Travels in the Interior of North America Part 23

weight each, put up separately, and tied together. There are, generally, about sixty large skins in a pack; if they are smaller, of course there are more skins. A large beaver skin weighs about two pounds--sometimes more. The usual price is four dollars a pound.[357]

[pg. 190] 2. Otters: 200 to 300 skins.

3. Buffalo cow skins: 40,000 to 50,000. Ten buffalo hides go to the pack.

4. Canadian weasel (_Musetela Canadensis_): 500 to 600.

5. Martin (pine or beech martin): about the same quant.i.ty.

6. Lynx; the northern lynx (_Felis Canadensis_): 1,000 to 2,000.

7. Lynx; the southern or wild cat (_Felis rufa_): ditto.

8. Red foxes (_Canis fulvus_): 2,000.

9. Cross foxes: 200 to 300.

10. Silver foxes: twenty to thirty. Sixty dollars are often paid for a single skin.

11. Minks (_Mustela vison_): 2,000.

12. Musk-rats (_Ondathra_): from 1,000 to 100,000.[358] According to Captain Back, half a million of these skins are annually imported into London, as this animal is found in equal abundance as far as the coasts of the Frozen Ocean.

13. Deer (_Cervus Virginia.n.u.s_ and _macrotis_): from 20,000 to 30,000.

Beyond Council Bluffs, scarcely any articles are bartered by the Indians--especially the Joways, Konzas, and the Osages--except the skins of the _Cervus Virginia.n.u.s_, which is found in great abundance, but is said to have fallen off there likewise very considerably.

The elk (_Cervus Canadensis_, or _major_), is not properly comprehended in the trade, as its skin is too thick and heavy, and is, therefore, used for home consumption. The buffalo skin is taken, as before observed, from the cows only, as the leather of the bulls is too heavy. The wolf skins are not at all sought by the company, that is to say, they do not send out any hunters to procure them; but, if the Indians bring any, they are bought not to create any dissatisfaction, and then they are sold at about a dollar a-piece. The Indians, however, have frequently nothing to offer for barter but their dresses, and painted buffalo robes.

The support of so large an establishment as that at Fort Union requires frequent hunting excursions into the prairie; and Mr. Mc Kenzie, therefore, maintained here several experienced hunters of a mixed race, who made weekly excursions to the distance of twenty or more miles into the prairie, sought the buffalo herds, and, after they had killed a sufficient number, returned home with their mules well laden. The flesh of the cows is very good, especially the tongues, which are smoked in great numbers, and then sent down to St. Louis.

The colossal marrow-bones are considered quite a delicacy by the hunters and by the Indians. The consumption of [pg. 191] this animal is immense in North America, and is as indispensable to the Indians as the reindeer is to the Laplanders, and the seal to the Esquimaux. It is difficult to obtain an exact estimate of the consumption of this animal, which is yearly decreasing and driven further inland. In a recent year, the Fur Company sent 42,000 of these hides down the river, which were sold, in the United States, at four dollars a-piece.

Fort Union alone consumes about 600 to 800 buffaloes annually, and the other forts in proportion. The numerous Indian tribes subsist almost entirely on these animals, sell their skins after retaining a sufficient supply for their clothing, tents, &c., and the agents of the Company recklessly shoot down these n.o.ble animals for their own pleasure, often not making the least use of them, except taking out the tongue. Whole herds of them are often drowned in the Missouri; nay, I have been a.s.sured that, in some rivers, 1,800 and more of their dead bodies were found in one place. Complete dams are formed of the bodies of these animals in some of the mora.s.ses of the rivers; from this we may form some idea of the decrease of the buffaloes, which are now found on the other side of the Rocky Mountains, where they were not originally met with, but whither they have been driven.

Besides the buffalo, the hunters also shoot the elk, the deer, and, occasionally, the bighorn. The former especially are very numerous on the Yellow Stone River. All other provisions, such as pork, hams, flour, sugar, coffee, wine, and other articles of luxury for the tables of the chief officers and the clerks, are sent from St. Louis by the steamer. The maize is procured from the neighbouring Indian nations. Vegetables do not thrive at Fort Union, which Mr. Mc Kenzie ascribes to the long-continued drought and high winds.

