
the roots which he uses in his own country, he was evidently much at a
loss; and the ablest advice was procured for both of the patients while
in that city.

The Doctor, on this occasion, (though somewhat depressed in spirits,
owing to his superstitious forebodings about the sick, seeing such a
vast concourse of ladies present, and all encouraging him with their
applause as he made his boasts in the eagle dance,) made an effort for
a _sensation_, as he did on his first night in London. When the dance
was done, he advanced to the edge of the platform, and, with his usual
quizzical look and smile from under his headdress of buffalo horns and
eagle quills, addressed the audience. His speech was translated by
Jeffrey, and, though it was highly applauded, fell much short of the
effect amongst the ladies which he had produced on former occasions.
He sat down somewhat in a disappointed mood, when his cruel companion,
Jim, told him that his attempt "was an entire failure, and that he
would never take with the ladies in Edinburgh." The old man replied
to him that he had better try himself, and, if he would lie flat on
his back and make a speech, perhaps _he_ might please the ladies of
Edinburgh. After another dance, and amidst the roar of applause, old
_Neu-mon-ya_ (the War-chief) arose, and, in the best of his humour,
said,--

  "My friends, I thank the Great Spirit who conducted us safe across
  the Great Salt Lake that His eye is still upon us, and that He has
  led us to your city. No city that we have seen is so beautiful as
  yours; and we have seen a great deal of it as we have been riding in
  our carriage to-day. ('_How, how, how!_')

  "My friends, the Great Spirit has made us with red skins, and, as
  all our modes of life are different from yours, our dances are quite
  different, and we are glad that they do not give any offence when we
  dance them. Our dresses, which are made of skins, are not so fine and
  beautiful as yours, but they keep us warm, and that we think is the
  great thing. ('_How, how, how!_' Applause and 'Hear, hear.')

  "My friends, we have been to-day to see your great fort. We were
  much pleased with it, and the 'big gun;' we think it a great pity
  it is broken. We saw the room where the king of England was born,
  and we feel proud that we have been in it. ('_How, how, how!_' Much
  laughter.)

  "My friends, we saw there the crowns of your kings and queens as we
  were told. This we don't think we quite understand yet, but we think
  _Chippehola_ will tell us all that,--it may be all right. (Laughter
  and 'Hear.')

  "My friends, we went to another great house where we saw many things
  that pleased us--we saw the bed in which your Queen slept: this was
  very pleasing to us all; it was much nearer than we got to the Queen
  of England. (Great laughter.)

  "My friends, this is all I have to say." ('Bravo!')

After this night's exhibition, and the sights of the day which had
pleased them so much, there was subject enough for a number of pipes of
conversation; and to join them in this Mr. Melody and I had repaired to
their room, where we found them in the midst of a grand feast of ducks,
which they said it was always necessary to give when they entered a
new country, and which in this case they had expended some of their
own money in buying. Daniel and Jeffrey were seated with them, and
we were obliged to sit down upon the floor, and take each a duck's
leg at least, and a glass of the _Queen's chickabobboo_ (champagne),
which had been added at the expense of Daniel and Jeffrey, as the
ordinary _chickabobboo_ did not answer the object of a feast of that
description. After the feast was over, and the War-chief had returned
thanks to the Great Spirit, according to their invariable custom, the
pipe was lit, and then the gossip for the evening commenced. They had
already learned from Daniel that there were jails and poorhouses here
as in other places, and were now remarking that they had not yet seen
any of the "good people" here, and began to fear they had lost all
chance of meeting any of them again. They seemed to be much at a loss
to know how it was that here were the crowns and swords of kings and
queens, and the houses they had lived in, and the beds they had slept
on, and that there are none of them left. They believed, though they
were not yet quite certain of it, that this country must have been
conquered by England. These inquiries were all answered as nearly as
I could explain them; and the result was, that "it was a great pity,
in their estimations, that so fine a country and people should not
continue to have a king of their own to put on the crown again, instead
of leaving it in the castle to be shut up in a dark room." They seemed
to think it "very curious that the Scotch people should like to keep
the crown for people to look at, when they could not keep the king
to wear it;" and they thought "it would be far better to take out
the beautiful red and green stones and make watch-seals of them, and
melt the gold into sovereigns, so that some of it might get into poor
people's pockets, than to keep it where it is, just to be looked at and
to be talked of."

They thought "the crown was much more beautiful than the one they saw
in London belonging to the Queen, and which was kept in the great
prison where they saw so many guns, spears, &c."[32] The joker, Jim,
thought that "if he were the Queen he should propose to _swap_, for he
thought this decidedly the handsomest crown." The old Doctor said, that
"if he were the Queen of England he should be very well suited to wear
the one they had seen in London, and he would send and get this one
very quickly, and also the beautiful sword they saw, for Prince Albert
to wear." In this happy and conjectural mood we left them, receiving
from Daniel further accounts of the events and history of the country
which they had seen so many evidences of during their visits in the
early part of the day.

  [32] The Tower.

Our stay in this beautiful city was but four days, contemplating
another visit to it in a short time; and at the close of that time
the party took a steamer for Dundee, with a view to make a visit of a
few days to that town, and afterwards spend a day or two in Perth. I
took the land route to Dundee, and, arriving there before the party,
had announced their arrival and exhibition to take place on the same
evening. An accident however that happened on the steamer compelled it
to put back to Edinburgh, and their arrival was delayed for a couple of
days.

During this voyage there was an occurrence on board of the steamer,
which was related to me by Mr. Melody and Daniel, which deserves
mention in this place. It seems that on board of the steamer, as a
passenger, was a little girl of twelve years of age and a stranger
to all on board. When, on their way, the captain was collecting his
passage-money on deck, he came to the little girl for her fare, who
told him she had no money, but that she expected to meet her father in
Dundee, whom she was going to see, and that he would certainly pay her
fare if she could find him. The captain was in a great rage, and abused
the child for coming on without the money to pay her fare, and said
that he should not let her go ashore, but should hold her a prisoner on
board, and take her back to Edinburgh with him. The poor little girl
was frightened, and cried herself almost into fits. The passengers, of
whom there were a great many, all seemed affected by her situation,
and began to raise the money amongst them to pay her passage, giving
a penny or two apiece, which, when done, amounted to about a quarter
of the sum required. The poor little girl's grief and fear still
continued, and the old Doctor, standing on deck, wrapped in his robe,
and watching all these results, too much touched with pity for her
situation, went down in the fore-cabin where the rest of the party
were, and, relating the circumstances, soon raised eight shillings, one
shilling of which, the Little Wolf, after giving a shilling himself,
put into the hand of his little infant, then supposed to be dying, that
its dying hand might do one act of charity, and caused it to drop it
into the Doctor's hand with the rest. With the money the Doctor came on
deck, and, advancing, offered it to the little girl, who was frightened
and ran away. Daniel went to the girl and called her up to the Doctor,
assuring her there was no need of alarm, when the old Doctor put the
money into her hand, and said to her, through the interpreter, and in
presence of all the passengers, who were gathering around, "Now go to
the cruel captain and pay him the money, and never again be afraid of a
man because his skin is red; but be always sure that the heart of a red
man is as good and as kind as that of a white man. And when you are in
Dundee, where we are all going, if you do not find your father as you
wish, and are amongst strangers, come to us, wherever we shall be, and
you shall not suffer; you shall have enough to eat, and, if money is
necessary, you shall have more."

Such acts of kindness as this, and others that have and will be named,
that I was a witness to while those people were under my charge,
require no further comment than to be made known: they carry their own
proof with them that the Doctor was right in saying that "the hearts of
red men are as good as those of the whites."

As I was in anxious expectation of their arrival, I met the party with
carriages when they landed, and I was pained to learn that the babe
of the Little Wolf, which he had wrapped and embraced in his arms,
was dying, and it breathed its last at the moment they entered the
apartments that were prepared for them. My heart was broken to see
the agony that this noble fellow was in, embracing his little boy,
and laying him down in the last gasp of death, in a foreign land,
and amongst strangers. We all wept for the heartbroken parents, and
also for the dear little "Corsair," as he was called (from the name
of the steamer on which he was born, on the Ohio river in the United
States). We had all become attached to the little fellow, and his death
caused a gloom amongst the whole party. The old Doctor looked more sad
than ever, and evidently beheld the symptoms of _Roman Nose_ as more
alarming than they had been.

A council was called, as the first step after their arrival, and a
pipe was passed around in solemn silence; after which it was asked by
the War-chief if I knew of any of the "good people" in that town; to
which I answered that "I was a stranger there, and did not know of any
one." It seemed it was an occasion on which they felt that it would be
an unusual pleasure to meet some of them, as the Little Wolf and his
wife had expressed a wish to find some. It occurred then to Mr. Melody
that he had a letter to a lady in that town, and, on delivering it,
found she was one of that society, and, with another kind friend, she
called and administered comfort to these wretched parents in the midst
of their distress. They brought the necessary clothes for the child's
remains, and, when we had the coffin prepared, laid it out with the
kindest hands, and prepared it for the grave; and their other continued
and kind offices tended to soothe the anguished breasts of the parents
while we remained there.

It is a subject of regret to me that I have lost the names of those two
excellent ladies, to whom my public acknowledgments are so justly due.
After they had laid the remains of the child in the coffin, each of the
young men of the party ran a knife through the fleshy part of their
left arms, and, drawing a white feather through the wounds, deposited
the feathers with the blood on them in the coffin with the body. This
done, the father and mother brought all they possessed, excepting
the clothes which they had on, and presented to them, according to
the custom of their country, and also all the fine presents they
had received, their money, trinkets, weapons, &c. This is one of
the curious modes of that tribe, and is considered necessary to be
conformed to in all cases where a child dies. The parents are bound to
give away all they possess in the world. I believe, however, that it is
understood that, after a certain time, these goods are returned, and
oftentimes with increased treasures attending them.

There now came another pang for the heart of this noble fellow, the
Little Wolf, and one which seemed to shake his manly frame more than
that he had already felt. His child he could not take with him, and the
thought of leaving it in a strange burying-ground, and "to be dug up,"
as he said he knew it would be, seemed to make his misery and that of
his wife complete. However, in the midst of his griefs, he suggested
that, if it were possible to have it conveyed to their kind friends in
Newcastle-on-Tyne, he was sure those "good people," who treated them
so kindly, would be glad to bury it in their beautiful burying-ground
which he had seen, where it would be at home, and he and his wife
should then feel happy. Mr. Melody at once proposed to take it there
himself, and attend to its burial, which pleased the parents very much,
and he started the next day with it. He was received with the greatest
kindness by Mrs. A. Richardson and their other kind friends, who
attended to its burial in the society's beautiful cemetery.[33]

  [33] The reader is referred to the fervent breathing pages of a
       little periodical, entitled the 'Olive Branch,' for a most
       feeling and impressive account of the reception of this little
       child's remains, and its burial in their beautiful cemetery,
       by the Friends in Newcastle-on-Tyne.

Our visit to the delightful little town of Perth was made, where we
remained, and the Indians astonished and pleased with their wild and
unheard-of modes, for two days. We then were within fifteen miles
of Merthyl Castle, the seat of Sir William Drummond Stewart, the
well-known and bold traveller of the prairies and Rocky Mountains
of America, whose friendly invitation we received to visit his noble
mansion, but which I shall long regret came so late that other
engagements we had entered into in Edinburgh and Glasgow prevented us
from complying with it.

Our way was now back, and, having repeated their exhibitions a few
nights longer in Edinburgh, and, as before, to crowded and fashionable
houses, we commenced upon our visit to the noble city of Glasgow. On
our arrival, the party were taken in an omnibus from the station to the
town-hall, in which it was arranged their exhibitions were to be given,
and in a private room of which the Indians were to lodge.

They were pleased with the part of the city they saw as they entered
it, and were in good spirits and cheer, and prepared for the few days
they were to stop there. The same arrangement was at once made by
Mr. Melody, as in other places, to give them their daily ride in an
omnibus for their health, and for the purpose of giving them a view of
everything to be seen about the town. In their drives about the city of
Glasgow there was not so much of the picturesque and change to amuse
them as they saw in Edinburgh, yet everything was new and pleasing.

The beautiful cemetery attracted their highest admiration of anything
they saw, with all the party but the Doctor, whose whole and undivided
admiration was withheld from everything else to be centred in the noble
Hunterian Museum: the vapour-baths, conservatories, &c., which had
before arrested his attention, were all sunk and lost sight of in this.
After each and every of his visits to it he returned dejected and cast
down with the conviction of his own ignorance and white man's superior
skill. He wished very much to see the great man who made all those
wonderful preparations of diseases, and the astonishing models in wax,
as he would be so proud to offer him his hand; but, being informed that
he had been dead for many years, he seemed sad that there was no way
of paying him the tribute of his praise.

Their exhibitions, which were given nightly, as they had been given
in the Egyptian Hall, were nightly explained by me in the same way,
and fully and fashionably attended. The same kind of excitement was
repeated--speeches were made, and rounds of applause--young ladies
falling in love--Indians' talks at night, and their suppers of
beef-steaks and _chickabobboo_.

Another present of Bibles, equal in number to the number of Indians,
was handed on to the platform from an unknown hand, and each one had
the Indian name of its owner handsomely written in its front.

Scarcely a day or an evening passed but they received more or less
Bibles from the hands of the kind and Christian people who were
witnessing their amusements or inviting them to their houses; and from
the continued access to their stock during their whole career, together
with toys, with cloths and knives, and other presents, their baggage
was becoming actually of a troublesome size.

In taking their daily drives about town they had several times passed
through some of the most populous and at the same time impoverished
parts of the city; and the great numbers of poor and squalid-looking
and barefooted creatures they saw walking in the snow had excited their
deepest pity, and they had got in the daily habit of throwing pennies
to them as they passed along. The numbers of the ragged poor that they
saw there they represented as surpassing all they had seen in their
whole travels. They inquired whether there were any poor-houses there,
and, being informed that there were a number, and all full, they seemed
to be yet even more surprised. They were in the habit daily, until Mr.
Melody and myself decided it was best to check it, of each getting some
shillings changed into pennies before they started on their ride, to
scatter among the poor that they passed. Their generosity became a
subject so well known in a few days, that their carriage was followed
to their door, where gangs of beggars were stationed great part of
the day to get their pennies "when the savages went out." Some pounds
of their money they thus threw out into the streets of this great and
splendid city, in spite of all we could do to prevent them.

Our apprehensions were now becoming very great, and of course very
painful, for the fate of the poor _Roman Nose_: he seemed daily to
be losing flesh and strength, and one of the most distinguished
physicians, who was attending on him, pronounced his disease to be
pulmonary consumption. This was the first decided alarm we had about
him, and still it was difficult to believe that so fine and healthy
a looking man as he appeared but a few months before should be thus
rapidly sinking down with such a disease. He was able to be walking and
riding about, but was weak, and took no part in the exhibitions.

About this time, as I was entering the Indians' room one morning, I met
two gentlemen coming down the stairs, who recognised me, and said they
had proposed to the interpreter and the Indians to have had a little
time with them to talk upon the subjects of religion and education,
and to know whether missionaries could not be sent into their country
to teach and christianise them; and they were afraid they might not
have been understood, for they were answered that the Indians did not
wish to see them. At that moment Jeffrey was coming up the stairs, and,
as it could not have been him whom they saw, I presumed it might have
been Daniel who refused them admittance, as he might have been unable
to understand the Indians. Jeffrey told them that they had got almost
tired of talking with so many in London, but still they could go up,
and the Indians, he thought, would be glad to see them. Mr. Melody
happened at the moment to be passing also, and he invited them up. They
were introduced to the Indians and their object explained by Jeffrey.
The War-chief then said to them, as he was sitting on the floor in a
corner of the room, that he didn't see any necessity of their talking
at all, for all they would have to say they had heard from much more
intelligent-looking men than they were, in London, and in other places,
and they had given their answers at full length, which _Chippehola_ had
written all down.

  "Now, my friends," said he, "I will tell you that when we first came
  over to this country we thought that where you had so many preachers,
  so many to read and explain the good book, we should find the white
  people all good and sober people; but as we travel about we find this
  was all a mistake. When we first came over we thought that white
  man's religion would make all people good, and we then would have
  been glad to talk with you, but now we cannot say that we like to
  do it any more." ('_How, how, how!_' responded all, as Jim, who was
  then lying on a large table, and resting on one elbow, was gradually
  turning over on to his back, and drawing up his knees in the attitude
  of speaking.)

The War-chief continued:--

  "My friends--I am willing to talk with you if it can do any good
  to the hundreds and thousands of poor and hungry people that we
  see in your streets every day when we ride out. We see hundreds
  of little children with their naked feet in the snow, and we pity
  them, for we know they are hungry, and we give them money every
  time we pass by them. In four days we have given twenty dollars to
  hungry children--we give our money only to children. We are told
  that the fathers of these children are in the houses where they sell
  fire-water, and are drunk, and in their words they every moment abuse
  and insult the Great Spirit. You talk about sending _black-coats_
  among the Indians: now we have no such poor children among us; we
  have no such drunkards, or people who abuse the Great Spirit. Indians
  dare not do so. They pray to the Great Spirit, and he is kind to
  them. Now we think it would be better for your teachers all to stay
  at home, and go to work right here in your own streets, where all
  your good work is wanted. This is my advice. I would rather not say
  any more." (To this all responded '_How, how, how!_')

Jim had evidently got ready to speak, and showed signs of beginning;
but White-cloud spoke to him, and wished him not to say anything. It
was decided by these gentlemen at once to be best not to urge the
conversation with them; and Mr. Melody explained to them the number of
times they had heard and said all that could be said on the subject
while in London, and that they were out of patience, and of course a
little out of the humour for it. These gentlemen, however, took great
interest in them, and handed to each of the chiefs a handsome Bible,
impressing upon them the importance of the words of the Great Spirit,
which were certainly all contained in them, and which they hoped the
Indians might have translated to them. And as I was descending the
stairs with them, one of them said to me that he never in his life
heard truer remarks, or a lesson that more distinctly and forcibly
pointed out the primary duties of his profession.

A few days more, the incidents of which I need not name, finished our
visit to the city of Glasgow; and an hour or more by the railway, along
the banks of the beautiful Clyde, and passing Dumbarton Castle, landed
us in the snug little town of Greenock, from which we were to take
steamer to Dublin.

The Indians gave their dances and other amusements there for three
or four evenings before we took leave. They were looked upon there
as great curiosities, but scarcely formed any acquaintances or
attachments, except in one branch of our concern. All were anxious to
leave and be on the way to Dublin, except the Doctor, who thought it
was bad policy to leave so quick; and though he got on to the steamer
with all the rest, he did it very reluctantly, without assigning any
reason for it until we were on the voyage, when he acknowledged to
Daniel that the reason why he disliked to leave so soon was, that "one
of the little maids in the hotel where they lodged used to come in
every night, after all were asleep, and lie by the side of him on his
buffalo robe." For this simple acknowledgment all seemed rather to
sympathise with the polite old gentleman; but it was now too late for a
remedy, for we were near to the desired city of Dublin.




                             CHAPTER XXIV.

  Arrival in Dublin--Decline of the _Roman Nose_--Exhibition
     in the Rotunda--Feast of ducks--First drive--Phoenix
     Park--Stags--Indians' ideas of game-laws and taxes--Annual
     expenses of British government--National debt--Daniel enters
     these in Jim's book--Indians called "Irishmen"--Author's
     reply--Speech of the War-chief--Jim's rapid civilization--New
     estimates for his book--Daniel reads of "Murders, &c.," in
     Times newspaper--Jim subscribes for the Times--Petition
     of 100,000 women--Society of Friends meet the Indians
     in the Rotunda--Their advice, and present to the chiefs
     40_l._--Indians invited to Zoological Gardens--Presented with
     36_l._--Indians invited to Trinity College--Conversation with
     the Rev. Master on religion--Liberal presents--They visit the
     Archbishop of Dublin--Presents--All breakfast with Mr. Joseph
     Bewly, a Friend--Kind treatment--Christian advice--Sickness
     of _Roman Nose_--Various entertainments by the Friends--A
     curious beggar--Indians' liberality to the poor--Arrival at
     Liverpool--Rejoicing and feast--Council--_Roman Nose_ placed in
     an hospital--Arrival in Manchester--Exhibition in Free Trade
     Hall--Immense platform--Three wigwams--Archery--Ball-play,
     &c.--Great crowds--_Bobasheela_ arrives--Death of the _Roman
     Nose_--Forms of burial, &c.


In Dublin, where we arrived on the 4th of March, after an easy voyage,
comfortable quarters were in readiness for the party, and their
breakfast soon upon the table. The Indians, having heard that there
were many of "the good people" (the Friends) in Dublin, and having
brought letters of introduction to some of them, had been impatient
to reach that city; and their wish being successfully and easily
accomplished, they now felt quite elated and happy, with apparently
but one thing to depress their spirits, which was the continued and
increasing illness of the _Roman Nose_. He was gradually losing flesh
and strength, and getting now a continual fever, which showed the
imminent danger of his condition. He had the ablest medical advice that
the city could afford, and we still had some hopes of his recovery.
Rooms had been prepared for the exhibitions of the Indians in the
Rotunda, and, on the second night after their arrival, they commenced
with a respectable audience, and all seemed delighted and surprised
with their picturesque effect.

There was much applause from the audience, but no speeches from the
Indians, owing to their fatigue, or to the fact that they had not yet
rode about the city to see anything to speak about. They returned from
their exhibition to their apartments, and after their supper they were
happy to find that their beef-steaks were good, and that they had found
again the _London chickabobboo_.

A very amusing scene occurred during the exhibition, which had greatly
excited the Indians, though they had but partially understood it, and
now called upon me to explain it to them. While speaking of the modes
of life of the Ioway Indians, and describing their way of catching the
wild horses on the prairies, a dry and quizzical-looking sort of man
rose, and, apparently half drunk, excited the hisses of the audience
whilst he was holding on to the end of a seat to steady him. It was
difficult to get him down, and I desired the audience to listen to
what he had to say. "Ee--you'l escuse me, sir, to e--yax e--yif you
are ye man woo was lecturing e--year some time see--ynce, e--on ther
Yindians and the--r wild e--yorses? --e--(hic)--e--and the--r breathin,
he--(hic)--e--in thee--ir noses?" The excessive singularity of this
fellow set the whole house in a roar of laughter, and all felt disposed
to hear him go on. "Yes," I replied, "I am the same man." "Ee--e--r
wal, sir, e--yerts all--(hic), e--yits all gammon, sir, e--yer, y--ers,
(hic) yers tried it on two fillies, sir, e--yand--(hic) yand it didn't
se--seed, sir." The poor fellow, observing the great amusement of the
ladies as he looked around the room was at once disposed to be a little
witty, and proceeded--"Ee--(hic)--ye--yer tried it e--yon se--rl _young
ladies_, e--yand (hic) se--seded yerry well!" The poor fellow seemed
contented with his wit thus far rather than try to proceed further;
and he sat down amidst the greatest possible amusement of the audience,
many of whom, notwithstanding, did not seem to understand his meaning,
when I deemed it necessary to explain that he referred to my account
of Indians breaking wild horses by breathing in their noses, which it
would seem he had tried in vain, but by experimenting on young ladies
he had met with great success.[34]

  [34] See English experiments in breaking horses by the Indian mode.
       Appendix B.

The Indians had become very much attached to Daniel, who had been so
long a companion and fellow-traveller with them, and felt pleasure with
him that he was again upon his native soil. He had described to them
that they were now in a different country again, and they resolved to
have their necessary feast of ducks the next morning for breakfast, so
as not to interfere with their drive, in which they were to open their
eyes to the beauties of Dublin, when Daniel was to accompany them, and
explain all that they saw. They invited him to the feast, and thought
it as well to call upon him now as at a future time for the bottle or
two of the _Queen's chickabobboo_ (champagne) which he had agreed to
produce when he got on to his native shore again.

Nothing more of course could be seen until their feast was over, and
they were all in their buss as usual, with four horses, which was
ready and started off with them at ten o'clock the next morning. The
Doctor, in his familiar way, was alongside of the driver, with his
buffalo horns and eagle crest, and his shining lance, with his faithful
companion Jim by his side, and they caused a prodigious sensation as
they were whirled along through the principal streets of Dublin. One
may think at first glance that he can appreciate all the excitement
and pleasure which the Doctor took in those drives, taking his first
survey of the shops and all the curious places he was peeping into as
he rode along; but on a little deliberation they will easily see that
his enjoyment might have been much greater than the world supposed who
were gazing at him, without thinking how much there was under his eye
that was novel and exciting to a savage from the wilderness.

After passing through several of the principal streets they were driven
to the Phoenix Park, where they left their carriage, and, taking
a run for a mile or two, felt much relieved and delighted with the
exercise. The noble stags that started up and were bounding away before
them excited them very much, and they were wishing for their weapons
which they had left behind. However, they had very deliberately and
innocently agreed to take a regular hunt there in a few days, and have
a saddle or two of venison, but wiser Daniel reminding them of the
_game-laws_ of this country, of which they had before heard no account,
knocked all their sporting plans on the head.

Nothing perhaps astonished them since they came into the country more
than the idea that a man is liable to severe punishment by the laws,
for shooting a deer, a rabbit, or a partridge, or for catching a fish
out of a lake or a river, without a licence, for which he must pay a
tax to the government, and that then they can only shoot upon certain
grounds. The poor fellows at first treated the thing as ridiculous
and fabulous; but on being assured that such was the fact, they were
overwhelmed with astonishment. "What!" asked one of them, "if a poor
man is hungry and sees a fine fish in the water, is he not allowed to
spear it out and eat it?" "No," said Daniel, "if he does, he must go
to jail, and pay a heavy fine besides. A man is not allowed to keep a
gun in his house without paying a tax to the government for it, and
if he carries a weapon in his pocket he is liable to a fine." "Why
is that?" "Because they are afraid he will kill somebody with it."
"What do you call a tax?" said Jim. "Let that alone," said Daniel,
"until we get home, and then I will tell you all about it." Here was
a new field opening to their simple minds for contemplation upon the
beautiful mysteries and glories of civilization, in which a few hours
of Daniel's lectures would be sure to enlighten them. They dropped the
subject here however, and took their carriage again for the city and
their lodgings, laughing excessively as they were returning, and long
after they got back, at cabs they were constantly passing, which they
insisted on it had got turned around, and were going sideways.[35] When
they had returned and finished their first remarks about the curious
things they had seen, Daniel began to give them some first ideas about
taxes and fines which they had inquired about, and which they did
not as yet know the meaning of. He explained also the game-laws, and
showed them that in such a country as England, if the government did
not protect the game and the fish in such a manner, there would soon be
none left, and, as it was preserved in such a way, the government made
those who wished to hunt or to fish, pay a sum of money to help meet
the expenses of the government, and he explained the many ways in which
people pay taxes. "All of this," said he, "goes to pay the expenses
of the government, and to support the Queen and royal family." He read
to them from a newspaper that the actual cost of supporting the royal
family and attendants was 891,000_l._ sterling (4,455,000 dollars) per
annum; that the Queen's pin-money (privy purse) is 60,000_l._ (300,000
dollars); the Queen's coachmen, postilions, and footmen 12,550_l._
(62,750 dollars).

  [35] Only to be appreciated by those who have seen the Dublin
       "cars."

He read from the same paper also that the expenses of the navy were
5,854,851_l._ (being about 29,274,255 dollars) per annum, and that
the expenses of the army were still much greater, and that these all
together form but a part of the enormous expenses of the government,
which must all be raised by taxes in different ways, and that the
people must pay all these expenses at last, in paying for what they
eat and drink and wear, so much more than the articles are worth, that
a little from all may go to the government to pay the government's
debts. He also stated that, notwithstanding so much went to the
government, the nation was in debt at this time to the amount of
764,000,000_l._ (3,820,000,000 dollars). This was beyond all their
ideas of computation, and, as it could not be possibly appreciated by
them, Daniel and they had to drop it, as most people do (and as the
_country_ probably _will_ before it is paid), as a mystery too large
for just comprehension.

Jim wanted these estimates down in his book however, thinking perhaps
that he might some time be wise enough to comprehend them or find some
one that could do it. And when Daniel had put them down, he also made
another memorandum underneath them to this effect, and which astonished
the Indians very much--"The plate that ornamented the sideboard at the
banquet at the Queen's nuptials was estimated at 500,000_l._ (2,500,000
dollars)."

By the time their statistics had progressed thus far their dinner
was ready, which was a thing much more simple to comprehend, and
consequently more pleasing to them; so their note-book was shut, and
taxes and game-laws and national debt gave way to roast-beef and
_chickabobboo_.

Their drive through the city had tended to increase the curiosity to
see them, and their exhibition-room on the second night was crowded to
excess. This was sure to put the Indians into the best of humour; and
seeing in different parts of the room quite a number of Friends, gave
them additional satisfaction.

In a new country again, and before so full and fashionable an audience,
I took unusual pains to explain the objects for which these people
had come to this country, their personal appearance, and the modes
they were to illustrate. When I had got through, and the Indians
were sitting on the platform and smoking their pipe, a man rose in
the crowd and said, "That's all gammon, sir!--these people are not
Indians. I have seen many Indians, sir, and you can't hoax me!" Here
the audience hissed, and raised the cry of "Put him out!--shame!"
&c. I stepped forward, and with some difficulty got them silent, and
begged they would let the gentleman finish his remarks, because, if
they were fairly heard and understood, they might probably add much to
the amusements of the evening. So he proceeded: "I know this to be a
very great imposition, and I think it is a pity if it is allowed to go
on. I have seen too many Indians to be deceived about them. I was at
Bombay six years, and after that at Calcutta long enough to know what
an Indian is. I know that their hair is always long and black, and
not red: I know that these men are _Irishmen_, and painted up in this
manner to gull the public. There's one of those fellows I know very
well--I have seen him these three years at work in M'Gill's carpenter's
shop, and saw him there but a few days ago; so I pronounce them but a
raw set, as well as impostors!"

When he sat down I prevented the audience from making any further noise
than merely laughing, which was excessive all over the room. I said
that "to contradict this gentleman would only be to repeat what I had
said, and I hoped at least he would remain in the room a few minutes
until they would execute one of their dances, that he might give his
opinion as to my skill in teaching 'raw recruits' as he called them."
The Indians, who had been smoking their pipes all this time without
knowing what the delay had been about, now sprang upon their feet and
commenced the war-dance; all further thoughts of "imposition" and "raw
recruits" were lost sight of here and for the rest of the evening. When
their dance was done they received a tremendous roar of applause, and
after resting a few minutes the Doctor was on his feet, and evidently
trying very hard in a speech to make a sensation (as he had made on
the first night in London) among the ladies. Jeffrey interpreted his
speech; and although it made much amusement, and was applauded, still
it fell very far short of what his eloquence and his quizzical smiles
and wit had done on the former occasion. Being apprehensive also of
Jim's cruel sarcasms when he should stop, and apparently in hopes, too,
of still saying something more witty, he, unfortunately for its whole
effect, continued to speak a little too long after he had said his
best things; so he sat down (though in applause) rather dissatisfied
with himself, and seemed for some time in a sort of study, as if he
was trying to recollect what he had said, a _peculiarity possibly_
belonging to Indian orators.

When the Doctor had finished, all arose at the sound of the war-whoop
given by the War-chief, and they gave with unusual spirit the discovery
dance, and after that their favourite, the eagle dance. The finish of
this exciting dance brought rounds of deafening applause and "bravo!"
in the midst of which the War-chief arose, and, throwing his buffalo
robe around him, said,--

  "My friends--We see that we are in a new city, a strange place to
  us, but that we are not amongst enemies, and this gives us great
  pleasure. ('_How, how, how!_' and 'Hear, hear.')

  "My friends--It gives me pleasure to see so many smiling faces about
  us, for we know that when you smile you are not angry; we think you
  are amused with our dancing. It is the custom in our country always
  to thank the Great Spirit first. He has been kind to us, and our
  hearts are thankful that he has allowed us to reach your beautiful
  city, and to be with you to-night. ('_How, how, how!_')

  "My friends--Our modes of dancing are different from yours, and
  you see we don't come to teach you to dance, but merely to show
  you how the poor Indians dance. We are told that you have your
  dancing-masters; but the Great Spirit taught us, and we think we
  should not change our mode. ('_How, how, how!_')

  "My friends--The interpreter has told us that some one in the room
  has said we were not Indians--that we were _Irishmen_! Now we are not
  in any way angry with this man; if we _were_ Irishmen, we might be
  perhaps. ('Hear, hear.' 'Bravo!')

  "My friends--We are rather sorry for the man than angry; it is his
  ignorance, and that is perhaps because he is too far off: let him
  come nearer to us and examine our skins, our ears, and our noses,
  full of holes and trinkets--Irishmen don't bore their noses. (Great
  laughter, and 'Bravo!')

  "My friends--Tell that man we will be glad to see him and shake hands
  with him, and he will then be our friend at once." ("Bravo!" and
  cries of "Go, go!" from every part of the room: "You _must_ go!")

The gentleman left his seat upon this in a very embarrassed condition,
and, advancing to the platform, shook the War-chief and each one of
the party by the hand, and took a seat near to them for the rest of
the evening, evidently well pleased with their performances, and well
convinced that they were not Irishmen.

After this the Indians proceeded by giving several other dances, songs,
&c.; and when it was announced that their amusements for the evening
were finished, they seated themselves on the edge of the platform to
meet those who desired to give them their hands. Half an hour or so was
spent in this ceremony, during which time they received many presents,
and, what to them was more gratifying, they felt the affectionate hands
of a number of the "good people" they were so anxious to meet, and who
they saw were taking a deep interest in their behalf already. They
returned to their apartments unusually delighted with their reception,
and, after their supper and _chickabobboo_, Jim had some dry jokes for
the Doctor about his speech; assuring him that he never would "go down"
with the Irish ladies--that his speech had been a decided failure--and
that he had better hereafter keep his mouth entirely shut. They had
much merriment also about the "mistake the poor man had made in calling
them Irishmen," and all applauded the War-chief for the manner in which
he had answered him in his speech.

The Indians in their drive during the morning had observed an unusual
number of soldiers in various parts of the city, and, on inquiring of
Daniel why there were so many when there was no war and no danger,
they learned to their great surprise that this country, like the one
they had just left, had been subjugated by England, and that a large
military force was necessary to be kept in all the towns to keep the
people quiet, and to compel them to pay their taxes to the government.
They thought the police were more frequent here also than they had seen
them in London, and laughed very much at their carrying clubs to knock
men down with. They began to think that the Irish must be very bad
people to want so many to watch them with guns and clubs, and laughed
at Daniel about the wickedness of his countrymen. He endeavoured to
explain to them, however, that, if they had to work as hard as the
Irishmen did, and then had their hard earnings mostly all taken away
from them, they would require as strong a military force to take care
of them as the Irish did. His argument completely brought them over,
and they professed perfectly to understand the case; and all said
they could see why so many soldiers were necessary. The police, he
said, were kept in all the towns, night and day, to prevent people
from stealing, from breaking into each other's houses, from fighting,
and from knocking each other down and taking away their property. The
insatiate Jim then conceived the idea of getting into his book the
whole number of soldiers that were required in England, Scotland, and
Ireland to keep the people at work in the factories, and to make them
pay their taxes; and also the number of police that were necessary in
the different cities and towns to keep people all peaceable, and quiet,
and honest. Daniel had read to them only a day or two before an article
in the 'Times' newspaper, setting forth all these estimates, and, being
just the thing he wanted, copied them into his book.

The reader sees by this time that, although Jim's looks were against
him, as an orator or lecturer, when he should get back to his own
country--and also that though his imagination could not take its wings
until he was flat upon his back--still that he was, by dint of industry
and constant effort, preparing himself with a magazine of facts which
were calculated to impress upon the simple minds of the people in his
country the strongest proofs of the virtue and superior blessings of
civilization.

