University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER XVI.

Wednesday, August 21. The weather was very cold;
the water which stood in the vessels exposed to the air being
covered with ice a quarter of an inch thick: the ink
freezes in the pen, and the low grounds are perfectly whitened
with frost: after this the day proved excessively warm.
The party were engaged in their usual occupations, and
completed twenty saddles with the necessary harness, all
prepared to set off as soon as the Indians should arrive.
Our two hunters who were despatched early in the morning
have not returned, so that we were obliged to encroach on
our pork and corn, which we consider as the last resource
when our casual supplies of game fail. After dark we carried
our baggage to the cache, and deposited what we
thought too cumbrous to carry with us: a small assortment
of medicines, and all the specimens of plants, seeds, and
minerals, collected since leaving the falls of the Missouri.
Late at night Drewyer, one of the hunters, returned with a
fawn and a considerable quantity of Indian plunder, which
he had taken by way of reprisal. While hunting this morning
in the Shoshonee cove, he came suddenly upon an
Indian camp, at which were an old man, a young one, three
women, and a boy: they showed no surprise at the sight of
him, and he therefore rode up to them, and after turning

his horse loose to graze sat down and began to converse with
them by signs. They had just finished a repast on some
roots, and in about twenty minutes one of the women spoke
to the rest of the party, who immediately went out, collected
their horses and began to saddle them. Having rested
himself. Drewyer thought that he would continue his hunt,
and rising went to catch his horse who was at a short distance,
forgetting at the moment to take up his rifle. He
had scarcely gone more than fifty paces when the Indians
mounted their horses, the young man snatched up the rifle,
and leaving all their baggage, whipt their horses, and set
off at full speed towards the passes of the mountains: Drewyer
instantly jumped on his horse and pursued them. After
running about ten miles the horses of the women nearly gave
out, and the women finding Drewyer gain on them raised
dreadful cries, which induced the young man to slacken his
pace, and being mounted on a very fleet horse rode round
them at a short distance. Drewyer now came up with the
women, and by signs persuaded them that he did not mean to
hurt them: they then stopped, and as the young man came
towards them Drewyer asked him for his rifle, but the only
part of the answer which he understood was Pahkee, the
name by which they call their enemies, the Minnetarees of
fort de Prairie. While they were thus engaged in talking,
Drewyer watched his opportunity, and seeing the Indian off
his guard, galloped up to him and seized his rifle: the Indian
struggled for some time, but finding Drewyer getting
too strong for him, had the presence of mind to open the
pan and let the priming fall out: he then let go his hold,
and giving his horse the whip escaped at full speed, leaving
the women to the mercy of the conqueror. Drewyer then
returned to where he had first seen them, where he found
that their baggage had been left behind, and brought it to
camp with him.

Thursday, 22. This morning early two men were sent
to complete the covering of the cache, which could not be

so perfectly done during the night as to elude the search of
the Indians. On examining the spoils which Drewyer had
obtained, they were found to consist of several dressed and
undressed skins; two bags wove with the bark of the silkgrass,
each containing a bushel of dried serviceberries, and
about the same quantity of roots; an instrument made of bone
for manufacturing the flints into heads for arrows; and a
number of flints themselves: these were much of the same
colour and nearly as transparent as common black glass,
and when cut detached itself into flakes, leaving a very
sharp edge.

The roots were of three kinds, and folded separate from
each in hides of buffaloe made into parchment. The first is
a fusiform root six inches long, and about the size of a man's
finger at the largest end, with radicles larger than is usual
in roots of the fusiform sort: the rind is white and thin, the
body is also white, mealy, and easily reducible, by pounding,
to a substance resembling flour, like which it thickens
by boiling, and is of an agreeable flavour: it is eaten frequently
in its raw state either green or dried. The second
species was much mutilated, but appeared to be fibrous; it
is of a cylindrical form about the size of a small quill, hard
and brittle. A part of the rind which had not been detached
in the preparation was hard and black, but the rest
of the root was perfectly white; this the Indians informed
us was always boiled before eating; and on making the experiment
we found that it became perfectly soft, but had
a bitter taste, which was nauseous to our taste, but which
the Indians seemed to relish; for on giving the roots to them
they were very heartily swallowed.

The third species was a small nut about the size of a
nutmeg, of an irregularly rounded form, something like the
smallest of the Jerusalem artichokes, which, on boiling, we
found them to resemble also in flavour, and is certainly the
best root we have seen in use among the Indians. On inquiring
of the Indians from what plant these roots were

procured, they informed us that none of them grew near this
place.

The men were chiefly employed in dressing the skins belonging
to the party who accompanied captain Clarke.
About eleven o'clock Chaboneau and his wife returned with
Cameahwait, accompanied by about fifty men with their
women and children. After they had encamped near us and
turned loose their horses, we called a council of all the
chiefs and warriors and addressed them in a speech: additional
presents were then distributed, particularly to the
two second chiefs, who had agreeably to their promises exerted
themselves in our favour. The council was then adjourned,
and all the Indians were treated with an abundant
meal of boiled Indian corn and beans. The poor wretches,
who had no animal food and scarcely any thing but a few
fish, had been almost starved, and received this new luxury
with great thankfulness. Out of compliment to the chief we
gave him a few dried squashes which we had brought from
the Mandans, and he declared it was the best food he had
ever tasted except sugar, a small lump of which he had received
from his sister: he now declared how happy they
should all be to live in a country which produced so many
good things, and we told him that it would not be long before
the white men would put it in their power to live below
the mountains, where they might themselves cultivate all
these kinds of food instead of wandering in the mountains.
He appeared to be much pleased with this information, and
the whole party being now in excellent temper after their
repast, we began our purchase of horses. We soon obtained
five very good ones on very reasonable terms; that is, by
giving for each merchandise which cost us originally about
six dollars. We have again to admire the perfect decency
and propriety of their conduct; for although so numerous,
they do not attempt to crowd round our camp or take any
thing which they see lying about, and whenever they borrow
knives or kettles or any other article from the men, they
return them with great fidelity.