The neighbourhood around Fort Union is, as I have observed, a wide, extended prairie, intersected, in a northerly direction, by a chain of rather high, round, clay-slate, and sand-stone hills, from the summits of which we had a wide-spreading view over the country on the other side of the Missouri, and of its junction with the Yellow Stone, of which Mr. Bodmer made a very faithful drawing.[359] We observed on the highest points, and at certain intervals of this mountain chain, singular stone signals, set up by the a.s.siniboins, of blocks of granite, or other large stones, on the top of which is placed a buffalo skull,[360] which we were told the Indians place there to attract the herds of buffaloes, and thereby to ensure a successful hunt. The strata of sand-stone occurring in the above-mentioned hills are filled, at least in part, with impressions of the leaves of phanerogamic plants, resembling the species still growing in the country.[361] A whitish-grey and reddish-yellow sand-stone are found here. In all these prairies of North America, as well as in the plains of northern Europe, those remarkable blocks or fragments of red granite, are everywhere scattered, which have afforded the geologist subject for many hypotheses. Major Long's Expedition to St. Peter's River[362] mentions blocks of granite in the prairies of Illinois; they are found in abundance in the north, about St. Peter's [pg. 192]

River, in the State of Ohio, &c. Other boulders, however, of quartz, flint, slate, &c., evidently formed by water, are found everywhere in the prairies. The hills were partly bare, and very few flowers were in blossom; the whole country was covered with short, dry gra.s.s, among which there were numerous round spots with tufts of _Cactus ferox_, which was only partly in flower. Another _cactus_, resembling _mammillaris_, with dark red flowers, yellow on the inner side, was likewise abundant. Of the first kind it seems that two exactly similar varieties, probably species, are found everywhere here; both have fine, large, bright yellow flowers, sometimes a greenish-yellow, and, on their first expanding, are often whitish, and the outer side of the petals, with a reddish tinge; but in one species, the staminae are bright yellow, like the flower itself, and, in the other, of a brownish blood red, with yellow anthers. The true flowering time of these plants begins at the end of June.

The scene of destruction, which has often been mentioned, namely, the whitening bones of buffaloes and stags, recurs everywhere in the prairie, and the great dogs of the fort frequently seek for such animal remains. Between the hills, there are, sometimes, in the ravines, little thickets of oak, ash, negundo maple, elm, bird-cherry, and some others, in which many kinds of birds, particularly the starling, blackbird, &c., build their nests. The king-bird and the red thrush are likewise found. Of mammalia, besides those in the river, namely, the beaver, the otter, and the muskrat, there are, about Fort Union, in the prairie, great numbers of the pretty little squirrel, the skin of which is marked with long stripes, and regular spots between them (_Spermophilus Hoodii_, Sab.), which have been represented by Richardson and Cuvier. The Anglo-Americans of these parts call it the ground squirrel; and the Canadians, _l'ecureuil Suisse_. From its figure and agility, it is a genuine squirrel, and, therefore, rather different from the true marmot arctomys. The burrows, in which these animals live, are often carried to a great extent underground. The entrance is not much larger than a mouse hole, and has no mound of earth thrown up, like those of the prairie dogs.

Besides these, there are several kinds of mice, particularly _Mus leucopus_. The flat hills of the goffer are likewise seen; this is a kind of large sand rat, living underground, of which I did not obtain a specimen.