These people had discernment enough to see that such an enormous
amount of soldiers and police as their list presented them would not
be kept in pay if they were not necessary. And they naturally put the
question at once--"What state would the country be in if the military
and police were all taken away?" They had been brought to the zenith
of civilization that they might see and admire it in its best form;
but the world who read will see with me that they were close critics,
and _agree_ with me, I think, that it is almost a pity they should
be the teachers of such statistics as they are to teach to thousands
yet to be taught in the wilderness. As I have shown in a former part
of this work, I have long since been opposed to parties of Indians
being brought to this country, believing that civilization should be
a gradual thing, rather than open the eyes of these ignorant people
to all its mysteries at a glance, when the mass of its poverty and
vices alarms them, and its luxuries and virtues are at a discouraging
distance--beyond the reach of their attainment.

Daniel was at this time cutting a slip from the 'Times,' which he
read to Jim; and it was decided at once to be an admissible and
highly interesting entry to make, and to go by the side of his former
estimates of the manufacture and consumption of _chickabobboo_. The
article ran thus:--"The consumption of ardent spirits in Great Britain
and Ireland in the last year was 29,200,000 gallons, and the Poor Law
Commissioners estimate the money annually spent in ardent spirits at
24,000,000_l._ (120,000,000 dollars); and it is calculated that 50,000
drunkards die yearly in England and Ireland, and that one-half of the
insanity, two-thirds of the pauperism, and three-fourths of the crimes
of the land are the consequences of drunkenness."

This, Jim said, was one of the best things he had got down in his book,
because he said that the _black-coats_ were always talking so much
about the Indians getting drunk, that it would be a good thing for him
to have to show; and he said he thought he should be able, when they
were about to go home, to get _Chippehola_[36] to write by the side of
it that fourteen Ioways were one year in England and never drank any of
this _fire-water_, and were never drunk in that time.

  [36] The Author.

Daniel and Jeffrey continued to read (or rather Daniel to read,
and Jeffrey to interpret) the news and events in the 'Times,'
to which the Indians were all listening with attention. He read
several amusing things, and then of a "_Horrid murder!_" _a man had
murdered his wife and two little children_. He read the account; and
next--"_Brutal Assault on a Female!_"--"_A Father killed by his own
Son!_"--"_Murder of an Infant and Suicide of the Mother!_"--"_Death
from Starvation!_"--"_Execution of Sarah Loundes for poisoning her
Husband!_"--"_Robbery of 150l. Bank of England Notes!_" &c. &c.

They had read so many exciting things in one paper, and were but half
through the list, when Jim, who had rolled over on his back and drawn
up his knees, as if he was going to say something, asked how much was
the price of that newspaper; to which Daniel replied that there was
one printed each day like that, and the price fivepence each. "Well,"
said Jim, "I believe everything is in that paper, and I will give you
the money to get it for me every day. Go to the man and tell him I want
one of every kind he has: I will take them all home with me, and I will
some time learn to read them all."

A clever idea entered (or originated in) the heavy brain of Jim at
this moment. He went to a box in the corner of the room, from which
he took out, and arranged on the floor, about twenty handsomely-bound
Bibles, when he made this memorable and commercial-like vociferation,
in tolerably plain English: "I guess em swap!" He had been much amused
with several numbers of 'Punch,' which he had long pored over and
packed away for amusement on the prairies; and believing that his plan
for "swapping" would enable him to venture boldly, he authorized Daniel
to subscribe for Punch also, provided Punch would take Bibles for pay.
Daniel assured him that that would be "no go," as he thought Punch
would not care about Bibles; but told him that he would at all events
have the 'Times' for him every morning, as he wished, and was now going
to read to them a very curious thing that he had got his thumb upon,
and commenced to read:--

  "Lord R. Grosvenor and Mr. Spooner attended yesterday at the
  Home-office with Sir George Grey to present a memorial to the Queen
  from the women of England, signed by 100,000, praying that the
  bill for preventing trading in seduction may pass into a law. The
  following is a copy of the petition:--

                            "'TO THE QUEEN.

  "'We, the undersigned women of Great Britain and Ireland, placed by
  Divine Providence under the sway of the British Sceptre, which God
  has committed to your Majesty's hands, most humbly beg leave to make
  known to our beloved Sovereign the heavy and cruel grievance that
  oppresses a large portion of the female population of the realm. A
  system exists, by which not only are undue facilities and temptations
  held out to the immoral, the giddy, and the poor, to enter upon a
  life of infamy, degradation, and ruin, but unwary young females and
  mere children are frequently entrapped, and sold into the hands of
  profligate libertines. Agents are sent into the towns and villages
  of the United Kingdom, whose ostensible object is to engage young
  girls for domestic service, or other female employments, but whose
  real design is to degrade and ruin them. Female agents are also
  employed in London and many of our large towns to watch the public
  conveyances, and decoy the simple and inexperienced into houses
  of moral pollution and crime, by offers of advice or temporary
  protection. By such and other means the entrapping of innocent young
  women is reduced to a regular trade, the existence of which is, in
  the highest degree, discreditable to the nation. Despite the efforts
  of right-minded men and of benevolent institutions to suppress, by
  means of the existing laws, this vile trade in female innocence,
  thousands of the most helpless of your Majesty's subjects are
  annually destroyed, both in body and soul. We therefore appeal to
  your Majesty, beseeching you to extend your Royal protection around
  the daughters of the poor, by promoting such vigorous laws as the
  wisdom of your Majesty's counsellors may see good to devise, and
  thereby deliver your Majesty's fair realm from a system of profligacy
  so offensive to Almighty God, and so fatal to the personal, social,
  temporal, and spiritual well-being of the women of England.'"

"Fish! fish!" exclaimed Jim, as Daniel finished reading. Some laughed
excessively, and the poor Indian women groaned; but Jim, lying still on
his back, and of course his ideas circulating freely, roared out again
"_Fish! fish! chickabobboo! money! money!_--put that all in my book."
Daniel said, "There is no need of that, for it is in your paper, which
is all the same, and I will mark a black line around it." "Then be
careful not to lose the paper," said Jim, "for I like that very much:
I'll show that to the _black-coats_ when I get home."

Thus the talk of that night had run to a late hour, and I took leave.

The next morning I received two invitations for the Indians, both of
which were calculated to give them great pleasure: the one was an
invitation to visit the Zoological Gardens, then in their infant but
very flourishing state, when the directors very kindly proposed to
admit the public by shilling tickets, and to give the receipts to the
Indians. This, therefore, was very exciting to their ambition; and
the other invitation was equally or more so, as it was from several
gentlemen of the Society of Friends, who proposed that, as there
were a great many of that society in Dublin, and who all felt a deep
interest in the welfare of the Indians, but who had, many of them, a
decided objection to attend their war-dances, &c., they should feel
glad to meet them at some hour that might be appointed, in their
exhibition room, for the purpose of forming an acquaintance with them,
and of having some conversation with them on the subject of education,
agriculture, &c., with a view to ascertain in what way they could best
render them some essential service. This invitation was embraced by
the Indians with great pleasure, and at the time appointed they met
about one hundred ladies and gentlemen, all of that society, to whom
I introduced them by briefly explaining their objects in visiting
this country, their modes of life, their costumes, &c. After that,
several ladies, as well as gentlemen, asked them questions relative
to their religious belief and modes of worship; to all of which the
War-chief answered in the most cheerful manner; and, as he constantly
replied with appeals to the Great Spirit, who, he said, directed all
their hearts, they all saw in him a feeling of reverence for the Great
Spirit, which satisfied all that they were endowed with high sentiments
of religion and devotion.

Mr. Melody here stated that he had just received very interesting
and satisfactory letters from the reverend gentlemen conducting a
missionary school, which was prospering, in their tribe, parts of
which letters he read, and also presented a small book already printed
in the Ioway language by a printing-press belonging to the Missionary
Society, and now at work at their mission. This gave great satisfaction
to the visitors, who saw that these people had friends at home who were
doing what they could to enlighten their minds.

The friendly feelings of all present were then conveyed to them by
several who addressed them in turn, expressing their deep anxiety for
their worldly welfare and their spiritual good, and in the kindest and
most impressive language exhorted them to temperance, to a knowledge
of our Saviour, and to the blessings of education, which lead to it.
They impressed upon their minds also the benefits that would flow from
the abandonment of their hunters' life and warfare, and the adoption
of agricultural pursuits. It was then stated that it was the object
of the meeting to make them a present of something more than mere
professions of friendship, and desired of me to ascertain what would
be most useful and acceptable to them. The question being put to them,
the White Cloud replied that "anything they felt disposed to give they
would accept with thankfulness, but, as the question had been asked,
he should say that _money_ would be preferable to anything else, for
it was more easily carried, and when in America, and near their own
country, they could buy with it what their wives and little children
should most need." It was then proposed that a hat should be passed
around, for the purpose, by which the sum of 40_l._ was received, and
handed to the chief, to divide between them. Besides this very liberal
donation, a number of beautifully-bound Bibles were presented to them,
and several very kind and lovely ladies went to the shops, and returned
with beautiful shawls and other useful presents for the women and
children; and one benevolent gentleman, who had been of the meeting,
and whose name I regret that I have forgotten, brought in with his own
hands, a large trunk filled with pretty and useful things, which he
took pleasure in dividing amongst them, and in presenting the trunk to
the wife of the chief.

Thus ended this very kind and interesting meeting, which the Indians
will never forget, and which went far to strengthen their former belief
that the "good people," as they called them, would be everywhere found
to be their genuine friends.

Their invitation to the Zoological Gardens was for the day following,
and they were there highly entertained by the young men who were the
founders of that institution. They met in those peculiarly beautiful
grounds a great number of the fashionable ladies and gentlemen of
Dublin; and, after an hour or two delightfully spent amongst them,
received from the treasurer of the institution the sum of 36_l._, that
had been taken at the entrance. Nothing could have been more gratefully
received than were these two kind presents; nor could anything have
afforded them more convincing proofs of the hospitality and kindness of
the people they were amongst.

The exhibitions at the Rotunda were continued on every evening, and the
Indians took their daily ride at ten o'clock in the morning, seeing all
that was to be seen in the streets and the suburbs of Dublin, and after
their suppers and their _chickabobboo_ enjoyed their jokes and their
pipe, whilst they were making their remarks upon the occurrences of the
day, and listening to Daniel's readings of the 'Times' newspaper, to
which the _Chemokemon_[37] (as they now called him), Jim, had become
a subscriber. This boundless source of information and amusement,
just now opened to their minds, was engrossing much of their time;
and Daniel and Jeffrey were called upon regularly every night, after
their suppers, to tell them all that was new and curious in the paper
of the day; and Jim desired a daily entry in his book of the number of
_murders_ and _robberies_ that appeared in it. All this Daniel, in his
kindness, did for him, after reading the description of them; and in
this way the ingenious Jim considered he had all things now in good
train to enable him to enlighten the Indian races when he should get
back to the prairies of his own country.

  [37] White man.

Poor Jim, whose avarice began to dawn with his first steps towards
civilization, and who, having his wife with him to add her share of
presents to his, and was now getting such an accumulation of Bibles
that they were becoming a serious item of luggage, related here a
curious anecdote that occurred while he was in the Zoological Gardens:--

The Bibles they had received, and were daily receiving, as "the most
valuable presents that could be made them," he had supposed must of
course have some considerable intrinsic value; and he felt disposed, as
he was now increasing his expenses, by taking the 'Times' newspaper and
in other ways, to try the experiment of occasionally selling one of his
bibles to increase his funds, and, on starting to go to the gardens,
had put one in his pouch to offer to people he should meet in the
crowd; and it seems he offered it in many cases, but nobody would buy,
but one had been _given_ to him by a lady; so he came home with one
more than he took; and he said to us, "I guess em no good--I no sell
em, but I get em a heap."

A very friendly invitation was received about this time from the
President of Trinity College for the party to visit that noble
institution, and Mr. Melody and myself took great pleasure in
accompanying them there. They were treated there with the greatest
possible kindness; and, after being shown through all its parts--its
library, museum, &c.--a liberal collection was made for them amongst
the reverend gentlemen and their families, and presented to them a few
days afterwards.

I took the War-chief and several of the party to visit the Archbishop
of Dublin and his family, who treated them with much kindness, and
presented to each a sovereign, as an evidence of the attachment they
felt for them. This unexpected kindness called upon them for some
expression of thanks in return; and the War-chief, after offering his
hand to the Archbishop, said to him:--

  "My friend, as the Great Spirit has moved your heart to be kind to
  us, I rise up to thank Him first, and then to tell you how thankful
  we feel to you for what your hand has given us. We are poor, and
  do not deserve this; but we will keep it, and it will buy food and
  clothing for our little children.

  "My friend, we are soon going from here, and we live a great way. We
  shall never see your face again in this world, but we shall hope that
  the Great Spirit will allow us to meet in the world that is before
  us, and where you and I must soon go."

The Archbishop seemed much struck with his remarks; and, taking him
again by the hand, said to him that he believed they would meet again
in the world to come, and, commending them to the care of the Great
Spirit, bade them an affectionate farewell.

An invitation was awaiting them at this time, also, to breakfast the
next morning with Mr. Joseph Bewley, a Friend, and who lived a few
miles out of the city. His carriages arrived for them at the hour,
and the whole party visited him and his kind family and took their
breakfast with them. After the breakfast was over, the chief thanked
this kind gentleman for his hospitality and the presents very liberally
bestowed; and the party all listened with great attention to the
Christian advice which he gave them, recommending to them also to lay
down all their weapons of war, and to study the arts of peace. These
remarks seemed to have made a deep impression on their minds, for they
were daily talking of this kind man and the advice and information he
gave them.

Having finished our exhibitions by advertisement, but being detained a
few days longer in Dublin than we expected by the illness of the _Roman
Nose_, an opportunity was afforded the Indians to attend a number of
evening parties, to which they were invited by families of the Society
of Friends, and treated with the greatest kindness and attention.

The Indians had thus formed their notions of the beautiful city of
Dublin by riding through it repeatedly in all its parts--by viewing,
outside and in, its churches, its colleges, its gardens, and other
places of amusement; and of its inhabitants, by meeting them in the
exhibition rooms, and in their own houses, at their hospitable boards.
They decided that Edinburgh was rather the most beautiful city; that
in Glasgow they saw the most ragged and poor; and that in Dublin they
met the warmest-hearted and most kind people of any they had seen in
the kingdom. In Dublin, as in Glasgow, they had been in the habit of
throwing handfuls of pence to the poor; and at length had got them
baited, so that gangs of hungry, ragged creatures were daily following
their carriage home to their door, and there waiting under their
windows for the pence that were often showered down upon their heads.

Out of the thousands of beggars that _I_ met while there (and many of
whom extracted money from my pocket by their wit or drollery when I
was not disposed to give it), there was but one of whom I shall make
mention in this place. In my daily walk from my hotel to the Rotunda,
there was an old, hardy-looking veteran, who used often to meet me and
solicit with great importunity, as I had encouraged him by giving to
him once or twice when I first met him. I was walking on that pavement
one day with an American friend whom I had met, and, observing this old
man coming at some distance ahead of us on the same pavement, I said
to my friend, "Now watch the motions of that old fellow as he comes up
to beg--look at the expression of his face." When we had got within a
few rods of him the old man threw his stomach in, and one knee in an
instant seemed out of joint, and his face! oh, most pitiable to look
upon. We approached him arm-in-arm, and while coming towards him I put
my hand in my pocket as if I was getting out some money, which brought
this extraordinary expression from him: "My kind sir, may the gates of
Heaven open to receive you!"--(by this time we had got by him, and,
seeing that my hand remained stationary in my pocket, as he had turned
round and was scowling daggers at me)--"and may you be kicked out the
moment you get there!"

There is an inveteracy in the Irish begging and wit that shows it to
be native and not borrowed; it is therefore more irresistible and more
successful than in any other country perhaps in the world. I speak
this, however, merely as an opinion of my own, formed on the many
instances where the very reasons I assigned for not giving were so
ingeniously and suddenly turned into irresistible arguments for giving,
that my hand was in my pocket before I was aware of it.

The Indians however gave from other motives; not able to appreciate
their wit, they had discernment enough to see the wretchedness that
existed among the poor people in the lanes and outskirts of the city,
and too much pity in their hearts not to try with their money to
relieve them; and in that way I fully believe that they gave a very
considerable proportion of the money they had received since they
entered the city.

The symptoms of the poor _Roman Nose_, whose case was now decided to be
almost hopeless, were a little more favourable, and it was agreed, with
his united wish, that we should start for Liverpool by steamer; and on
the morning when we went on board, the Indians were more strongly than
ever confirmed in their belief that the Friends were the people who
had taken the deepest interest in their welfare, by meeting nearly all
they had seen in their numerous visits, down at the wharf, to shake
hands with them, and wish them an everlasting farewell! Such proof as
this, which brought even tears in their eyes, will be the last to be
forgotten by them or by me, and should be the last to be overlooked in
the public acknowledgment I am now making.

Our voyage across the Channel was easy and pleasant; and amongst
the numerous and fashionable people on board, poor Jim had the
mortification of trying to test the intrinsic value of his numerous
stock of Bibles by occasionally offering one that he carried in his
pouch. "I no sell 'em--they no like 'em," was his reply again; and he
began to doubt the value of them, which he was greatly disappointed to
find they had fixed much above their market-price.

On landing at the wharf in Liverpool the Indians recognised the spot
where they first set their feet upon English soil, and they raised the
yell (not unlike the war-whoop) which is given by war-parties when,
returning from battle, they are able to see their own village. This
gathered a great crowd in a few moments, that was exceedingly difficult
to disperse, and it instilled new ambition and strength into the poor
_Roman Nose_, who thought in his weakness that they were near home; but
he rallied only to look out and realize that he was too far from his
home ever to see it again.

Lodgings had been prepared for them, to which they immediately
repaired; and, as their sinking companion was so rapidly declining,
they were all in sadness, though they tried, poor fellows, to be gay
and cheerful. Their exhibitions had been advertised to commence, and
they proceeded with them. Before they commenced, however, a feast was
made to thank the Great Spirit for having conducted them quite around
England to the place from whence they started, and also for the benefit
of the health of their fellow-warrior, the _Roman Nose_.

A council was also held, when Mr. Melody and I were called in, and by
some it was proposed to start for home, and by others to go to Paris
and see a King, as they had tried, but in vain, to see the Queen of
England. A visit to Paris had been a favourite theme with them for some
months past, and all at length joined in the wish to see the King and
Queen of France.

The most skilful physicians were called to attend the poor _Roman
Nose_, and they advised us to place him in an hospital. He was
consulted, and, wishing to go, was removed there, where the
interpreter, Jeffrey, stayed, and every attention was paid him. A few
nights of exhibitions in Liverpool finished our stay in that town, and
brought us to an engagement we had made, for four nights, in the Free
Trade Hall in Manchester.

The Indians saw that their fellow-warrior was to sink to the grave in
a few days, and yet, like philosophers, they said it was the will of
the Great Spirit, and they must not complain. They said they would
give their exhibitions for the four nights, as they were promised to
the public, and then stop until their companion was dead and buried;
our exhibitions were consequently made to immense crowds on those
evenings, and to the same people who had seen the Ojibbeways with such
a relish when they first arrived. The different appearance of this
tribe, and difference in their modes, made them subjects of new and
fresh interest, and no doubt that their exhibitions, if they had been
continued, would have been nightly filled for a length of time. They
here gave their exhibitions the additional interest of erecting three
wigwams into a sort of Indian village on the immense platform, and
stationed their targets at the two ends, giving a fair illustration of
their skill in archery, as they shot for prizes across the breadth of
the immense hall.

Their exhibitions gained them much applause here, as in other places,
with which they were well pleased, and they had many invitations from
kind families in town, but which they declined, as they said they
were sad, as one of their number was dying. Thus their amusements in
Manchester, and for the kingdom, were finished, and they retired to
their private apartments, awaiting the end of the poor _Roman Nose_,
which was now daily expected. Mr. Melody and Jeffrey stayed by him, and
I went to see him, and so did several of the Indians, on each day until
his death.

While the Indians were thus resting in their quarters, they were
surprised and cheered by the sudden arrival of their old friend,
_Bobasheela_, who had just come from Cornwall to see them again before
their departure for America, as he supposed, from seeing by the papers
that they had arrived in Liverpool.

They thus amused themselves from day to day, lying still, not wishing
to ride about, or to admit company, or to attend to the invitations
from various quarters given to them. Their time was now chiefly taken
up in repairing their dresses, &c., in anticipation of going before the
King of France, and listening to the amusing and shocking things which
Daniel was daily reading in Jim's newspaper, and minuting down in his
note-book, as he required. He wished Daniel and his friend _Bobasheela_
to find in his paper, if they could, how many churches there were in
England, and how many _black-coats_ (as he called them) there were who
were constantly reading the good book and preaching to them. This they
could not do at the moment, but _Bobasheela_ told him he could get it
all out of a book that had lately been published, and would give it to
him the next day. This was done according to promise, and by Daniel
recorded in his book.

_Bobasheela's_ anxieties were now turned towards the poor suffering
_Roman Nose_, and he went to Liverpool to see him, and arrived with
some of the Indians just in time to see him breathe his last. Alas!
poor, fine fellow! he went down gradually and regularly to the grave;
and though amongst strangers and far away from all of the graves of his
relatives, he died like a philosopher, and (though not a Christian)
not _unlike_ a Christian. He said repeatedly to Jeffrey that he should
live but so many days, and afterwards so many hours, and seemed to be
perfectly resigned to the change that was to take place. He said that
his time had come; he was going to the beautiful hunting-grounds, where
he would soon see his friends who had gone before him: he said that
when he shut his eyes he could plainly see them, and he felt sure it
was only to change the society of his friends here for that of his dear
parents and other friends, and he was now anxious to be with them. He
said the road might be long, but it did not matter where he started
from; the Great Spirit had promised him strength to reach it. He told
his friend _Bobasheela_ that in his pouch he would find some money,
with which he wished him to buy some of the best vermilion, and, if
possible, some green paint, such as _Chippehola_ used to get for him in
London, and have them put in his pouch with his flint and steel, and to
be sure to be placed in his grave, that he might be able to make his
face look well among his friends where he was going. He wished him, and
Daniel also, to have his arrows examined in his quiver, and repaired
with new and sharp blades, as he recollected that, before he was sick,
many of them were injured by shooting at the target, and during his
illness others might have been destroyed. He had requested his silver
medal, which was given to him by the American government for saving
the lives of ten of his defenceless enemies, to be suspended by a blue
ribbon over his head while he was sick, that he might see it until he
died, and in that position it hung when I was last with him--his eyes
were upon it, and his smile, until he drew his last breath. After his
death his friend _Bobasheela_, and Jeffrey and the Doctor, laid him
in his coffin, and, placing in it, according to the Indian mode, his
faithful bow and quiver of arrows, his pipe and tobacco to last him
through the "journey he was to perform," having dressed him in all his
finest clothes, and painted his face, and placed his bow and quiver
and his pouch by his side, and his medal on his breast, the coffin was
closed, and his remains were buried, attended by his faithful friends
around him, by the officers of the institution, and many citizens, who
sympathized in his unlucky fate.

Thus ended the career of _No-ho-mun-ya_ (or the Roman Nose), one of the
most peaceable and well-disposed and finest men of the party, or of the
tribe from which he came.

The reader will now contemplate the Indians and their friend
_Bobasheela_ again in their private rooms in Manchester, spending a
week or so together, smoking their pipes, with their faces painted
black, recounting the deeds of the vanished warrior, and recapitulating
the events of their tour through England, Scotland, and Ireland,
and trying to cheer the view that was ahead of them by drinking
_chickabobboo_. These few days passed heavily by, and they soon
became anxious to throw off the gloom that was cast over them, by
seeing something new, and by resuming the exercise and excitements of
the dance. Their thoughts were now on Paris, and I was there making
arrangements for their reception. The reader will therefore, with my
help, _imagine_ himself across the Channel (and probably for the first
time in his life without being sea-sick), and ready to commence, with
the Indians and me, amidst new scenes and new scenery, the following
chapter.




                              CHAPTER XXV.

  The Author arrives in Paris--Victoria Hotel--Mr. Melody
     and his Indians arrive--Doctor missing, and found on
     the top of the hotel--Alarm of servants--First drive in
     Paris--Visit to Mr. King, the American ambassador--French
     _chickabobboo_--M. Vattemare--Indians visit the Hotel de
     Ville--Prefet de police--Magnificent salons--The "big
     looking-glasses"--The Prefet's lady--Refreshments and
     _chickabobboo_--Speech of the War-chief--Reply of the
     Prefet--Salle Valentino taken for the exhibition--Daniel
     arrives with the Collection from London--Indians
     visit the King in the palace of the Tuileries--Royal
     personages--Conversation--War-chief presents the calumet--His
     speech to the King--Eagle-dance--War-dance--Little Wolf presents
     his tomahawk and whip to the King--His speech--Refreshments
     and "Queen's _chickabobboo_"--Drinking the King's and Queen's
     health, and health of the Count de Paris--"Vive le Roi"--Jim's
     opinion of the King--An Indian's idea of descents--Presents
     in money from the King--Mode of dividing it--A drive--Ladies
     leading dogs with strings--The number counted in one drive--The
     Indians' surprise--An entry for Jim's book--Jim laments the
     loss of the Times newspaper and _Punch_--He takes Galignani's
     Messenger--Indians dine at W. Costar's--The Doctor's
     compliment to a lady's fine voice--Indians visit the Royal
     Academy of Sciences--Curious reception--M. Arago--Indians'
     suspicions and alarms--Jim's remarkable speech--Opening of the
     exhibition in Salle Valentino--Great excitement--Speech of
     the War-chief--Shaking hands--Public opinion of the Author's
     Collection.


Having long before resolved to take my collection to Paris before
returning it to my own country, and the Indians being ambitious to see
the King of the French, it was mutually agreed that my whole collection
should be opened in Paris, and that their dances and other amusements
should for a short time be given in it, as they had been given in
London.

Under this arrangement, with my wife and my four dear little children,
I repaired to Paris as soon as possible, leaving Daniel to ship over
and accompany my collection, whilst Mr. Melody conducted his party of
Indians.

In crossing the Channel, and receding from its shores, as I was seated
on the deck of a steamer, I looked back, and, having for the first time
nothing else to do, and a little time to reflect upon England, and
what I had seen of it in five years, I took out of my pocket my little
note-book, where I had entered, not what England is, and what she does
(and which all the world knows), but the points in which her modes are
different from those in my own country. I would have a few leisure
hours to run over these curious entries, and time to reflect upon them,
as we sailed along, and I began to read thus:--

  "London, 1844. The essential Differences between England and
  the United States.

  "The United States much the largest; but England is a great deal
  older.

  "New-Yorkers cross the streets diagonally; the Londoners cross them
  at right angles.

  "In England the odd pennies are wrapped in a paper, and handed back
  with 'I thank you, Sir.'

  "Streets in London have tops and bottoms; in America they have upper
  and lower ends.

  "In England a man's wife is 'very bad;' in America, 'very ill;' and
  in France, 'bien malade.'

  "Americans 'turn to the _right_ as the law directs;' the English turn
  to the _left_.

  "English mutton and babies are much the fattest.

  "Gooseberries in England much the largest, but not so sweet.

  "Pigs in the American cities are seen promenading in the streets; in
  London, only seen hanging by their hind legs.

  "In England men are 'knocked up;' in America they are 'knocked down.'

  "'_Top-coats_' are very frequent in England, in America nothing is
  known higher than an '_over-coat_.'

  "In the United States a man is 'smart;' in England he is 'clever.'

  "English ladies are more luscious, but not quite so----"

Just when I had read thus far, the steward tapped me on the shoulder
and told me that "I was wanted below immediately, for my lady was very
ill." I closed my book and ran below, where I found my poor wife and
little family all dreadfully sick. I waited on them a while and got
sea-sick myself. My musings on England and America were thus broken
off; and from the time that we launched forth amidst the clatter upon
a French wharf, I had as much as I could do to keep my little children
and my luggage together, and all recollections of England and my native
country vanished in the confusion and din that was around me in the new
world we were entering upon. Custom-houses and railways and diligences
have been a thousand times described, and I need say nothing of them,
except that we got through them all, and into the _Victoria Hotel_, in
Paris, where we found rest, fine beds, kind attentions, and enough to
eat.

A few days after my arrival in Paris, Mr. Melody made his appearance
with his party of Ioways, for whom apartments were prepared in the
same hotel, and after much fatigue and vexation the immense hall in
Rue St. Honore (Salle Valentino) was engaged as the place for their
future operations. Daniel in the mean time was moving up with the
Indian collection of eight tons weight, and in a few days all parties
were on the ground, though there was to be some delay in arranging
the numerous collection, and in getting the Indians introduced to the
King, which was the first object. They had entered the city at a late
hour at night, and for several days it had been impossible to attend
to the necessary arrangements for driving them about; and they became
excessively impatient to be on wheels again, to get a glimpse of the
strange and beautiful things which they knew were about them. In the
mean time they were taking all the amusement to themselves that they
could get, by looking out of the windows; and their red and crested
heads in Paris soon drew a crowd together in the streets, and thousands
of heads protruding from the windows and house-tops. The Doctor soon
found his way to the roof, and from that regaled his eyes, at an early
hour, with a bird's-eye view of the boundless mystery and confusion of
chimneys and house-tops and domes and spires that were around him.

The servants in the house were at first alarmed, and the good landlady
smiled at their unexpected appearance; and she roared with laughter
when she was informed that the beds were all to be removed from their
rooms, that they spread their own robes, and, in preference, slept upon
the floor. All in the house, however, got attached to them in a few
days, and all went pleasantly on.

The first airing they took in Paris was in an omnibus with four, as
they had been driven in London; but, to the old Doctor's exceeding
chagrin, there was no seat for him to take outside by the side of the
driver. He was easily reconciled however to his seat with the rest,
and they thus soon had a glance at a number of the principal streets
of the city, and were landed at the American Embassy, to pay their
first respects to Mr. King, at that time the minister to France. They
were received by Mr. King and his niece with great kindness; and after
a little conversation, through the interpreter, Mr. King invited them
to the table, loaded with cakes and fruit, and offered them a glass of
wine, proposing their health, and at the same time telling them that,
though he was opposed to encouraging Indians to drink, yet he was quite
sure that a glass or two of the _vin rouge_ of the French would not
hurt them. The colour of it seemed to cause them to hesitate a moment,
while they were casting their eyes around upon me. They understood the
nod of my head, and, hearing me pronounce it _chickabobboo_, took the
hint and drank it off with great pleasure. Mr. Melody here assured Mr.
King of the temperate habits of these people; and I explained to the
party the origin and meaning of _chickabobboo_, which pleased them all
very much. They partook of a second glass, and also of the cakes and
fruit, and took leave, the War-chief having thanked Mr. King and his
niece for their kindness, and having expressed his great pleasure at
meeting so kind an American gentleman so far from home.

The Indians were now in their omnibus again, and Mr. Melody and myself
in our carriage, with a kind friend, Mons. A. Vattemare, who had
obtained for the Indians an invitation to visit the _Hotel de Ville_,
where we were now to drive. In this drive from St. Germain we recrossed
the Seine by Pont Neuf, and had a fine view of all the bridges, and the
palace of the Tuileries, and the Louvre. The omnibus stopped a moment
on the middle of the bridge, and they were much excited by the view.
A few minutes more brought us in front of the _Hotel de Ville_, where
several thousands of people were assembled; it having been heard in the
streets, in all probability, from the servants or police, that a party
of savages were to be there at that hour.

There was a great outcry when they landed and entered the hall, and the
crowd was sure not to diminish whilst they were within.

We were all presented to His Excellency the _Prefet de Police_ by my
friend Mons. Vattemare, and received with great kindness, and conducted
through all the principal apartments of that noble edifice, which are
finished and furnished in the most sumptuous style, and in richness of
effect surpassing even the most splendid halls of the palaces of the
Tuileries or St. Cloud. The gorgeousness of the carpets on which they
stood, and the tapestry that was around them, and the incredible size
of the mirrors that were reflecting them in a hundred directions, were
subjects till then entirely new to them; and they seemed completely
amazed at the splendour with which they were surrounded. From these
splendid salons we were conducted into the _salle a manger_, and
opportunely where the table was spread and the plates laid for a grand
banquet. This was a lucky occurrence, affording us, as well as the
Indians, an opportunity of seeing the richness of the plate upon which
those elegant affairs are served up, and which but a choice few can
ever behold.

Retiring from and through this suite of splendid salons, we entered
an antechamber, where we were presented to the elegant lady of the
_Prefet_ and several of their friends, who brought us to a table
loaded with fruit and cakes and other refreshments, and wine of
several sorts and the best in quality. The corks of several bottles
of champagne were drawn, and, as the sparkling wine was running, each
one smiled as he whispered the word _chickabobboo_. The _Prefet_ drank
their health in a glass of the "_Queen's chickabobboo_" as they called
it, and then, with his own hand, presented each a handsome silver
medal, and also one to Mr. Melody and myself.

The War-chief by this time felt called upon for some acknowledgment on
their part for this kind treatment, and, advancing to the _Prefet_,
shook hands with him, and addressed him thus:--

  "My friend and father, your kindness to us this day makes our
  hearts glad, and we thank you for it. We are strangers here, and
  poor ignorant children from the wilderness. We came here with heavy
  hearts, having just buried one of our warriors, and your kindness has
  driven away our sorrow. ('_How, how, how!_')

  "My father, the splendour of the rooms, and other things you have
  just shown us, blind our eyes with their brightness, and we now see
  that white men can do anything.

  "My father, we were astonished at what we saw in London, where we
  have been, but we think your village is much the most beautiful. We
  thank the Great Spirit, who has opened your great house to us to-day,
  and also your lady, who has been kind to us.

  "My father, I have done."

At the close of his speech the _Prefet_ assured him of his kindly
feelings towards them, and his anxiety for their welfare; and after
a general shake of hands we took leave, and descended to the street,
and, passing through a dense crowd, took our carriages and drove back
to our hotel. Thus ended their first day's drive and visits in Paris,
furnishing them with a rich fund for a talk after their dinner and
_chickabobboo_, which was to be _vin rouge_ in Paris, instead of ale,
which they had been in the habit of drinking in England.

Nothing could exceed the exhilarated flow of spirits in which they
returned, and the admiration they were expressing of the beauty of
the city, and the splendour of the rooms they had been in. They were
decided that they should be pleased with Paris; and as Palaces, Kings,
and Queens were yet before them, they seemed to be perfectly happy.
During their curious remarks on what they had seen, they already were
saying that they had seen many thousands of people, and were glad that
they saw nobody in rags or begging. They thought the French people
all had enough to eat, and _that_, they said, was a great pleasure to
them; for it made their hearts sore, when riding out, if they saw poor
people, who had nothing to eat, as they had seen in some places.

The Indians decided that the houses of Paris were much more beautiful
than they had seen in any place; and they thought, from their cheerful
looks, that either the people had their debts more paid up than the
English people, or else that they had not so much money as to distress
their looks for fear of losing it. We were all pleased with the
appearance of Paris, and compelled to feel cheerful from the buoyant
feelings that were displayed all around us. Like the Indians, I was
pleased with the neat and cleanly appearance of the poorest in the
streets, and surprised at the beauty and elegance of their houses,
which want, in my estimation, but one more embellishment, which it
would be quite easy to give, to render the effect of their streets
more beautiful than words can describe. That would be, to paint their
window-blinds green, which, by contrast, would make the walls appear
more white and clean, and break with pleasing variety the white
monotony that now prevails throughout.