Towards evening we formed a drag of bushes, and in
about two hours caught five hundred and twenty-eight very
good fish most of them large trout. Among them we observed
for the first time ten or twelve trout of a white or
silvery colour, except on the back and head where they are
of a bluish cast: in appearance and shape they resemble
exactly the speckled trout, except that they are not quite so
large, though the scales are much larger, and the flavour
equally good. The greater part of the fish was distributed
among the Indians.

Friday 23. Our visitors seem to depend wholly on us
for food, and as the state of our provisions obliges us to be
careful of our remaining stock of corn and flour, this
was an additional reason for urging our departure; but Cameahwait
requested us to wait till the arrival of another
party of his nation who were expected to-day. Knowing
that it would be in vain to oppose his wish, we consented,
and two hunters were sent out with orders to go further up
the southeast fork than they had hitherto been. At the
same time the chief was informed of the low state of our
provisions, and advised to send out his young men to hunt.
This he recommended them to do, and most of them set out:
we then sunk our canoes by means of stones to the bottom
of the river, a situation which better than any other secured
them against the effects of the high waters, and the frequent
fires of the plains; the Indians having promised not
to disturb them during our absence, a promise we believe
the more readily, as they are almost too lazy to take the
trouble of raising them for fire-wood. We were desirous
of purchasing some more horses, but they declined selling
any until we reached their camp in the mountains.
Soon after starting the Indian hunters discovered a mule
buck, and twelve of their horsemen pursued it, for four
miles. We saw the chase, which was very entertaining, and
at length they rode it down and killed it. This mule buck
was the largest deer of any kind we have seen, being nearly
as large as a doe elk. Besides this they brought in another

deer and three goats; but instead of a general distribution
of the meat, and such as we have hitherto seen among all
tribes of Indians, we observed that some families had a
large share, while others received none. On inquiring of
Cameahwait the reason of this custom, he said that meat
among them was scarce, that each hunter reserved what he
killed for the use of himself and his own family, none of the
rest having any claim on what he chose to keep. Our hunters
returned soon after with two mule deer and three common
deer, three of which we distributed among the families
who had received none of the game of their own hunters.
About three o'clock the expected party consisting of fifty
men, women and children arrived. We now learnt that
most of the Indians were on their way down the valley towards
the buffaloe country, and some anxiety to accompany
them appeared to prevail among those who had promised
to assist us in crossing the mountains. We ourselves were
not without some apprehension that they might leave us,
but as they continued to say that they would return with us
nothing was said upon the subject. We were, however, resolved
to move early in the morning, and therefore despatched
two men to hunt in the cove and leave the game on the
route we should pass to-morrow.

Saturday 24. As the Indians who arrived yesterday had
a number of spare horses, we thought it probable they might
be willing to dispose of them, and desired the chief to speak
to them for that purpose. They declined giving any positive
answer, but requested to see the goods which we proposed
to exchange. We then produced some battle-axes
which we had made at fort Mandan, and a quantity of
knives; with both of which they appeared very much pleased;
and we were soon able to purchase three horses by giving
for each an axe, a knife, a hankerchief and a little paint.
To this we were obliged to add a second knife, a shirt, a handkerchief
and a pair of leggings; and such is the estimation in
which those animals are held, that even at this price, which

was double that for a horse, the fellow who sold him took
upon himself great merit in having given away a mule to
us. They now said that they had no more horses for sale,
and as we had now nine of our own, two hired horses, and a
mule, we began loading them as heavily as was prudent,
and placing the rest on the shoulders of the Indian women,
left our camp at twelve o'clock. We were all on foot, except
Sacajawea, for whom her husband had purchased a horse
with some articles which we gave him for that purpose; an
Indian however had the politeness to offer captain Lewis one
of his horses to ride, which he accepted in order better to direct
the march of the party. We crossed the river below the
forks, directing our course towards the cove by the route
already passed, and had just reached the lower part of the
cove when an Indian rode up to captain Lewis to inform him
that one of his men was very sick, and unable to come on.
The party was immediately halted at a run which falls into
the creek on the left, and captain Lewis rode back two
miles, and found Wiser severely afflicted with the colic: by
giving him some of the essence of peppermint and laudanum,
he recovered sufficiently to ride the horse of captain
Lewis, who then rejoined the party on foot. When he arrived
he found that the Indians who had been impatiently expecting
his return, at last unloaded their horses and turned
them loose, and had now made their camp for the night. It
would have been fruitless to remonstrate, and not prudent
to excite any irritation, and therefore, although the sun
was still high, and we had made only six miles, we thought
it best to remain with them: after we had encamped there
fell a slight shower of rain. One of the men caught several
fine trout; but Drewyer had been sent out to hunt without
having killed any thing. We therefore gave a little
corn to those of the Indians who were actually engaged in
carrying our baggage, and who had absolutely nothing to
eat. We also advised Cameahwait, as we could not supply
all his people with provisions, to recommend to all who
were not assisting us, to go on before us to their camp. This
he did: but in the morning,