Not far above and below the fort there were woods on the banks of the Missouri, consisting of poplars, willows, ash, elm, negundo maple, &c., with a thick underwood of hazel, roses, which were now in flower, and dog-berry, rendered almost impa.s.sable by blackberry bushes and the burdock (_Xanthium strumarium_), the th.o.r.n.y fruit of which stuck to the clothes. In these thickets, where we collected many plants, the mosquitos were extremely troublesome. In such places we frequently heard the deep base note of the frogs; and in those places which were not damp, there were patches of two kinds of solidago; likewise _Gaura coccinea_ (Pursh.), and _Cristaria coccinea_, two extremely beautiful plants; and, on the banks of the river, the white-flowering _Bartonia ornata_ (Pursh.), and the _Helianthus petiolaris_ (Nutt.), which were everywhere in flower, &c. &c.

[pg. 193] In the forest, a pretty small mouse was frequent, as well as the large wood rat, already mentioned. Of birds, there are some species of woodp.e.c.k.e.rs, the Carolina pigeon, numerous blackbirds (_Quiscalus ferrugineus_), thrushes, several smaller birds, the beautiful bluefinch, first described by Say, the American fly-catcher, and several others. The whip-poor-will is not found so high up the Missouri. The river does not abound in fish; it produces, however, two species of cat-fish, and soft sh.e.l.l turtles, but which are not often caught.

The climate about Fort Union is very changeable. We had often 76 Fahrenheit, and storms of thunder and lightning alternating with heavy rains. Other days in the month of June were cold, the thermometer falling to 56. Winds prevail here the greater part of the year, and therefore the temperature is usually dry. The weather, while we were there, was uncommonly rainy. Spring is generally the wettest season; the summer is dry; autumn the finest time of the year; the winter is severe, and often of long continuance. The snow is often three, four, or six feet deep in many places, and then dog sledges are used, and the Indians wear snow shoes. The winter of 1831-1832 had been remarkably mild in these parts. The Missouri had scarcely been frozen for three days together; but the spring, however, set in very late. On the 30th of May, 1832, the forests were still without verdure; and there was, in that month, such dreadful weather, that an Indian was frozen to death in the prairie: a snow storm overtook him and a girl, who escaped with one of her feet frozen. In general, however, the climate is said to be very healthy. There are no endemic disorders, and the fine water of the Missouri, which, notwithstanding the sand mixed with it, is light and cold, does not a little contribute to make the inhabitants attain an advanced age. There are no physicians here, and the people affirm they have no need of them. Persons, whom we questioned on the subject, said, "We don't want doctors; we have no diseases." In the preceding spring, however, there had been more sickness than usual on the Missouri, and at the time of our visit, the approach of the cholera was feared. Colds are, probably, the most frequent complaints, the changes in the temperature being sudden, the dwellings slight and ill built, and the people exposing themselves without any precaution.

Fort Union is built in the territory of the a.s.siniboins, of whom a certain number generally live there. At this time they had left, because the herds of buffaloes were gone to a distant part of the country. The a.s.siniboins are real Dacotas, or Sioux, and form a branch which separated from the rest a considerable time ago, in consequence of a quarrel among them. They still call themselves by that name, though they seem generally to p.r.o.nounce it Nacota. They parted from the rest of the tribe, after a battle which they had with each other on Devil's Lake, and removed further to the north. The tribe is said to consist of 28,000 souls, of whom 7,000 are warriors. They live in 3,000 tents; the territory which they claim as theirs, is between the Missouri and the Saskatschawan, bounded by lake Winipick on the north, extending, on the east, to a.s.siniboin River, and, on the west, to Milk River. The English and Americans sometimes [pg. 194] call them Stone Indians, which, however, properly speaking, is the name of only one branch.

The a.s.siniboins are divided into the following branches or bands:

1. Itscheabine (_les gens des filles_).

2. Jatonabine (_les gens des roches_). The Stone Indians of the English. Captain Franklin, in his first journey to the Frozen Ocean, speaks of these Indians, and observes that they are little to be depended upon.[363] He says that they call themselves Eascab, a name with which, however, I have not met.