This first day's drive about the city had created a prodigious
excitement and curiosity where they had gone, and given to the
Indians just peep enough, amidst the beauties of Paris, to create a
restlessness on both sides for a more familiar acquaintance, and which
it had been thought most prudent to defer until they had made their
visit to the Palace, for which their application had been made to the
King by the American minister, and to which we were daily expecting a
reply. In the mean time, Mr. Melody, and Jeffrey, and the Indians kept
quiet, entertaining an occasional party of some American friends, or
distinguished, personages, who were sending in their cards, and seeking
interviews with them. During all this delay they had enough to amuse
them, by talking of what they had already seen, and what they expected
they were going to see, and cleaning and preparing their dresses
for the great occasion. I, in the mean time, with my man Daniel,
and others, was arranging my collection on the walls of the _Salle
Valentino_; and, by the kind and friendly aid of Mons. Vattemare,
obtaining my licence from the authorities, and also conforming to the
other numerous and vexatious forms and ceremonies to be gone through
before the opening of my exhibition to public view.

The Minister of the Interior had kindly granted an order for the
admission of my whole collection into the kingdom, by my paying merely
a nominal duty, but there were still forms and delays to submit to
in the customs, which were tedious and vexatious, but by the aid of
my above-mentioned good friend, they had all been overcome; and my
collection was now nearly ready for the public examination, when I
received a letter from the American minister, informing me, that
"on a certain day, and at a certain hour, His Majesty would see Mr.
Catlin and Mr. Melody, with the Ioway Indians, in the Palace of the
Tuileries." There was great rejoicing amongst the good fellows when
they heard this welcome letter read, and several of them embraced me in
their arms, as if I had been the sole cause of it. Their doubts were
now at an end: it was certain that they should see the King of France,
which, they said, "would be far more satisfactory, and a greater
honour, than to have seen the Queen of England." Whatever the poor
fellows thought, such was their mode of exultation. "The Ojibbeways,"
they said, "were subjects of the Queen, but we will be subjects of
Louis Philippe."

They had yet a few days to prepare, and even without their drives
or company they were contented, as the time passed away, and they
were preparing for the interview. On the morning of the day for their
reception, the long stem of a beautiful pipe had been painted a bright
blue, and ornamented with blue ribbons, emblematical of peace, to be
presented by the chief to the King. Every article of dress and ornament
had been put in readiness; and, as the hour approached, each one came
out from his toilet, in a full blaze of colour of various tints, all
with their wampum and medals on, with their necklaces of grizly bears'
claws, their shields, and bows, and quivers, their lances, and war
clubs, and tomahawks, and scalping knives. In this way, in full dress,
with their painted buffalo robes wrapped around them, they stepped into
the several carriages prepared for them, and all were wheeled into the
_Place Carousel_, and put down at the entrance to the Palace. We were
met on the steps by half a dozen huge and splendid looking porters,
in flaming scarlet livery and powdered wigs, who conducted us in, and
being met by one of the King's _aides-de-camp_, we were conducted
by him into His Majesty's presence, in the reception hall of the
_Tuileries_.

The royal party were advancing towards us in the hall, and as we met
them, Mr. Melody and myself were presented; and I then introduced the
party, each one in person, according to his rank or standing, as the
King desired. A sort of _conversazione_ took place there, which lasted
for half an hour or more, in which I was called upon to explain their
weapons, costumes, &c., and which seemed to afford great amusement to
the royal personages assembled around and amongst us, who were--their
Majesties the _King_ and the _Queen_, the _Duchess of Orleans_ and
_Count de Paris_, the _Princess Adelaide_, the _Prince_ and _Princess
de Joinville_, the _Duke_ and _Duchess d'Aumale_, and his _Royal
Highness_ the _Duke de Brabant_.

His Majesty in the most free and familiar manner (which showed that he
had been accustomed to the modes and feelings of Indians) conversed
with the chiefs, and said to Jeffrey, "Tell these good fellows that
I am glad to see them; that I have been in many of the wigwams of the
Indians in America when I was a young man, and they treated me every
where kindly, and I love them for it.--Tell them I was amongst the
Senecas near Buffalo, and the Oneidas--that I slept in the wigwams of
the chiefs--that I was amongst the Shawnees and Delawares on the Ohio;
and also amongst the Cherokees and Creeks in Georgia and Tennessee, and
saw many other tribes as I descended the Ohio river the whole length,
and also the Mississippi to New Orleans, in a small boat, more than
fifty years ago." This made the Indians stare, and the women, by a
custom of their country, placed their hands over their mouths, as they
issued groans of surprise.

"Tell them also, Jeffrey, that I am pleased to see their wives and
little children they have with them here, and glad also to show them
my family, who are now nearly all around me. Tell them, Jeffrey, that
_this_ is the Queen; _this lady_ is my sister; _these_ are two of my
sons, with their wives; and _these little lads_ [the _Count de Paris_
and the _Duc de Brabant_] are my grandsons; _this one_, if he lives,
will be King of the Belgians, and _that one_ King of the French."

  [Illustration: N^o. 15.]

The King then took from his pocket two large gold medals with his
own portrait in relief on one side of them, and told me he wished to
present them to the two chiefs with his own hand, and wished Jeffrey
to explain to them, that after presenting them in that way, he wished
them to hand them back to him that he might have a proper inscription
engraved on them, when he would return them, and silver medals of
equal size to each of the others, with their names engraved upon them.
After the medals were thus presented and returned, the War-chief took
out from under his robe the beautiful pipe which he had prepared,
and advancing towards the King, and holding it with both hands, bent
forward and laid it down at his Majesty's feet as a present. Having
done so he reached down, and taking it up, placed it in his Majesty's
hand (Plate No. 15), and then, assuming his proud attitude of the
orator, addressed their Majesties in these words:--

  "Great Father and Great Mother,--the Great Spirit, to whom we have
  a long time prayed for an interview with you, kindly listens to our
  words to-day and hears what we say. Great Father, you have made to
  us to-day rich presents, and I rise to return thanks to you for
  the chief and his warriors and braves who are present; but, before
  all, it is necessary that we should thank the Great Spirit who has
  inspired your heart and your hand thus to honour us this day.

  "Great Father, we shall bear these presents to our country and
  instruct our children to pronounce the name of him who gave them.

  "Great Father, when the Indians have anything to say to a great
  chief, they are in the habit of making some present before they
  begin. My chief has ordered me to place in your hands this pipe and
  these strings of wampum as a testimony of the pleasure we have felt
  in being admitted this day into the presence of your Majesty.

  "My Great Father and my Great Mother, you see us this day as we are
  seen in our country with our red skins and our coarse clothes. This
  day for _you_ is like all other days; for _us_ it is a great day--so
  great a day that our eyes are blinded with the lustre of it.

  "Great Father, the chief, myself, and our warriors have for a long
  time had the desire to come and see the French people, and our Great
  Father the President of the United States has given us permission
  to cross the Great Lake. We desired to see the Great Chief of this
  country, and we now thank the Great Spirit for having allowed us to
  shake the hand of the Great Chief in his own wigwam.

  "Great Father, we are happy to tell you that when we arrived in
  England, we had much joy in meeting our old friend Mr. Catlin, who
  has lived amongst us and whom we are happy to have here, as he can
  tell you who we are.

  "Great Father and Great Mother, we will pray to the Great Spirit to
  preserve your precious lives; we will pray also that we may return
  safe to our own village, that we may tell to our children and to our
  young men what we have seen this day.

  "My Parents, I have no more to say."

When the War-chief had finished his speech, the King told Jeffrey to
say that he felt very great pleasure in having seen them, and he hoped
that the Great Spirit would guide them safe home to their country, to
their wives and little children.

The King and Royal Family then took leave; and as they were departing,
some one of them being attracted to the Indian drum which Jeffrey
had brought in his hand, and had left upon the floor in another part
of the room, and inquiring what it was, was told that it was their
_drum_ which they had brought with them, supposing it possible they
might be called upon to give a dance. This information overtook the
King, and he said, "By all means; call the Queen:" and in a few moments
the august assembly were all back to witness the dance, for which
purpose all parties moved to the _Salle du Bal_. Their Majesties and
the ladies were seated, and the Indians all seating themselves in the
middle of the floor, commenced moderately singing and beating the drum,
preparatory to the Eagle Dance, in which they were in a few moments
engaged.

During this novel and exciting scene, her Majesty desired me to stand
by the side of her to explain the meaning of all its features, which
seemed to astonish and amuse her very much.

The Doctor led off first in the character (as he called it) of a
soaring eagle, sounding his eagle whistle, which he carried in his left
hand, with his fan of the eagle's tail, while he was brandishing his
lance in the other.

At the first pause he instantly stopped, and, in the attitude
of an orator, made his boast of an instance where he killed an
enemy in single combat, and took his scalp. The Little Wolf, and
_Wash-ka-mon-ya_, and others, then sprang upon their feet, and sounding
their chattering whistles,[38] and brandishing their polished weapons,
gave an indescribable wildness and spirit to the scene. When the
dance was finished, the Indians had the pleasure of receiving their
Majesties' applause, by the violent clapping of their hands, and
afterwards by expressions of their pleasure and admiration, conveyed to
them through the interpreter.

[38] An ingenious whistle made to imitate the chattering of the soaring
eagle, and used in the eagle dance.

This was exceedingly gratifying to the poor fellows, who were now
seated upon the floor to rest a moment previous to commencing with the
war-dance, for which they were preparing their weapons, and in which
the Little Wolf was to take the lead. For this, as the drum beat, he
threw aside his buffalo robe and sprang upon the floor, brandishing his
tomahawk and shield, and sounding the frightful war-whoop, which called
his warriors up around him. Nothing could have been more thrilling or
picturesque than the scene at that moment presented of this huge and
terrible-looking warrior, frowning death and destruction on his brow,
as he brandished the very weapons he had used in deadly combat, and, in
his jumps and sudden starts, seemed threatening with instant use again!
The floors and ceilings of the Palace shook with the weight of their
steps, and its long halls echoed and vibrated the shrill-sounding notes
of the war-whoop. (Plate No. 16.)

In the midst of this dance, the Little Wolf suddenly brandished
his tomahawk over the heads of his comrades, and, ordering them to
stop, advanced towards the King, and boasting in the most violent
exclamations of the manner in which he had killed and scalped a Pawnee
warrior, placed in his Majesty's hands his _tomahawk_ and the _whip_
which was attached to his wrist, and then said,--

  "My Great Father, you have heard me say that with that _tomahawk_ I
  have killed a Pawnee warrior, one of the enemies of my tribe; the
  blade of that tomahawk is still covered with his blood, which you
  will see. That whip is the same with which I whipped my horse on that
  occasion.

  "My Father, since I have come into this country I have learned
  that peace is better than war, and I '_bury the tomahawk_' in your
  hands--I fight no more."

His Majesty deigned graciously to accept the arms thus presented, after
having cordially shaken the hand of the Ioway brave.

Their Majesties and attendants then withdrew, taking leave of the
Indians in the most gracious and condescending manner, expressing their
thanks for the amusement they had afforded them, and their anxiety for
their welfare, directing them to be shown into the various apartments
of the palace, and then to be conducted to a table of wine and other
refreshments prepared for them.

We were now in charge of an officer of the household, who politely led
us through the various magnificent halls of the Palace, explaining
every thing as we passed, and at length introduced us into a room with
a long table spread and groaning under its load of the luxuries of
the season, and its abundance of the "_Queen's chickabobboo_." These
were subjects that required no explanations; and all being seated,
each one evinced his familiarity with them by the readiness with which
he went to work. The healths of the King and the Queen were drank,
and also of the Count de Paris, and the rest of the Royal family. The
_chickabobboo_ they pronounced "first-rate;" and another bottle being
poured it was drank off, and we took our carriages, and, after a drive
of an hour or so about the city, were landed again in our comparatively
humble, but very comfortable, apartments.

The party returning from the Tuileries found their dinner coming
up, and little was said until it was over, and they had drank their
_chickabobboo_, and seated themselves upon their buffalo robes, which
were spread upon the floor, and lighted the pipe. I have before said
that the pipe is almost indispensable with Indians, where there is to
be any exertion of the mind in private conversation or public speaking,
and that generally but one pipe is used, even in a numerous company,
each one drawing a few whiffs through it, and passing it on into the
hands of his next neighbour.

In this manner they were now seated, and passing the pipe around as I
came in, and took a seat with them. They were all quite merry at the
moment by trying to sound the "_Vive le Roi!_" which I had taught them
at the King's table when they were drinking his Majesty's health. It
puzzled them very much, but the adept Jim took it directly, and as the
rest found he had got it they seemed quite satisfied, thinking most
probably that they could learn it at their pleasure.

  [Illustration: N^o. 16.]

"Well, Jim," said I, "what do you think of the King, Louis Philippe?"
He reached for the pipe, and taking a puff or two handed it to the
Doctor, and rolling over on to his back, and drawing up his knees,
said, "I think he is a great man and a very good man. I believe he is a
much greater chief than the Queen of England, and that he governs his
people much better, because we don't see so many poor people in the
streets--we think that his people all have enough to eat. His wigwam
is very grand and very bright, and his _chickabobboo_ the best that
we have had. We did not see the King with his fine dress on, but as
his servants all around him were beautifully dressed, like gentlemen,
we know that the King and Queen must look very elegant when they are
in full dress. We saw the King's two sons, and he told us that his
grandson was to be the King when he dies--now we don't understand
this!" It seemed that his teacher, Daniel, had overlooked the _doctrine
of descents_ during their close investigations of the statistics and
politics of England, and the poor fellow was yet quite in the dark
to know "how a grandson (a mere child) would be taken in case of the
King's death, instead of one of his sons, either of whom he said he
thought would make a very good king if he would take a trip for a year
or two, as his father did, on the Mississippi and Missouri, amongst
the different tribes of Indians." This was considered a pretty clever
thing for Jim to say, and it raised a laugh amongst the Indians; he
was encouraged to go on, and turned his conversation upon the gold and
silver medals, with which he was very much pleased. They were delighted
with the idea that the King's portrait was on one side, and that he
was to have their names engraved on the other; and they were not less
delighted when I told them that the gentleman who had come in with me
and was now sitting by my side, had come from the King to bear them
some other token of his Majesty's attachment to them. The object of
his visit being thus made known to them, he turned out into the lap
of the chief 500 francs to be divided according to their custom. This
of course put a stop to conversations about descents and Palaces,
&c., for the time, and all went to counting until it was divided into
thirteen parcels, one of which for the interpreter. Jeffrey, however,
very kindly surrendered his share, and insisted that they should divide
it all amongst themselves. It was accordingly made into twelve parcels,
each one, old and young, taking an equal share, according to the Indian
mode of dividing in all the tribes I have visited.

The War-chief rose and addressed the young man who was commissioned to
bear the present to them:--

  "My Friend, we have seen your King (our Great Father) this day, and
  our hearts were made glad that we were allowed to see his face. We
  now receive the token of his friendship which he has sent through
  your hands, and our hearts are again glad. ('_How, how, how!_')

  "My Friend, we wish you to say to the King, our Great Father, that we
  are thankful for his kindness, and that we shall pray that the Great
  Spirit may be kind to him and his children.

  "My Friend, we are all much obliged to you, and we shall be glad to
  offer you the pipe with us. ('_How, how, how!_')"

The pipe was passed a few times around, with some further anecdotes
of their visit to the palace, when the messenger arose and took leave
of them. In counting the money, Jim had lost his attitude, so there
was little more of the sentimental from him, as the conversation was
running upon the King's bounty, rather than his greatness, or the
splendour of things they had seen during the day. From the liberal
additions to their private purse while in Dublin, and by what they
were now receiving, they were beginning to feel a little purse proud.
Jim was talking of having a _brick house_ to live in when he got home,
and the Doctor of heading a war party to go against the _Ojibbeways_.
The War-chief told him he had better pay his debts first, and that he
had slain enough in his own tribe, without going amongst his enemies
for the purpose. The _Little Wolf_ was going to get money enough to
buy thirty horses, and lead a war party against his old enemies, the
_Pawnees_; but Mr. Melody reminded him that he was to go to war no
more, as he had "buried the tomahawk in his Majesty's hands."

Thus musing and moralizing on the events of the day, I left them to
their conversation and their pipe, to attend, myself, where my presence
was necessary, in arranging my collection, and preparing my rooms for
their exhibitions. In this I had a real task--a scene of vexation and
delay that I should wish never to go through again, and of which a
brief account may be of service to any one of my countrymen who may be
going to Paris to open a public exhibition; at least, my hints will
enable him, if he pays attention to them, to begin at the right time,
and at the right end of what he has got to do, and to do it to the best
advantage.

His first step is, for any exhibition whatever, to make his application
to the Prefect of Police for his licence, which is in all cases
doubtful, and in all cases also is sure to require two or three weeks
for his petition to pass the slow routine of the various offices and
hands which it must go through. If it be for any exhibition that can
be construed into an interference with the twenty or thirty theatre
licences, it may as well not be applied for or thought of, for they
will shut it up if opened.

It is also necessary to arrange in time with the overseer of the poor,
whether he is to take one-eighth or one-fifth of the receipts for the
hospitals--for the _hospice_, as he is termed, is placed at the door
of all exhibitions in Paris, who carries off one-eighth or one-fifth
of the daily receipts every night. It is necessary also, if catalogues
are to be sold in the rooms, to lodge one of them at least two weeks
before the exhibition is to open in the hands of the Commissaire de
Police, that it may pass through the office of the Prefect, and twenty
other officers' hands, to be read, and duly decided that there is
nothing revolutionary in it; and then to sell them, or to give them
away (all the same), it is necessary for the person who is to sell, and
who alone _can_ sell them, to apply personally to the Commissaire de
Police, and make oath that he was born in France, to give his age and
address, &c., &c., before he can take the part that is assigned him.
It is then necessary, when the exhibition is announced, to wait until
seven or eight guards and police, with muskets and bayonets fixed,
enter and unbar the doors, and open them for the public's admission.
It is necessary to submit to their friendly care during every day of
the exhibition, and to pay each one his wages at night, when they lock
up the rooms and put out the lights. In all this, however, though
expensive, there is one redeeming feature. These numbers of armed
police, at their posts, in front of the door, and in the passage, as
well as in the exhibition rooms, give respectability to its appearance,
and preserve the strictest order and quiet amongst the company, and
keep a constant and vigilant eye to the protection of property. During
the time I was engaged in settling these tedious preliminaries, and
getting my rooms prepared for their exhibition, the Indians were
taking their daily rides, and getting a passing glimpse of most of the
out-door scenes of Paris. They were admitting parties of distinguished
visitors, who were calling upon them, and occasionally leaving them
liberal presents, and passing their evenings upon their buffalo skins,
handing around the never-tiring pipe, and talking about the King, and
their medals, and curious things they had seen as they had been riding
through the streets. The thing which as yet amused the Doctor the most
was the great number of women they saw in the streets leading dogs with
ribbons and strings. He said he thought they liked their dogs better
than they did their little children. In London, he said he had seen
some little dogs leading their masters, who were blind, and in Paris
they began to think the first day they rode out that one half of the
Paris women were blind, but that they had a great laugh when they found
that their eyes were wide open, and that instead of their dogs leading
them, they were leading their dogs. The Doctor seemed puzzled about the
custom of the women leading so many dogs, and although he did not in
any direct way censure them for doing it, it seemed to perplex him,
and he would sit and smile and talk about it for hours together. He
and Jim had, at first, supposed, after they found that the ladies were
not blind, that they cooked and ate them, but they were soon corrected
in this notion, and always after remained at a loss to know what they
could do with them.

On one of their drives, the Doctor and Jim, supplied with a pencil and
a piece of paper, had amused themselves by counting, from both sides
of the omnibus, the number of women they passed, leading dogs in the
street, and thus made some amusement with their list when they got
home. They had been absent near an hour, and driving through many of
the principal streets of the city, and their list stood thus:--

      Women leading one little dog                      432
      Women leading two little dogs                      71
      Women leading three little dogs                     5
      Women with big dogs following (no string)          80
      Women carrying little dogs                         20
      Women with little dogs in carriages                31

The poor fellows insisted on it that the above was a correct account,
and Jim, in his droll way (but I have no doubt quite honestly), said
that "It was not a very good day either."

I was almost disposed to question the correctness of their estimate,
until I took it into my head to make a similar one, in a walk I was one
day taking, from the Place Madeleine, through a part of the Boulevard,
Rue St. Honore, and Rue Rivoli, and a turn in the garden of the
Tuileries. I saw so many that I lost my reckoning, when I was actually
not a vast way from the list they gave me as above, and quite able to
believe that their record was near to the truth. While the amusement
was going on about the ladies and the little dogs, Daniel, who had
already seen many more of the sights of Paris than I had, told the
Indians that there was a _Dog Hospital_ and a _Dog Market_ in Paris,
both of them curious places, and well worth their seeing. This amused
the Doctor and Jim very much. The Doctor did not care for the _Dog
Market_, but the _Hospital_ he _must_ see. He thought the hospital
must be a very necessary thing, as there were such vast numbers; and
he thought it would be a good thing to have an hospital for their
mistresses also. Jim thought more of the market, and must see it in a
day or two, for it was about the time that they should give a feast of
thanksgiving, and "a _Dog Feast_ was always the most acceptable to the
Great Spirit." It was thus agreed all around, that they should make a
visit in a few days to the Dog Market and the Dog Hospital.

Jim got Daniel to enter the above list in his book as a very
interesting record, and ordered him to leave a blank space underneath
it, in order to record any thing else they might learn about dogs while
in Paris.

Poor Jim! he was at this time deeply lamenting the loss of the pleasure
he had just commenced to draw from the 'Times' newspaper, for which he
had become a subscriber, and his old and amusing friend 'Punch,' which
Daniel had been in the habit of entertaining them with, and which he
had been obliged to relinquish on leaving England. His friend Daniel,
however, who was sure always to be by him, particularly at a late hour
in the evenings, relieved him from his trouble by telling him that
there was an English paper printed in Paris every day, 'Galignani's
Messenger,' which republished nearly all the murders, and rapes, and
robberies, &c. from the 'Times;' and also, which would make it doubly
interesting, those which were daily occurring in Paris. Jim was now
built up again, and as he could already read a few words was the envied
of all the party. He was learning with Daniel and Jeffrey a few words
in French also, to which the others had not aspired; he, could say
quite distinctly "_vive le roi_;" he knew that "_bon jour_" was "good
morning," or "how do do?" that "_bon_" was "good," that "_mauvais_" was
"bad," and that "very sick" was "_bien malade_." He requested Daniel to
get Galignani's paper daily for him, for which he and the Doctor had
agreed to pay equal shares. He seemed now quite happy in the opinion
that his prospects for civilization were again upon a proper footing,
and the old Doctor, who profited equally by all of Daniel's readings,
was delighted to lend his purse to share in the expense. Daniel at
this moment pulled the last number of Galignani out of his pocket,
the first sight of which pleased them very much, and after reading
several extracts of _horrid murders_, _highway robberies_, &c., from the
'Times,' he came across a little thing that amused them,--the great
number and length of the names of the little Prince of Wales, which he
read over thus:--

(The author regrets very much that he took no memorandum of this, but
refers the reader to the London papers for it.)

There was a hearty laugh by the whole troop when Daniel got through,
but when Mr. Melody repeated the name of a poor fellow who used to
dress deer skins for a living in the vicinity of _St. Louis_, they
all laughed still more heartily, and _Chippehola_ set in and laughed
also. He had forgotten a part of this poor fellow's name, but as
far as he recollected of his sign board, it ran thus:--"_Haunus,
hubbard, lubbard, lamberd, lunk, vandunk, Peter, Jacobus, Lockamore,
Lavendolph_, dresses deer skins of all animals, and in all ways, alum
dressed."

Such was a part of the gossip of an evening, while my days were
occupied in preparing my rooms for the admission of the public.
During this delay, one of the gentlemen who visited the Indians most
frequently, as his native countrymen, was Mr. W. Costar, formerly of
New York, but now living in Paris, and whose kind lady invited the
whole party to dine at her house.

The Indians had expressed the greatest pleasure at meeting this
American gentleman in Paris, as if they claimed a sort of kindred to
him, and met the invitation as one of great kindness, and the interview
as one in which they were to feel much pleasure. They were particularly
careful in dressing and preparing for it, and when ready, and the time
had arrived, Mr. Melody and I accompanied them to this gentleman's
house, where a most sumptuous dinner was served, and besides his
accomplished lady and lovely daughters, there were several ladies of
distinction and of title, seated, to complete the honours that were to
be paid to the Indians.

It was a matter of great surprise to all the fashionable guests who
were present, that those rude people from the wilderness, used to take
their meals from the ground, were so perfectly composed and so much at
ease at the table, and managed so well with the knife and fork, and
even so gracefully smiled over their glasses of wine when a lady or a
gentleman proposed the health of any one. Just before we had finished
our dessert, a number of fashionable ladies, the Countess of L----,
the Baron and Baroness de G----, and several others who had begun to
assemble for the evening soiree, arrived, and were ushered into the
dining room, where they had the curiosity of seeing the Indians as they
were seated in all their trinkets and ranged around the table; and from
the lips of all escaped the instant exclamations of, "Bless me! what a
fine and noble-looking set of men they are! How much at ease they seem!
Why, those are polished gentlemen," &c. &c.

From the dinner table they were invited to the salon, where a large
party had gathered, who were delighted with the wild and picturesque
appearance of the "Peaux Rouges."

The Indians saw some fine dancing and waltzing, and heard some splendid
playing on the piano, and singing.

The Doctor's complete fascination by the playing and singing of a
beautiful young lady was so conspicuous as to become the principal
event of the evening, and after he had stood and smiled upon her in
profound admiration during her fourth or fifth song, he _amused_
many of the party, and _shocked_ others, by the extraordinary and
unexpected, though perfectly just remark, that "her voice was as soft
and sweet as that of a wolf!"

This startling compliment I must leave for the estimates of the world,
mentioning only the two facts, that the Doctor's _totem_ (or _arms_)
is the wolf; and that in my travels in the prairies of America I have
often thought that the soft, and plaintive, and silvery tones of the
howling prairie wolf oftentimes surpassed in sweetness the powers of
the human voice.

M. Vattemare, in his kind endeavours to promote the interest of the
Indians, and that of myself, had obtained an invitation from the
Members of the Royal Academy of Sciences for the Indians to visit
them at one of their sittings, which was a great honour; but the poor
Indians left Paris without ever having been able to learn how or in
what way that honour arrived. Messrs. Melody and Vattemare and myself
accompanied the whole party to their rooms, and, being ushered and
squeezed and pushed into a dense crowd of gentlemen, all standing,
and where the Indians were not even offered a seat, they were gazed
and scowled at, their heads and arms felt, their looks and capacities
criticised like those of wild beasts, without being asked a question,
or thanked for the kindness of coming, and where they were offered not
even a glass of cold water. The Indians and ourselves were thus eyed
and elbowed about in this crowd for half an hour, from which we were
all glad to escape, deciding that it was entirely too scientific for
us, and a style of politeness that we were not perhaps sufficiently
acquainted with duly to appreciate.

The various conjectures about the objects of this visit were raised
after we got home, and they were as curious as they were numerous. The
Indians had reflected upon it with evident surprise, and repeatedly
inquired of M. Vattemare and myself for what purpose we had taken them
there. M. Vattemare told them that these were the greatest scientific
men of the kingdom. This they did not understand, and he then, to
explain, said they were the great _medicine men_, the learned doctors,
&c. They then took the hint a little better, and decided alarm with it,
for they said they recollected to have seen in some of their faces,
while examining their heads and arms, decided expressions of anxiety
to dissect their limbs and bones, which they now felt quite sure would
be the case if any of them should die while in Paris. The War-chief,
who seldom had much to say while speaking of the events of the day,
very gravely observed on this occasion, that "he had been decidedly
displeased, and the chief also, but it would be best to say no more
about it, though if any of the party got sick, to take great care what
physicians were called to visit them."

M. Vattemare, in his kind interest for all parties, here exerted his
influence to a little further degree, and persuaded the Indians to
believe that those distinguished men, the great philosopher M. Arago
and others, who were present, would be their warmest friends, but that
with these transcendently great and wise men, their minds and all their
time were so engrossed with their profound studies, that they had no
time or desire to practise politeness; that they were the eyes which
the public used, to look deep into and through all things strange or
new that came to Paris; and that the public were after that, polite and
civil, in proportion as those learned men should decide that they ought
or ought not to be.

Jim here took a whiff or two on his pipe, and, turning over on his back
and drawing up his knees and clasping his hands across his stomach
(Plate No. 17), said--

  "We know very well that the King and the Queen and all the royal
  family are pleased with us, and are our friends, and if that is not
  enough to make us respected we had better go home. We believe that
  the King is a much greater man, and a much _better_ man, than any of
  those we saw there, and better than the whole of them put together.
  We know that there are many kind people in this great city who will
  be glad to shake our hands in friendship, and there are others who
  would like to get our skins, and we think that we saw some such
  there to-day. We met some kind people yesterday, where we went to
  dine--we love those people and do not fear them. If we should get
  sick they would be kind to us, and we think much more of that kind
  lady and gentleman than we do of all the great doctors we have seen
  this day--we hope not to see them any more. This is the wish of the
  chiefs, and of our wives and little children, who are all alarmed
  about them."

This finished the conversation for the present about the learned
society, though the impression was one of a most unfavourable kind on
their minds, and was a long time in wearing away.

  [Illustration: N^o. 17.]

The time had at length arrived for the opening of my collection and
the commencement of the illustrations of the Indians. It had been for
some days announced, and the hour had approached. The visitors were
admitted into the rooms where my numerous collection of 600 paintings
and some thousands of articles of Indian manufactures were subjects
of new and curious interest to examine until the audience were mostly
assembled, when, at a signal, the Indians all entered the room from an
adjoining apartment, advancing to and mounting the platform, in Indian
file, in full dress and paint, and armed and equipped as if for a
battle-field. They sounded the war-whoop as they came in, and nothing
could exceed the thrill of excitement that ran through the crowd in
every part of the Hall. There was a rush to see who should get nearest
to the platform, and be enabled most closely to scan _"les Sauvages
horribles," "les Peaux Rouges," ou "les nouvelles Diables a Paris."_

The chief led the party as they entered the room, and, having ascended
the platform, erected the flag of his tribe in the centre, and in a
moment the party were all seated around it, and lighting their pipe
to take a smoke, whilst I was introducing them and their wives to
the audience. This having been done in as brief a time as possible,
they finished their pipe and commenced their amusements in Paris by
giving the _discovery-dance_. This curious mode forms a part and the
commencement of the war-dance, and is generally led off by one of the
War-chiefs, who dances forward alone, pretending to be skulking and
hunting for the track of his enemy, and when he discovers it he beckons
on his warriors, who steal into the dance behind him, and follow him
up as he advances, and pretends at length to discover the enemy in the
distance, ordering all to be ready for the attack.

The Doctor was the one who opened the _bal_ on this occasion, and it
was a proud and important moment for him: not that the fate of nations
unborn, or the success of their enterprise, depended upon the event,
but what to him was perhaps as high an incentive--that his standing
with the ladies of Paris would probably be regulated for the whole
time they should be there by the sensation he should make at the first
dash. He therefore put on his most confident smile as he went into
the dance: as he tilted about and pointed out the track where his
enemy had gone, he made signs that the enemy had passed by, and then,
beckoning up his warriors, pointed him out amongst a group of beautiful
ladies who had taken an elevated and conspicuous position in front.
He sounded the war-whoop, and all echoed it as he pointed towards the
ladies, who screamed, and leapt from their seats, as the Indians'
weapons were drawn! Here was an excitement begun, and the old Doctor
smiled as he turned his head and his weapons in other directions, and
proceeded with the dance. At the end of its first part their feet all
came to a simultaneous stop, when the Doctor advanced to the front
of the platform, and, brandishing his spear over the heads of the
audience, made the most tremendous boast of the manner in which he took
a prisoner in a battle with the Pawnees, and drove him home before his
horse rather than take his life: he then plunged into the most agitated
dance alone, and acting out the whole features of his battle in time to
the song and beating of the drum; and at the close, rounds of applause
awaited him in every part of the crowd. These the Doctor received with
so complaisant a smile of satisfaction, as he bowed his head gracefully
inclined on one side, that another and another burst of applause, and
another bow and smile, followed; satisfying him that the path was
cleared before him. He then shook his rattle of deer's hoofs, and,
summoning his warriors, they all united in finishing with full and wild
effect this spirited dance. Though in the midst of a dancing country,
their mode of dancing was quite new, and was evidently calculated to
amuse, from the immense applause that was given them at the end of
their first effort.

The dancers had now all taken their seats, except the Doctor, who was
lingering on his feet, and had passed his spear into his left hand,
evidently preparing to push his advantage a little further with the
ladies, by making a speech, as soon as silence should be sufficiently
restored to enable him to be heard. This little delay might or might
not have been a fortunate occurrence for the Doctor, for it afforded
Jim an opportunity to remind him how much he had lost by his last
two or three speeches, which so completely put him out, that he sat
down, apparently well pleased and satisfied with what he had already
accomplished.

My kind friend M. Vattemare, who had now become a great favourite of
the Indians, went forward, and offered them his hand to encourage them,
assuring them of the great pleasure the audience were taking, and
encouraging them to go on with all the spirit they could, as there were
some of the most distinguished people of Paris present--the Minister
of the Interior and his lady, the Prefet de Police, several foreign
ambassadors, and a number of the editors of the leading journals, who
were taking notes, and would speak about them in the papers the next
morning.

The _eagle-dance_ was now announced to the audience as the next
amusement; and after a brief description of it, the _Little Wolf_
sprang upon his feet, and sounding his eagle whistle, and shaking the
eagle's tail in his left hand, while he brandished his tomahawk in his
right, he commenced. His fellow-warriors were soon engaged with him,
and all excited to the determination to make "a hit." As after the
first, they were complimented by rounds of applause, and sat down to
their pipe with peculiar satisfaction. The War-chief took the first few
whiffs upon it, and, rising, advanced to the front of the platform,
and in the most dignified and graceful attitude that the orator could
assume, extended his right hand over the heads of the audience, and
said--

  "My Friends,--It gives us great pleasure to see so many pleasant
  faces before us to-night, and to learn from your applause that you
  are amused with our dances. We are but children; we live in the
  woods, and are ignorant, and you see us here as the Great Spirit made
  us; and our dances are not like the dances of the French people, whom
  we have been told dance the best of any people in the world. ('_How,
  how, how!_' and immense applause.)

  "My Friends,--We come here not to teach you to dance--(a roar of
  applause and laughter)--we come here not to teach you anything, for
  you are a great deal wiser than we, but to show you how we red people
  look and act in the wilderness, and we shall be glad some nights to
  go and see how the French people dance. (Great applause and '_How,
  how, how!_')

  "My Friends,--We are happy that the Great Spirit has kept us alive
  and well, and that we have been allowed to see the face of our Great
  Father your King. We saw him and your good Queen, and the little boy
  who will be king, and they all treated us with kind hearts, and we
  feel thankful for it. ('_How, how, how!_')

  "My Friends,--We have crossed two oceans to come here, and we have
  seen no village so beautiful as Paris. London, where the _Saganoshes_
  live, is a large village, but their wigwams are not so beautiful as
  those in Paris, and in their streets there are too many people who
  seem to be very poor and hungry. ('_How, how, how!_')

  "My Friends,--I have no more to say at present, only, that, when my
  young men have finished their dances, we shall be glad to shake hands
  with you all, if you desire it." ("_How, how, how!_")

The old man resumed his seat and his pipe amidst a din of applause; and
at this moment several trinkets and pieces of money were tossed upon
the platform from various parts of the room.