Sunday 25, a few only followed his advice, the rest accompanying
us at some distance on each side. We set out at
sunrise and after going seventeen miles halted for dinner
within two miles of the narrow pass in the mountains. The
Indians who were on the sides of our party had started some
antelopes, but were obliged after a pursuit of several hours
to abandon the chase: our hunters had in the meantime
brought in three deer, the greater part of which was distributed
among the Indians. Whilst at dinner we learnt by
means of Sacajawea, that the young men who left us this
morning, carried a request from the chief, that the village
would break up its encampment and meet this party to-morrow,
when they would all go down the Missouri into the
buffaloe country. Alarmed at this new caprice of the Indians
which, if not counteracted, threatened to leave ourselves
and our baggage on the mountains, or even if we reached the
waters of the Columbia, prevent our obtaining horses to go
on further, captain Lewis immediately called the three
chiefs together. After smoking a pipe he asked them if
they were men of their words, and if we can rely on their
promises. They readily answered in the affimative. He
then asked, if they had not agreed to assist us in carrying
our baggage over the mountains. To this they also answered
yes; and why then, said he, have you requested your people
to meet us to-morrow, where it will be impossible for
us to trade for horses, as you promised we should. If, he
continued, you had not promised to help us in transporting
our goods over the mountains, we should not have attempted
it, but have returned down the river, after which no
white men would ever have come into your country. If you
wish the whites to be your friends, and to bring you arms
and protect you from your enemies, you should never promise
what you do not mean to perform: when I first met
you, you doubted what I said, yet you afterwards saw that

I told you the truth. How therefore can you doubt what I
now tell you; you see that I have divided amongst you the
meat which my hunters kill, and I promise to give all who
assist us a share of whatever we have to eat. If therefore
you intend to keep your promise, send one of the young men
immediately to order the people to remain at the village till
we arrive.

The two inferior chiefs then said, that they had wished
to keep their words and to assist us; that they had not sent
for the people, but on the contrary had disapproved of the
measure which was done wholly by the first chief. Cameahwait
remained silent for some time: at last he said that
he knew he had done wrong, but that seeing his people all in
want of provisions, he had wished to hasten their departure
for the country where their wants might be supplied. He
however now declared, that having passed his word he would
never violate it, and counter orders were immediately sent
to the village by a young man, to whom we gave a handkerchief
in order to ensure despatch and fidelity.

This difficulty being now adjusted, our march was resumed
with an unusual degree of alacrity on the part of the
Indians. We passed a spot, where six years ago the Shosohnees
suffered a very severe defeat from the Minnetarees;
and late in the evening we reached the upper part of the
cove where the creek enters the mountains. The part of
the cove on the northeast side of the creek has lately been
burnt, most probably as a signal on some occasion. Here we
were joined by our hunters with a single deer, which captain
Lewis gave, as a proof of his sincerity, to the women
and children, and remained supperless himself. As we came
along we observed several large hares, some ducks, and
many of the cock of the plains: in the low grounds of the
cove were also considerable quantities of wild onions.

Monday 26. The morning was excessively cold, and the
ice in our vessels was nearly a quarter of an inch in thickness:
we set out at sunrise, and soon reached the fountain of

the Missouri, where we halted for a few minutes, and then
crossing the dividing ridge reached the fine spring where
captain Lewis had slept on the 12th in his first excursion
to the Shoshonee camp. The grass on the hill sides is perfectly
dry and parched by the sun, but near the spring was
a fine green grass: we therefore halted for dinner and turned
our horses to graze. To each of the Indians who were engaged
in carrying our baggage was distributed a pint of
corn, which they parched, then pounded, and made a sort
of soup. One of the women who had been leading two
of our pack horses halted at a rivulet about a mile behind,
and sent on the two horses by a female friend: on inquiring
of Cameahwait the cause of her detention, he answered with
great appearance of unconcern, that she had just stopped to
lie in, but would soon overtake us. In fact, we were astonished
to see her in about an hour's time come on with her
new born infant and pass us on her way to the camp, apparently
in perfect health.

This wonderful facility with which the Indian women
bring forth their children, seems rather some benevolent
gift of nature, in exempting them from pains which their
savage state would render doubly grievous, than any result
of habit. If, as has been imagined, a pure dry air or a cold
and elevated country are obstacles to easy delivery, every
difficulty incident to that operation might be expected in
this part of the continent: nor can another reason, the habit
of carrying heavy burthens during pregnancy, be at all applicable
to the Shoshonee women, who rarely carry any
burdens, since their nation possesses an abundance of horses.
We have indeed been several times informed by those conversant
with Indian manners, and who asserted their knowledge
of the fact, that Indian women pregnant by white
men experience more difficulty in child-birth than when the
father is an Indian. If this account be true, it may contribute
to strengthen the belief, that the easy delivery of the
Indian women is wholly constitutional.

The tops of the high irregular mountains to the westward
are still entirely covered with snow; and the coolness
which the air acquires in passing them, is a very agreeable
relief from the heat, which has dried up the herbage on the
sides of the hills. While we stopped, the women were busily
employed in collecting the root of a plant with which they
feed their children, who like their mothers are nearly half
starved and in a wretched condition. It is a species of fennel
which grows in the moist grounds; the radix is of the
knob kind, of a long ovate form, terminating in a single radicle,
the whole being three or four inches long, and the
thickest part about the size of a man's little finger: when
fresh, it is white, firm, and crisp; and when dried and pounded
makes a fine white meal. Its flavour is not unlike that of
aniseed, though less pungent. From one to four of these
knobbed roots are attached to a single stem which rises to
the height of three or four feet, and is jointed, smooth, cylindric,
and has several small peduncles, one at each joint
above the sheathing leaf. Its colour is a deep green, as is
also that of the leaf, which is sheathing, sessile, and polipartite,
the divisions being long and narrow. The flowers,
which are now in bloom, are small and numerous, with
white and umbellifferous petals: there are no root leaves.
As soon as the seeds have matured, the roots of the present
year as well as the stem decline, and are renewed in the succeeding
spring from the little knot which unites the roots.
The sunflower is also abundant here, and the seeds, which
are now ripe, are gathered in considerable quantities, and
after being pounded and rubbed between smooth stones,
form a kind of meal, which is a favourite dish among the
Indians.