3. Otopachgnato (_les gens du large_).

4. Otaopabine (_les gens des canots_).

5. Tschantoga (_les gens des bois_). They live near the Fort des Prairies, not far from Saskatschawan River.[364]

6. Watopachnato (_les gens de l'age_).

7. Tanintauei (_les gens des osayes_).[365]

8. Chabin (_les gens des montagnes_).[366]

In their personal appearance the a.s.siniboins differ little from the true Sioux; those whom we saw were, perhaps, on the whole, not so tall and slender as the Sioux. Their faces are broad, with high cheeks, and broad maxillary bones. They frequently do not wear their hair so long as the Sioux; many of them have it scarcely hanging down to the shoulders; some, however, let it grow to a great length, and braid it in two or three tails; nay, some let it hang like a lion's mane over their faces and about their heads. Several wore round white leather caps, others feathers in their hair, or a narrow strip of skin fastened over the crown. A remarkable head-dress is that with two horns, of which I shall have to speak in the sequel. They paint their faces red, or reddish-brown, and, when they have killed an enemy, quite black: the hair in front is often daubed with clay; the upper part of the body is seldom naked in winter time, when they wear leather shirts, with a large round rosette on the breast, which is embroidered with dyed porcupine quills, of the most vivid colours; and they have often another exactly similar ornament on their back. The sleeves of these leather shirts are adorned with tufts of their enemies' hair. The outer seam of the leggins, as among all the other tribes, has an embroidered stripe of coloured porcupine quills, and trimmed in the same manner with human or dyed horsehair. In the summer time the upper part of the body is often naked, and the feet bare, but they are never without the large buffalo robe, which is often curiously painted. Their necklaces and other ornaments are similar to those of the other nations which have already been described. They, however, very frequently wear the collar of the bears' claws, but not the long strings of beads [pg. 195] and dentalium sh.e.l.ls, which are used by the Manitaries. Most of the a.s.siniboins have guns,[367] the stocks of which they ornament with bright yellow nails, and with small pieces of red cloth on the ferrels for the ramrod. Like all the Indians, they carry, besides, a separate ramrod in their hand, a large powder-horn, which they obtain from the Fur Company, and a leather pouch for the b.a.l.l.s, which is made by themselves, and often neatly ornamented, or hung with rattling pieces of lead, and trimmed with coloured cloth.

All have bows and arrows; many have these only, and no gun. The case for the bow and the quiver are of the skin of some animal, often of the otter, fastened to each other; and to the latter the tail of the animal, at full length, is appended. The bow is partly covered with elk horn, has a very strong string of twisted sinews of animals, and is wound round in different places with the same, to strengthen it.

The bow is often adorned with coloured cloth, porcupine quills, and white strips of ermine, but, on the whole, this weapon does not differ from that of the Sioux. Most of them carry clubs in their hands, of various shapes, and the fan of eagles' or swans' wings is indispensable to an elegant dandy.

The a.s.siniboins being hunters, live in movable leather tents, with which they roam about, and never cultivate the ground. Their chief subsistence they derive from the herds of buffaloes, which they follow in the summer, generally from the rivers, to a distance in the prairie; in the winter, to the woods on the banks of the rivers, because these herds, at that time, seek for shelter and food among the thickets. They are particularly dexterous in making what are called buffalo parks, when a tract is surrounded with scarecrows, made of stones, branches of trees, &c., and the terrified animals are driven into a narrow gorge, in which the hunters lie concealed, as represented and described by Franklin, in his first journey to the Frozen Ocean.[368] There was such a park ten miles from Fort Union, where I was told there were great numbers of the bones of those animals. On such occasions the Indians sometimes kill 700 or 800 buffaloes. Of the dried and powdered flesh, mixed with tallow, the women prepare the well-known pemmican, which is an important article of food for these people in their wanderings. These Indians frequently suffer hunger, when the chase or other circ.u.mstances are unfavourable; this is particularly the case of the northern nations, the Crees, the a.s.siniboins, the Chippeways, and others, as may be seen in Tanner,[369] Captain Franklin, and other writers, when they consider dead dogs as a delicacy. In the north, entire families perish from hunger. They eat every kind of animals, except serpents; horses and dogs are very frequently killed for food, which is the reason why they keep so many, particularly of the latter.