After the eagle-dance they strung their bows, and, slinging their
quivers upon their backs, commenced shooting at the target for prizes.
The hall in which their dances were given was so immensely large that
they had a range of 150 feet to throw their arrows at their targets,
which formed by no means the least amusing and exciting part of their
exhibitions. Their ball-sticks were also taken in hand, and the ball,
and their mode of catching and throwing it, beautifully illustrated.
After this, and another dance, a general shake of the hands took place,
and a promenade of the Indians through the vast space occupied by my
collection. They retired from the rooms and the crowd in fine glee,
having made their _debut_ in Paris, about which they had had great
anxiety, somebody having told them that the French people would not be
pleased with their dancing, as they danced so well themselves.

The Indians being gone, _I_ became the lion, and was asked for in every
part of the rooms. The visitors were now examining my numerous works,
and all wanted to see me. My friend M. Vattemare was by my side, and
kindly presented me to many gentlemen of the press, and others of his
acquaintance, in the rooms. There were so many who said they were
waiting "for the honour," &c., that I was kept until a very late hour
before I could leave the room.

There were a number of fellow-artists present, who took pleasure in
complimenting me for the manner in which my paintings were executed;
and many others for my perseverance and philanthropy in having
laboured thus to preserve the memorials of these dying people. I was
complimented on all sides, and bowed, and was bowed to, and invited
by cards and addresses left for me. So _I_ went home, as well as the
Indians, elated with the pleasing conviction that _mine_ was a "hit,"
as well as _theirs_.

The leading journals of the next day were liberal in their comments
upon the Indians and my collection, pronouncing my labours of great
interest and value, and the exhibition altogether one of the most
extraordinary interest ever opened in Paris, and advising all the world
to see it.[39] Thus were we started in the way of business after the
first night's exhibition, and that after remaining there just one month
before we could meet and pass all the necessary forms and get quite
ready.

  [39] See critical notices of the French Press, Appendix to vol. i.
       p. 239.




                             CHAPTER XXVI.

  Indians at Madame Greene's party--Their ideas of waltzing--The
     Doctor's admiration of the young ladies--The King's fete,
     first of May--Indians in the Palace--Royal Family in the
     balcony--Grand and sublime scene on the river--Indians in a
     crowd of nobility in the Duc d'Aumale's apartments--Messenger
     to Indians' apartments with gold and silver medals--Medals
     to the women and children--Consequent difficulties--Visit
     to the Hospital of Invalids--Place Concorde--Column of
     Luxor--The fountains--Visit to the Triumphal Arch--Jim's
     description of an ugly woman--Victor Hugo--Madame Georges
     Sands--Indians visit the Louvre--M. de Cailleux--Baron de
     Humboldt--Illness of the wife of Little Wolf--A phrenologist
     visits the Indians--The phrenologist's head examined--Two
     Catholic priests visit the Indians--Indians visit the Garden
     of Plants--Alarm of the birds and animals--The "poor prisoner
     buffalo"--Visit to the _Salle aux Vins_--Astonishment
     of the Indians--The war-whoop--_Chickabobboo_--Cafes
     explained--Indians visit _Pere la Chaise_--A great funeral--A
     speech over the grave--Hired mourners--Visit the _School
     of Medicine_--and "_Dupuytren's Room_"--Excitement of the
     Doctor--Visit to the _Foundling Hospital_--Astonishment and
     pity of the Indians--Entries in Jim's note-book, and Doctor's
     remarks--Visit the _Guillotine_--Indians' ideas of _hanging_
     in England, and _beheading_ in France--Curious debate--Visit
     to the _Dog Market_--Jim's purchase and difficulty--The _Dog
     Hospital_--Alarm of the "petites malades"--Retreat--_Bobasheela_
     arrives from London--Great rejoicing--Jim's comments on the
     Frenchwomen--The _little foundlings_ and the _little dogs_.


Having thus commenced upon our operations in the Salle Valentino,
it was thought best to change the lodgings of the Indians to some
point more near to the place of their exhibitions, and rooms were at
length procured for them in the same building with their hall, and
communicating with it. To these apartments they were removed, and
arrangements were made for two open carriages to drive them an hour
each day for their recreation and amusement. By this arrangement we
had the sights of Paris before us, and easily within our reach, to
be visited at our leisure. Our exhibitions were given each night from
eight to ten, and each afternoon from one to three o'clock; so that
they had the mornings for sight-seeing, and their evenings, from ten to
twelve, to visit the theatres or parties, whenever they were invited
and felt disposed to attend.

The first evening-party they were invited to attend in Paris was that
of the lady of _Mr. Greene_, the American banker. They were there
ushered into a brilliant blaze of lamps, of beauty, and fashion,
composed chiefly of Americans, to whom they felt the peculiar
attachment of countrymen, though of a different complexion, and
anywhere else than across the Atlantic would have been strangers to.

They were received with great kindness by this polite and excellent
lady and her daughters, and made many pleasing acquaintances in her
house. The old Doctor had luckily dressed out his head with his red
crest, and left at home his huge head-dress of horns and eagles'
quills, which would have been exceedingly unhandy in a _squeeze_, and
subjected him to curious remarks amongst the ladies. He had loaded
on all his wampum and other ornaments, and smiled away the hours
in perfect happiness, as he was fanning himself with the tail of a
war-eagle, and bowing his head to the young and beautiful ladies who
were helping him to lemonade and _blanc-mange_, and to the young men
who were inviting him to the table to take an occasional glass of the
"_Queen's chickabobboo_." Their heavy buffalo robes were distressing to
them (said the Doctor) in the great heat of the rooms, "but then, as
the ladies were afraid of getting paint on their dresses, they did not
squeeze so hard against us as they did against the other people in the
room, so we did not get so hot as we might have been."

It amused the Doctor and Jim very much to see the gentlemen take the
ladies by the waist when they were dancing with them, probably never
having seen waltzing before. They were pleased also, as the Doctor
said, with "the manner in which the ladies showed their beautiful
white necks and arms, but they saw several that they thought had better
been covered." "The many nice and sweet and frothy little things that
the ladies gave them in tea-saucers to eat, with little spoons, were
too sweet, and they did not like them much; and in coming away they
were sorry they could not find the good lady to thank her, the crowd
was so great; but the _chickabobboo_ (champagne), which was very good,
was close to the door, and a young man with yellow hair and moustaches
kept pouring it out until they were afraid, if they drank any more,
some of the poor fellows who were dancing so hard would get none."

The scene they witnessed that night was truly very brilliant, and
afforded them theme for a number of pipes of gossip after they got home.

It has been said, and very correctly, that there is no end to the
amusements of Paris, and to the Indians, to whose sight every thing was
new and curious, the term, no doubt, more aptly applied than to the
rest of the world. Of those never-ending sights there was one now at
hand which was promising them and "all the world" a fund of amusement,
and the poor fellows were impatient for its arrival. This splendid and
all-exciting affair was the King's fete on the 1st of May, his birthday
as some style it, though it is not exactly such, it is the day fixed
upon as the annual celebration of his birth. This was, of course, a
holiday to the Indians, as well as for everybody else, and I resolved
to spend the greater part of it with them.

Through the aid of some friends I had procured an order to admit the
party of Indians into the apartments of the Duke d'Aumale in the
Tuileries, to witness the grand concert in front of the Palace, and
to see the magnificent fireworks and illumination on the Seine at
night. We had the best possible position assigned us in the wing of
the Palace, overlooking the river in both directions, up and down,
bringing all the bridges of the Seine, the Deputies, and Invalides,
and other public buildings, which were illuminated, directly under our
eyes. During the day, Mr. Melody, and Jeffrey, and Daniel had taken,
as they called it, "a grand drive," to inspect the various places of
amusement, and the immense concourse of people assembled in them. Of
these, the Barrieres, the Champs Elysees, &c., they were obliged to
take but a passing glance, for to have undertaken to stop and to mix
with the dense crowds assembled in them would have been dangerous, even
to their lives, from the masses of people who would have crowded upon
them. The Indians themselves were very sagacious on this point, and
always judiciously kept at a reasonable distance on such occasions.
It was amusement enough for them during the day to ride rapidly about
and through the streets, anticipating the pleasure they were to have
in the evening, and taking a distant view from their carriages, of
the exciting emulation of the _May-pole_, and a glance at the tops of
the thousand booths, and "flying ships," and "merry-go-rounds" of the
Champs Elysees.

At six o'clock we took our carriages and drove to the Tuileries, and,
being conducted to the splendid apartments of the Duke d'Aumale, who
was then absent from Paris, we had there, from the windows looking down
upon the Seine and over the Quartier St. Germain, and the windows in
front, looking over the garden of the Tuileries and Place Concorde, the
most general and comprehensive view that was to be had from any point
that could have been selected. Under our eyes in front, the immense
area of the garden of the Tuileries was packed with human beings,
forming but one black and dotted mass of some hundreds of thousands
who were gathered to listen to the magnificent orchestra of music,
and to see and salute with "Vive le Roi!" "Vive la Reine!" and "Vive
le Comte de Paris!" the Royal Family as they appeared in the balcony.
Though it appeared as if every part of the gardens was filled, there
was still a black and moving mass pouring through Rue Rivoli, Rue
Castiglione, Rue Royale, and Place Concorde, all concentrating in the
garden of the Tuileries. This countless mass of human beings continued
to gather until the hour when their Majesties entered the balcony, and
then, all hats off, there was a shout as vast and incomputable as the
mass itself of "Vive le Roi!--Vive le Roi!--Vive la Reine!--Vive le
Comte de Paris!" The King then, with his chapeau in his hand, bowed to
the audience in various directions; so did her Majesty the Queen and
the little Comte de Paris. The band then struck up the national air,
and played several pieces, while the Royal Family were seated in the
balcony, and the last golden rays of the sun, that was going behind
the Arc de Triomphe, was shining in their faces. Their Majesties then
retired as the twilight was commencing, and the vast crowd began to
move in the direction of the Seine, the Terrace, and Place Concorde, to
witness the grand scene of illumination and "feu d'artifice" that was
preparing on the river.

As the daylight disappeared, the artificial light commenced to display
its various characters, and the Indians began to wonder. This scene was
to be entirely new to them, and the reader can imagine better than I
can explain what was their astonishment when the King's signal rocket
was fired from the Tuileries, and in the next moment the whole river,
as it were, in a blaze of liquid fire, and the heavens burst asunder
with all their luminaries falling in a chaos of flames and sparkling
fire to the earth! The incessant roar and flash of cannons lining the
shore of the river, and the explosion of rockets in the air, with the
dense columns of white, and yellow, and blue, and blood-red smoke,
that were rising from the bed of the river, and all reflected upon the
surface of the water, heightened the grandeur of its effect, and helped
to make it unlike anything on earth, save what we might imagine to
transpire in and over the deep and yawning crater of a huge volcano in
the midst of its midnight eruption.

This wonderful scene lasted for half an hour, and when the last flash
died away, all eyes like our own seemed to turn away from the smoking
desolation that seemed to be left below, and the dense mass was
dividing and pouring off in streams through the various streets and
avenues, some seeking their homes with their little children, and
hundreds of thousands of others, to revel away the night amidst the
brilliant illuminations and innocent amusements of the Champs Elysees.

We turned our eyes at that moment from the scene, and, in turning
around, found ourselves blockaded by a phalanx of officers in gold lace
and cocked hats, and ladies, attaches of the royal household, Deputies,
Peers of France, and other distinguished guests of the Royal Family,
who had been viewing the scene from other windows of the Palace, and
had now gathered in our rooms to look at "_les Peaux Rouges_." My good
friend M. Vattemare was present on this occasion, and of great service
to us all, as there were in this crowd the incumbents of several high
offices under the Crown, and others of distinction with whom he was
acquainted, and to whom he introduced us all, converting the rooms and
the crowd in a little time into a splendid soiree, where conversation
and refreshments soon made all easy and quite happy.

The servants of the Duke's household conducted us into the several
apartments, explaining the paintings and other works of art, and
also took us into the Duke's bedchamber, where were the portraits of
himself and the Duchess, and others of the Royal Family. There was, we
learned, in another part of the Palace, a grand _bal_ on that evening,
and that accounted for the constant crowds of fashionable ladies and
gentlemen who were pouring into our apartments, and who would have
continued to do so in all probability for the greater part of the night
had we not taken up the line of march, endeavouring to make our way
to our carriages on our way home. This was for some time exceedingly
difficult, as we had a succession of rooms and halls to pass through
before we reached the top of the staircase, all of which were filled
with a dense mass of ladies and gentlemen, who had got information
that the Ioway Indians were in the Duke's apartments, and were then
making their way there to get a peep at them. We crowded and squeezed
through this mass as well as we could, and were all laughing at Jim's
remarks as we passed along. He thought the people had all left the
King and Queen to see the Indians. "Come see Ingins" (said he in
English) "at Salle Valentino--see em dance--better go back, see King,
see Queen--Ingins no good." Mr. Melody gave the poor fellow the first
idea that his words were thrown away, as these people were all French,
and did not understand English; so Jim said, "I spose em no buy Bible
then?" and began to whistle. We soon descended the grand escalier,
and, taking our carriages, were in a few minutes entering the Indians'
apartments in Salle Valentino.

Jim got home a little provoked, as the Doctor was showing a very
handsome eyeglass which had been presented to him: two or three of
the women had also received presents in money and trinkets, but Jim's
wife, as well as himself, was amongst the neglected or overlooked. He
then took out of his pouch and throwing it down upon the table one of
his beautiful gilt bound little Bibles, and said, "Me no sell em."
"Did you try, Jim?" "Yes, me try em, but me no sell em--folks call em
_Onglaise_. Onglaise no good, I guess, I no sell em." Poor Jim! he
looked quite chapfallen at the moment, and much more so when Daniel
afterwards told him that he ought to have had an auction or other sale
of his Bibles before he left England, for the French didn't care much
about Bibles, and if they did they wouldn't buy his, for they were in
the English language, which they could not read. Jim's regrets were
now very great, to think they had so little oversight as to come away
without thinking to make some conversion of them into ready cash.
Daniel told him, however, that he thought there would be nothing lost
on them, as they would sell better in America than they would have sold
in England, and he had better pack them away until they went home.

The conversation running upon Bibles, Jim was asked, as there was
some sympathy expressed for him, how many he and his wife had, to
which he replied, "I no know--I guess a heap." It was in a few moments
ascertained more correctly from his wife, who had the immediate charge
of them, that they had twenty-eight, and the account soon returned from
the whole party, that in all they had received about 120 since they
arrived in England.

They took their suppers, which were ready when they got back, and their
_chickabobboo_ (vin rouge) with their pipe, and engaged M. Vattemare
for some time to explain the meaning of the many beautiful decorations
they had seen worn on the breasts and shoulders of the officers they
had met in the palace. The explanations of these things pleased
them very much: as to the fireworks, they said that was such great
_medicine_ to them, that they did not care about talking on the subject
until they had taken more time to think.

Just as M. Vattemare and I were about to leave the room, I found Jim
and the Doctor interrogating Daniel about the "big guns that spoke
so loud: they thought they must have very large mouths to speak so
strong," and were anxious to see them. Daniel told them that those
which made the loudest noise were at the Hospital of the Invalides, and
it was then agreed that they should go there the next day to see them.

Jim said they had all been delighted at what Daniel read in his paper
about their going before the King and Queen, and that he must be sure
to bring the paper at an early hour the next morning, to let them hear
what was said about the Indians being in the palace the second time,
and in the rooms of the Duke, to see the fireworks.

The rest of their evening was taken up in "thinking" on what they had
seen, and the next morning, as he had promised, Daniel came in with the
paper and read a long account of the amusements of the day and evening,
and also of the hundreds of thousands in the crowd who moved along in
front of the Duke d'Aumale's apartments to look at the Indians, in
preference to look at the King and the Queen. It was decided (as he
read) that the crowd was much more dense and remained at a much later
hour in front of that wing of the palace than in front of the balcony,
where the Royal Family and the orchestra of music were. This pleased
them all very much; and after their breakfasts, while they were yet in
this cheerful train of feelings, the young man who had brought them the
money from the King made his appearance, and I was instantly sent for.
On arriving I was informed by him that he had come from his Majesty
with the gold and silver medals, to be presented in his Majesty's name
to each one individually. This announced, the Indians of course put all
other occupations aside, and, being all seated on the floor, at the
request of the chief, the medals were called out by the inscriptions on
them and presented accordingly. The first presented was a gold medal to
White Cloud, the chief: the inscription on the back of it read thus:--

           "Donne a _Mu-hu-she-kaw_, par le Roi: 1845."

The next presented was to the War-chief--a gold medal of equal size,
and inscription in the same form. Silver medals, of equal size with
inscriptions, were then presented to all the warriors and women and
children. This last part of the list, women and children, seemed to
startle them a little. The idea of women and children receiving medals
was entirely new to them, and put them quite at a stand. There was no
alternative but to take them, and be thankful for them; but it seemed
curious enough to them--a subject not to be named, however, until
the messenger had departed with their thanks to his Majesty for his
kindness. This was done by the War-chief, and the gentleman departed.

The old Doctor and _Wa-ton-ye_, the two unmarried men of the
party, were the only ones who seemed to show anything like decided
dissatisfaction in their faces, though Jim and Little Wolf were
fumbling theirs over in their fingers, evidently in a struggle of
feeling whether to be dissatisfied or not. The Little Wolf was a
warrior of decided note, who had taken several scalps, and his
wife had never taken one, and yet her medal was equal to his own;
however, by the operation he had got two medals instead of one. Jim
felt a little touched, and, though never having done much more in war
than his squaw had, was preparing to make a great harangue on the
occasion, and even rolled over on his back, and drew up his knees,
for the purpose, but, taking the shining metal from his wife's hands,
and placing it by the side of his own, he thought they would form a
beautiful ornament, both hanging together, symbolic of an affectionate
husband and wife, and he was silent. The poor old Doctor, though, who
had taken _one prisoner_ certain, and _possibly_ some scalps, and (as
the old War-chief had one day told him) undoubtedly "many lives," who
could only dangle one medal (having no wife), and that one no better
than those given to the women and children, lost all traces of the
complaisant smiles that had shone on his face a little time before,
and, rising suddenly up, and wrapping his robe around him, he found his
way to the house-top, where he stood in silent gaze upon the chimneys
and tiles, more suited to the meditations that were running through his
troubled mind. _Wa-ton-ye_, in the mean time, with smothered feelings
that no one ever heard vent given to, hung his with its tri-
ribbon upon a nail in the wall just over his head, and, drawing his
buffalo robe quite over him, hid his face, and went to sleep.

White Cloud and the War-chief sat during the while, with their families
hanging about their shoulders and knees, well pleased, and smiling upon
the brightness of his Majesty's familiar features in shining gold, as
they turned their medals around in various lights. Theirs were of a
more precious metal, and each, from the number of his family with him,
became the owner of _three_, instead of _one_, over which the poor
Doctor was yet pondering on the house-top, as he stood looking off
towards the mountains and prairies.

When their carriages were at the door, to make their visit to the
_Hopital des Invalides_, as promised the night before, the Doctor was
unwilling to break the charm of his contemplations, and _Wa-ton-ye_
could not be waked, and the rest drove off in good cheer and delight.
They hung their medals on their necks, suspended by their tri-
ribbons, the meaning of which having been explained to them, and they
were soon at the mouths of the huge cannon, whose "big mouths" had
"spoken so loudly" the night before.

After taking a good look at them, and getting something of their
curious history, they entered that wonderful and most noble
institution, an honour to the name of its founder and to the country
that loves and upholds it, the _Hospital_ of _Invalids_. Nothing on
earth could have struck these people as more curious and interesting
(a race of warriors themselves) than this institution, with its
3800 venerable inmates, the living victims of battles, wounded,
crippled, fed, and clothed, and made happy, the living evidences of
the human slaughter that must have taken place in the scenes they had
been through. If this scene convinced them of the destructiveness
of civilized modes of warfare, it taught them an useful lesson of
civilized sympathy for those who are the unfortunate victims of war and
carnage.

The moral that was drawn from this day's visit was an important one
to them, and I took the opportunity, and many others afterwards, to
impress it upon their minds. It pleased them to hear that these old
veterans, with one leg and one arm, were the very men who were chosen
to come to the big guns, and fire them off, on the day of the King's
fete--the same guns that they fought around, and over, when they were
taking them from the enemies.

Returning from the "_Invalides_," our carriages were stopped in Place
Concorde for a view of the beautiful fountains playing, which pleased
and astonished them, as they do all foreigners who pass. The Egyptian
obelisk column of Luxor, of seventy-two feet, in one solid piece of
granite, and brought from Egypt to Paris, was shown and explained to
them, and our carriage driven to the ground where the _guillotine_ had
stood on which the blood of Kings and Queens had been shed, and where
the father of Louis Philippe was beheaded. These extraordinary and
almost incredible facts of history, and that so recent, filled their
minds with amazement, and almost with incredulity. Our drive that day
was continued through the broad avenue of the Champs Elysees to the
_triumphal arch_ at the Barriere d'Etoile, and our view from the top of
it was one of the finest they thought in the world. We were not quite
as high as when we were on the tower of the York cathedral, but the
scene around us was far more picturesque and enchanting.

When we returned we found the old Doctor and _Wa-ton-ye_ seated upon
their buffalo robes, and playing at cards, quite in good humour, and
their medals put away, as if nothing had happened to put them out. They
were much amused at the descriptions of what the others had seen, and
particularly so at Jim's description of an ugly woman he saw on top of
the Arc de Triomphe, and who followed him around, he said, and looked
him in the face until he was frightened. Here the Doctor, who had been
out of humour, and was disposed to be a little severe on Jim, replied
that "it was laughable for such an ill-looking, big-mouthed fellow as
him to be talking about any one's ill looks, and to be alarmed at any
one's ugliness, looking out over such a set of features as he had on
the lower part of his face." Jim, however, having two medals, took but
little notice of the Doctor's severity, but proceeded to tell about
the ugly woman he saw. He said, "her eyes had all the time two white
rings clear around them, and the end of her nose turning up, as if she
had always smelled something bad, had pulled her upper-lip up so high
that she could not shut her mouth or cover her teeth. She had two great
rows of teeth, and there was black all between them, as if a charge of
gunpowder had gone off in her mouth, and her skin was as white as snow,
excepting on her cheeks, and there it was quite red, like a rose."

"Stop, stop, Jim," said I, "let me write that down before you go any
further."

But this was all. He said he could not bear to look at her, and
therefore he did not examine her any further. He also made some fun
about two English ladies, who were up there when they were on the Arc
de Triomphe. He said, "he had sat down by the side of the railing with
his wife, where these ladies came to them. One of them asked if they
could speak English, to which he made no reply, but shook his head. He
said they had a great many things to say about him, and one of them
wanted to feel his face (his chin, he supposed), to see if he had any
beard; and when she did not find any, she said something which he did
not understand, but he said it tickled them very much, and then he said
she put her hand on his shoulder, which was naked, and took hold of
his arm, and said several things, about which they had a great deal of
laugh, which he understood, and which he would not like to mention, for
his wife did not understand them, and he did not wish her to know what
they were laughing about."

The hour having approached for their afternoon's exhibition, the
conversation was here broken off. I was, however, obliged to delay
a few minutes for some account they wished me to give them of the
guillotine, which I had spoken of while in the Place Concorde. I
briefly described it to them, and they all expressed a wish to go some
day and see it, and I promised to take them.

The exhibition in the afternoon was attended by many more fashionable
ladies and gentlemen than that of the evening; and so many carriages
driving up to the door, in a pleasant day, was always sure to put the
Doctor into the best of humour, and generally, when he was in such
a mood, there would be wit and drollery enough in him, and his good
friend Jim, to influence the whole group. They were usually in good
spirits, and, when so, were sure to please; and thus were they on that,
the first of their morning's entertainments; and it happened luckily,
for we had in the rooms some of the most fashionable and literary
personages of Paris--amongst these, the famous writers, _Victor Hugo_,
_Madame Georges Sands_, and several others, to whom the Indians and
myself were personally introduced.

The old Doctor was told by M. Vattemare, who was again there, to do
his best, and all did their parts admirably well, and much to the
astonishment of the ladies, several of which old dames I found had
really supposed, until now, that the "_sauvages_" were little more
than wild beasts. After the Indians had finished their amusements and
retired from the rooms, _I_ was left _lion_ again and "lord of all the
visitors were now surveying." Then it was that _my_ embarrassment came,
losing in a great measure the pleasure that I could have drawn from the
society of such persons who came to praise, by not speaking the French
language.

However, I had generally the benefit of my friend M. Vattemare or
others around me ready to help me through the difficulty. It gave me
daily pleasure to find that my works were highly applauded by the
press, as well as by personal expressions in the room, and in all the
grades of society to which I was then being invited.

Our second evening soon approached, and we found the hall fashionably
filled again, and of course the Indians, though in a strange country,
in good spirits and gratified, as their very appearance while entering
the room got them rounds of applause. After their exhibition was over
in the usual way I got _my_ applause, and so our mutual efforts were
daily and nightly made to instruct and amuse the Parisians, which I
shall always flatter myself we did to a considerable extent.

While our exhibitions were now in such a train, we were studying how to
make the most valuable use of our extra time, by seeing the sights of
Paris and its environs.

The _Louvre_ was one of the first objects of our attention; and having
procured an order from the Director to visit it on a private day, we
took an early hour and made our entry into it. We were received by
the Director with kindness, and he conducted the party the whole way
through the different galleries, pointing out and explaining to them
and to us the leading and most interesting things in it.

The Director, M. de Cailleux, had invited several of his distinguished
friends to meet him on the occasion, and it was to them, as well as
to us, interesting to see the Indians under such circumstances, where
there was so much to attract their attention and calculated to surprise
them. M. Vattemare was with us on this occasion, and of very great
service in his introductions and interpretations for us. Amongst the
distinguished persons who were present, and to whom I was introduced
on the occasion, was the Baron de Humboldt. He accompanied us quite
through the rooms of the Louvre, and took a great deal of interest in
the Indians, having seen and dealt with so many in the course of his
travels. I had much conversation with him, and in a few days after was
honoured by him with a private visit to my rooms, when I took great
pleasure in explaining the extent and objects of my collection.

The view of the Louvre was a great treat to the Indians, who had had
but little opportunity before of seeing works of art. In London we
thought we had showed them all the sights, but had entirely forgotten
the exhibitions of paintings; and I believe the poor fellows had been
led to think, before they saw the Louvre, that mine was the greatest
collection of paintings in the world. They had a great deal of talk
about it when they got home and had lit their pipe. The one great
objection they raised to it was, that "it was too long--there were too
many things to be seen; so many that they said they had forgotten all
the first before they got through, and they couldn't think of them
again." There was one impression they got while there, however--that no
length of room or number of pictures would easily eradicate from their
memories, the immense number of marks of bullets on the columns of the
portico, and even inside of the building, shot through the windows in
the time of the Revolution of July. This appalling scene was described
to them on the spot by M. Vattemare, which opened their eyes to an
historical fact quite new to them, and of which they soon taxed him and
me for some further account.

The poor fellows at this time were beginning to sympathize with the
noble fellow the Little Wolf, whose wife had been for some weeks
growing ill, and was now evidently declining with symptoms of quick
consumption. The buoyant spirits of the good and gallant fellow seemed
to be giving way to apprehensions; and although he joined in the
amusements, he seemed at times dejected and unhappy. There were days
when her symptoms seemed alarming, and then she would rally and be
in the room again in all the finery of her dress and trinkets, but
was evidently gradually losing strength and flesh, and decided by her
physician to be in a rapid decline. She was about this time advised to
keep to her chamber and away from the excitement of the exhibition and
sight-seeing, in which the rest of the party were daily engaged.

By this time the Ioways had made so much noise in Paris that they
were engaging the attention of the scientific, the religious, and the
ethnologic, as well as the mere curious part of the world, and daily
and almost hourly applications were being made to Mr. Melody and myself
for private interviews with them for the above purposes. We were
disposed to afford every facility in our power in such cases, but in
all instances left the Indians to decide who they would and who they
would not see.

Amongst those applicants there was a phrenologist, who had been
thrusting himself into their acquaintance as much as possible in their
exhibition rooms, and repeatedly soliciting permission to go to their
private rooms to make some scientific examinations and estimates of
their heads, to which the Indians had objected, not understanding the
meaning or object of his designs. He had become very importunate
however, and, having brought them a number of presents at different
times, it was agreed at Mr. Melody's suggestion, one day, as the
quickest way of getting rid of him, that he should be allowed to come
up. We conversed with the Indians, and assured them that there was
not the slightest chance of harm, or witchcraft, or anything of the
kind about it, and they agreed to let him come in. They had a hearty
laugh when he came in, at Jim's wit, who said to him, though in Indian
language that he didn't understand, "If you will shut the door now,
you will be the ugliest-looking man in the whole room." This was not,
of course, translated to the phrenologist, who proceeded with his
examinations, and commenced on Jim's head first. Jim felt a little
afraid, and considerably embarrassed also, being the first one called
upon to undergo an operation which he knew so little about, or what
was to be the result of. Stout, and warlike, and courageous as he was,
he trembled at the thought of a thing that he could not yet in the
least appreciate, and all were looking on and laughing at him for his
embarrassment. The phrenologist proceeded, feeling for the bumps around
his head, and, stopping once in a while to make his mental deductions,
would then run his fingers along again. Jim's courage began to rally
a little, seeing that there was to be nothing more than that sort of
manipulation, and he relieved himself vastly by turning a little of his
wit upon the operator, for a thing that looked to him so exceedingly
ridiculous and absurd, by telling him "I don't think you'll find any
in my head; we Indians shave a great part of our hair off, and we keep
so much oil in the rest of it, that they won't live there: you will
find much more in white men's heads, who don't oil their hair." This
set the whole party and all of us in a roar, and Jim's head shook so
as to embarrass the operator for a little time. When he got through,
and entered his estimates in his book, Jim asked him "if he found
anything in his head?" to which he replied in the affirmative. Placing
his fingers on "_self-esteem_," he said there was great fulness there.
"Well," said Jim, "I'm much obliged to you: I'll set my wife to look
there by and by. And now," said Jim, "take the old Doctor here: his
head is full of em." By this time Jim's jokes had got us all into a
roar of laughter, and the Doctor was in the chair, and Jim looking on
to see what he could discover. White Cloud thought Jim had cracked his
jokes long enough, and as they had all laughed at them, he considered
it most respectful now to let the man go through with it. So he
finished with the Doctor and then with White Cloud and the War-chief,
and when he came to the women they positively declined.

Jim, having been rebuked for laughing too much, had stopped suddenly,
and, instantly resolving to try his jokes upon the poor man in another
mood, assumed, as he easily could, the most treacherous and assassin
look that the human face can put on, and asked the phrenologist if he
was done, to which he replied "Yes." "Now," said Jim, "we have all
waited upon you and given you a fair chance, and I now want you to
sit down a minute and let me examine _your_ head;" at the same time
drawing his long scalping knife out from his belt, and wiping its blade
as he laid it in a chair by the side of him. The phrenologist, having
instantly consented, and just taking possession of the chair as he was
drawing his knife out, could not well do otherwise than sit still for
Jim's operations, though he was evidently in a greater trepidation than
he had put Jim into by the first experiment that was made. Jim took the
requisite time in his manipulations to crack a few jokes more among
his fellow Indians upon the quackery of his patient, and then to let
him up, telling him, for the amusement of those around, that "his face
looked very pale" (which by the way was the case), "and that he found
his head very full of them."

The phrenologist was a good-natured sort of man, and, only partially
understanding their jokes, was delighted to get off with what he had
learned, without losing his scalp-lock, which it would seem as if he
had apprehended at one moment to have been in some danger. As he was
leaving the room, Daniel came in, announcing that there were two
Catholic clergymen in the room below, where they had been waiting half
an hour to have some talk with the Indians. "Let them up," says Jim;
"I will make a speech to them:" at which the old Doctor sprang up.
"There," said he, "there's my robe; lay down quick." The Doctor's wit
raised a great laugh, but, when a moment had blown it away, Mr. Melody
asked the chief what was his wish, whether to see them or not. "Oh
yes," said he (but rather painfully, and with a sigh); "yes, let them
come in: we are in a strange country, and we don't wish to make any
enemies: let them come up." They were then conducted up and spent half
an hour in pleasant conversation with the chiefs, without questioning
them about their religion, or urging their own religion upon them. This
pleased the Indians very much, and, finding them such pleasant and
social good-natured men, they felt almost reluctant to part company
with them. Each of them left a handsome Bible as presents, and took
affectionate leave.

After they had left, the Indians had much talk about them, and were
then led to think of "the good people," the Friends, they had seen so
many of in England and Ireland, and asked me if they should find any of
them in Paris. I told them I thought they would not, at which they were
evidently very much disappointed.

One of the next sight-seeing expeditions was to the _Jardin des
Plantes_, to which our old friend M. Vattemare accompanied us. The
animals here, from a difference of training, or other cause, were not
quite so much alarmed as they were in the menagerie in London; but when
the doctor breathed out the silvery notes of his howling _totem_, the
wolf at once answered him in a remote part of the garden. Jim imitated
the wild goose, and was answered in an instant by a cackling flock of
them. The panthers hissed, and the hyaenas were in great distress, and
the monkeys also: the eagles chattered and bolted against the sides
of their cages, and the parrots lost their voices by squalling, and
many of their feathers by fluttering, when the Indians came within
their sight. They pitied the poor old and jaded buffalo, as they did in
London, he looked so broken-spirited and desolate; and also the deer
and the elks; but the bears they said didn't seem to care much about
it. They were far more delighted with the skins of animals, reptiles,
and fishes in the museum of natural history; and I must say that _I_
was also, considering it the finest collection I ever have seen.

The garden of plants was amusement enough for an hour or so, and then
to the _Halle aux Vins_ in the immediate neighbourhood. This grand
magazine of _chickabobboo_ has been described by many writers, and
no doubt seen by many who read, but few have seen the expression of
amazement upon the brows of a party of wild Indians from the forest
of America, while their eyes were running over the vast and almost
boundless lines of 800,000 casks of wine under one roof, and heard the
piercing war-whoop echoing and vibrating through their long avenues,
raised at the startling information that 20,000,000 of gallons of this
are annually drawn out of this to be drunk in the city of Paris; and
few of those who heard it knew whether it was raised to set the wine
running, or as a note of exultation that they had found a greater
fountain of _chickabobboo_ than the brewery they were in, in London.
However true the latter was, the first was supposed to have been the
design, and it must needs have its effect. A few bottles, in kindness
and hospitality cracked, cooled all parched and parching lips, and our
faithful timepieces told us our engagement with the public was at hand,
and we laid our course again for the _Salle Valentino_.

"Oh! what a glorious country," said Jim, as we were rolling along;
"there's nothing like that in London: the _chickabobboo_ is better
here, and there's more of it too." Poor ignorant fellow! he was not
aware that the brewery they saw in London was only one of some dozens,
and that the wine in all those casks they had just seen was not quite
as delicious as that with which his lips had just been moistened.

With their recollections dwelling on the scenes they had witnessed in
London, they were naturally drawing comparisons as they were wending
their way back; and they had in this mood taken it into their heads
that there were no gin-shops in Paris, as they could see none, which
was quite mysterious to them, until I explained to them the nature of
the cafes, the splendid open shops they were every moment passing,
glittering with gold and looking-glasses. They were surprised to learn
that the delicious poison was dealt out in these neat "palaces," but
which they had not known or suspected the meaning of. They admitted
their surprise, and at once decided that "they liked the free, and
open, and elegant appearance of them much better than those in London,
where they are all shut up in front with great and gloomy doors, to
prevent people from looking into them, as if they were ashamed."

The cemetery of Pere la Chaise was next to be seen as soon as there
should be a fine day: that day arrived, and half an hour's drive landed
us at its entrance.