After dinner we continued our route and were soon met
by a party of young men on horseback, who turned with us
and went to the village. As soon as we were within sight of
it, Cameahwait requested that we would discharge our guns;
the men were therefore drawn up in a single rank, and gave

a running fire of two rounds, to the great satisfaction of the
Indians. We then proceeded to the encampment where we
arrived about six o'clock, and were conducted to the leathern
lodge in the centre of thirty-two others made of brush. The
baggage was arranged near this tent, which captain Lewis
occupied, and surrounded by those of the men so as to secure
it from pillage. This camp was in a beautiful smooth meadow
near the river, and about three miles above their camp
when we first visited the Indians. We here found Colter,
who had been sent by captain Clarke with a note apprising
us that there were no hopes of a passage by water, and that
the most practicable route seemed to be that mentioned by
his guide, towards the north. Whatever road we meant to
take, it was now necessary to provide ourselves with horses;
we therefore informed Cameahwait of our intention of
going to the great river beyond the mountains, and that we
would wish to purchase twenty more horses: he said the Minnetarees
had stolen a great number of their horses this spring,
but he still hoped they could spare us that number. In order
not to loose the present favourable moment, and to keep the
Indians as cheerful as possible, the violins were brought out
and our men danced to the great diversion of the Indians.
This mirth was the more welcome because our situation was
not precisely that which would most dispose us for gayety, for
we have only a little parched corn to eat, and our means of
subsistence or of success, depend on the wavering temper of
the natives, who may change their minds to-morrow.

The Shoshonees are a small tribe of the nation called
Snake Indians, a vague denomination, which embraces at
once the inhabitants of the southern parts of the Rocky
mountains and of the plains on each side. The Shoshonees
with whom we now are, amount to about one hundred warriors,
and three times that number of women and children.
Within their own recollection they formerly lived in the
plains, but they have been driven into the mountains by the
Pawkees, or the roving Indians of the Sascatchawain, and

are now obliged to visit occasionally, and by stealth, the
country of their ancestors. Their lives are indeed migratory.
From the middle of May to the beginning of September,
they reside on the waters of the Columbia, where
they consider themselves perfectly secure from the Pawkees
who have never yet found their way to that retreat.
During this time they subsist chiefly on salmon, and as that
fish disappears on the approach of autumn, they are obliged
to seek subsistence elsewhere. They then cross the ridge
to the waters of the Missouri, down which they proceed
slowly and cautiously, till they are joined near the three
forks by other bands, either of their own nation or of the
Flatheads, with whom they associate against the common
enemy. Being now strong in numbers, they venture to hunt
buffaloe in the plains eastward of the mountains, near which
they spend the winter, till the return of the salmon invites
them to the Columbia. But such is their terror of the Pawkees,
that as long as they can obtain the scantiest subsistence,
they do not leave the interior of the mountains; and
as soon as they collect a large stock of dried meat, they
again retreat, and thus alternately obtaining their food at
the hazard of their lives, and hiding themselves to consume it.
In this loose and wandering existence they suffer the extremes
of want; for two thirds of the year they are forced to
live in the mountains, passing whole weeks without meat,
and with nothing to eat but a few fish and roots. Nor can
any thing be imagined more wretched than their condition
at the present time, when the salmon is fast retiring, when
roots are becoming scarce, and they have not yet acquired
strength to hazard an encounter with their enemies. So
insensible are they however to these calamities, that the
Shoshonees are not only cheerful but even gay; and their
character, which is more interesting than that of any Indians
we have seen, has in it much of the dignity of misfortune.
In their intercourse with strangers they are frank and communicative,
in their dealings perfectly fair, nor have we had
during our stay with them, any reason to suspect that the
display of all our new and valuable wealth, has tempted
them into a single act of dishonesty. While they have generally
shared with us the little they possess, they have always
abstained from begging any thing from us. With
their liveliness of temper, they are fond of gaudy dresses,
and of all sorts of amusements, particularly to games of
hazard; and like most Indians fond of boasting of their own
warlike exploits, whether real or fictitious. In their conduct
towards ourselves, they were kind and obliging, and
though on one occasion they seemed willing to neglect us,
yet we scarcely knew how to blame the treatment by which
we suffered, when we recollected how few civilized chiefs
would have hazarded the comforts or the subsistence of
their people for the sake of a few strangers. This manliness
of character may cause or it may be formed by the nature
of their government, which is perfectly free from any
restraint. Each individual is his own master, and the only
control to which his conduct is subjected, is the advice of
a chief supported by his influence over the opinions of the
rest of the tribe. The chief himself is in fact no more than
the most confidential person among the warriors, a rank
neither distinguished by any external honor, nor invested
by any ceremony, but gradually acquired from the good
wishes of his companions and by superior merit. Such an
officer has therefore strictly no power; he may recommend or
advise or influence, but his commands have no effect on those
who incline to disobey, and who may at any time withdraw
from their voluntary allegiance. His shadowy authority which
cannot survive the confidence which supports it, often decays
with the personal vigour of the chief, or is transferred
to some more fortunate or favourite hero.