In comparison with the other nations, the a.s.siniboins have not many horses; their bridles and saddles are like those of the Manitaries.

The rope of buffalo hair, which is fastened to the [pg. 196] lower jaw as a bridle, is always very long, and trails on the gra.s.s when the animal is not tied up. Many have large parchment stirrups in the shape of shoes, and all carry a short whip in their hand, generally made of the end of an elk's horn, and gaily ornamented. Their dogs are of great help to the women in their heavy work; and they are loaded with the baggage in the same manner as among the Manitaries.

In general, the a.s.siniboins have the customs as well as the superst.i.tious notions of the Sioux; for an account of which, Major Long's "Expedition to St. Peter's River," may be consulted. They keep on good terms with the Fur Company, for their own interest; they are, however, horse-stealers, and not to be trusted; and when one meets them alone in the prairie, there is great danger of being robbed.

Smoking is a favourite enjoyment with them, but, as they live at a distance from the red pipe clay, the bowls of their pipes are generally made of a blackish stone, or black clay, and are different in shape from those of the Dacotas.[370] The pipe tube is ornamented like those of the other tribes.[371] They generally smoke the herb kinikenick, which we have before mentioned, or the leaves of the bear-berry (_Arbutus uva ursi_), mixed with genuine tobacco. To clean their pipes they make use of a painted stick, bound round with quills, dyed of various colours, and with a neat ta.s.sel at the end of it,[372]

which is generally stuck in their hair.

[Ill.u.s.tration: a.s.siniboin pipes]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Pipe for warlike expeditions]

Many games are in use among these Indians; one of these is a round game, in which one holds in his hand some small stones, of which the others must guess the number, or pay a forfeit. This game is known also to the Blackfeet. Another is that in which they play with four small bones and four yellow nails, to which one of each sort is added; they are laid upon a flat [pg. 197] wooden plate, which is struck, so that they fly up and fall back into the plate, and you gain, or lose, according as they lie together on one side, and the stake is often very high.

Among the amus.e.m.e.nts and festivities are their eating feasts, when the guests must eat everything set before them, if they will not give offence. If one of the guests is not able to eat any more, he gives his neighbour a small wooden stick, and the plate with food, the meaning of which is that he will make him a present of a horse, on the next day, if he will undertake to empty the plate; and the young men do this in order to gain reputation. The a.s.siniboins are brave in battle, and often very daring. They frequently steal into the villages of the Mandans and Manitaries, shoot the inhabitants in or near their huts, or steal their horses.

They believe in a creator, or lord of life (Unkan-Tange), and also in an evil spirit (Unkan-Schidja), who torments people with various disorders, against which their sorcerers or physicians (medicine men) use the drum and the rattle to expel the evil spirit. Like the Crees and several other tribes, they believe that thunder is produced by an enormous bird, which some of them pretend to have seen. Some ascribe lightning to the Great Spirit, and believe that he is angry when the storm is violent. They believe that the dead go to a country in the south, where the good and brave find women and buffaloes, while the wicked or cowardly are confined to an island, where they are dest.i.tute of all the pleasures of life. Those who, during their lives, have conducted themselves bravely, are not to be deposited in trees when they die, but their corpses are to be laid on the ground, it being taken for granted that, in case of need, they will help themselves. Of course they are generally devoured by the wolves, to secure them from which, however, they are covered with wood and stones. Other corpses are usually placed on trees, as among the Sioux, and sometimes on scaffolds. They are tied up in buffalo hides, and three or four are sometimes laid in one tree.

The language of the a.s.siniboins is, on the whole, the same as that of the Sioux, altered by their long separation, and the influence of time and circ.u.mstances. Like them, they have many gutturals and nasal tones; in general, however, it is an harmonious language, which a German p.r.o.nounces without difficulty.

FOOTNOTES:

[354] For a view of this fort see Plate 61, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED.

[355] This is the distance by water; on horseback, the journey has been accomplished in ten days.--MAXIMILIAN.