This wonderful place has been described by many travellers, and
therefore needs but a passing notice here. This wilderness of tombs,
of houses or boxes of the dead, thrown and jumbled together amidst
its gloomy cypress groves and thickets, is perhaps one of the most
extraordinary scenes of the kind in the world: beautiful in some
respects, and absurd and ridiculous in others, it is still one of
the wonders of Paris, and all who see the one must needs visit the
other. The scene was one peculiarly calculated to excite and please
the Indians. The wild and gloomy and almost endless labyrinths of
the little mansions of the dead were pleasing contrasts to their
imprisonment within the dry and heated walls of the city; the varied
and endless designs that recorded the places and the deeds of the dead
were themes of amusement to them, and the subject altogether one that
filled their minds with awe, and with admiration of the people who
treated their dead with so much respect.

We wandered for an hour through its intricate mazes of cypress,
examining the tombs of the rich and the poor so closely and curiously
grouped together--a type, even in the solitudes of death, of the great
Babylon in which their days had been numbered and spent. Whilst we
were strolling through the endless mazes of this _sub-rosa_ city, we
met an immense concourse of people, evidently bearing the body of some
distinguished person to the grave. The pompous display of mourning
feathers and fringes, &c., with hired mourners, was matter of some
surprise to the Indians; but when a friend of the deceased stepped
forward to pronounce an eulogium on his character, recounting his many
virtues and heroic deeds, it reminded the Indians forcibly of the
custom of their own country, and they all said they liked to see that.

We took them to the patched and vandalized tomb of Abelard and Eloisa;
but as there was not time for so long a story, it lost its interest
to them. They were evidently struck with amazement at the system and
beauty of this place, and from that moment decided that they liked the
French for the care they took of their old soldiers and the dead.

The poor fellows, the Indians, who were now proceeding daily and
nightly with their exciting and "astonishing" exhibitions, were
becoming so confounded and confused with the unaccountable sights and
mysteries of Paris which they were daily visiting, that they began
to believe there was no end to the curious and astonishing works
of civilized man; and, instead of being any longer startled with
excitement and wonder, decided that it would be better to look at
everything else as simple and easy to be made by those that know how,
and therefore divested of all further curiosity. This they told me they
had altogether resolved upon: "they had no doubt there were yet many
strange things for them to see in Paris, and they would like to follow
me to see them all; but they would look with their eyes only half open,
and not trouble us with their surprise and their questions."

With these views, and their eyes "half open," then, they still took
their daily drives, and Mr. Melody or myself, in constant company,
stopping to show them, and to see ourselves, what was yet new and
wonderful to be seen. There was still much to be seen in Paris, and
the poor Indians were a great way from a complete knowledge of all the
tricks and arts of civilization.

A drive to the _School of Medicine_ and the _Hopital des Enfans
Trouves_ was enough for one morning's recreation. The first, with
"_Dupuytren's Room_," was enough to open the old Doctor's eyes, and
the latter, with its 6000 helpless and parentless infants added to it
annually, sufficient to swell the orbs of Jim, and make him feel for
his note-book. The School of Medicine, with Dupuytren's Room, forms
one of the most surprising sights to be seen in Paris, and yet, save
with the Doctor, there seemed to be but little interest excited by the
sight. The Doctor's attitude was one of studied dignity and philosophic
conceit as he stood before those wonderful preparations, not to be
astonished, but to study as a critic, while he fanned himself with his
eagle's tail. The expression of his face, which was the whole time
unchanged, was one of a peculiar kind, and, as it was not sketched at
the time, must be for ever lost.

The novel and pitiful sight of the thousands of innocent little
creatures in the Foundling Hospital seemed to open the "half-closed
eyes" and the hearts of the Indians, notwithstanding the resolutions
they had made. When it was explained to them how these little creatures
came into the world, and then into this most noble institution, and
also that in the last year there had been born in the city of Paris
26,000 children, 9000 of whom were illegitimate, their eyes were surely
open to the astounding facts of the vices of civilized society, and of
the virtue of civilized governments in building and maintaining such
noble institutions for the support of the fatherless and helpless in
infancy, as well as for the veterans who have been maimed in the fields
of glorious battle. When I told them that, of those thousands of little
playful children, not one knew any other parent than the Government,
they groaned in sympathy for them, and seemed at a loss to abhor or
applaud the most, the sins of man that brought them into the world,
or the kind and parental care that was taken of them by the Government
of the country. Jim made a sure demand upon Daniel's kindness for
the entry of these important facts, which he soon had in round and
conspicuous numbers in his note-book, to teach to the "_cruel and
relentless Indians_."

The sentimentalism and sympathy of the poor old Doctor were touched
almost to melancholy by this scene; and in his long and serious
cogitations on it he very gravely inquired why the thousands of women
leading and petting little dogs in the streets could not be induced
to discharge their dogs, and each one take a little child and be its
mother? He said, if he were to take a Frenchwoman for his wife, he
would rather take her with a little child, even if it were her own,
than take her with a little dog.

The _guillotine_, which happened to be in our way, and which they had
been promised a sight of, they thought was more like a _Mississippi
saw-mill_ than anything else they had seen. It drew a murmur or two
when explained to them how the victim was placed, and his head rolled
off when the knife fell, but seemed to have little further effect
upon them except when the actual number was mentioned to them whose
heads are there severed from their bodies annually, for their crimes
committed in the streets and houses of Paris. Our stay before this
awful and bloody machine was but short, and of course their remarks
were few, until they got home, and their dinner was swallowed, and
their _chickabobboo_, and, reclining on their buffalo robes, the pipe
was passing around.

Their conversation was then with Daniel, who had been but the day
before to see the very same things, and they gained much further
information than we did, which he communicated to them. He entered
in Jim's book, as he had desired, the numbers of the _illegitimates_
and _foundlings_ of Paris, which seemed to be a valuable addition to
his estimates of the blessings of civilization; and also the number
of annual victims whose heads roll from the side of the guillotine.
His book was then closed, and a curious discussion arose between the
Indians and Daniel, whether the gallows, which they had seen in the
prisons in England and Ireland, was a preferable mode of execution to
that of the guillotine, which they had just been to see. They had no
doubt but both of them, or, at least, that one or the other of them
was absolutely necessary in the civilized world; but the question was,
which was the best. Daniel contended that the punishment which was most
ignominious was best, and contended for the gallows, while the Indians
thought the guillotine was the best. They thought that death was bad
enough, without the Government trying to add to its pang by hanging
people up by the neck with a rope, as the Indians hang dogs. From
this grave subject, which they did not seem to settle, as there was
no umpire, they got upon a somewhat parallel theme, and were quite as
seriously engaged, when I was obliged to leave them, whether it would
be preferable to be _swallowed whole_ by a whale, or to be _chewed_.
Daniel was referring to Scripture for some authority on this subject,
by looking into one of Jim's Bibles, when Mr. Melody and I were
apprised of an appointment, which prevented us from ever hearing the
result.

The next promise we had to keep with them was the one that had been
made to take them to see the fountain of all the pretty and ugly little
dogs and huge mastiffs they saw carried and led through the streets of
Paris--the "_Dog Market_."

The _Dog Hospital_, being _en route_, was visited first; and though
one could scarcely imagine what there could be there that was amusing
or droll, still the old Doctor insisted on it that it must be very
interesting, and all resolved to go. It was even so, and on that
particular occasion was rendered very amusing, when the Doctor entered,
with Jim and the rest following. The squalling of "There! there!
there!" by the frightened parrots in Cross's Zoological Gardens bore
little comparison to the barking and yelling of "les petits pauvres
chiens," and the screams of the old ladies--"Ne les effrayez pas,
Messieurs, s'il vous plait! ils sont tous malades--tous malades:
pauvres betes! pauvres betes!" It was soon perceived that the nerves
of the poor little "malades," as well as those of the old women
their doctors, were too much affected to stand the shock, and it was
thought best to withdraw. The old Doctor, getting just a glance at
the sick-wards, enough to convince him of the clean comforts these
little patients had, and seeing that their physicians were females,
and also that the wards were crowded with fashionable ladies looking
and inquiring after the health of their little pets, he was quite
reluctant to leave the establishment without going fairly in and
making his profession known, which he had thought would, at least,
command him some respect amongst female physicians. He had some notion
for this purpose of going in alone, but sarcastic Jim said the whole
fright of the poor dogs had been produced by his appearance; to which
the Doctor replied that they only barked because Jim was coming behind
him. However, our visit was necessarily thus short, and attention
directed to the Dog Market, for which Jim was more eager, as he had
a special object. This was a curiosity, to be sure, and well worth
seeing; there was every sort of whelp and cur that could be found in
Christendom, from the veriest minimum of dog to the stateliest mastiff
and Newfoundland; and, at Jim and the Doctor's approach, hundreds
of them barked and howled, many broke their strings, some laid upon
their backs, and yelled (no doubt, if one could have understood their
language) that they never saw before in their lives so ill-looking and
frightful a couple, and so alarming a set as those who were following
behind them. Jim wanted to buy, and, the business-meaning of his face
being discovered, there were all sorts of offers made him, and every
kind of pup protruded into his face; but the barking of dogs was such
that no one could be heard, and then many a poor dog was knocked flat
with a broom, or whatever was handiest, and others were choked, to stop
their noise. No one wanted to stand the din of this canine Bedlam
longer than was necessary for Jim to make his choice, which the poor
fellow was endeavouring to do with the greatest despatch possible.
His mode was rather different from the ordinary mode of testing the
qualities he was looking for, which was by feeling of the ribs; and
having bargained for one that he thought would fit him, the lookers-on
were somewhat amused at his choice. He made them understand by his
signs that they were going to eat it, when the poor woman screamed out,
"Diable! mange pas! mange pas!--venez, venez, ma pauvre bete!"

The crowd by this time was becoming so dense that it was thought
advisable to be on the move, and off. The Doctor became exceedingly
merry at Jim's expense, as he had come away without getting a dog for
their Dog Feast, of which they had been for some time speaking.

On their return from this day's drive, they met, to their very great
surprise, their old friend _Bobasheela_, who had left his business
and crossed the Channel to see them once more before they should set
sail for America. He said he could not keep away from them long at a
time while they were in this country, because he loved them so much.
They were all delighted to see him, and told him he was just in time
to attend the Dog Feast, which they were going to have the next day.
The Doctor told him of Jim's success in buying a dog, and poor Jim was
teazed a great deal about his failure. _Bobasheela_ told them all the
news about England, and Jim and the Doctor had a long catalogue to
give him of their visit to the King--of their medals--their visits to
the great fountain of _chickabobboo_ and the _Foundling Hospital_, all
of which he told him he had got down in his book. All this delighted
_Bobasheela_, until they very imprudently told him that they liked
Paris much better than London. They told him that the people in Paris
did not teaze them so much about religion; that there were fewer
poor people in the streets; and that as yet they had kept all their
money, for they had seen nobody poor enough to give it to. Their
_chickabobboo_ was very different, but it was about as good. The
guillotine they were very well satisfied with, as they considered it
much better to cut men's heads off than to hang them up, like dogs, by
a rope around the neck. This, and keeping men in prison because they
owe money, they considered were the two most cruel things they heard of
amongst the English.

_Bobasheela_ replied to them that he was delighted to hear of their
success, and to learn that they had seen the King, an honour he should
himself have been very proud of. He told them that he never had seen
the King, but that, while travelling in Kentucky many years ago, he was
close upon the heels of the King, and so near him that he slept on the
same (not bed, but) floor in a cabin where the King had slept, with his
feet to the fire, but a short time before. This was something quite new
to the Indians, and, like most of _Bobasheela's_ stories of the Far
West, pleased them exceedingly.

Jim, who was a _matter-of-fact man_, more than one of fancy and
imagination, rather sided with _Bobasheela_, and, turning to his round
numbers last added to his book, of "9000 illegitimate children born in
Paris in the last year," asked his friend if he could read it, to which
he replied "Yes." "Well," said Jim, in broad English, "some _fish_
there, I guess, ha? I no like em Frenchwomen--I no like em: no good! I
no like em so many children, no fader!" We all saw by Jim's eye, and
by the agitation commencing, that he had some ideas that were coming
out, and at the instant he was turning over on to his back, and drawing
up his knees, and evidently keeping his eyes fixed on some object on
the ceiling of the room, not to lose the chain of his thoughts, and
he continued (not in English, for he spoke more easily in his own
language), "I do not like the Frenchwomen. I did not like them at
first, when I saw them leading so many dogs. I thought then that they
had more dogs than children, but I think otherwise now. We believe that
those women, who we have seen leading their dogs around with strings,
have put their children away to be raised in the great house of the
Government, and they get these little dogs to fill their places, and to
suck their breasts when they are full of milk."

"Hut--tut--tut!" said Melody, "you ill-mannerly fellow! what are you
about? You will blow us all up here, Jim, if you utter such sentiments
as those. I think the French ladies the finest in the world except the
Americans, and if they heard such ideas as those, advanced by us, they
would soon drive us out of Paris."

"Yes," said Jim (in English again), "yes, I know--I know you like
em--may be very good, but you see I no like em!" In his decided
dislike, Jim's excitement was too great for his ideas to flow smoothly
any further, and Mr. Melody not disposed to push the argument, the
subject was dropped, and preparations made for the day exhibition, the
hour for which was at hand.




                             CHAPTER XXVII.

  _La Morgue_--The Catacombs--The Doctor's dream--Their great
     alarm--Visit to the _Hippodrome_--Jim riding M. Franconi's
     horse--Indians in the Woods of Boulogne--Fright of the
     rabbits--Jim and the Doctor at the _Bal Mabille_, Champs
     Elysees--At the _Masquerade, Grand Opera_--Their opinions
     and criticisms on them--Frenchwomen at confession in St.
     Roch--Doctor's ideas of it--Jim's speech--"_Industrious
     fleas_"--Death of the wife of Little Wolf--Her
     baptism--Husband's distress--Her funeral in the Madeleine--Her
     burial in Montmartre--Council held--Indians resolve to return
     to America--Preparations to depart in a few days--_Bobasheela_
     goes to London to ship their boxes to New York--He returns,
     and accompanies the Indians to Havre--Indians take leave of
     _Chippehola_ (the Author)--M. Vattemare accompanies them to
     Havre--Kindly treated by Mr. Winslow, an American gentleman, at
     Havre--A splendid dinner, and _(Queen's) Chickabobboo_--Indians
     embark--Taking leave of _Bobasheela_--Illness of the Author's
     lady--His alarm and distress--Her death--Obituary--Her remains
     embalmed and sent to New York.


After their exhibition was over, and they had taken their dinner
and _chickabobboo_ (at the former of which they had had the company
of their old friend _Bobasheela_), their pipe was lit, and the
conversation resumed about the French ladies, for whom Jim's dislike
was daily increasing, and with his dislike, his slanderous propensity.
He could not divest his mind of the 9000 illegitimate and abandoned
little babies that he had seen, and the affection for dogs, which,
instead of _exposing_, they secure with ribbons, and hold one end in
their hands, or tie it to their apron-strings. This was a subject so
glaring to Jim's imagination, that he was quite fluent upon it at
a moment's warning, even when standing up or sitting, without the
necessity of resorting to his usual and eccentric attitude. This
facility caused him to be more lavish of his abuse, and at every
interview in the rooms he seemed to be constantly frowning upon the
ladies, and studying some new cause for abusing them, and drawing Mr.
Melody and the Doctor into debates when they got back to their own
apartments. Such was the nature of the debate he had just been waging,
and which he had ended in his usual way, with the last word to himself,
"I no care; me no like em."

The subject was here changed, however, by Mr. Melody's reminding them
that this day was the time they had set to visit the _Morgue_ and the
_Catacombs_, for which an order had been procured. These had been
the favourite themes for some days; and there had been the greatest
impatience expressed to go and see the naked dead bodies of the
murdered and _felo-de-ses_ daily stretched out in the one, and the
five millions of skulls and other human bones that are laid up like
cobhouses under great part of the city. _Bobasheela_ had described
to them the wonders of this awful place, which he had been in on a
former occasion, and Daniel had read descriptions from books while the
Indians had smoked many a pipe; but when the subject was mentioned on
this occasion, there were evident proofs instantly shown that some
influence had produced a different effect upon their minds, and that
they were no longer anxious to go. M. Vattemare, in speaking of the
Catacombs a few days before, had said that about a year ago two young
men from the West Indies came to Paris, and, getting an order to visit
the Catacombs, entered them, and, leaving their guide, strolled so far
away that they never got out, and never have been found, but their
groans and cries are still often heard under different parts of the
city. But the immediate difficulty with the Indians was a dream the
Doctor had had the night before, and which he had been relating to
them. He had not, he said, dreamed anything about the Catacombs, but he
had seen _See-catch-e-wee-be_, the one-eyed wife of the "_fire-eater_"
(a sorcerer of their tribe), who had followed his track all the way
to the great village of the whites (London), and from that to Paris,
where he saw her sitting on a bridge over the water; that she gave
him a pair of new mocassins of moose-skin, and told him that the
_Gitchee Manitou_ (the Great Spirit) had been very kind in not allowing
him and _Wash-ka-mon-ya_ (Jim) to go under the ground in the Great
Village of the Whites, in England, and their lives were thereby saved.
She then went under an old woman's basket, who was selling apples,
and disappeared. He could not understand why he should have such a
vision as this the very night before they were to go underground to
the Catacombs, unless it was to warn him of the catastrophe that
might befall them if they were to make their visit there, as they had
designed. They had smoked several pipes upon this information early
in the morning, and the chiefs had closely questioned him and also
consulted him as their oracle in all such cases, and had unanimously
come to the conclusion that these were foreboding prognostications
sufficient to decide it to be at least prudent to abandon their
project, and thereby be sure to run no hazard.[40]

  [40] The place they had escaped in the great village of the whites
       they had been told was a Hell. It had been explained to them,
       however, that there were several of those places in London,
       and that they were only _imitations_ of hell, but they seemed
       to believe that these catacombs (as there were so many
       millions of the bones of Frenchmen gone into them) might be
       the real hell of the pale-faces, and it was best to run no
       risk.

Mr. Melody and myself both agreed that their resolve placed them on
the safe side at all events, and that we thought them wise in making
it if they saw the least cause for apprehension. "They could easily
run to the river, however, in their drive, and see the other place,
the _Morgue_;" but that could not, on any account, be undertaken, as
the two objects had been planned out for the same visit; and, from the
Doctor's dream, it did not appear in the least certain in which of the
places they were liable to incur the risk, and therefore they thought
it best not to go to either. There was a great deal yet to see above
ground, and quite as much as they should be able to see in the little
time they had yet to remain there, and which would be much pleasanter
to look at than white men's bones under ground.

Their minds were filled with amazement on this wonderful subject; but
their curiosity to see it seemed quite stifled by the Doctor's dream,
and the subject for the present was dropped, with a remark from Jim,
"that he was not sure but that this accounted for the white people
digging up all the Indians' graves on the frontiers, and that their
bones were brought here and sold." The Catacombs were thus left for
Daniel and myself to stroll through at our leisure, and the Indians
were contented with the sketch I made, which, with Daniel's account,
put them in possession of the principal features of that extraordinary
and truly shocking place.

As their visit to the _Catacombs_ and the _Morgue_ was abandoned, we
resolved to drive through the Champs Elysees and visit the woods of
Boulogne, the favourite drive of the Parisians, and probably the most
beautiful in the world. We had been solicited by M. Franconi, of the
_Hippodrome_, to enter into an arrangement with him to have the Indians
unite in his entertainments three days in the week, where their skill
in riding and archery could be seen to great advantage, and for which
he would be willing to offer liberal terms. He had invited us to bring
the Indians down, at all events, to see the place; and we agreed to
make the visit to M. Franconi on our way to the woods of Boulogne.
The view was a private one, known only to a few of his friends, who
were present, and his own operatic _troupe_. We were very civilly and
politely received; and, all walking to the middle of his grand area,
he proposed to make us the offer, on condition that the Indians were
good riders, which I had already assured him was the case, and which
seemed rather difficult for him to believe, as they had so little of
civilization about them. As the best proof, however, he proposed to
bring out a horse, and let one of them try and show what he could do.
This we agreed to at once; and, having told the Indians before we
started that we should make no arrangement for them there unless they
were pleased with it and preferred it, they had decided, on entering
the grounds, that the exercises would be too desperate and fatiguing
to them and destructive to their clothes, and therefore not to engage
with him. However, the horse was led into the area and placed upon the
track for their chariot-races, which is nearly a quarter of a mile in
circumference; and, the question being put, "Who will ride?" it was
soon agreed that Jim should try it first. "Wal, me try em," said Jim;
"me no ride good, but me try em little." He was already prepared, with
his shield and quiver upon his back and his long and shining lance in
his hand. The horse was held; though, with all its training, it was
some time, with its two or three grooms about it, before they could get
the frightened creature to stand steady enough for Jim to mount. In
the first effort which they thought he was making to get on, they were
surprised to find that he was ungirthing the saddle, which he flung
upon the ground, and, throwing his buffalo robe across the animal's
back and himself astride, the horse dashed off at his highest speed.
Jim saw that the animal was used to the track, and, the course being
clear, he leaned forward and brandished his lance, and, every time
he came round and passed us, sounded a charge in the shrill notes
of the war-whoop. The riding was pleasing and surprised M. Franconi
exceedingly, and when he thought it was about time to stop he gave his
signal for Jim to pull up, but, seeing no slack to the animal's pace,
and Jim still brandishing his weapons in the air and sounding the
war-whoop as he passed, he became all at once alarmed for the health
of his horse. The Indians at this time were all in a roar of laughter,
and the old gentleman was placing himself and his men upon the track as
Jim came round, with uplifted arms, to try to stop the animal's speed,
just finding at that time that Jim had rode in the true prairie style,
without using the bridle, and which, by his neglect of it, had got out
of his reach, when he would have used it to pull up with. Jim still
dashed by them, brandishing his lance as they came in his way: when
they retreated and ran to head him in another place, he there passed
them also, and passed them and menaced them again and again as he came
around. The alarm of the poor old gentleman for the life of his horse
became very conspicuous, and, with additional efforts with his men,
and a little pulling up by Jim, who had at length found the rein, the
poor affrighted and half-dead animal was stopped, and Jim, leaping off,
walked to the middle of the area, where we were in a group, laughing to
the greatest excess at the fun. The poor horse was near done over, and
led away by the grooms, M. Franconi came and merely bade us good-by,
and was exceedingly obliged to us. Whether the poor animal died or not
we never heard, but Jim was laid up for several days. On asking him why
he ran the horse so hard, he said it was the horse's fault, that "it
ran away with him the moment he was on its back--that the creature was
frightened nearly to death; and he thought, if it preferred running,
he resolved to give it running enough." The Doctor told him he acted
imprudently in getting on, which had caused all the trouble. "In what
way?" inquired Jim. "Why, by letting the animal see that ugly face of
yours; if you had hid it till you were on, there would have been no
trouble."

We were all obliged to laugh at the Doctor's wit; and having taken
leave of the polite old gentleman, we were seated in our carriages
again for a drive through the woods of Boulogne.

In the midst of these wild and truly beautiful grounds the Indians
and all got down for a stroll. The native wildness of the forests and
jungle seemed in a moment to inspire them with their wild feelings,
which had, many of them, long slumbered whilst mingling amidst the
crowds of civilization, and away they leapt and bounded among the
trees in their wild and wonted amusements. Their shrill yells and the
war-whoop were soon lost in the distant thickets which they penetrated,
and an hour at least elapsed before they could all be gathered
together and prepared to return. Their frightful yells had started
up all the rabbits that were unburrowed in the forests; and whilst
hundreds were bounding about, and many taking to the open fields for
escape, they encompassed one, and with their united screams had scared
it to death. This they assured us was the case, as they brought it in
by the legs, without the mark of any weapon upon it.

Few scenes in Paris, if any, had pleased them more than this, and in
their subsequent drives they repeatedly paid their visits to the "woods
of Boulogne."

On their return home poor Jim lay down, complaining very much of
lameness from his hard ride on Franconi's horse, which he knew would
prevent him from dancing for some days, as he was getting very stiff,
and afraid he would not be well enough to go and see the "Industrious
Fleas" (as they were called), where he and the Doctor and Jeffrey had
arranged to go with Daniel and several young American acquaintance,
who had decided it to be one of the choicest little sights then to be
seen in Paris, and which from all accounts is an exhibition of female
nudities in living groups, ringing all the changes on attitude and
action for the amusement of the lookers-on. There was a great deal of
amusing conversation about this very popular exhibition, but in this
poor Jim and the Doctor reluctantly submitted to disappointment when
Mr. Melody very properly objected to their going to see it.

Jim had laid himself on his back at this time, and, not feeling in the
best of humour, began in a tirade of abuse of the Frenchwomen, of whom
he and the Doctor had seen more perhaps on the previous evening in the
_Jardin Mabille_ in the Champs Elysees, and the _masquerade_ in the
_Grand Opera House_, than they had seen since they entered Paris.

Their enterprise on that evening had taken place after their exhibition
had closed, when Jim and the Doctor started with Jeffrey and Daniel and
two or three friends who were pledged to take care of them. It was on
Sunday evening, when the greatest crowds attend these places, and I
have no other account of what they did and what they saw than that they
gave me on their return home. They had first gone to the splendid _bal_
in the popular garden, where they were told that the thousand elegant
women they saw there dancing were all bad women, and that nearly all
of them came to those places alone, as they had nothing to pay, but
were all let in free, so as to make the men come who had to pay. This
idea had tickled Jim and the Doctor very much, for, although they were
from the wilderness, they could look a good way into a thing which was
perfectly clear. It was a splendid sight for them, and, after strolling
about a while, and seeing all that could be seen, they had turned
their attention to the "_Bal Masque_" in the _Grand Opera_. Here they
had been overwhelmed with the splendour of the scene, and astonished
at its novelty, and the modes of the women who, Jim said, "were all
ashamed to show their faces," and whose strange manoeuvres had added
a vast deal to the fund of his objections to Frenchwomen, and which
he said had constantly been accumulating ever since he first saw so
many of them kissing the ends of little dogs' noses, and pretty little
children on their foreheads. His mind here ran upon kissing, of which
he had seen some the night before, and which he had often observed in
the exhibition rooms and in the streets. He had laughed, he said, to
see Frenchmen kiss each other on both cheeks; and he had observed that,
when gentlemen kiss ladies, they kiss them on the forehead: he was
not quite sure that they would do so in the dark, however. "In London
always kiss em on the mouth; ladies kiss em Indians heap, and hug em
too: in France ladies no kiss em--no like em--no good."

In speaking of the _bal_ in the gardens, "he didn't see anything so
very bad in that, but as for the masquerade, he looked upon it as a
very immoral thing that so many thousands of ladies should come there
and be ashamed to show their faces, and have the privilege of picking
out just such men as they liked to go with them, and then take hold
of their arms, as he said he repeatedly saw them, and lead them out."
Amongst the Indians, he said, they had a custom much like that to be
sure, but it was only given once a-year, and it was then only for the
young married men to lend their wives to the old ones: this was only
one night in the year, and it was a mark of respect that the young
married men were willing to pay to the old warriors and chiefs, and
the young married women were willing to agree to it because it pleased
their husbands. On those occasions, he said, "none are admitted into
the ring but old married men, and then the young married woman goes
around and touches on the left shoulder the one who she wishes to
follow her into the bushes, and she does it without being ashamed and
obliged to cover her face."

The Doctor's prejudices against the Frenchwomen were nothing near as
violent as those of Jim, and yet he said it made him feel very curious
when he saw some thousands with their faces all hidden: he said it
must be true that they had some object that was bad, or they wouldn't
be ashamed and hide their faces. Mr. Melody told Jim and the Doctor,
however, that he didn't consider there was so very much harm in it, for
these very women had the handiest way in the world to get rid of all
their sins. If they happened accidentally or otherwise during the week
to do anything that was decidedly naughty or wicked, they went into
their churches very early in the morning, where the priest was in a
little box with his ear to the window, where the woman kneeled down and
told in his ear all the sins she had committed during the week, and she
then went away quite happy that, having confessed them to him, he would
be sure to have them all forgiven by the Great Spirit. They had a great
laugh at this, and all thought that Mr. Melody was quizzing them, until
_Bobasheela_ and _Daniel_ both told them it was all true, and if they
liked to go with them any morning they would take them into any of the
French churches or chapels, where they could see it; and would venture
that they would see many of the same women confessing their sins whom
they had seen at the _bal_ and the masquerade, and in this way they
could tell who had behaved the worst, for the most guilty of them
would be sure to be there first. The Doctor seemed evidently to look
upon this still with suspicion and doubt; and as the splendid church
of _St. Roch_ was nearly opposite to their rooms, and only across the
street, it was proposed that the Doctor and Jim should accompany Daniel
and their friend _Bobasheela_ immediately there, where in five minutes
they could see more or less women at confession, and at the same time a
fine sight, one of the most splendid churches in Paris, and the place
where the Queen goes on every Sunday to worship. This so excited the
party, that they chiefly all arose and walked across the street to
take a view of the church and the Frenchwomen confessing their sins
into the ears of the priests. They happened to have a fair opportunity
of seeing several upon their knees at confession; and the old Doctor
had been curious to advance up so near to one, that he said he saw the
priest's eyes shining through between the little slats, and then he was
convinced, and not before. He said that still it didn't seem right to
him, unless the Great Spirit had put those men there for that purpose.
He thought it a very nice place for a young girl to tell the priest
where she would meet him, and he had a very good chance to see whether
she was pretty or not. Jim had by this time studied out an idea or
two, and said, he thought that this way of confessing sins aided the
_bals_ and _masquerades_ and the _industrious fleas_ very much; and
he believed that these were the principal causes of the great number
of the poor little deserted and parentless babes they had seen in the
hospital where they had been.

The hour for the exhibition arriving, the conversation about Paris
morals and religion was broken suddenly off, and perhaps at a good
time. There were great crowds now daily attending their amusements,
and generally applauding enthusiastically, and making the Indians
occasional presents. On this occasion the Doctor had made a tremendous
boast in the part he was taking in the eagle-dance, for the spirit of
which the audience, and particularly the ladies, gave him a great deal
of applause, so much so that at the end of the dance his vanity called
him out in an off-hand speech about the beauty of the city, &c., and,
it being less energetic than the boasts he had just been strutting
out, failed to draw forth the applause he was so confidently depending
on. He tried sentence after sentence, and, stopping to listen, all
were silent. This perplexed and disappointed the Doctor very much, and
still he went on, and at length stopped and sat down, admired, but not
applauded. His friend Jim was laughing at him as he took his seat, and
telling him that if he had barked like a little dog the ladies would
have been sure to applaud. To this the Doctor said, "You had better try
yourself:" upon which the daring Jim, who professed never to refuse
any challenge, sprang upon his feet, and, advancing to the edge of
the platform, stood braced out with his brows knitting, and his eyes
"in a frenzy rolling," for full two minutes before he began. He then
thrust his lance forward in his right hand as far as he could dart it
over the heads of the audience, and, coming back to his balance again,
he commenced. Of his speech no report was made, but it was short and
confined to three or four brief sentences, at the end of which he
looked around with the most doleful expression to catch the applause,
but there was none. The old Doctor was watching him close, and telling
him he had better sit down.

In this dilemma he was still standing after all his good ideas had been
spent, and each instant, as he continued to stand, making his case
worse, he turned upon his heel, and as he was turning around he added,
in an irritated manner, this amusing sentence: "You had better go and
see the industrious fleas, and then you will applaud!" This made a
great laugh amongst the Indians, but of course it was not translated to
the audience. He then took his seat, looking exceedingly sober, and,
with his pipe, was soon almost lost sight of in the columns of smoke
that were rising around him.

About this time a very friendly invitation had been given them and
us by Colonel Thorn, an American gentleman of great wealth residing
in Paris, and all were anticipating much pleasure on the occasion
when we were to dine at his house; but, unluckily for the happiness
and enjoyment of the whole party, on the morning of the day of our
invitation the wife of the Little Wolf suddenly and unexpectedly died.
Our engagement to dine was of course broken, and our exhibition and
amusements for some days delayed. This sad occurrence threw the party
into great distress, but they met the kindness of many sympathising
friends, who administered in many ways to their comfort, and joined
in attending the poor woman's remains to the grave. Her disease was
the consumption of the lungs, and her decline had been rapid, though
her death at that time was unexpected. When it was discovered that
her symptoms were alarming, a Catholic priest was called in, and she
received the baptism a few moments before she breathed her last.
Through the kindness of the excellent Cure of the _Madeleine church_,
her remains were taken into that splendid temple, and the funeral rites
performed over them according to the rules of that church, in the
presence of some hundreds who were led there by sympathy and curiosity,
and from thence her body was taken to the cemetery of Montmartre, and
interred. The poor heartbroken noble fellow, the Little Wolf, shed the
tears of bitterest sorrow to see her, from necessity, laid amongst the
rows of the dead in a foreign land; and on every day that he afterwards
spent in Paris he ordered a cab to take him to the grave, that he
could cry over it, and talk to the departed spirit of his wife, as he
was leaving some little offering he had brought with him. This was
the second time we had seen him in grief; and we, who had been by him
in all his misfortunes, admired the deep affection he showed for his
little boy, and now for its mother, and at the same time the manly
fortitude with which he met the fate that had been decreed to him.
On this sad occasion their good friend M. Vattemare showed his kind
sympathy for them, and took upon himself the whole arrangements of her
funeral, and did all that was in his power to console and soothe the
brokenhearted husband in the time of his affliction. He also proposed
to have a suitable and appropriate monument erected over her grave, and
for its accomplishment procured a considerable sum by subscription,
with which, I presume, the monument has, ere this, been erected over
her remains. The Little Wolf insisted on it that the exhibition should
proceed, as the daily expenses were so very great, and in a few days,
to give it all the interest it could have, resumed his part in the
dance that he had taken before his misfortune.

Owing to letters received about this time from their tribe, and the
misfortune that had happened, the Indians were now all getting anxious
to start for their own country, and, holding a council on the subject,
called Mr. Melody in, and informed him that they had resolved to sleep
but six nights more in Paris, and that they should expect him to be
ready to start with them after that time. This was a short notice for
us, but was according to Indian modes, and there was no way but to
conform to it. Mr. Melody had pledged his word to the Government to
take care of these people, and to return to their country with them
whenever the chiefs should desire it; and I was bound, from my deep
interest for them, to assent to whatever regulations Mr. Melody and the
chiefs should adopt as the best.

This notice came at a time when it was unexpected by me, and I think
not anticipated by Mr. Melody, and was therefore unfortunate for
us, and probably somewhat, though less so, to them. The very heavy
outlays had all been made for their exhibitions, and their audiences
were daily increasing. If their exhibitions could have been continued
a month or two longer, the avails would have been considerable, and
of great service to Mr. Melody, who had the heavy responsibility on
his shoulders of taking these people back to their country at his own
expense.

The closing of their amusements, and positive time of their departure,
was now announced, and immense crowds came in within the remaining few
days to get the last possible glance at the faces and the curious modes
of "_les Peaux Rouges_." The poor fellows enjoyed their interviews with
the public to the last, and also their roast beef and beef-steaks and
_chickabobboo_.

They had much to say in the few days that were left; they quitted their
daily drives and sight-seeing, and devoted their time to the pipe and
conversation, in a sort of recapitulation of what they had seen and
said and done on this side of the Atlantic, and of friends and affairs
in their own humble villages, where their thoughts were now roaming.
They were counting their cash also, packing away all their things they
were to carry, and looking out for the little presents they wished to
purchase, to take home to their friends. In all of these occupations
they had the constant attention of their old and faithful friends
_Bobasheela_ and _Daniel_.