In their domestic economy, the man is equally sovereign.
The man is the sole proprietor of his wives and daughters,
and can barter them away, or dispose of them in any manner
he may think proper. The children are seldom corrected;

the boys, particularly, soon become their own masters;
they are never whipped, for they say that it breaks their spirit,
and that after being flogged they never recover their independence
of mind, even when they grow to manhood. A
plurality of wives is very common; but these are not generally
sisters, as among the Minnetarees and Mandans, but
are purchased of different fathers. The infant daughters
are often betrothed by the father to men who are grown,
either for themselves or for their sons, for whom they are
desirous of providing wives. The compensation to the
father is usually made in horses or mules; and the girl remains
with her parents till the age of puberty, which is thirteen
or fourteen, when she is surrendered to her husband.
At the same time the father often makes a present to the
husband equal to what he had formerly received as the
price of his daughter, though this return is optional with her
parent. Sacajawea had been contracted in this way before
she was taken prisoner, and when we brought her back,
her betrothed was still living. Although he was double the
age of Sacajawea, and had two other wives, he claimed her,
but on finding that she had a child by her new husband,
Chaboneau, he relinquished his pretensions and said he did
not want her.

The chastity of the women does not appear to be held
in much estimation. The husband will for a trifling present
lend his wife for a night to a stranger, and the loan
may be protracted by increasing the value of the present.
Yet strange as it may seem, notwithstanding this facility,
any connexion of this kind not authorized by the husband,
is considered highly offensive and quite as disgraceful to
his character as the same licentiousness in civilized societies.
The Shoshonees are not so importunate in volunteering
the services of their wives as we found the Sioux were;
and indeed we observed among them some women who appeared
to be held in more respect than those of any nation
we had seen. But the mass of the females are condemned,

as among all savage nations, to the lowest and most laborious
drudgery. When the tribe is stationary, they collect
the roots, and cook; they build the huts, dress the skins and
make clothing; collect the wood, and assist in taking care
of the horses on the route; they load the horses and have
the charge of all the baggage. The only business of the
man is to fight; he therefore takes on himself the care of
his horse, the companion of his warfare; but he will descend
to no other labour than to hunt and to fish. He would consider
himself degraded by being compelled to walk any distance;
and were he so poor as to possess only two horses, he would
ride the best of them, and leave the other for his wives and
children and their baggage; and if he has too many wives
or too much baggage for the horse, the wives have no alternative
but to follow him on foot; they are not however
often reduced to those extremities, for their stock of
horses is very ample. Notwithstanding their losses this
spring they still have at least seven hundred, among
which are about forty colts, and half that number of mules.
There are no horses here which can be considered as wild;
we have seen two only on this side of the Muscleshell river
which were without owners, and even those although shy,
showed every mark of having been once in the possession
of man. The original stock was procured from the Spaniards,
but they now raise their own. The horses are generally
very fine, of a good size, vigorous and patient of
fatigue as well as hunger. Each warrior has one or two
tied to a stake near his hut both day and night, so as to be
always prepared for action. The mules are obtained in the
course of trade from the Spaniards, with whose brands
several of them are marked, or stolen from them by the
frontier Indians. They are the finest animals of that kind
we have ever seen, and at this distance from the Spanish
colonies are very highly valued. The worst are considered
as worth the price of two horses, and a good mule cannot
be obtained for less than three and sometimes four horses.

We also saw a bridle bit, stirrups and several other
articles which, like the mules, came from the Spanish colonies.
The Shoshonees say that they can reach those settlements
in ten days' march by the route of the Yellowstone
river; but we readily perceive that the Spaniards
are by no means favourites. They complain that the Spaniards
refuse to let them have fire arms under pretence
that these dangerous weapons will only induce them to kill
each other. In the meantime, say the Shoshonees, we are
left to the mercy of the Minnetarees, who having arms,
plunder them of their horses, and put them to death without
mercy. "But this should not be," said Cameahwait
fiercely, "if we had guns, instead of hiding ourselves in
the mountains and living like the bears on roots and berries,
we would then go down and live in the buffaloe country
in spite of our enemies, whom we never fear when we
meet on equal terms."

As war is the chief occupation, bravery is the first virtue
among the Shoshonees. None can hope to be distinguished
without having given proofs of it, nor can there be
any preferment, or influence among the nation, without
some warlike achievement. Those important events which
give reputation to a warrior, and which entitle him to a
new name, are killing a white bear, stealing individually
the horses of the enemy, leading out a party who happen
to be successful either in plundering horses or destroying
the enemy, and lastly scalping a warrior. These acts seem
of nearly equal dignity, but the last, that of taking an enemy's
scalp, is an honour quite independent of the act of
vanquishing him. To kill your adversary is of no importance
unless the scalp is brought from the field of battle,
and were a warrior to slay any number of his enemies in
action, and others were to obtain the scalps or first touch
the dead, they would have all the honours, since they have
borne off the trophy.