In one of their conversations after the funeral of the poor woman, the
Doctor and Jim had much to say of the honours paid to her remains by
the French people, which the whole party would recollect as long as
they lived. They were pleased with and astonished at the beauty and
magnificence of the Madeleine church, and wished to get some account
of it to carry home to show their people, and thus, besides several
engravings of it, Jim's book carried the following entry by my own
hand:--"_La Madeleine_, the most splendid temple of worship in Paris,
or perhaps in the world; surrounded with 52 Corinthian columns, 60 feet
high; south pediment, a bas-relief, representing the Day of Judgment,
with the figure of Magdalene at the feet of Christ."

As the party were to embark at Havre on their homeward voyage, it
became a question how they were to get their numerous trunks and boxes
they had left in London, filled with clothes and other articles that
they had purchased or received as presents while in England. To relieve
them of this difficulty, their friend _Bobasheela_ volunteered to go
to London and take all their boxes to Liverpool, and ship them to New
York, and was soon on the way. This was a noble and kind act on the
part of _Bobasheela_, and it was done with despatch, and he was back in
Paris just in time to accompany his friends to Havre. M. Vattemare was
in readiness to attend them also; and all their transactions in Paris
being brought to a close, and they having taken leave of _Chippehola_
and other friends, started for their native land, with my highest
admiration for the sober and respectful manner in which they had
conducted themselves while under my direction, and with my most ardent
desire for their future success and happiness.[41]

  [41] I learned from M. Vattemare, on his return, that the party
       were treated with great friendship by an American gentleman
       in Havre, Mr. Winslow, who invited them to dine at his house,
       and bestowed on them liberal presents. They embraced their old
       friend Bobasheela in their arms on the deck of their vessel,
       and he sailed for London as their vessel was under weigh for
       America. The rest of their history is for other historians,
       and my narrative will continue a little further on events in
       Paris.

Here was about the period at which my dear wife and I had contemplated
our return, with our little children, to our native land, where we
should have returned in the enjoyment of all the happiness we had
anticipated or could have wished, but for the misfortune that had
been for some time awaiting me, but not until then duly appreciated,
in my own house. Those of my readers who were not familiar with the
completeness of my domestic happiness prior to this period of my life,
will scarcely know how to sympathize with me, or perhaps to excuse me
for adverting to it here. My dear Clara, whom I have introduced to the
reader before, who shared with me many of the toils and pleasures of
the prairies of the "Far West," and was now meeting with me the mutual
enjoyments of the refined and splendid world, had, a few weeks before,
in company with a couple of English ladies of her acquaintance, paid
a visit to the Mint, from which they all returned indisposed, having
taken severe colds by a sudden change from the heated rooms into the
chilly atmosphere of the streets. With my dear wife, who was obliged
to retire to her room, the disease was discovered in a few days to
have attached to her lungs; and although for several weeks she had been
suffering very much, and confined to her bed, no serious apprehensions
were entertained until about the time that the Indians left, when my
whole thoughts and attentions were turned to her, but to discover in a
few days that our plans for further mutual happiness in this world were
at an end--that her days were nearly numbered, and that her four dear
little children were to be committed to my sole care.

To those who have felt pangs like mine which followed, I need but
merely mention them; and to those who have not felt them, it would be
in vain to describe. Her feeble form wasted away; and in her dying
moments, with a Christian's hope, she was in the midst of happiness,
blessing her dear little children as she committed them to my care and
protection.

The following obituary notice, penned by a lady of her intimate
acquaintance, the reader will excuse me for inserting here, as it is
the only record of her, except those engraven on the hearts of those
who knew and loved her:--

     DIED--On the 28th inst., No. 11 _bis_, Avenue Lord Byron, Paris,
     Mrs. Clara B. Catlin, the wife of the eminent traveller so
     distinguished for his researches into Indian history and
     antiquities of America, and so universally known and respected
     in Europe and his native country, Geo. Catlin, Esq., from the
     United States of America. The devoted friends who watched the
     last moments of this most amiable, interesting woman with intense
     anxiety, still clung to a faint hope, deceived by a moral energy
     never surpassed, and the most unruffled serenity of temper, that
     (had it been the will of Heaven) they might have been permitted to
     rescue a life so precious--but, alas! this gentle, affectionate,
     intellectual being was destined never more to revisit the land
     of her birth, and all that was earthly of so much worth and
     loveliness has passed away, whilst the immortal spirit has
     ascended to its kindred skies!

          "None knew her, but to love her;
           None named her, but to praise."

                            _Galignani's Messenger, 30th July, 1845._

The reader can imagine something of the gloom that was cast over my
house and little family, thus suddenly closed for ever from the smiles
and cheer of an affectionate wife and a devoted mother, whose remains
were sent back to her native land--not to greet and bring joy to her
kindred and anxious friends, from whom she had been five years absent,
but to afford them the last glance at her loved features, then to take
their place amongst the ranks of the peaceful dead.




                            CHAPTER XXVIII.

  Eleven Ojibbeway Indians arrive from London--Their exhibitions in
     the Author's Collection--Portraits and description of--Their
     amusements--Their pledge to sobriety--_Chickabobboo_ explained
     to them--Birth of a _Pappoose_--M. Gudin--Indians and the
     Author dine with him--His kind lady--The Author breakfasts with
     the Royal Family in the palace at St. Cloud--Two Kings and
     two Queens at the table--The Author presented to the King and
     Queen of the Belgians by Louis Philippe, in the salon--Count de
     Paris--Duc de Brabant--Recollects the Indian pipe and mocassins
     presented to him by the Author in the Egyptian Hall--Duchess of
     Orleans--The Princess Adelaide--The King relates anecdotes of
     his life in America--Washington's farewell address--Losing his
     dog in the Seneca village--Crossing Buffalo Creek--Descending
     the Tioga and Susquehana rivers in an Indian canoe, to Wyoming,
     the Author's native valley--The King desires the Author to
     arrange his whole Collection in the Louvre for the private
     views of the Royal Family--He also appoints a day to see the
     Ojibbeways in the Park, at St. Cloud--Great rejoicing of the
     Indians--A _dog-feast_--The Indians and the Author dine a second
     time at M. Gudin's.


In the midst of my grief, with my little family around me, with my
collection still open, and my lease for the Salle Valentino not
yet expired, there suddenly arrived from London a party of eleven
_Ojibbeway Indians_, from the region of Lake Huron, in Upper Canada,
who had been brought to England by a Canadian, but had since been under
the management of a young man from the city of London. They had heard
of the great success of the Ioways in Paris, and also of their sudden
departure, and were easily prevailed upon to make a visit there. On
their arrival, I entered into the same arrangement with them that I had
with the two former parties, agreeing with the young man who had charge
of them to receive them into my collection, sharing the expenses and
receipts as I had done before; he being obligated to pay the Indians
a certain sum per month, and bound to return them to London, from
whence they came, at his own expense. As my collection was all arranged
and prepared, I thought such an arrangement calculated to promote their
interest and my own, and in a few days their arrival and exhibitions
were announced, they having been quartered in the same apartments which
had been occupied by the Ioways before them.

  [Illustration: N^o. 18.]

The following are the names of the party, with their respective ages
given (see _Plate No. 18_):--

                                                            Age.

     1. _Maun-gua-daus_ (a Great Hero)--Chief                  41
     2. _Say-say-gon_ (the Hail-Storm)                         31
     3. _Ke-che-us-sin_ (the Strong Rock)                      27
     4. _Mush-she-mong_ (the King of the Loons)                25
     5. _Au-nim-muck-kwah-um_ (the Tempest Bird)               20
     6. _A-wun-ne-wa-be_ (the Bird of Thunder)                 19
     7. _Wau-bud-dick_ (the Elk)                               18
     8. _U-je-jock_ (the Pelican)                              10
     9. _Noo-din-no-kay_ (the Furious Storm)                    4
    10. _Min-nis-sin-noo_ (a Brave Warrior)                     3
    11. _Uh-wus-sig-gee-zigh-<DW58>-kway_ (Woman of the Upper
        World)--wife of Chief                                   38
    12. _Pappoose_--born in the Salle Valentino.

The chief of this party, _Maun-gua-daus_, was a remarkably fine man,
both in his personal appearance and intellectual faculties. He was a
half-caste, and, speaking the English language tolerably well, acted as
chief and interpreter of the party.

The War-chief, _Say-say-gon_, was also a fine and intelligent Indian,
full-blooded, and spoke no English. The several younger men were
generally good-looking, and exceedingly supple and active, giving great
life and excitement to their dances. In personal appearance the party,
taken all together, was less interesting than that of the Ioways, yet,
at the same time, their dances and other amusements were equally, if
not more spirited and beautiful than those of their predecessors.

Thus, in the midst of my sorrow, I was commencing anxieties again, and
advertised the arrival of the new party, and the commencement of their
exhibitions. They began with more limited but respectable audiences,
and seemed to please and surprise all who came, by the excitement of
their dances and their skill in shooting with the bow and arrows, in
the last of which they far surpassed the Ioways. It was impossible,
however, by all the advertising that could be done, to move the crowds
again that had been excited to see the Ioways; the public seeming to
have taken the idea that these were merely an imitation got up to take
advantage of their sudden departure. It happened quite curious, that,
although the party consisted of eleven when they arrived, about the
time of the commencement of their exhibitions the wife of the chief was
delivered of a _pappoose_, which was born in the same room where the
poor wife of the Little Wolf had died. This occurrence enabled us to
announce the party as _twelve_--the same number as the Ioways; which,
with the name somewhat similar, furnished very strong grounds for many
of the Parisians to believe that they were paying their francs to see
their own countrymen aping the Indians of America.

It seemed strange that it was so difficult to do away this impression,
which operated against them the whole time they were in Paris, though
all who saw them but a moment were satisfied and pleased. Their
amusements were much like those of the Ioways, but with national
differences in the modes of giving them, which were, to the curious,
subjects of great interest.

The same hours were adopted for their exhibitions--the same vehicles
were contracted for, for their daily exercise and sight-seeing--and
their guardian, with Daniel, took charge of all their movements on
these occasions. Their daily routine therefore was in most respects the
same as that of the Ioways, and it would be waste of valuable time here
for me to follow them through all.

We held the council, as we had done in the other cases, before
our arrangements were entered upon, and all was placed upon the
condition that they were to conduct themselves soberly, and to drink
no spirituous liquors. The temperance pledge was therefore given,
after I had explained to them that, with the two other parties, ale
in England, and _vin ordinaire_ in France, when taken to a moderate
degree, were not included in the term "_spirituous liquors_," and that
they would of course, as the other parties had been indulged, have
their regular glass at their dinners, and also after their suppers, and
before going to bed; and that they would call it, as the others had
done, _chickabobboo_. This indulgence seemed to please them very much,
and, being at a loss to know the meaning of _chickabobboo_, I took an
occasion to give them the history of the word, which they would see
was of Ojibbeway origin, and, laughing excessively at the ingenuity of
their predecessors, they all resolved to keep up their word, and to be
sure at the same time not to drop their custom, of taking the licensed
glasses of _chickabobboo_.

Amongst the kind friends whom this party made in Paris, one of the best
was M. Gudin, the celebrated marine painter, in the employment of the
King. This most excellent gentleman and his kind lady were frequent
visitors to their exhibitions, and several times invited the whole
party and myself to dine at their table, and spend the day in the
beautiful grounds around his noble mansion (the "Chateau Beaujon"),
and, in its present improved condition, little less than a palace.

Not only will the Indians feel bound for life to acknowledge their
gratitude to this kind lady and gentleman, but the writer of these
notes will feel equally and more so for the kind and unmerited
attentions they paid to him during his stay in Paris. It was
through the friendly agency of M. Gudin that the King invited my
collection to the Louvre, and myself, in company with him, to the
royal breakfast-table in the palace at St. Cloud. I take no little
satisfaction in recording here these facts, not only for myself, but
injustice to one of the most distinguished painters (and one of the
best fellows) of the age. On this occasion, the proudest one of my wild
and erratic life, we were conducted through several rooms of the palace
to the one in which the Royal Family, chiefly all assembled, with their
numerous guests, were standing and ready to be seated around a circular
table of 15 or 18 feet in diameter, at which, our seats being indicated
to us, and the bow of recognition (so far as we were able to recognise
acquaintances) having been made, all were seated. This extraordinary
occasion of my life was rendered peculiarly memorable and gratifying
to me, from the fact that there were two Kings and two Queens at the
table, and nearly every member of the Royal Family. The King and Queen
of the Belgians, who were at that time on a visit to Paris, with his
Royal Highness the little Duc de Brabant, were the unusual Royal guests
at the table on the occasion. The number of persons at the table,
consisting of the two Royal Families, the King's aides-de-camp, and
orderly officers of the palace, with the invited guests, amounted
to about 30 in all; and as Kings and Queens and royal families eat
exactly like other people, I see nothing further that need be noticed
until their Majesties arose and retired to the salon or drawing-room,
into which we all followed. I was there met as I entered, in the most
gracious and cordial manner by His Majesty, who presented me to the
King of the Belgians, who did me the honour to address me in these
words:--"I am very happy, Mr. Catlin, to meet a gentleman whose name is
familiar to us all, and who has done so much for science, and also for
the poor Indians. You know that the Queen, and myself, and the Duc de
Brabant were all subscribers to your valuable work, and we have taken
great interest in reading it."

The two heirs-apparent, the little Count de Paris and His Royal
Highness the Duc de Brabant, came to me, and, recognising me, inquired
about the Indians. The conversation with her Majesty, and also with the
Princess Adelaide, and the Duchess of Orleans, was about the Indians,
who they had heard had gone home, and in whom they all seemed to have
taken a deep interest.

The little Duc de Brabant recollected the small pipe and mocassins I
had presented him when he visited my collection in the Egyptian Hall,
under the protection of the Hon. Mr. Murray.

I had a few minutes' conversation with the King of the Belgians, and
also with the graceful and pensive Duchess of Orleans, and our ears
were then all turned to the recitals of his Majesty, around whom we had
gathered, whilst he was relating several scenes of his early life in
America, in company with his two brothers, the Duc de Montpensier and
the Count Beaujolais, which it seemed my advent with the Indians had
brought up with unusual freshness in his mind.

He commented in the most eloquent terms upon the greatness and goodness
of General Washington, and told us that he and his brothers were
lucky enough to have been present and heard his farewell address in
Philadelphia, which he had been in the habit of reflecting upon as one
of the most pleasurable and satisfactory incidents of his life.

He gave us an amusing account of his horse getting mired in crossing
Buffalo Creek, and of his paying a visit to the tribe of Seneca
Indians, near to the town of Buffalo, on Lake Erie:--

  "Being conducted," said he, "to the village and to the chief's
  wigwam, I shook hands with the chief, who came and stood by my
  horse's head, and while some hundreds of men, women, and children
  were gathering around, I told the chief that I had come to make him
  a visit of a day or two, to which he replied that he was very glad
  to see me, and I should be made quite welcome, and treated to the
  best that he had. He said there would be one condition, however,
  which was, that he should require me to give him everything I had; he
  should demand my horse, from which I would dismount, and having given
  him the bridle, he said, 'I now want your gun, your watch, and all
  your money; these are indispensable.'

  "I then, for the first time in my life, began to think that I was
  completely robbed and plundered; but at the moment when he had
  got all, and before I had time for more than an instant thought
  of my awkward condition, he released me from all further alarm by
  continuing, 'If you have anything else which you wish to be sure to
  get again, I wish you to let me have it; for whatever you deliver
  into my hands now you will be sure to find safe when you are about to
  leave; otherwise I would not be willing to vouch for their safety;
  for there are some of my people whom we cannot trust to.'

  "From this moment I felt quite easy, and spent a day or two in their
  village very pleasantly, and with much amusement. When I was about to
  leave, my horse was brought to the chief's door and saddled, and all
  the property I had left in his hands safely restored.

  "I then mounted my horse, and, having taken leave, and proceeded a
  short distance on my route, I discovered that I had left my favourite
  dog, which I had been too much excited and amused to think of, and
  did not recollect to have seen after I entered their village.

  "I turned my horse and rode back to the door of the chief's wigwam,
  and made inquiries for it. The chief said, 'But you did not intrust
  your dog to my care, did you?' 'No, I did not think of my poor dog
  at the time.' 'Well then,' said he, 'I can't answer for it. If you
  had done as I told you, your dog would have been safe. However,'
  said he, 'we will inquire for it.' At which moment one of his little
  sons was ordered to run and open a rude pen or cage by the corner
  of the wigwam, and out leaped my dog, and sprang upon my leg as I
  was sitting on my horse. I offered the honest chief a reward for
  his kindness; but he refused to accept it, wishing me to recollect,
  whenever I was amongst Indians again, to repose confidence in an
  Indian's word, and feel assured that all the property intrusted to
  an Indian's care I would be sure to find safe whenever I wanted it
  again."

After reciting this amusing incident, his Majesty described to me the
route which he and his brothers took from Buffalo to the falls of
Niagara, and thence on horseback to Geneva, a small town at the foot of
the Seneca Lake, where they sold their horses, and, having purchased
a small boat, rowed it 90 miles to Ithaca, at the head of the lake.
From thence they travelled on foot, with their luggage carried on their
backs, 30 miles to Tioga, on the banks of the Susquehana, where they
purchased a canoe from the Indians, and descended in it that romantic
and beautiful river, to a small town called Wilkesbarre, in the valley
of Wyoming.

From thence, with their knapsacks on their backs, they crossed the
Wilkesbarre and Pokono mountains to Easton, and from thence were
conveyed in a coach to Philadelphia.

I here surprised his Majesty a little, and his listeners, and seemed
to add a fresh interest to his narrative, by informing him that I
was a native of Wilkesbarre, in the valley of Wyoming, and that while
his Majesty was there I was an infant in my mother's arms, only a few
months old.

He related a number of pleasing recollections of his visit to my native
valley, and then gave us an account of an Indian _ball-play_ amongst
the Cherokees and Choctaws, where he saw 500 or 600 engaged, during the
whole day, before the game was decided; and he pronounced it one of the
most exciting and beautiful scenes he had ever beheld.

After an hour or so spent in amusing us with the pleasing reminiscences
of his wild life in America, he expressed a wish to see my collection,
and requested me to place it in a large hall in the Louvre, for the
private views of the Royal Family; and also appointed a day and an hour
when he would be glad to see the Ojibbeway Indians at St. Cloud, and
desired me to accompany them.

From the Palace, my friend M. Gudin, at the request of the King,
proceeded with me to Paris and to the Louvre, with his Majesty's
command to M. de Caillaux, director of the Louvre, to prepare the
Salle de Seance for the reception of my collection, which was ordered
to be arranged in it. My return from thence to the Indians, with the
information that they were to visit the King, created a pleasing
excitement amongst them, and, as the reader can easily imagine, great
joy and rejoicing.

This was an excitement and a piece of good news to the poor fellows
that could not be passed over without some signal and unusual notice,
and the result was, that a _dog-feast_ was to be the ceremony for
the next day. Consequently a dog was procured at an early hour, and,
according to the custom of their country, was roasted whole, and, when
ready, was partaken of with a due observance of all the forms used in
their own country on such occasions, it being strictly a religious
ceremony.

The same indulgence in seeing the sights of Paris, and of exercise in
the open air, was shown to them as to the other party; and the same
carriages contracted for, to give them their daily drives; in all of
which they were accompanied by their guardian, to whom the sights of
Paris were also new and equally entertaining, and they all made the
best use of their time in these amusements.

Their good friend M. Gudin appointed another day for the whole party
to dine at his house, and having a number of distinguished guests at
his table, the scene was a very brilliant and merry one. The orator
of the party was the chief _Maun-gua-daus_, though on this occasion
the War-chief, whose name was _Say-say-gon_ (the Hail-storm), arose at
the table and addressed M. Gudin and his lady in a very affectionate
manner; thanking them for their kindness to them, who were strangers in
Paris and a great way from their homes, and at the same time proposing
to give to his friend M. Gudin a new name, saying that, whenever the
Indians made a new friend whom they loved very much, they liked to call
him by a name that had some meaning to it, and he should hereafter call
him by the name of _Ken-ne-wab-a-min_ (the Sun that guides us through
the Wilderness).

There were several gentlemen of high rank and titles present, and all
seemed much entertained with the appearance and conduct of the Indians.




                             CHAPTER XXIX.

  Indians' visit to the Palace of St. Cloud--The Park--Artificial
     lake--Royal Family--Prince de Joinville--Recollected seeing
     the Author and Collection in Washington--King and Queen of
     Belgians--The _regatta_--The birch-bark canoe and the Prince de
     Joinville's "Whitehaller"--War-dance--Ball-play--Archery--Dinner
     prepared for the Indians--M. Gudin and the Author join
     them--Indians' return--Gossip at night--Their ideas of the
     King and Royal Family--Messenger from the King, with gold and
     silver medals and money, to the Indians--The War-chief cures
     a cancer--Author's Collection in the _Salle de Seance_, in
     the Louvre--The Indians and the Author dine with M. Passy,
     Member of Deputies--Kind treatment by himself and lady--King
     visits the Collection in the Louvre--The Author explains
     his pictures--Persons present--An hour's visit--The King
     retires--Second visit of the King and Royal Family to the
     Collection--The Author's four little children presented to the
     King--His Majesty relates the anecdote of bleeding himself
     in America, and his visit to General Washington at Mount
     Vernon--His descent of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, in a
     small boat, to New Orleans--Orders the Author to paint fifteen
     pictures for Versailles.


The day, which had arrived, for our visit to the King at St. Cloud,
was a pleasant one, and, all the party being ready, we went off in
good spirits; and on our arrival our carriages were driven into the
Royal Park, and conducted to a lovely spot on the bank of an artificial
lake, where there were a considerable number of persons attached to the
Court already assembled to see the Indians; and in the lake, at their
feet, a beautiful birch-bark canoe from their own tribe, belonging to
the Duchess of Orleans, and by the side of it an elegant regatta-boat,
belonging to the Prince de Joinville, with "_White Hall_," in large
letters, on her sides, showing that she was a native of New York.

The Indians had been told that they were to paddle one of their
own canoes for the amusement of the Royal Family, but had not as
yet dreamed that they were to contend for speed with a full-manned
"_White-Haller_," in a trial for speed, before two kings and two queens
and all of the Royal Family.

Just learning this fact, and seeing the complement of men in blue
jackets and tarpaulin hats, in readiness for the contest, they felt
somewhat alarmed. However, I encouraged them on, and the appearance
of the Royal Family and the King and Queen of the Belgians, in their
carriages, at the next moment, changed the subject, and their alarms
were apparently forgotten.

Their Majesties, and all of the two Royal Families, descended from
their carriages, and, gathering around the Indians in a group, listened
to each one's name as they were in turn presented. (_Plate No. 19._)

Louis Phillipe, and also the King of the Belgians, conversed for some
time with the chiefs, while her Majesty and the other ladies seemed
more amused with the women, and the little pappoose, in its beautifully
embroidered cradle, slung on its mother's back.

After this conversation and an examination of their costumes, weapons,
&c., the targets were placed, and an exhibition of their skill in
archery ensued. And after that, taking up their ball-sticks, "the ball
was tossed," and they soon illustrated the surprising mode of catching
and throwing the ball with their rackets or "ball-sticks."

This illustration being finished, they sounded the war-whoop, and
brandished their shields and tomahawks and war-clubs in the war-dance,
which their Majesties had expressed a desire to see. (_Plate No. 20._)

Every member of the two Royal Families happened to be present, I
was told, on this occasion--a very unusual occurrence; and all had
descended from their carriages, and grouped in a beautiful lawn, to
witness the wild sports of these sons of the forest. I was called upon
at that moment to explain the meaning of the war-dance, war-song,
war-whoop, &c., for doing which I received the thanks of all the party,
which gave me peculiar satisfaction.

  [Illustration: N^o. 19.]

  [Illustration: N^o. 20.]

The King at this time announced to the chief that he wished to see
how they paddled the birch canoe, that he had two American canoes,
which they had put into the water; one was a canoe, he said, made of
birch-bark by their own tribe, the Ojibbeways, and had belonged to his
son, the Duke of Orleans; and the other, now belonging to the Prince de
Joinville, was made in the city of New York; and he was anxious to be
able to decide which could make the best canoe, the white men or the
Indians.

The whole party now assembled on the shore, and the sailors and the
Indians took their seats in their respective boats, with oars and
paddles in hand, and the race soon took place. (_Plate No. 21._) It was
a very exciting scene, but it seemed to be regretted by all that the
Indians were beaten, but which I think might not have been the case if
they had put two in their canoe instead of four, sinking it so deep as
to impede its progress; or if they had put two squaws into it instead
of the men, as they are in the Indian country much superior to the men
in paddling canoes.

I had much conversation on this occasion with H.R.H. the Prince de
Joinville relative to the Indian modes and his travels in America, when
he recollected to have seen me and my collection in Washington city.

Whilst these amusements were thus going on, my friend M. Gudin had
prepared his canvas and easel near the ground, where he was busily
engaged in painting the group, and of which he made a charming picture
for the King.

These curious and amusing scenes altogether lasted about two hours,
after which their Majesties and all took leave, the King, the Queen,
and the Duchess of Orleans successively thanking me for the interesting
treat I had afforded them. Their carriages were then ordered to drive
back empty, and all the royal party were seen strolling amidst the
forest towards the Palace.

The Indians and ourselves were soon seated in our carriages, and, being
driven to a wing of the palace, were informed that a feast was prepared
for us, to which we were conducted, and soon found our good friend M.
Gudin by our side, who took a seat and joined us in it. The healths
of the King and the Queen and the little Count de Paris were drunk in
the best of _chickabobboo_, and from that we returned, and all in good
glee, to our quarters in the city.

The reader by this time knows that this interview afforded the Indians
a rich subject for weeks of gossip in their leisure hours, and charged
their minds with a burthen of impatience to know what communications
there might yet be from the King, as they had heard that gold and
silver medals and presents of other descriptions were sent to the
Ioways after their interview.

They proceeded with their exhibitions, as usual, however, and on the
second day after the interview there came a messenger from the King
with medals of gold for the two chiefs, and silver ones for each of the
others of the party, and also 500 francs in money, which was handed
to the head chief, and, as in the former instances, equally divided
amongst them.

This completed all their anxieties, and finished the grandest epoch of
the poor fellows' lives, and of which they will be sure to make their
boasts as long as they live, and give me some credit for bringing it
about--their presentation to the Kings and Queens of France and Belgium.

A curious occurrence took place a few days after this, as I learned
on inquiring the object for which two ladies and a gentleman were in
daily attendance on the Indians, and occasionally taking the War-chief
away for an hour or two in their carriage and bringing him back again.
Daniel told me that the young lady, who was one of the party, had
dreamed that _Say-say-gon_ could cure a cancer on the face of her
father, which had baffled all the skill of the medical faculty and was
likely to terminate his life; and in consequence of her dream, the
relatives and herself were calling on him to induce him to make the
attempt, which he had engaged in, and in their daily drives with him
they were taking him to the Garden of Plants and to various parts of
the country, where he was searching for a particular kind of herb or
root, with which he felt confident he could cure it.

  [Illustration: N^o. 21.]

These visits were continued for some weeks, and I was informed by
Daniel and by the Indians that he succeeded in effecting the cure, and
that they handsomely rewarded him for it.

About this time, my lease expiring, I closed my exhibition, removing my
collection to the _Salle de Seance_, in the Louvre, where Daniel and I
soon arranged it for the inspection of the King and Royal Family; and
it being ready, I met his Majesty in it by appointment to explain its
contents to him.

The King entered at the hour appointed, with four or five of his
orderly officers about him, and, on casting his eyes around the room,
his first exclamation was that of surprise at its unexpected extent and
picturesque effect.

My friend M. Vattemare, and also another friend, Maj. Poore, from
the United States, were by my side, and greatly amused and pleased
with the remarks made by the King during the interview, relative to
my paintings, and also to incidents of his life amongst the Indians
of America during his exile. His Majesty soon recognised the picture
of an Indian ball-play, and several other scenes he had witnessed on
the American frontier, and repeatedly remarked that my paintings all
had the strong impress of nature in them, and were executed with much
spirit and effect. He seemed pleased and amused with the various Indian
manufactures, and particularly with the beautiful Crow wigwam from the
Rocky Mountains standing in the middle of the room, the door of which I
opened for his Majesty to pass under.

After his visit of half an hour he retired, appointing another
interview, telling me that the Queen must see the collection with him,
and also commanding the director of the Louvre to admit my little
children to his presence, having heard of their misfortune of losing
their mother, for which he felt much sympathy.

At the time appointed, a few days after, I met his Majesty again, with
a number of his illustrious friends, in my collection; and after he had
taken them around the room awhile to describe familiar scenes which
he had met there on his former visit, I continued to explain other
paintings and Indian manufactures in the collection. (_Plate No. 22._)

In the midst of our tour around the hall his Majesty met something that
again reminded him of scenes he had witnessed in his rambling life in
the backwoods of America, and he held us still for half an hour during
his recitals of them. He described the mode in which he and his two
brothers descended the Ohio and Mississippi rivers in an old Mackinaw
boat which they purchased at Pittsburg, and in which they made their
way amongst snags and sawyers and sandbars to the mouth of the Ohio,
six hundred miles, and from that down the still more wild and dangerous
current of the Mississippi, one thousand miles, to New Orleans,
fifty-two years ago, when nearly the whole shores of these rivers, with
their heavy forests, were in their native state, inhabited only by
Indians and wild beasts. They lived upon the game and fish they could
kill or purchase from the various tribes of Indians they visited along
the banks, and slept sometimes in their leaking and rickety boat, or
amongst the canebrake, and mosquitos, and alligators, and rattlesnakes
on the shores.

I took the liberty to ask his Majesty on this occasion whether the
story that has been current in the American prints "of an Indian
bleeding him" was correct; to which he replied, "No, not exactly; it
had been misunderstood. He had bled himself on one occasion in presence
of some Indians and a number of country people, when he had been
thrown out of his waggon, and carried, much injured, to a country inn;
and the people around him, seeing the ease and success with which he
did it, supposed him, of course, to be a physician; and when he had
sufficiently recovered from his fall to be able to start on his tour
again, the neighbours assembled around him and proposed that he should
abandon his plan of going farther west; that if he would remain amongst
them they would show him much better land than he would find by
proceeding on, and they would also elect him county physician, which
they stood much in need of, and in which capacity he would meet no
opposition. He thanked them for their kindness, assuring them that he
was not a physician, and also that he was not in search of lands, and,
taking leave, drove off."

  [Illustration: N^o. 22.]

He also gave an account of their visit to General Washington at Mount
Vernon, where they remained several days. General Washington gave them
directions about the route to follow in the journey they were about to
make across the Alleghany Mountains on horseback, and gave them also
several letters of introduction to be made use of on their way.

While we were thus listening to the narrations of his Majesty, my kind
and faithful nurse was approaching from the other end of the room and
leading up my little children (_Plate No. 22_), whom he immediately
recognised as my little family, and in the most kind and condescending
manner took them by their hands and chatted with them in language and
sentences suited to their age.

His next object was to designate the paintings he wished me to copy and
somewhat enlarge, and soon pointed out the number of fifteen, which I
was commanded to paint for the palace at Versailles.

During the time that my collection was thus remaining in the Louvre
many distinguished persons about the Court had access to it, and
amongst the number an excellent and kind lady, Madame Passy, the wife
of one of the distinguished members of the House of Deputies. This
charming lady sought an acquaintance with the Indians also, and, taking
a deep interest in their character and situation, invited them all to
dine at her house, where they were treated with genuine kindness and
liberality, which they will never forget.




                              CHAPTER XXX.

  The Author leaves his Collection in the Louvre, and arrives with
     the Indians in Bruxelles--Indians at the soiree of the American
     Minister in Bruxelles--Author's reception by the King in the
     Palace--Small-pox among the Indians--Indians unable to visit
     the Palace--Exhibition closes--Seven sick with small-pox--Death
     of one of them--His will--A second dies--His will--The rest
     recover--Faithful attentions of Daniel--The Author accompanies
     them to Antwerp, and pays their expenses to London on a
     steamer--Death of the War-chief in London--His will--The
     Author raises money by subscription and sends to them--Letter
     from the survivors, in England, to the Author--Drawings by
     the War-chief--The Author stopped in the streets of London
     and invited to see the skeleton of the War-chief!--His
     indignation--Subsequent deaths of four others of this party
     in England--The three parties of Indians in Europe--Their
     objects--Their success--Their conduct--Their reception and
     treatment--Things which they saw and learned--Estimates and
     statistics of civilized life which they have carried home--Their
     mode of reasoning from such premises--And the probable results.


During the time that my collection was exposed to the exclusive views
of the Royal Family and their guests, the Indians were lying still, at
my expense, which was by no means a trifling item. The young man whom I
said they were under a contract with to pay them so much per month had
performed his agreement with them for the two first months, and when
the third month's wages became due he declared to them and to me that
he could not pay them, nor pay their expenses back to London, as he was
obligated to do. These duties then devolved on me, or at least, the
Indians having been so long under my control and direction, I assumed
them, and told the chiefs I would pay their expenses to London, and
probably make something for them on the way, after my exhibition in the
Louvre was finished.

They were thus lying idle at this time, waiting for me to be at liberty
to go with them, and, as I have said, living at my expense. I told
them that I designed going by the way of Belgium, and making their
exhibitions in Bruxelles, Antwerp, and Ghent for a few weeks, the whole
receipts of which, over the expenses, they should have, and I fully
believed it would be sufficient to pay their expenses quite home to
their own country; and that I would also, as I had promised, pay all
their expenses from Paris to London myself.

With this design and with these views, leaving my collection in the
Louvre, I started with the Indians for Bruxelles, where we arrived the
next evening.

We were all delighted with the appearance of Bruxelles, and the Indians
in fine glee, in the fresh recollections of the honours just paid
them in Paris, and the golden prospect which they considered now lay
before them. But little did they dream, poor fellows! of the different
fate that there awaited them. While resting a few days, preparing
for the commencement of their exhibitions, they were kindly invited,
with the author, to attend the _soiree_ of the American Minister, Mr.
Clemson, where they were ushered into a brilliant and numerous crowd of
distinguished and fashionable people, and seemed to be the lions of the
evening, admired and complimented by all, and their way was thus paved
for the commencement of their exhibitions. I had in the mean time made
all the preparations and the necessary outlays for their operations,
which they merely began upon, when it became necessary to suspend their
exhibitions, owing to one of the number having been taken sick with the
small-pox.

I had at this time an audience appointed with the King, at the Palace,
where I went and was most kindly received and amused in half an hour's
conversation with His Majesty about the condition and modes of the
American Indians. He expressed the deepest sympathy for them and
solicitude for their welfare and protection, and, a few days after my
audience, transmitted to me, through one of his ministers, a beautiful
gold medal, with an appropriate inscription on it.

The nature of the sickness that had now appeared amongst the Indians
prevented the contemplated interview at the Palace, and also all
communication with the public. It was still hoped by the physicians
that a few days would remove all difficulty, but it was destined to be
otherwise, for in a few days two others were attacked, and in a day or
two more another and another, and at last they were in that pitiable
and alarming state that seven of them were on their backs with that
awful and (to them) most fatal of all diseases.

My position then, as the reader will perceive, was one of a most
distressing and painful kind, with my natural sympathy for their race,
and now with the whole responsibility for the expenses, lives, and
welfare of these poor people on my shoulders, their only friend and
protector in a foreign country, as their conductor had left them and
returned to London, and my own life in imminent danger whilst I was
attending on them.

One of these poor fellows died in the course of a few days in their
rooms, another died in one of the hospitals to which he was removed,
and a third died a few days after they reached London, though he was in
good health when he travelled across the Channel.

Such were the melancholy results of this awful catastrophe, which the
reader will easily see broke up all their plans of exhibitions in
Belgium, and ended in the death of three of the finest men of the party.

Their sickness in Bruxelles detained me there near two months before
the survivors were well enough to travel, during which gloomy time I
had opportunity enough to test the fidelity of my man Daniel and his
attachment to the Indians, who stayed by them night and day, fearless
of his own danger, as he lifted them about in his arms in their
loathsome condition both when dead and alive.

When the party were well enough to travel I went to Antwerp with
them, and placed them on a steamer for London, having paid their fare
and given them a little money to cover their first expenses when they
should arrive there. I then took leave of them, and returned to my
little family in Paris, having been absent near three months, with an
expenditure of 350_l._

With the poor fellows who died there seemed to be a presentiment with
each, the moment he was broken out with the disease, that he was to
die, and a very curious circumstance attended this conviction in each
case.

The first one, when he found the disease was well identified on him,
sat down upon the floor with the next one, his faithful and confiding
friend, and, having very deliberately told him he was going to die,
unlocked his little trunk, and spreading all his trinkets, money, &c.,
upon the floor, bequeathed them to his friends, making the other the
sole executor of his will, intrusting them all to him, directing him
to take them to his country and deliver them with his own hand. As he
was intrusting these precious gifts, with his commands, to an Indian,
he was certain, poor fellow! that they would be sacredly preserved and
delivered, and he then locked his little trunk, and, having given to
his friend the key, he turned to his bed, where he seemed composed and
ready to die, because, he said, it was the will of the Great Spirit,
and he didn't think that the Great Spirit would have selected him
unless it was to better his condition in some way.

About the time of the death of this young man his confiding and
faithful friend was discovered to be breaking out with the disease
also, and, seeming to be under a similar conviction, he called
_Say-say-gon_ (the War-chief) to him, and, like the other, unlocked
_his_ little trunk, and, taking out his medal from the King, and other
presents and money, he designated a similar distribution of them
amongst his relatives; and trusting to the War-chief to execute his
will, he locked his trunk, having taken the last look at his little
hard-earned treasures, and, unlocking that of his deceased companion,
and designating, as well as he could, the manner in which the verbal
instructions had been left with him, gave the key to the War-chief,
and begged of him to take charge of the trunk and the presents, and to
see them bestowed according to the will of the testator. After this
he turned away from his little worldly treasures, and suddenly lost
all knowledge of them in the distress of the awful disease that soon
terminated his existence.

The War-chief was one who escaped the disease in Bruxelles, and, being
amongst those whom I took to Antwerp and sent by steamer to London, was
at that time in good health and spirits; but letters which I received
a few days after their arrival in London informed me that he was there
attacked with the same disease, and, most singular to relate, as soon
as he discovered the disease breaking out upon his skin, he said that
he should die, and, calling the chief _Maun-gua-daus_ to him, he,
like the others, opened _his_ trunk, and, willing his gold medal from
the hand of Louis Philippe, to his little son, and his other trinkets
and money to his wife and other relatives, intrusted the whole to the
chief to execute. He then unlocked the trunks of his two friends who
were dead, and, as well as he could recollect them, communicated to
_Maun-gua-daus_ the nature of the two bequests that had been intrusted
to him, and died, leaving the chief to be the bearer of all the little
effects they had earned, and sole executor of their three wills.

It is a fact which may be of interest to be made known, that all of
this party had been vaccinated in their own country, and supposed
themselves protected from the disease; and also that the only three
full-blooded men of the party died. The other four who had the disease
had it in a modified form, and, in all probability, with the three who
died, the vaccine matter had not been properly communicated, or, what
is more probable, and often the case in the exposed lives they lead, it
had in some way been prevented from taking its usual effect.

After their misfortunes in Belgium and in London the excellent lady of
the American Ambassador in Bruxelles raised, by a subscription, several
hundred francs and sent to me in Paris, to which I got other additions
in that city, and forwarded to them in England, to assist in paying
their expenses back to their own country; and shortly after, and before
they embarked for America, I received the following letter from them,
which I feel it my duty to myself to insert here, lest any one should
be led to believe that I did less than my duty to these unfortunate
people:--

             "TO GEO. CATLIN, Esq., now in Paris.

                                        "_London, Jan. 27, 1846._
  "OUR DEAR FRIEND,

  "We send you our words on paper to let you know that we are thankful
  for your kindness to us. You have done everything to make us happy
  while with you in Paris and Belgium; and as all our people know in
  America that you are indeed their best friend, they will be glad to
  hear that you have taken us into your kind care whilst we were in a
  foreign land, and that while you were in a deep affliction with your
  own family.

          MAUN-GUA-DAUS,
          KE-CHE-US-SIN,
          A-WUN-NE-WA-BE,
          WAU-BUD-DICK,
          UH-WUS-SIG-GEE-ZIGH-<DW58>-KWAY."

The above letter was spontaneous on their part, and written in the hand
of _Maun-gua-daus_, the chief, who spoke and wrote the English language
very correctly.

I was much shocked and distressed to hear of the death of
_Say-say-gon_, the War-chief, for he was a remarkably fine Indian, and
had become much attached to me. His life, as a warrior and a hunter,
had been one of an extraordinary nature, and the principal incidents of
it, particularly in the hunting department, he had been for some weeks
engaged, just before their disastrous sickness, in illustrating by a
series of designs in his rude way, presenting me a portfolio of them,
with the story of each, which I wrote down from his own lips as he
narrated them.

This most amusing and original keepsake, which I shall treasure up as
long as I live, and which I regret that the dimensions of this work
did not allow me the space to insert, can at all times be seen by the
curious of my friends who desire to see it.

For the amusement of the reader, however, I have made room for a
couple of his drawings, which will convey some idea of their general
character, and of the decided cleverness of this good fellow at
story-telling and design. The woodcuts are traced from the originals,
and are therefore as near fac-similes as I could make them. _Plate No.
23_ represents _Pane-way-ee-tung_, the brother-in-law of _Say-say-gon_,
crossing the river Thomas in a bark canoe, who had the following
curious and amusing encounter with a bear which he met swimming in
the middle of the river. Though the Indian had no other weapon than a
paddle, he pursued the bear, and, overtaking it, struck it a blow, upon
which it made an effort to climb into the canoe, by which the canoe was
upset and the Indian sank under it. He arose to the surface, however,
just behind the canoe, which in its progress had passed over him, and,
being bottom upwards, the bear had climbed upon it, as seen in the
sketch, and, having seen the man sink under it, was feeling under the
canoe with his paws in hopes of getting hold of him. The bear, having
made no calculation for the progress of the canoe, had not thought of
looking behind it for his enemy, but balanced himself with difficulty
without being able to look back; and whilst he was thus engaged feeling
for his enemy under the canoe the Indian silently swam behind it, and,
cautiously pushing it forward with his hand, succeeded in moving it
near the shore, where he discovered his friend _Say-say-gon_ hunting
with his rifle, who was in waiting for it, and when near enough shot it
in the head.

_Plate No. 24_ is his illustration of the first interview between white
men and the Ojibbeway Indians; his description of it is as follows:--

  "_Gitch-ee-gaw-ga-osh_ (the point that remains for ever), who died
  many snows since, and who was so old that he had smoked with three
  generations, said that his grandfather, _On-daig_, met the first
  white man who ever entered an Ojibbeway's wigwam. That white man was
  a great chief, who wore a red coat. He had many warriors with him,
  who all came in sight of the village of _On-daig_ (the crow),
  and, leaving his warriors behind, he walked towards the wigwam of
  _On-daig_, who came out, with his pipe of peace in one hand, and
  his war-club in the other. _On-daig_ offered his pipe to the white
  chief to smoke, who put his sword behind him in one hand, and raised
  his hat with the other. _On-daig_ never had seen a white man's hat
  before, and, thinking the white chief was going to strike him with
  it, drew his war-club. They soon, however, understood each other, and
  smoked the pipe together."

  [Illustration: N^o. 23.]

  [Illustration: N^o. 24.]

But a few months after the death of this fine Indian I was on a visit
to London, and while walking in Piccadilly was accosted by an old
acquaintance, who in our conversation informed me that the skeleton of
my old friend the War-chief had been preserved, and he seemed to think
it might be an interesting thing for me to see. The struggle between
the ebullition of indignation and the quiescence of disgust rendered
me for the moment almost unfit for a reply; and I withheld it for a
moment, until the poor Indian's ideas of hyaenas before described had
time to run through my mind, and some other similar reflections, when
I calmly replied, "I have no doubt but the skeleton is a subject of
interest, but I shall not have time to see it."

My friend and I parted here, and I went on through Piccadilly, and I
know not where, meditating on the virtues of scientific and mercenary
man. I thought of the heroic _Osceola_, who was captured when he was
disarmed and was bearing a white flag in his hand; who died a prisoner
of war, and whose head was a few months afterwards offered for sale in
the city of New York! I thought also of the thousands of Indian graves
I had seen on the frontier thrown open by sacrilegious hands for the
skulls and trinkets they enclosed, to which the retiring relatives were
lurking back to take the last glance of, and to mingle their last tears
over, with the horror of seeing the bones of their fathers and children
strewed over the ground by hands too averse to labour and too ruthless
to cover them again.

I was here forcibly struck with the fitness of Jim's remarks about the
hyaenas, of "their resemblance to _Chemokimons_ or pale-faces," when I
told him that they lived by digging up and devouring bodies that had
been consigned to the grave.

I thought also of the distress of mind of the Little Wolf when he lost
his child at Dundee--of his objections to bury it in a foreign land;
and also of the double pang with which the fine fellow suffered when
dire necessity compelled him to leave the body of his affectionate
wife amidst the graves of the thousands whose limbs and bones were no
curiosity. And I could thus appreciate the earnestness with which,
in his last embrace of me in Paris, he desired me to drive every day
in a cab, as he had been in the habit of doing, to the cemetery of
Montmartre, to see that no one disturbed the grave of her whom he had
loved, but was then to leave; and that I should urge his kind friend
M. Vattemare to hasten the completion of the beautiful monument he was
getting made, that it might be sure to be erected over her grave before
she might be dug up.

With regard to the remainder of the party of Ojibbeways whom I have
said I had advised to return as soon as possible to their own country,
I am grieved to inform the reader that, from letters from several
friends in England, I have learned that the chief has persisted in
travelling through various parts of the kingdom, making his exhibitions
of Indian life during the last year, and has had the singular and
lamentable misfortune of burying three of his children and his wife!

These, being facts, show a loss of seven out of twelve of that party,
affording a shocking argument against the propriety of persons bringing
Indians to Europe with a view to making their exhibitions a just or
profitable speculation.

Three of the former party died while under my direction, as I have
described in the foregoing pages; and a noble fine Indian, by the name
of _Jock-o-sot_, of the Sac tribe, brought to England by a Mr. Wallace
about the same time, was dying, and died on his way home, from causes
he met in this country; making the melancholy list of eleven who lost
their lives in the space of eighteen months.

These are facts which bring the reader's mind, as well as that of
the author, to inquire what were the objects of these parties in
England--how they came here--and what their success, as well as what
will be the results that will probably flow from them. Each of these
speculations has undoubtedly been projected by the white men who
brought the Indians over, having conceived a plan of employing and
taking to Europe such parties, who would be great curiosities in a
foreign country, and by their exhibitions enabled to realise a great
deal of money.

These parties, in each case, have been employed, and induced to come on
condition of a certain sum of money to be paid them per month, or so
much per year, to be given them on their return to their own country,
with the additional advantage of having all their expenses borne, and
themselves entitled to all the numerous presents they would receive
during their travels.

As I have been with each of these parties the greater part of the time
while they were making their exhibitions, I feel quite sure that this
last condition of their engagements has been strictly kept with them,
and that by it the Indians profited to a considerable amount from the
kind and charitable hands of people whom they were amusing. But how far
they have been benefited by the other conditions of their engagements,
after they have returned to their homes, I am unable to tell.

As for their reception by the public generally where they have
travelled, and their conduct whilst amongst and dealing with the world,
it gives me great pleasure, as a living witness, to tender to that
public my grateful acknowledgments for the kindness and friendship with
which they received those unsophisticated people; and in justice to
the Indians, as well as for the satisfaction of those who knew them,
to acknowledge the perfect propriety of their conduct and dignity of
deportment whilst they were abroad.

There were of the three parties thirty-five in all, and I am proud, for
the character of the abused race which I am yet advocating, that, for
the year and a half that I was daily and hourly in familiarity with
them in Europe, I never discovered either of them intoxicated, or in a
passion with one another, or with the world. They met the people, and
all the wondrous and unaccountable works which their eyes were daily
opened to in the enlightened world, with an evenness of temper and
apparent ease and familiarity which surprised all who saw them.

Their conduct was uniformly decent and respectful, and through their
whole tour, whilst abroad, they furnished a striking corroboration of
two of the leading traits of their national character, which I have
advanced in my former work, of their strict adherance to promises they
make, and of their never-ending garrulity and anecdote when, in their
little fireside circles, they are out of the embarrassing gaze of the
enlightened world, who are wiser than themselves.

For these nightly gossips, which generally took place in their private
apartments after the labours of the day were done and the pipe was lit,
the excitements of the day, and the droll and marvellous things they
had seen in their exhibition-room and in the streets of London and
Paris, afforded them the endless themes; and of these little sittings
I was almost an inseparable member, as will have been seen by many
anecdotes entered in the pages which the reader has already passed over.

It will be pleasing therefore to the reader, at least to those who
felt an interest in those poor people, to learn, that, though they
might have been objects of concern and pity whilst making a show of
themselves in this country, they were, nevertheless, happy, and in the
height of amusements, philosophically enjoying life as they went along;
and to those who know me, and feel any anxiety for my welfare, that,
although I was aiding them in a mode of living to which I was always
opposed, I was happy in their society, and also in the belief that I
was rendering them an essential service, although my labours were much
less successful as regarded my own pecuniary interest.

One of the leading inducements for Indians to enter into such
enterprises, and the one which gains the consent of their friends
and relations around them, and more particularly is advanced to the
world as the plausible motive for taking Indians abroad, is that of
enlightening them--of opening their eyes to the length and breadth of
civilization, and all the inventions and improvements of enlightened
society. These three parties (having met their old friend and advocate
abroad, who has introduced them to the highest society of the
world--has led them into three palaces, and from those down through
every grade of society, and into almost every institution and factory
of the continent--whose eyes and whose ears have been opened to most of
the information and improvements of this enlightened age, and who have
gone back to relate and to apply, in their own country, the knowledge
they have gained) will furnish the best argument on record, for or
against the propriety of bringing American Indians abroad, as the means
of enlightening them and making them suitable teachers of civilization
when they go back to the wilderness. And though the pages of this book
cannot sum up the results of these visits, which can only be looked up
ultimately in the respective tribes to which they have returned, yet a
few words more upon the materials with which they have returned, and
the author's opinion (in his familiar knowledge of the Indians' mode of
reasoning) of their probable results, may not be obtrusive, as a sort
of recapitulation of scenes and estimates, with their tendencies, made
in the foregoing pages.

It is natural, or at least habitual, to suppose that, for the ignorant
to learn is always to improve; and that what a savage people can learn
amongst civilized society _must be_ for their benefit. But in this
view of the case, which would generally be correct, there arises a
very fair question how far, for the benefit of the unenlightened parts
of the world, it is judicious to acquaint them at a glance, with the
whole glare of the lights and shades of civilized life, by opening
the eyes of such parties to so many virtues and so many luxuries and
refinements so far beyond the possibility of their acquiring, and at
the same time to so many vices, to so much poverty and beggary not
known in their simple modes of life, to teach to their people and
to descant on when they get home; themselves as well as those whom
they are teaching, despairing of ever attaining to what they have
seen to admire and covet, and unwilling to descend to the degrading
vices and poverty which they have seen mixed up in the mysterious and
money-making medley of civilization.

If I startle the readers, let them reflect for a moment upon what
perhaps some of them have never yet exactly appreciated--that a man,
to know how his own house looks, must see how the houses of others
appear. To know how his own city and country actually look, and how
his countrymen act and live, he should see how cities and countries
look, and how people act, in other parts of the world. If he will do
this, and then leave all civilized countries a while, and the din and
clatter, and the struggles for wealth amidst the rags and vices of the
community he has lived in, and taste for a time the simple, silent
life of the wilderness, he will find, on returning to his home, that
he has been raised amongst a variety of vices and follies which he
never before had duly appreciated, and will then realise, to a certain
degree, the view which the savages take of the scenes in civilized life
when they look into the strange medley of human existence in our great
towns and cities, where all the contrasts are before their eyes, of
rich and poor, equally struggling for wealth or the means of existence.

With such eyes were those wild people here to look; and without the
cares and hourly and momentary concerns which lead the scrambling,
busy world through and across the streets, blinded to what is about
them, the poor but entirely independent Indians were daily and
hourly scanning from the top of their buss, or the platform of their
exhibition-rooms, the scenes, and manners, and expressions that were
about them; and though they looked with unenlightened eyes, they
saw and correctly appreciated many things in London and Paris which
the eyes of Londoners and Parisians scarcely see. They saw their
sights and got their estimates and statistics, and in the leisure of
their inquisitive and abstracted minds drew deductions which few of
the business world have leisure or inclination to make; and with all
of these they have gone back to be the illustrators and teachers of
civilization in the wilderness.

Each one will be a verbal chronicler, as long as he lives, of the
events and scenes he witnessed while abroad, and _Wash-ka-mon-ya_ (or
Jim), with his smattering of civilization, and his book of entries,
which he will find enough to read and translate, will furnish abundance
of written evidence for them to comment upon to their nation, who will
be looking to them for information of the secret of civilization.

The bazaar of toys and trinkets presented to them, with the money and
medals which they will open to view in the wilderness, will glitter in
the eyes of their people, and, it is to be feared, may be an inducement
to others to follow their example.

Their _Bibles_ had increased in their various boxes since the last
census to more than a hundred and fifty; their _religious tracts_,
which they could not read, to some thousands; their _dolls_, in all,
to fifty; and other useless toys, to a great number. Then came their
_medals_, their _grosses of buttons_, their _beads_, _ribbons_,
_brooches_, _fans_, _knives_, _daggers_, _combs_, _pistols_, _shawls_,
_blankets_, _handkerchiefs_, _canes_, _umbrellas_, _beaver hats_,
_caps_, _coats_, _bracelets_, _pins_, _eye-glasses_, &c. &c.; and
then their prints--views of countries they had seen, of _churches_,
_cathedrals_, _maps of London and Paris_, _views of bridges_, of
_factories_, of _coal-pits_, of _catacombs_, of _Morgues_, &c. &c.,
to an almost countless number, all to be opened and commented upon,
and then scattered, as the first indications of civilization, in the
wilderness. These are but mere toys, however, but gewgaws that will
be met as matters of course, and soon used up and lost sight of. But
Jim's book of the statistics of London, of Paris, and New York, will
stand the _Magna Charta_ of his nation, and around it will assemble
the wiseacres of the tribe, descanting on and seeking for a solution
of the blessings of civilization, as the passing pipe sends off its
curling fumes, to future ages, over its astounding and marvellous
estimates of civilized _nations_, of _cities_, of _churches_, of
_courts of justice_, and _gaols_--of the tens of thousands of civilized
people who are in it recorded (to their amazement) as _blind_, as _deaf
and dumb_, and _insane_; of _gallows_ and _guillotines_, of _massacres_
and _robberies_, the number of _grog-shops_ and _breweries_,
of _coal-pits_, of _tread-mills_ and _foundling hospitals_, of
_poorhouses_ and _paupers_, of _beggars_ and _starvation_, of
_brothels_, of _prisons for debtors_, of _rapes_, of _bigamy_, of
_taxation_, of _game-laws_, of _Christianity_, of _drunkenness_, of
_national debt_ and _repudiation_.

The estimates of all these subjects have gone to the wilderness, with
what the eyes of the Indians saw of the poverty and distress of the
civilized world, to be taught to the untaught, and hereafter to be
arrayed, if they choose, against the teachings of civilization and
Christianity in the Indian communities: a table of the enormous numbers
in the civilized world who by their own folly or wickedness drag
through lives of pain and misery, leaving their Indian critics, in the
richness of their imaginations, to judge of the immense proportion of
the enlightened world who, in just retribution, must perish for their
crimes and their follies; and in their ignorance, and the violence
of their prejudices, to imagine what proportion of them are actually
indulged in the comforts of this life, or destined to enjoy the
happiness of the world to come.

Teaching, I have always thought, should be gradual, and but one thing
(or at most but few things) taught at a time. By all who know me and
my views, I am known to be, as I am, an advocate of civilization; but
of civilization, as it has generally been taught amongst the American
Indians, I have a poor opinion; and of the plan I am now treating of,
of sending parties to foreign countries to see all that can be seen
and learned in civilized life, I have a still poorer opinion, being
fully convinced that they learn too much for useful teachers in their
own country. The strides that they thus take are too great and too
sudden for the slow and gradual steps that can alone bring man from a
savage to a civilized state. They require absolutely the reverse of
what they will learn from such teachers. They should, with all their
natural prejudices against civilized man, be held in ignorance of the
actual crime, dissipation, and poverty that belong to the enlightened
world, until the honest pioneer, in his simple life, with his plough
and his hoe, can wile them into the mode of raising the necessaries of
life, which are the first steps from savage to civil, and which they
will only take when their prejudices against white men are broken down,
which is most effectually done by teaching them the modes of raising
their food and acquiring property. I therefore am constrained to give
judgment here against the propriety of parties of Indians visiting
foreign countries with a view to enlightening their people when they
go back; and here also to register my opinion, for which I am daily
asked, as to the effects which these visits to Europe will have upon
the parties who have been abroad, and what impressions they will make
amongst their people when they return.

I am sure they saw many things which pleased them and gained their
highest admiration, and which they might be benefited by seeing; and
also that they saw many others which it would have been decidedly
better they had never seen. They have witnessed and appreciated the
virtues and blessings, and at the same time the vices and miseries and
degradations of civilized life, the latter of which will doubtless
have made the deepest impressions upon their minds, and which (not
unlike some _more distinguished travellers than themselves_) they will
comment and enlarge upon, and about in equal justice to the nation they
represent and are endeavouring to instruct.

Their tour of a year or two abroad, amidst the mazes and mysteries of
civilized life, will rest in their minds like a romantic dream, not to
be forgotten, nor to be dreamed over again; their lives too short to
aspire to what they have seen to approve, and their own humble sphere
in their native wilds so decidedly preferable to the parts of civilized
life which they did not admire, that they will probably convert the
little money they have made, and their medals and trinkets, into whisky
and rum, and drown out, if possible, the puzzling enigma, which, with
arguments, the poor fellows have found it more difficult to solve.

With this chapter I take leave of my Indian friends; and as the main
subject of this work ends with their mission to Europe, the reader
finds himself near the end of his task.

In taking leave of my red friends, I will be pardoned for repeating
what I have before said, that on this side of the Atlantic they
invariably did the best they could do; and that, loving them still as
I have done, I shall continue to do for them and their race, all the
justice that shall be in the power of my future strength to do.




                             CHAPTER XXXI.

  The Author returns to his little children in Paris--His loss of
     time and money--The three Indian speculations--His efforts
     to promote the interests of the Indians, and the persons who
     brought them to Europe--His advice to other persons wishing
     to engage in similar enterprises--The Author retires to his
     atelier, and paints the fifteen pictures for the King--The
     pleasure of quiet and retirement with his four little
     children around him--He offers his Indian Collection to the
     American Government--And sends his memorial to Congress--Bill
     reported in favour of the purchase--The Author has an
     interview with the King in the Tuileries--Delivers the fifteen
     pictures--Subjects of the pictures painted--Conversations
     with the King--Reflections upon his extraordinary life--The
     Author's thoughts, while at his easel, upon scenes of his
     life gone by--And those that were about him, as he strolled,
     with his little children, through the streets and society of
     Paris--Distressing and alarming illness of the Author's four
     little children--Kindness of sympathizing friends--Death of
     "little George"--His remains sent to New York, and laid by the
     side of his mother--A father's tears and loneliness--The Author
     returns with his Collection to London.


The commencement of this chapter finds me at my easel, in a comfortable
_atelier_ in my own apartments in Paris, where I had retired, with my
little children about me, to paint the fifteen pictures for the King,
and others for which I had some standing orders.

My collection was at this time placed in a magazine in the vicinity of
my dwelling, and my faithful man Daniel still continued his charge over
it, keeping it in repair, and plying between it and my painting-room
when I required models from my collection to work from.

The true measure of ordinary happiness I have long believed to be
the amount of distress or anxiety we have escaped from; and in this
instance I felt, retired from the constant anxieties I had lived under
for the last six or seven years, demanding all my time, and holding my
hand from my easel, as if I could be happy, even in my grief, with my
four dear little children around me, whom their kind mother had but a
few months before, in her dying breath, committed to my sole keeping
and protection.

My house, though there was a gloom about it, had a melancholy charm
from its associations, whilst its halls were enlivened by the notes of
my little innocents, who were just old enough for my amusement, and too
young fully to appreciate the loss they had sustained, and whose little
arms were now concentrated about my neck, as the only one to whom they
claimed kindred and looked for protection.

My dear little namesake, George, and my only boy, then three years and
a half old, was my youngest, and, being the only one of my little flock
to perpetuate my name, had adopted my painting-room as his constant
play-house, and, cronies as we had become there, our mutual enjoyment
was as complete as my happiness was, in the dependence I was placing on
him for the society of my future days. His first passion, like that of
most children, had been for the drum, with which, slung upon his back,
with drumsticks in hand, he made my _atelier_ and apartments ring, and
never was happier or more proud than when we addressed him as "Tambour
Major," by which name he familiarly went, and to which he as promptly
answered.

Besides the company of this dear little fellow, I had the sweet society
of my three little girls, of ten, eight, and six years old, and with
all, and the pleasures at my easel, I counted myself in the enjoyments
of life that I would have been unwilling for any consideration to
part with. I thus painted on, dividing my time between my easel, my
little children, and the few friends I had in Paris, resolving and
re-resolving to devote the remainder of my life to my art, being
in possession of the fullest studies from nature to enable me to
illustrate the early history of my country in its various dealings
with the Indian tribes of America; and in these labours I also with
pleasure resolved to continue my efforts to do justice to their
character and their memory.

The American Congress was at that time in session, with a surplus
revenue in the treasury of more than 12,000,000 of dollars; and,
deeming it an auspicious time, I proposed the sale of my collection by
my Memorial, to that body, believing there was sympathy enough for the
poor Indians in my country, and disposition to preserve all the records
of this dying race, to induce the Congress to purchase the collection
as connected with the history of the country.

I had been stimulated, the whole time whilst making the collection,
with the hope that it would be perpetuated on the soil where these
ill-fated people have lived and perished; and was constantly encouraged
in my labours with the belief that such would be the case.

On my Memorial, a Bill was reported by the Joint Committee on the
Library, complimenting me in the strongest terms, and recommending its
purchase; but, owing to the sudden commencement of the Mexican war at
that time, no action was had upon it, and it now remains to be seen
whether the Government will take it up again, or whether the collection
will be left, because more highly appreciated, in a foreign land. My
unavoidable belief still is, that some measure will be adopted for its
preservation in my native country, a monument to those people who have
bequeathed to the United States all her dominions, and who are rapidly
wasting away; though I have fears that the call for it may be too late,
either to gratify my ambition to see it perpetuated amongst the records
of my country, or to enable me to feel the reward for my hard labour.

The Bill reported in the Congress I have taken the liberty to insert
here, for the very high compliment it conveys, as well as for the
benefit it may in some way afford me by the value therein set upon my
works.

  BILL reported in the AMERICAN CONGRESS, 1846, for the Purchase of
  CATLIN'S INDIAN GALLERY, July 24th, 1846. Read and laid upon the
  table. Mr. W. W. CAMPBELL, from the Joint Committee on the Library,
  made the following REPORT:--

  _The Joint Committee on the Library, to whom was referred the
  Memorial of Mr. Catlin for the purchase of his Gallery of Indian
  Collections and Paintings; and also the Memorial of American artists
  abroad, and of American citizens resident in London, respectfully
  report--_

  That of Mr. Catlin, who desires to place, on certain conditions, his
  extensive collection of Indian portraits, costumes, and other objects
  of interest connected with Indian life, in the possession of the
  Government, it is hardly necessary to speak, since his reputation is
  established throughout this country and Europe. A native of the state
  of Pennsylvania, his early studies were directed to the law, which,
  under an impulse of enthusiasm that often marks original genius,
  he soon abandoned for the pencil, stimulated by desire to give to
  his country exact and spirited representations of the persons,
  costumes, ceremonies, and homes of the aboriginal inhabitants of this
  continent, now retreating and gradually vanishing away before the
  power of civilization. Nor did he devote himself to his enterprises
  merely to gratify curiosity and preserve memorials of a bold,
  independent, and remarkable race of men, but to direct attention
  to certain lofty traits of their character, and excite, generally,
  friendly sentiments and efforts for their benefit. In making this
  collection, he expended eight entire years of his life and 20,000
  dollars, and visited, often at great hazard of his personal safety,
  more than forty different (and most of them remote) tribes. Unaided
  by public or private patronage, he pursued and effected his object,
  sustained, as he observes, by the ambition of procuring a full
  and complete pictorial history of a numerous and interesting race
  of human beings rapidly sinking into oblivion, and encouraged by
  the belief that the collection would finally be appropriated and
  protected by the Government of his own country, as a monument to
  a race once sole proprietors of this country, but who will soon
  have yielded it up, and with it probably their existence also, to
  civilized man.

  On Mr. Catlin's return from the western prairies, the attention of
  Congress was, in 1837 and 1838, turned towards his collection, and a
  resolution for its purchase was moved in the House, and referred to
  the Committee on Indian Affairs, who, it is understood, expressed in
  their report an unanimous opinion in favour of the purchase, though
  the near approach of the close of the session prevented its being
  submitted for consideration.

  In transferring his collection to Europe, Mr. Catlin had no intention
  of alienating it, or changing its nationality and destination; but,
  by its exhibition, sought to secure support for his family, and
  obtain means of bringing out his great and expensive work on the
  Indians--a work which has thrown much light upon their character and
  customs, and been received with distinguished favour on both sides of
  the Atlantic.

  The judgment of our citizens, and that of eminent foreigners,
  is concurrent in regard to the value of this collection for the
  illustration of our history, and as a work of art. By desire of the
  King of France, it now occupies a gallery in the Louvre, and has been
  highly eulogized by the most distinguished artists and men of science
  in Paris. A large gold medal has been presented to Mr. Catlin by the
  King of the Belgians, with a letter expressing a high opinion of his
  productions.

  The American artists now in Paris, in a memorial addressed to
  Congress, urging the importance of securing this collection to our
  country, say, "Having made ourselves acquainted with the extent and
  interest of this unique collection, and of its peculiar interest
  to our country; and also aware of the encouraging offers now made
  to its proprietor for its permanent establishment in England, as
  well as the desire generally manifested here to have it added to
  the historical gallery of Versailles, we have ventured to unite in
  the joint expression of our anxiety that the members of the present
  Congress may pass some resolution that may be the means of restoring
  so valuable a collection to our country, and fixing it among its
  records. Interesting to our countrymen generally, it is absolutely
  necessary to American artists. The Italian who wishes to portray the
  history of Rome finds remnants of her sons in the Vatican; the French
  artist can study the ancient Gauls in the museums of the Louvre; and
  the Tower of London is rich in the armour and weapons of the Saxon
  race.

  "Your memorialists, therefore, most respectfully trust that Mr.
  Catlin's collection may be purchased and cherished by the Federal
  Government, as a nucleus for a national museum, where American
  artists may freely study that bold race who once held possession of
  our country, and who are so fast disappearing before the tide of
  civilization. Without such a collection, few of the glorious pages of
  our early history can be illustrated, while the use made of it here
  by French artists, in recording upon canvas the American discoveries
  of their countrymen in the last century, shows its importance."

  Your Committee feel the justice of these sentiments of American
  artists, and also the importance, as suggested in their memorial,
  of securing, by the purchase of his collection, the future efforts
  of Mr. Catlin for its enlargement. Let the Government appropriate
  his collection, and the chief ambition of its author's life will be
  realized, and he will be enabled, in a few years, to double it in
  value and extent.

  The bill which has recently passed the House for the establishment
  of the Smithsonian Institution provides that there shall belong to
  it a "gallery of art;" and of course it must be intended that such
  gallery shall be occupied by works of art. That such works should
  be principally American, is the obvious dictate of patriotism.
  No productions, your Committee believe, at present exist, more
  appropriate to this gallery than those of Mr. Catlin, or of equal
  importance. Should Congress fail to act on this subject, or decide
  unfavourably to Mr. Catlin's proposal, he may, notwithstanding his
  reluctance, be compelled to accept the positive and advantageous
  offers now made to him in England.

  The love of art, and respect for those who have cultivated it
  with success, especially for those who have illustrated, by their
  productions, the history of their country, have ever been cherished
  by the most civilized nations. It has been justly observed, that
  "among the Greeks the arts were not so much objects to promote
  gratification as of public interest; they were employed as the most
  powerful stimulants of piety and patriotism, commissioned to confer
  distinction upon those who were conspicuous for valour, for wisdom,
  and for virtue. A statue or picture gave celebrity to a city or a
  state, and a great artist was considered a national ornament--a
  public benefactor, whom all were bound to honour and reward."

  Your Committee believe the price of his collection, as named by Mr.
  Catlin, is moderate, and that a failure to obtain it would occasion
  deep regret to all the friends of art, and to all Americans who
  reasonably and justly desire to preserve memorials of the Indian
  race, or the means by which our future artists and historians may
  illustrate the great and most interesting events in the early periods
  and progress of our country.

  The Committee, therefore, recommend that the bill for the
  establishment of the Smithsonian Institute be so amended as that
  provision shall be made therein for the purchase of Mr. Catlin's
  gallery at the price mentioned by him--namely, sixty-five thousand
  dollars--payable in annual instalments of ten thousand dollars.

                        _New York Journal of Commerce, Nov. 12th._

When I had completed the pictures ordered by the King, his Majesty
graciously granted me an audience in the Palace of the Tuileries to
deliver them, on which occasion he met me with great cheerfulness,
and, having received from me a verbal description of each picture, he
complimented me on the spirit of their execution, and expressed the
highest satisfaction with them, and desired me to attach to the back of
each a full written description. The dimensions of these paintings were
30 by 36 inches, and the subjects as follow:--

  No. 1. An Indian ball-play.
      2. A Sioux Council of War.
      3. Buffalo-hunt on snow-shoes.
      4. _Mah-to-toh-pa_ (the Four Bears), a Mandan chief, full length.
      5. A Buffalo-hunt, Sioux.
      6. Eagle-dance, and view of Ioway village.
      7. _Mah-to-he-ha_ (the Old Bear), a medicine-man of the Mandans.
      8. _Wan-ee-ton_, one of the most distinguished chiefs of the Sioux.
      9. _Ee-ah-sa-pa_ (the Black Rock), a Sioux chief, full length.
      10. _Mu-hu-shee-kaw_ (the White Cloud), Ioway chief.
      11. _Shon-ta-ye-ee-ga_ (the Little Wolf), an Ioway warrior.
      12. _Wa-tah-we-buck-a-nah_ (the Commanding General), an Ioway boy.
      13. _Maun-gua-daus_, an Ojibbeway chief.
      14. _Say-say-gon_ (the Hail Storm), an Ojibbeway warrior.
      15. _Ah-wun-ne-wa-be_ (the Thunder-bird), Ojibbeway warrior.