Although thus oppressed by the Minnetarees, the Shoshonees
are still a very military people. Their cold and rugged
country inures them to fatigue; their long abstinence
makes them support the dangers of mountain warfare, and
worn down as we saw them, by want of sustenance, have
a look of fierce and adventurous courage. The Shoshonee
warrior always fights on horseback; he possesses a few bad
guns, which are reserved exclusively for war, but his common
arms are the bow and arrow, a shield, a lance and a
weapon called by the Chippeways, by whom it was formerly
used, the poggamoggon. The bow is made of cedar or pine
covered on the outer side with sinews and glue. It is about
two and a half feet long, and does not differ in shape from
those used by the Sioux, Mandans and Minnetarees. Sometimes,
however, the bow is made of a single piece of the
horn of an elk, covered on the back like those of wood with
sinews and glue, and occasionally ornamented by a strand
wrought of porcupine quills and sinews, which is wrapped
round the horn near its two ends. The bows made of the
horns of the bighorn, are still more prized, and are formed
by cementing with glue flat pieces of the horn together,
covering the back with sinews and glue, and loading the
whole with an unusual quantity of ornaments. The arrows
resemble those of the other Indians except in being more
slender than any we have seen. They are contained, with
the implements for striking fire, in a narrow quiver formed
of different kinds of skin, though that of the otter seems to
be preferred. It is just long enough to protect the arrows
from the weather, and is worn on the back by means of a
strap passing over the right shoulder and under the left
arm. The shield is a circular piece of buffaloe hide about
two feet four or five inches in diameter, ornamented with
feathers, and a fringe round it of dressed leather, and
adorned or deformed with paintings of strange figures. The
buffaloe hide is perfectly proof against any arrow, but in
the minds of the Shoshonees, its power to protect them is

chiefly derived from the virtues which are communicated
to it by the old men and jugglers. To make a shield is indeed
one of their most important ceremonies: it begins by a
feast to which all the warriors, old men and jugglers are
invited. After the repast a hole is dug in the ground about
eighteen inches in depth and of the same diameter as the
intended shield: into this hole red hot stones are thrown
and water poured over them, till they emit a very stong
hot steam. The buffaloe skin, which must be the entire
hide of a male two years old, and never suffered to dry since
it was taken from the animal, is now laid across the hole,
with the fleshy side to the ground, and stretched in every
direction by as many as can take hold of it. As the skin
becomes heated, the hair separates and is taken off by the
hand; till at last the skin is contracted into the compass designed
for the shield. It is then taken off and placed on a
hide prepared into parchment, and then pounded during the
rest of the festival by the bare heels of those who are invited
to it. This operation sometimes continues for several
days, after which it is delivered to the proprietor, and declared
by the old men and jugglers to be a security against
arrows; and provided the feast has been satisfactory, against
even the bullets of their enemies. Such is the delusion,
that many of the Indians implicitly believe that this ceremony
has given to the shield supernatural powers, and that
they have no longer to fear any weapons of their enemies.

The paggamoggon is an instrument, consisting of a handle
twenty-two inches long, made of wood, covered with
dressed leather about the size of a whip-handle: at one end
is a thong of two inches in length, which is tied to a round
stone weighing two pounds and held in a cover of leather: at
the other end is a loop of the same material, which is passed
round the wrist so as to secure the hold of the instrument,
with which they strike a very severe blow.

Besides these, they have a kind of armour something
like a coat of mail, which is formed by a great many folds

of dressed antelope skins, united by means of a mixture of
glue and sand. With this they cover their own bodies and
those of their horses, and find it impervious to the arrow.

The caparison of their horses is a halter and a saddle:
the first is either a rope of six or seven strands of buffaloe
hair platted or twisted together, about the size of a man's
finger and of great strength; or merely a thong of raw hide,
made pliant by pounding and rubbing; though the first kind
is much preferred. The halter is very long, and is never
taken from the neck of the horse when in constant use.
One end of it is first tied round the neck in a knot and then
brought down to the under jaw, round which it is formed
into a simple noose, passing through the mouth: it is then
drawn up on the right side and held by the rider in his left
hand, while the rest trails after him to some distance. At
other times the knot is formed at a little distance from one
of the ends, so as to let that end serve as a bridle, while the
other trails on the ground. With these cords dangling along
side of them the horse is put to his full speed without fear of
falling, and when he is turned to graze the noose is merely
taken from his mouth. The saddle is formed like the packsaddles
used by the French and Spaniards, of two flat thin
boards which fit the sides of the horse, and are kept together
by two cross pieces, one before and the other behind,
which rise to a considerable height, ending sometimes in a
flat point extending outwards, and always making the saddle
deep and narrow. Under this a piece of buffaloe skin,
with the hair on, is placed so as to prevent the rubbing of the
boards, and when they mount they throw a piece of skin or
robe over the saddle, which has no permanent cover. When
stirrups are used, they consist of wood covered with leather;
but stirrups and saddles are conveniences reserved for
old men and women. The young warriors rarely use any
thing except a small leather pad stuffed with hair, and secured
by a girth made of a leathern thong. In this way they
ride with great expertness, and they have a particular dexterity

in catching the horse when he is running at large. If
he will not immediately submit when they wish to take
him, they make a noose in the rope, and although the horse
may be at a distance, or even running, rarely fail to fix it on
his neck; and such is the docility of the animal, that however
unruly he may seem, he surrenders as soon as he feels
the rope on him. This cord is so useful in this way that it is
never dispensed with, even when they use the Spanish bridle,
which they prefer, and always procure when they have
it in their power. The horse becomes almost an object of
attachment: a favourite is frequently painted and his ears
cut into various shapes: the mane and tail, which are never
drawn nor trimmed, are decorated with feathers of birds,
and sometimes a warrior suspends at the breast of his horse
the finest ornaments he possesses.

Thus armed and mounted the Shoshonee is a formidable
enemy, even with the feeble weapons which he is still obliged
to use. When they attack at full speed they bend forward
and cover their bodies with the shield, while with the right
hand they shoot under the horses neck.

The only articles of metal which the Shoshonees possess
are a few bad knives, some brass kettles, some bracelets or
armbands of iron and brass, a few buttons worn as ornaments
in their hair, one or two spears about a foot in length,
and some heads for arrows made of iron and brass. All
these they had obtained in trading with the Crow or Rocky
mountain Indians, who live on the Yellowstone. The few
bridle-bits and stirrups they procured from the Spanish colonies.