His Majesty had on several occasions, in former interviews, spoken
of the great interest of the scenes of the early history of the
French colonies of America, and French explorations and discoveries
in those regions, and the subject was now resumed again, as one
of peculiar interest, affording some of the finest scenes for the
pencil of the artist, which he thought I was peculiarly qualified to
illustrate. Additional anecdotes of his rambling life in America were
very humorously related; and after the interview I returned to my
painting-room, and continued happily engaged at my other pictures, with
my familiar sweet smiles and caresses about me.

As a painter often works at his easel with a double thought, one upon
the subject he is creating upon the canvas, and the other upon the
world that is about him, I kept constantly at work, and pleasantly
divided my extra thoughts upon the amusing little tricks that were
being played around me, and the contemplation of scenes and events of
my life gone by. I ran over its table of contents in this way: "My
native valley of Wyoming--the days and recollections of my earliest
boyhood in it--my ten years in the valley of the _Oc-qua-go_, where
I held alternately the plough, my rifle, and fishing-tackle--my
five years at the classics--my siege with Blackstone and Coke upon
Littleton--my three years' practice of the law in the Courts of
Pennsylvania--the five years' practice of my art of portrait-painting
in Philadelphia--my eight years spent amongst the Indian tribes of
the prairies and Rocky Mountains--and, since that, my eight years
spent in the light of the refined and civilized world, where I have
been admitted to Palaces, and into the society of Kings, Queens, and
Princes--and _now_ at my easel, in my studio, with my dear little
babes around me, thanking Him who has blessed me with them, and courage
and health, through all the vicissitudes of my chequered life, and now
with strength to stand by and support and protect them."

I thought also of the King, the wonderful man, with whose benignant and
cheerful face I had been so often conversing; whose extraordinary life
had been so much more chequered than my own; many of whose early days
had been spent on the broad rivers and amongst the dense and gloomy
forests of my own country; who, driven by political commotions from
his native land, sought an asylum in the United States of America,
and there, in the youthful energy of his native character, 52 years
ago, crossed and re-crossed the Alleghany Mountains, descended the
Ohio river 600 miles in his simple and rickety pirogue, and from the
mouth of the Ohio to New Orleans, 1000 miles on the muddy waves of
the Mississippi, amidst its dangerous snags and sand-bars, when the
banks of those two mighty rivers were inhabited only by savages, whose
humble wigwams he entered, and shared their hospitality; who afterwards
visited the shores of Lake Erie, and also the Falls of Niagara, before
the axe of sacrilegious man had shorn it of its wild and native
beauties; who visited the little commencement of the town of Buffalo
and the village of the Seneca Indians; who paddled his canoe 90 miles
through the Seneca Lake to Ithaca, and from thence travelled by an
Indian's path, with his knapsack on his back, to the Susquehana river,
which he descended in an Indian canoe to Wyoming, my native valley;
and then on foot, with his knapsack again upon his back, crossed the
Wilkesbarre and Pokono Mountains to Easton and Philadelphia; and who
consequently thus knew, 52 years ago, more of the great western regions
of America, and of the modes of its people, than one of a thousand
Americans do at the present day.

I contemplated the character of this extraordinary man, reared in
the luxuries of Palaces, thrown thus into the midst of the vast and
dreary forests of the Mississippi, launching his fragile boat and
staking his life upon its dangerous waves, and laying his wearied limbs
upon its damp and foggy banks at night, amidst the howling wolves and
rattlesnakes and mosquitoes; and after that, and all these adventures,
called, in the commotions of his country, to mount the throne and wield
the sceptre over one of the greatest and most enlightened nations of
the earth. I beheld this great man in these strange vicissitudes of
life, and France, whose helm he took in the midst of a tempest, now
raised to the zenith of her national wealth and glory, after 17 years
of uninterrupted peace and prosperity. I contemplated the present
wealth and health of that nation and her institutions, her grand
internal improvements, and cultivation of science and the arts; and
I reflected also, with equal pleasure and surprise, on what I had
seen with my own eyes, the _greatness of soul_ of that monarch as he
was taking the poor Indians of the forest by the hand in his Palace,
and expressing to them the gratitude he never yet had lost sight of,
that he bore them for the kindness with which their tribes everywhere
treated him when he entered their wigwams, hungry, on the banks of the
Mississippi and the great lakes in America. He had the frankness and
truthfulness to tell them that "he loved them," for the reasons he had
given, and the kindness of heart to convince them of his sincerity in
the way that carries the most satisfactory conviction to the mind of an
Indian as well as it often does to that of a white man.

These contemplations were rapid and often repeated, and there were
many more; and they never passed through my mind without compelling me
to admire and revere the man whose energy of character and skill have
enabled him, with like success, to steer his pirogue amidst the snags
of the Mississippi, and at the helm of his nation, to guide her out of
the tempest of a revolution, and onward, through a reign of peace and
industry, to wealth and power, to which she never before has attained.

In the midst of such reflections I often strolled alone in
a contemplative mood through the wilderness throngs of the
Boulevards--the great central avenue and crossing-place--the _aorta_
of all the circulating world--to gaze upon the endless throng of human
beings sweeping by me, bent upon their peculiar avocations of business
or of pleasure--of virtue or of vice; contrasting the glittering views
about me with the quiet and humble scenes I had witnessed in various
parts of my roaming life.

In the midst of this sweeping throng, knowing none and unknown, I found
I could almost imagine myself in the desert wilderness, with as little
to disturb the current of contemplative thoughts as if I were floating
down the gliding current of the Missouri in my bark canoe, in silent
contemplation of the rocks and forests on its banks.

In a different mood, also, I as often left my easel and mingled with
the throng, with my little chattering children by my side, forgetting
to think, and with eyes like theirs, scanned the thousands and tens
of thousands of pretty things displayed in the shops, and whiled away
in perfect bliss, as others do, an hour upon the pavements of the
Boulevards.

The reader has learned, from various books, the features of this
splendid scene, with all its life and din and glittering toys, and of
Paris, with its endless mysteries, and beauties, and luxuries, and
vices, which it is not the province of this work to describe; but from
all that he has read he may not yet know how completely he may be lost
sight of in the crowds of the Boulevards, and what positive retirement
he may find and enjoy, unknowing and unknown, if he wishes to do so,
in his apartments in the centre of Paris, where his neighbours are
certainly the nearest and most numerous in the world.

In London and New York one often thinks it strange that he knows not
his neighbours by the side of him; but in Paris, those on the _sides_
are seldom taken into consideration as such, and so little do people
know of, or care for, each other's business, that few have any
acquaintance with their neighbours ABOVE and BELOW them.

The circumscribed limits of the city, and the density of its
population, enable the Parisians to make a glittering display in the
streets, in the brilliancy and taste of which they no doubt outdo any
other people in the world. The close vicinity of its inhabitants,
and the facility with which they get into the streets, and the tens
of thousands of inducements that tempt them there, tend to the
concentration of fashion and gaiety in the principal avenues and
arcades, which, in the pleasant evenings of spring and summer, seem
converted into splendid and brilliant salons, with the appearance of
continuous and elegant soirees. To these scenes all Parisians and all
foreigners are alike admitted, to see and enjoy the myriads of sights
to be seen in the shop-windows, as well as to most of the splendid
collections of works of literature and the arts, which, being under
the Government control, are free to the inspection of all who wish to
see them. Amidst most of these I have been, like thousands of others,
a visitor and admirer for two years, seeking for information and
amusement--for study and contemplation--alone; or enjoying them in
company with my little children, or travelling friends, for whose aid
and amusement I have as often given my time.

The reader will here see that I have before me the materials for
another book, but as the object of this work is attained, and its
limits approached, with my known aversion to travel over frequented
ground, I must refer him to other pens than mine for what I might have
written had I the room for it, and had it not been written twenty times
before.

The little bit of my life thus spent in the capital of France, though
filled with anxieties and grief, has had its pleasant parts, having
seen much to instruct and amuse me, and having also met with, as in
London, many warm friends, to whom I shall feel attached as long as
I live. In the English society in Paris I met a number of my London
friends, where the acquaintance was renewed, with great kindness on
their parts, and with much pleasure to myself.

I met also many American families residing in Paris; and, added to
their numbers, the constant throng of Americans who are passing to
and from the classic ground of the East, or making their way across
the Atlantic to the French metropolis, and swelling their occasional
overflowing and cheerful soirees. At these I saw many of the elite and
fashionable of the French, and noticed also, and much to my regret, as
well as surprise, that, in the various intercourse I had in different
classes, the Americans generally mixed less with the English than the
French society.

This is probably attributable in a great degree to the passion which
English and Americans have, in their flying visits to the city of all
novelties, to see and study something new, instead of spending their
valuable time with people of their own family and language, whom and
whose modes they can see at home. This I deem a pity; and though among
the passing travellers the cause is easily applied, and the excuse
as easily accepted, yet among the resident English and Americans, of
whom there are a great many and fashionable families, there seems a
mutual unsocial and studied reserve, which stands in the way of much
enjoyment, that I believe lies at the doors of kindred people in a
foreign land.

My time, however, was so much engrossed with anxieties and grief and my
application to my art, that I shared but moderately in the pleasures
of any society; and the few observations I have been able to make I
have consequently drawn from less intercourse than has been had by many
others, who have more fully described than I could do had this book
been written for the purpose.

My interviews with society in this part of the world, as far as they
have been held, have been general, and my observations, I believe, have
been unbiassed. And as I mingled with society to see and enjoy, but not
to describe, my remarks in this place, on the society and manners of
Parisians and people in Paris, must end here, and necessarily be thus
brief, to come within the bounds of my intentions in commencing this
work.

The society which fascinated me most and called for all my idle hours
was that of my four dear little children, whose arms, having been for
ever torn from the embrace of an affectionate mother, were ready to
cling to my neck whenever I quitted the toils of my painting-room.
There was a charm in that little circle of society which all the
fascinations of the fashionable world could never afford me, and I
preferred the simple happiness that was thus sweetly spread around me
to the amusements and arts of matured and fashionable life.

The days and nights and weeks and months of my life were passing on
whilst my house rang with the constant notes of my little girls and my
dear little "Tambour Major," producing a glow of happiness in my life,
as its hours were thus carolled away, which I never before had attained
to.

My happiness was here too complete to last long, and, as the sequel
will show, like most precious gifts, was too confidently counted on
to continue. A sudden change came over this pleasing dream of life;
the cheering notes of my little companions were suddenly changed into
groans, and my occupations at my easel were at an end. The chirping
and chattering in the giddy maze of their little dances were finished,
and, having taken to their beds, my occupation was changed to their
bedsides, where they were all together writhing in the agonies of
disease, and that of so serious a nature as to require all my attention
by night and by day, and at length anxieties of the most painful kind,
and alarm--of grief, and a broken heart!

To those of my readers who have ever set their whole heart upon and
identified their existence with that of a darling little boy, and wept
for him, it is unnecessary--and to those who have never been blessed
with such a gift it would be useless--for me to name the pangs that
broke my heart for the fate of my little "Tambour Major," who, in that
unlucky hour, thoughtlessly relinquishing all his little toys, laid
down with his three little sisters, to run the chances with them, and
then to be singled out as he was by the hand of death.

In kindness the reader will pardon these few words that flow in tears
from the broken and burning heart of a fond father; they take but a
line or two, and are the only monument that will be raised to the
memory of my dear little George, who lived, in the sweetness of his
innocence, to gladden and then to break the heart of his doating
parent, the only one while he was living, to appreciate his loveliness,
and now the only one to mourn for him. The remains of this dear little
fellow were sent to New York, as a lovely flower to be planted by the
grave of his mother, and thus were my pleasures and peace in Paris
ended. Two idols of my heart had thus vanished from me there, leaving
my breast with a _healing_ and a _fresh wound_, to be opened and
bleeding together. My _atelier_ had lost all its charms; the _escalier_
also was dreary, for its wonted echoing and enlivening notes had
ceased; and the beautiful pavement of the Place Madeleine, which was
under my windows, and the daily resort, with his hoop and his drum, of
my little "Tambour Major."

The Boulevards also, and the Champs Elysees, and the garden of the
Tuileries, the scenes of our daily enjoyment, were overcast with a
gloom, and I left them all.

       *       *       *       *       *

At the time of writing this my heart flies back and daily hovers about
the scenes of so many endearing associations, while my hand is at work
seeking amusement and forgetfulness at my easel.

I have before said that the practice of my art is to be the principal
ambition of the rest of my life; and as the beginning of this chapter
found me in my _atelier_ in Paris, the end of it leaves me in my
_studio_ at _No. 6, Waterloo Place_, in London, with my collection, my
thousands of studies, and my little children about me where I shall
be hereafter steadily seeking the rational pleasures and benefits I
can draw from them; and where my friends and the world who value me or
my works may find me without ceremony, and will be greeted, amongst
the numerous and curious works in my collection, enumerated in the
catalogue which I have given, for the amusement and benefit of the
reader, at the end of my first volume.




                             APPENDIX. (A.)

  _The two following Letters, written from the Ioway Mission on the
     Upper Missouri, with several others more recently received by
     Mrs. A. Richardson, of Newcastle-on-Tyne, bear conclusive proof
     of the sincerity of the Society of Friends, and of the benefit
     that promises to flow from their well-directed and charitable
     exertions._


                             IOWAY INDIANS.

                 EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM S. M. IRVIN.

                            _Ioway and Sac Mission, May 24th, 1847._

Having a leisure morning, I most cheerfully give a few minutes to my
dear friend in England. I have just been thinking, before I took my
pen, how very mysterious are the workings of God's providence! Near
four years ago, a party of our Ioway Indians started out on what
appeared to us to be a wrong and uncalled-for expedition. We dreaded
the result, and, so far as our opinion was consulted, it was given
against the design, advising rather that they should stay at home, go
to labour and economy, and not go to be shown as wild animals. In these
notions we thought we were sustained by reason and Scripture, and were
at least sincere in our views. We, however, made but little resistance,
and when it was determined that they should go we submitted, did what
we could for their comfort and success, gave them the parting hand,
and commended them to the care of a merciful Providence. They started,
spent the winter in St. Louis and New Orleans, associated with bad
company, were exceedingly intemperate, and seemed to have grown much
worse, which tended to confirm us in the belief of the error and
impropriety of such a measure, and our hearts mourned over them. In
the spring they went to the eastern part of the United States, and
from thence to England. From the latter place we heard of the death of
one and another, and of a probability of their going to France, and
becoming enchained with the externals of the Catholic religion. Here
we thought our opinions were fully confirmed. How can any good result
from this? How much harm must ensue to these poor people, and probably
through them to their nation!

But at this point a ray of light seemed to break forth, and we could
see through the dark vista a possibility of good resulting from
it. Hitherto we could only trust in the government of God, knowing
that He would bring good out of evil, but we could not see by what
process it could be accomplished. But we now began to learn that the
people of England, particularly the Society of Friends, were taking
a warm interest in their welfare, stimulating their minds in favour
of industry, economy, and Christianity, and especially guarding
them against the pernicious effects of ardent spirits. There the
foundation of hope, on rational and tangible principles, commenced.
Perhaps the friends of God and his cause in England were to be the
honoured instruments of making an indelible impression on the minds
of these poor wanderers, and, if so, how well will they be repaid
for their pilgrimage, and how happily shall we be disappointed! Next
came an affectionate letter from your own hand. This was the second
development of the unseen but operating hand of God in carrying on
his own work. A young man of ardent piety and devotion to the cause
of God was next recommended as a suitable person to come and labour
among the Indians as missionary from England. I may say that the whole
mystery was now plain. We could now say to each other, God has taken
them over to England to send a suitable missionary, whose labours will
be, doubtless, blessed to their conversion, and thus we could see how
easily God, our _covenant-keeping God_, can foil the designs of Satan.
How our hearts did burn within us when we thought of the goodness of
God in these things! The original design we could not but look upon
as a work of the enemy, got up for the purpose of selfishness and
speculation, but now we could see the scale turn, and the pleasing
prospect of hailing our young brother as a fellow-helper in this cause
more than reconciled us to the hitherto mysterious movement. He came,
and, though it was found best under the circumstances to assign him
for a time to a different field of labour, still it is the same common
cause, whether among the Otoes or Ioways.

Very important pecuniary aid, both in money and clothing, was also
subsequently received, from which our cause has, in no small degree,
been aided and encouraged. Next a helpmate is proposed for our young
friend, who is here alone, and toiling against the trials of a new
and strange society and manners, and the prejudices of the Indians.
God, through suitable instrumentality, conducts the negotiation to
a favourable issue; the solitary individual is strengthened to part
from her friends and country, is conducted by the hand of God across
the dangerous deep, is brought more than 2000 miles, and, by a great
variety of hazardous conveyances, almost to the centre of a great
continent, and is now safely landed within the walls of this house.
Truly may we exclaim, What hath God wrought! But the wonders and cause
for gratitude stop not here. Our kind friend, Miss G., is not only
here, but already is she engaged, twice or thrice a-day, in instructing
the poor little daughters of the forest in needlework and such other
instruction as may be suitable, and as yet I see nothing in the way
but that she may very soon be able to give every moment of time that
she can spare to these little ones. How pleasing will this be! How
cheerfully and happily will the hours pass away, and how largely will
she be rewarded for all her toil! I have skipped, as you will see, with
more than eagle flight, over this narrative, for it furnishes materials
enough for an interesting volume. I should like much to dwell upon it,
but your mind can carry out the details, and see, as clearly as any
other, the lineaments of God's goodness.

Miss G. will have so much to say to you, that I am sure she will not
know where to commence, and I think she will be about as much puzzled
to describe many things so that you can understand.

Mr. Bloohm has not yet arrived from the Otoe mission, but we look for
him daily. So soon as I heard of Miss G.'s approach, I advised him
of it, but he, being about fifty miles from the post-office, may not
have received the letter. That you may better understand our relative
situations, I will subjoin a rude outline of them with the pen.

Miss G. remained some time in St. Louis for Mr. Lowrie, and was
afterwards instructed by him to come on to this place, he being
prevented, by low water, from calling for her at St. Louis. Last
Friday he passed up the Missouri river to the Otoe and Omahaw mission,
leaving word that he would be back, at the farthest, by the end of this
week. If Mr. Bloohm be able, he will come down with Mr. L., if not
before him. As soon as they arrive, we hope to be able to make full
arrangements about all our affairs, and you may expect to be informed
of all that will interest you in due time.

                EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM JANE M. BLOOHM.

                          _Ioway and Sac Mission, May 28th, 1847._

[After giving several interesting particulars of her journey from St.
Louis, and arrival at the station, the writer proceeds:--]

I feel assured, my dear friend, you would be pleased with this
institution. The boarding-house is a most excellent building, three
stories high. On the ground floor are the dining-room, kitchen, pantry,
milk-house, and two sleeping-rooms. On the second story, the chapel in
the centre, from back to front, and on one side the boys' school in
front, with two small rooms behind, which Mr. Hamilton occupies. On the
other side of the chapel is the girls' school, with two small rooms
behind it for Mr. Irvin. The third story has the girls' bedroom, back
and front, with a small one off it parted with deals, where I sleep.
The boys' on the other side is the same; in the middle is a spare
bedroom and Mr. Irvin's study.

We rise at five o'clock, and at half-past assemble in the chapel for
worship. While there, breakfast is placed on the table, and the bell
rings again, when we go down. There are four tables, but not all full
at present, as some of the children have left. Mr. Irvin sits at one
table with the boys, Mr. Hamilton and his lady (when able) with the
girls. Our table is called the family table; there are Mrs. Irvin,
their father and mother, Mrs. I.'s two children, Mrs. H.'s eldest
girl, the two men, and myself, as also any other strangers. Mr. Irvin's
father and mother are two very old people; they intend leaving as
soon as Mr. Lowrie comes, old Mr. I. not being able to manage the
farm now. At breakfast each child has a pewter plate, with a tin pot
turned upside down upon it, a knife and fork, and spoon. As soon as a
blessing is asked, they each turn over their tin pot, and those who
sit with them at table fill it with milk, and give them corn bread,
boiled corn, batten cake (which is much like our pancake), a piece of
bacon, and treacle. Of this they all eat as much as they like. Each
table is served the same, with the exception that we have coffee for
breakfast, and tea for supper. At dinner there is sometimes a little
boiled rice, greens, &c., but no other kind of meat than bacon. We dine
at half-past twelve, and sup at seven. After supper we all remain, and
have worship in the dining-room; sometimes Mr. Hamilton prays and sings
in Indian; and, oh! my beloved friend, could you only hear the sweet
voices of those dear heathen children, you would be astonished, they
sing so well. I do most sincerely hope that the day is not far distant
when they shall not only worship Him with the voice, but with the
understanding, and in truth.

Mr. H. teaches all the children from nine till twelve. After breakfast
I take the girls up to make their beds; two and two sleep together;
they did it so neatly this morning. When done, they go with me to
school to sew or knit till nine, then again after dinner till two, and
after five till supper-time, when I assist to wash their hands and
faces, and put them to bed. Some of them are very fine children, but
I am surprised I am able to go so near them, for they are very dirty;
but they seem very fond of me. You will laugh when I say that two or
three of them often come running to me, and clasp me round the waist.
They wish to teach me to speak their language; they can say a good
many English words; they call their teachers father and mother. A few
of them are very little. After I put on their nightcaps, and lift them
into bed, they all repeat a prayer. You will be surprised when I say
I do feel such an interest in them; I do wish these feelings may not
only continue, but increase. I feel quite happy, and have never had the
least feeling of regret at my coming out, and I trust I never shall.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Irvin are most desirous for us to remain here, but
that will rest with Mr. Lowrie and P. B. I am willing to go wherever
I am of most use. It is a most arduous and responsible office we each
hold, from the little I have seen (and it is but little to what I shall
see if the Lord spare me). We need the prayers of our dear friends. Oh!
forget us not, you, our far distant and beloved friends; entreat our
Heavenly Father to give us much of his Spirit, and to us help along.
Your old friend _Little Wolf_ came to see me. He said I might give his
and his family's love to you. A few more came to welcome me; they are
constantly coming about the house. I am just sent for to assist in the
ironing, and have had to write this while the irons were heating. There
is no mangle here. The children's clothes are washed and repaired every
week.

_May 31st._--Just as I finished the above on Friday afternoon, the
arrival of two gentlemen was announced. They were Mr. Lowrie and my
dear P. B. The latter is looking thin, but upon the whole is much
better, as also much better than I expected to find him; as for
colour, an Indian: but setting aside his Indian complexion, I was glad
to see a known face, and to meet a beloved friend; and now, my dear
friend, I can call him my beloved husband. The marriage took place on
Saturday the 29th, at eight o'clock in the evening, by Mr. Hamilton,
in Mr. Irvin's room. Old Mr. and Mrs. Irvin were there, Mr. and Mrs.
Irvin junior, Mr. Lowrie, Mr. Melody (who had come to the mission on
a visit), and one of the men, who had expressed a wish to be present.
Mrs. H. was not strong enough to join us, which I did regret. Mr.
Lowrie has settled for us to remain here, at least for some time;
P. B. to assist Mr. H. with the boys and other labour, while I take
the full charge of the girls. Oh! that we may each have strength to
perform these our arduous duties. The old people leave in a few days,
when we shall have their room, which is on the ground floor, close by
the dining-room. We shall have to sit at table with the children, and
should Mr. H. be from home or sick, at any time, we shall have the full
charge. We have, one and all, made up our minds to assist each other
when it is needful, and I do most sincerely pray that we may be enabled
to labour together in the same spirit which was in Christ Jesus. It
is His work, it is His cause; and we all, I trust, esteem our privilege
great, that we, unworthy as we are, should be permitted to take part
in this glorious work. Mr. Lowrie, I believe, intends leaving
to-morrow; it will be three weeks before he can reach New York. Mr.
Melody left this morning; he speaks highly of the kindness he received
while in England, and, I believe, would very well like to pay a second
visit. * * * *

And now, dear friend, I think I have given you all the intelligence
that it is in my power to send at the present time. It is likely
that my dear husband may send a note, but he is much occupied, and,
I believe, going to St. Joseph with Mr. Lowrie. He joins with me in
kindest love to you and Mr. ----, not forgetting all our dear friends,
to whom you will be so kind as to present it, and ever believe me to
remain

                                Your most affectionate friend,
                                                             J. M. BLOOHM.




                             APPENDIX. (B.)

                             HORSE-TAMING:

  _Being an Account of the successful application, in two recent
     Experiments made in England, of the expeditious method of
     Taming Horses, as practised by the Red Indians of North
     America.--Communicated by_ ALEXANDER JOHN ELLIS, B.A., _of
     Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1842._


                                EXTRACT.

The object of the following pages is two-fold: first, to extract the
account of the North American Indian method of Horse-taming, as given
by Mr. Catlin in his new work, entitled 'Letters and Notes on the
Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians,' and to
detail certain experiments which have been tried by the direction and
in the presence of the Communicator; and, second, to urge gentlemen,
farmers, stable-keepers, horse-trainers, horse-breakers, and all others
who may be interested in the taming of horses, to try for themselves
experiments similar to those here detailed, experiments which are
exceedingly easy of trial, and will be found exceedingly important in
result.

The following is a detail of the experiments witnessed and directed by
the Communicator:--

During a visit in the North Riding of Yorkshire, the volumes of Mr.
Catlin first fell under the Communicator's observation, and among other
passages those just quoted struck him forcibly. Although he scarcely
hesitated to comprehend the circumstances there detailed, under a
well-known though much-disputed class of phenomena, he was nevertheless
anxious to verify them by actual experiment before he attempted to
theorize upon them. And he now prefers to give the naked facts to the
public, and leave his readers to account for them after their own
fashion. It so happened that, while staying with his brother-in-law,
F. M., of M---- Park, the Communicator had the pleasure of meeting W.
F. W., of B----, a great amateur in all matters relating to horses. In
the course of conversation the Communicator mentioned what he had read
about horse-taming, and the detail seemed to amuse them, although they
evidently discredited the fact. The Communicator begged them to put
the matter to the test of experiment, and M., who had in his stables a
filly, not yet a year old, who had never been taken out since she had
been removed from her dam, in the preceding November, agreed that he
would try the experiment upon this filly. The Communicator made a note
of the experiments on the very days on which they were tried, and he
here gives the substance of what he then wrote down.


                     EXPERIMENT THE FIRST.

  SUBJECT--_A Filly, not yet a year old, who had never been
     taken out of the stable since she had been removed from her dam
     in the preceding November._

_Friday, Feb. 11, 1842._--In the morning W. and M. brought the filly
from the stable to the front of M.'s house. The filly was quite wild,
and on being first taken out of the stable she bolted, and dragged
W., who only held her by a short halter, through a heap of manure. W.
changed the halter for a long training halter, which gave him such
power over her that he was easily able to bring the little scared thing
up to the front of the house. Both M. and W. seemed much amused, and
laughingly asked E. (the Communicator) to instruct them in Catlin's
method of taming horses. E. did so as well as he could, quoting
only from memory. The experiment was not tried very satisfactorily,
but rather under disadvantages. The filly was in the open air, many
strangers about her, and both the experimenters were seeking rather
amusement from the failure than knowledge from the success of their
experiment. W. kept hold of the halter, and M., with considerable
difficulty, for the filly was very restive and frightened, managed to
cover her eyes. He had been smoking just before, and the smoke must
have had some effect on his breath. When he covered her eyes, he _blew_
into the nostrils, but afterwards, at E.'s request, he _breathed_;
and, as he immediately told E., directly that he began to breathe, the
filly, who had very much resisted having her eyes covered and had been
very restive, "_stood perfectly still and trembled_." From that time
she became very tractable. W. also breathed into her nostrils, and
she evidently enjoyed it, and kept putting up her nose to receive the
breath. She was exceedingly tractable and well behaved, and very loth
to start, however much provoked. The waving of a red handkerchief, and
the presenting of a hat to her eyes, while the presenter made a noise
inside it, hardly seemed to startle her at all.

_Saturday, Feb. 12, 1842._--This morning the filly was again led
out to show its behaviour, which was so good as to call forth both
astonishment and praise. It was exceedingly tractable, and followed W.
about with a loose halter. Attempts were made to frighten it. M. put on
a long scarlet Italian cap, and E. flapped a large Spanish cloak during
a violent wind before its eyes, and any well broken-in horse would have
started much more than did this yearling.


                    EXPERIMENT THE SECOND.

  SUBJECT--_A Filly, three years old, coming four, and very
     obstinate; quite unbroken-in._

_Saturday, Feb. 12, 1842._--While the last experiments were being tried
on the yearling, W. espied B., a farmer and tenant of M., with several
men, at the distance of some fields, trying, most ineffectually, on the
old system, to break-in a horse. W. proposed to go down and show him
what effect had been produced on the yearling. The rest agreed, and
W., M., and E. proceeded towards B., W. leading the yearling. On their
way they had to lead her over a brook, which she passed after a little
persuasion, _without force_. One of the fields through which she had to
pass contained four horses, three of which trotted up and surrounded
her, but she did not become in the least degree restive, or desirous of
getting loose. When the party arrived at the spot, they found that B.
and his men had tied their filly short up to a tree in the corner of a
field, one side of which was walled, and the other hedged in. W. now
delivered the yearling up to M., and proposed to B. to tame his horse
after the new method, or (to use his own phrase) to "puff" it. B., who
was aware of the character of his horse, anxiously warned W. not to
approach it, cautioning him especially against the fore-feet, asserting
that the horse would rear and strike him with the fore-feet, as it had
"lamed" his own (B.'s) thigh just before they had come up. W. therefore
proceeded very cautiously. He climbed the wall, and came at the horse
through the tree, to the trunk of which he clung for some time, that he
might secure a retreat in case of need. Immediately upon his touching
the halter, the horse pranced about, and finally pulled away with a
dogged and stubborn expression, which seemed to bid W. defiance. Taking
advantage of this, W. leaned over as far as he could, clinging all the
time to the tree with his right hand, and succeeded in breathing into
one nostril, without, however, being able to blind the eyes. From that
moment all became easy. W., who is very skilful in the management of a
horse, coaxed it, and rubbed its face, and breathed from time to time
into the nostrils, while the horse offered no resistance. In about ten
minutes W. declared his conviction that the horse was subdued; and he
then unfastened it, and, to the great and evident astonishment of B.
(who had been trying all the morning in vain to gain a mastery over
it), led it quietly away with a loose halter. Stopping in the middle
of the field, with no one else near, W. quietly walked up to the
horse, placed his arm over one eye and his hand over the other, and
breathed into the nostrils. It was pleasing to observe how agreeable
this operation appeared to the horse, who put up its nose continually
to receive the "puff." In this manner W. led the horse through all
the fields, in one of which were the four horses already mentioned,
who had formerly been the companions of the one just tamed, and who
surrounded it, without, however, making it in the least degree restive.
At length W. and the horse reached the stable-yard, where they were
joined by C. W. C. C., of S---- Hall, and J. B. son of B. the farmer.
In the presence of these, M., and E., W. first examined the fore-feet,
and then the hind-feet of the horse, who offered no resistance, but,
while W. was examining the hind-feet, leant its neck round, and kept
nosing W.'s back. He next buckled on a surcingle, and then a saddle,
and finally bitted the horse with a rope. During the whole of these
operations the horse did not offer the slightest resistance, nor did
it flinch in the least degree. All who witnessed the transaction were
astonished at the result obtained. The Communicator regrets only that
he is not at liberty to publish the names at length. This experiment
of bitting was the last that W. tried, since the nature of the country
about M---- Park did not admit of ridings being tried with any prospect
of safety. The whole experiment lasted about an hour. It should be
mentioned that when J. B., to whom W. delivered up the horse, attempted
to lead it away, it resisted; whereupon E. recommended J. B. to breathe
into its nostrils. He did so, and the horse followed him easily. The
next day, B., who is severe and obstinate, began at this horse in the
old method, and belaboured it dreadfully, whereupon the horse very
sensibly broke away. This result is important, since it shows that the
spirit is subdued, not broken.

These are all the experiments which the Communicator has as yet had
the opportunity of either witnessing or hearing the results of, but
they are to him perfectly satisfactory; the more so, that Mr. W.,
who made the experiments, was himself perfectly ignorant of any
process of the kind until informed of it at the actual time of making
the experiment. It may be considered over-hasty to publish these
experiments in their present crude state, but the Communicator does so
with a view to investigation. He will have no opportunity himself of
making any experiments, as he is unacquainted with the treatment of
horses, and neither owns any nor is likely to be thrown in the way of
any unbroken colts. But the experiment is easy for any horse-owner,
and would be best made in the stable, where the horse might easily
be haltered down so as to offer no resistance. The method would, no
doubt, be found efficacious for the subjugation and taming of vicious
horses. The readers will, of course, have heard of the celebrated
Irish horse-charmers. They never would communicate the secret, nor
allow any one to be with them while they were in the stable taming
the horse. It is agreed, however, that they approached the head. The
Communicator feels sure that the method they employed was analogous
to that contained in these pages. Persons have paid high prices for
having their horses charmed; they have now an opportunity of charming
horses themselves, at a very small expense of time and labour. Half an
hour will suffice to subdue the most fiery steed--the wild horse of the
prairies of North America.

The Communicator has no object but that of benefiting the public in the
above communication. The method is not his own, nor has he the merit of
having first published it; but he thinks that he is the first who has
caused the experiment to be made in England, and the entire success of
that experiment induces him to make the present communication, in the
hope that he may benefit not only his countrymen by the publication
of a simple, easy, and rapid method of performing what was formerly
a long, tedious, and difficult process, but also the "puir beasties"
themselves, by saving them from the pains and tortures of what is
very aptly termed "_breaking_-in." Mr. Catlin, indeed, speaks of the
horse's struggles being severe, but they were the struggles of a wild
horse, just caught on a prairie, and not of the domestic animal quietly
haltered in a stable. The process as now presented is one of great
humanity to the horse, as well as ease and economy to the horse-owner.
The only objections to it are its novelty and simplicity. Those who
have strength of mind to act for themselves, and not to despise any
means, however simple or apparently childish, will have cause to
rejoice over the great results at which they will arrive. But the great
watchword which the Communicator would impress upon his readers is,
"Experiment!"

                    Magna est veritas et praevalebit.

                                                               A. J. E.

Note.--_The above experiments, which the Author has supposed might be
interesting to some of his readers, have been even more successful
than he would have anticipated, having always believed that to bring
about the surprising compromise he has so often witnessed by exchanging
breath, the animal should be a wild one, and in the last extremity of
fear and exhaustion._--THE AUTHOR.


                                THE END.

London: Printed by WILLIAM CLOWES and SONS, Stamford Street.


Transcriber's Notes


Some compound words appeared both with and without a hyphen. They are
given as printed. Where a word is hyphenated on a line break, the
hyphen is retained if the preponderance of other appearances indicate
it was intended. The word 'chickabboboo-ags' (gin palaces) appears
both with and without the hyphen as a single word.

The following table describes how a variety of textual issues, and
resolution. Where variants were most likely printer's errors, they
have been corrected, otherwise merely noted.

p. viii  The "big gun[,]"                                 Removed.

p.    x  The Author breakf[e]asts                         Removed.

p.   29  visiters                                         _sic._

p.   37  "oh, the distress!["]                            Added.

p.  117  relig[i]on                                       Added.

p.  155  Newcastle-on[-]Tyne                              Added.

p.  182  to support the Queen and royal family.["]        Added.

p.  184  when he[,] should stop                           Removed.

p.  197  they had seen in [t]heir numerous visits         Added.

p.  241  Wa-ton-y[a/e]                                    Corrected.

p.  247  were daily engaged[,/.]                          Corrected.

         mea[n]ing                                        Added.

p.  253  and their questions.["]                          Added.

p.  304  adherance                                        _sic._

p.  305  w[i]th the whole glare                           Restored.








End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Adventures of the Ojibbeway and Ioway
Indians in England, France, and Belgium; Vol. II (of 2), by George Catlin

*** 