The instrument which supplies the place of a knife among
them, is a piece of flint with no regular form, and the sharp
part of it not more than one or two inches long: the edge of
this is renewed, and the flint itself is formed into heads for
arrows, by means of the point of a deer or elk horn, an instrument
which they use with great art and ingenuity.
There are no axes or hatchets; all the wood being cut with

flint or elk-horn, the latter of which is always used as a
wedge in splitting wood. Their utensils consist, besides the
brass kettles, of pots in the form of a jar, made either of
earth, or of a stone found in the hills between Madison and
Jefferson rivers, which, though soft and white in its natural
state, becomes very hard and black after exposure to the
fire. The horns of the buffaloe and the bighorn supply them
with spoons.

The fire is always kindled by means of a blunt arrow,
and a piece of well-seasoned wood of a soft spongy kind,
such as the willow or cottonwood.

The Shoshonees are of a diminutive stature, with thick
flat feet and ankles, crooked legs, and are, generally speaking,
worse formed than any nation of Indians we have seen.
Their complexion resembles that of the Sioux, and is darker
than that of the Minnetarees, Mandans, or Shawnees. The
hair in both sexes is suffered to fall loosely over the face
and down the shoulders: some men, however, divide it by
means of thongs of dressed leather or otter skin into two equal
queues, which hang over the ears and are drawn in front of
the body; but at the present moment, when the nation is afflicted
by the loss of so many relations killed in war, most
of them have the hair cut quite short in the neck, and Cameahwait
has the hair cut short all over his head, this being
the customary mourning for a deceased kindred.

The dress of the men consists of a robe, a tippet, a shirt,
long leggings and moccasins. The robe is formed most
commonly of the skins of antelope, bighorn, or deer, though
when it can be procured, the buffaloe hide is preferred.
Sometimes too they are made of beaver, moonax, and small
wolves, and frequently during the summer of elk skin.
These are dressed with the hair on, and reach about as low
as the middle of the leg. They are worn loosely over the
shoulders, the sides being at pleasure either left open or
drawn together by the hand, and in cold weather kept close
by a girdle round the waist. This robe answers the purpose

of a cloak during the day, and at night is their only
covering.

The tippet is the most elegant article of Indian dress we
have ever seen. The neck or collar of it is a strip about
four or five inches wide, cut from the back of the otter skin,
the nose and eyes forming one extremity, and the tail another.
This being dressed with the fur on, they attach to
one edge of it, from one hundred to two hundred and fifty
little rolls of ermine skin, beginning at the ear, and proceeding
towards the tail. These ermine skins are the same
kind of narrow strips from the back of that animal, which
are sewed round a small cord of twisted silkgrass thick enough
to make the skin taper towards the tail which hangs from the
end, and are generally about the size of a large quill. These
are tied at the head into little bundles, of two, three or more
according to the caprice of the wearer, and then suspended
from the collar, and a broad fringe of ermine skin is fixed
so as to cover the parts where they unite, which might have
a coarse appearance. Little tassels of fringe of the same
materials are also fastened to the extremities of the tail, so
as to show its black colour to greater advantage. The centre
of the collar is further ornamented with the shells of the
pearl oyster. Thus adorned, the collar is worn close round
the neck, and the little rolls fall down over the shoulders
nearly to the waist, so as to form a sort of short cloak,
which has a very handsome appearance. These tippets are
very highly esteemed, and are given or disposed of on important
occasions only. The ermine is the fur known to the
northwest traders by the name of the white weasel, but is
the genuine ermine; and by encouraging the Indians to
take them, might no doubt be rendered a valuable branch
of trade. These animals must be very abundant, for the
tippets are in great numbers, and the construction of each
requires at least one hundred skins.

The shirt is a covering of dressed skin without the hair,
and formed of the hide of the antelope, deer, bighorn, or

elk, though the last is more rarely used than any other
for this purpose. It fits the body loosely, and reaches half
way down the thigh. The aperture at the top is wide
enough to admit the head, and has no collar, but is either
left square, or most frequently terminates in the tail of the
animal, which is left entire, so as to fold outwards, though
sometimes the edges are cut into a fringe, and ornamented
with quills of the porcupine. The seams of the shirt are
on the sides, and are richly fringed and adorned with porcupine
quills, till within five or six inches of the sleeve,
where it is left open, as is also the under side of the sleeve
from the shoulder to the elbow, where it fits closely round
the arm as low as the wrist, and has no fringe like the
sides, and the under part of the sleeve above the elbow. It
is kept up by wide shoulder straps, on which the manufacturer
displays his taste by the variety of figures wrought
with porcupine quills of different colours, and sometimes
by beads when they can be obtained. The lower end of the
shirt retains the natural shape of the fore legs and neck of
the skin, with the addition of a slight fringe; the hair too
is left on the tail and near the hoofs, part of which last is
retained and split into a fringe.

The leggings are generally made of antelope skins, dressed
without the hair, and with the legs, tail and neck hanging
to them. Each legging is formed of a skin nearly entire,
and reaches from the ancle to the upper part of the
thigh, and the legs of the skin are tucked before and behind
under a girdle round the waist. It fits closely to the leg,
the tail being worn upwards, and the neck highly ornamented
with fringe and porcupine quills, drags on the ground
behind the heels. As the legs of the animal are tied round
the girdle, the wide part of the skin is drawn so high as to
conceal the parts usually kept from view, in which respect
their dress is much more decent than that of any nation of
Indians on the Missouri. The seams of the leggings down
the sides, are also fringed and ornamented, and occasionally

decorated with tufts of hair taken from enemies whom they
have slain. In making all these dresses, their only thread
is the sinew taken from the backs and loins of deer, elk, buffaloe,
or any other animal.

The moccasin is of the deer, elk, or buffaloe skin, dressed
without the hair, though in winter they use the buffaloe
skin with the hairy side inward, as do most of the Indians
who inhabit the buffaloe country. Like the Mandan
moccasin, it is made with a single seam on the outer edge,
and sewed up behind, a hole being left at the instep to admit
the foot. It is variously ornamented with figures wrought
with porcupine quills, and sometimes the young men most
fond of dress, cover it with the skin of a polecat, and trail
at their heels the tail of the animal.

The dress of the women consists of the same articles as
that of their husbands. The robe though smaller is worn
in the same way: the moccasins are precisely similar. The
shirt or chemise reaches half way down the leg, is in the
same form, except that there is no shoulder-strap, the seam
coming quite up to the shoulder; though for women who
give suck both sides are open, almost down to the waist. It
is also ornamented in the same way with the addition of little
patches of red cloth, edged round with beads at the skirts.
The chief ornament is over the breast, where there are curious
figures made with the usual luxury of porcupine quills.
Like the men they have a girdle round the waist, and when
either sex wishes to disengage the arm, it is drawn up
through the hole near the shoulder, and the lower part of
the sleeve thrown behind the body.

Children alone wear beads round their necks; grown
persons of both sexes prefer them suspended in little bunches
from the ear, and sometimes intermixed with triangular
pieces of the shell of the pearl oyster. Sometimes the men
tie them in the same way to the hair of the forepart of the
head, and increase the beauty of it by adding the wings and
tails of birds, and particularly the feathers of the great eagle

or calumet bird, of which they are extremely fond. The collars
are formed either of sea shells procured from their relations
to the southwest, or of the sweet-scented grass which
grows in the neighbourhood, and which they twist or plait
together, to the thickness of a man's finger, and then cover
with porcupine quills of various colours. The first of these
is worn indiscriminately by both sexes, the second principally
confined to the men, while a string of elk's tusks is a
collar almost peculiar to the women and children. Another
collar worn by the men is a string of round bones like the
joints of a fish's back, but the collar most prefered, because
most honourable, is one of the claws of the brown bear. To
kill one of these animals is as distinguished an achievement
as to have put to death an enemy, and in fact with their weapons
is a more dangerous trial of courage. These claws are
suspended on a thong of dressed leather, and being ornamented
with beads, are worn round the neck by the warriors
with great pride. The men also frequently wear the skin of
a fox, or a strip of otter skin round the head in the form of
a bandeau.

In short, the dress of the Shoshonees is as convenient
and decent as that of any Indians we have seen.

They have many more children than might have been
expected, considering their precarious means of support
and their wandering life. This inconvenience is however
balanced by the wonderful facility with which their females
undergo the operations of child-birth. In the most advanced
state of pregnancy they continue their usual occupations,
which are scarcely interrupted longer than the mere time of
bringing the child into the world.

The old men are few in number, and do not appear to be
treated with much tenderness or respect.

The tobacco used by the Shoshonees is not cultivated
among them, but obtained from the Indians of the Rocky
mountains, and from some of the bands of their own nation
who live south of them: it is the same plant which is in use
among the Minnetarees, Mandans, and Ricaras.

Their chief intercourse with other nations seems to consist
in their association with other Snake Indians, and with
the Flatheads when they go eastward to hunt buffaloe, and
in the occasional visits made by the Flatheads to the waters
of the Columbia for the purpose of fishing. Their intercourse
with the Spaniards is much more rare, and it furnishes
them with a few articles, such as mules, and some
bridles, and other ornaments for horses, which, as well as
some of their kitchen utensils, are also furnished by the
bands of Snake Indians from the Yellowstone. The pearl
ornaments which they esteem so highly come from other
bands, whom they represent as their friends and relations,
living to the southwest beyond the barren plains on the
other side of the mountains: these relations they say inhabit
a good country, abounding with elk, deer, bear, and antelope,
where horses and mules are much more abundant than
they are here, or to use their own expression, as numerous
as the grass of the plains.

The names of the Indians varies in the course of their
life: originally given in childhood, from the mere necessity
of distinguishing objects, or from some accidental resemblance
to external objects, the young warrior is impatient to
change it by some achievement of his own. Any important
event, the stealing of horses, the scalping an enemy, or killing
a brown bear, entitles him at once to a new name which
he then selects for himself, and it is confirmed by the nation.
Sometimes the two names subsist together: thus, the chief
Cameahwait, which means, "one who never walks," has the
war name of Tooettecone, or "black gun," which he acquired
when he first signalized himself. As each new action
gives a warrior a right to change his name, many of
them have had several in the course of their lives. To give
to a friend his own name is an act of high courtesy, and a
pledge like that of pulling off the moccasin of sincerity and
hospitality. The chief in this way gave his name to captain

Clarke when he first arrived, and he was afterwards
known among the Shoshonees by the name of Cameahwait.

The diseases incident to this state of life may be supposed
to be few, and chiefly the result of accidents. We
were particularly anxious to ascertain whether they had any
knowledge of the venereal disorder. After inquiring by
means of the interpreter and his wife, we learnt that they
sometimes suffered from it, and that they most usually die
with it; nor could we discover what was their remedy. It is
possible that this disease may have reached them in their
circuitous communications with the whites through the intermediate
Indians; but the situation of the Shoshonees is
so insulated, that it is not probable that it could have reached
them in that way, and the existence of such a disorder
among the Rocky mountains seems rather a proof of its
being aboriginal.