INDIAN ANECDOTES. 437 



Herculean frame of this celebrated hunter. He arrived at Port 

 Massac in time to prepare the garrison for the reception of the 

 enemy, who were repulsed with extraordinary slaughter ; and after 

 this period the Indians abandoned in despair the attempt to cut off 

 the white invaders of their soil. 



The ringing of a bell now announced that the operation of < ' wood- 

 ing" had been completed at the steam-boat, and taking leave of our 

 hospitable and intelligent entertainer, we returned on board, and 

 again were moving through the Elysian scenery of the Ohio. In a 

 few hours we entered the Mississippi river, and soon perceived the 

 change from the undulating, high, and charmingly wooded banks of 

 the Ohio, to the swampy, dreary, and uninhabitable region of the 

 Mississippi. An unvaried and cheerless morass presents itself for 

 hundreds of miles, and from the mouth of the Ohio to the Gulf of 

 Mexico, only six small eminences of land are washed by the waters 

 of the Mississippi. At one of these, called the Fourth Chickasaw 

 Bluffs, we again landed for supplies of wood ; and here we enjoyed 

 a glimpse of savage life in its inmost recesses. Upon the bank of the 

 river were a number of Indians in a state of almost entire nudity, 

 holding bows, arrows, and blow-pipes, with which latter instrument 

 they bring down birds, squirrels, and other small game, with extra- 

 ordinary precision. They gazed at the machinery of the steam-boat 

 with great intensity, but without overstrained or stupid wonderment ; 

 and their erect and noble figures, and large, dark, and rolling eyes, 

 inspired us with feelings of considerable awe. Perceiving a small 

 rising at a short distance in the woods, I approached the spot, 

 being accompanied by my English friend, and a fellow-passenger, a 

 gentleman from Kentucky. It proved to be the wigwam of an In- 

 dian family, consisting of a man, woman, and one boy. The man was 

 repairing a canoe, the squaw was seated upon a log ornamenting a 

 pair of mocassins, and the boy was busily employed in skinning a 

 fawn which had recently been killed. The Indian approached us 

 with a smile of welcome, and shook hands with the whole party, 

 uttering the expression of " Boba Shela," the usual salutation of all 

 the Indian tribes. He could not, however, speak a syllable of English, 

 and our intercourse was accordingly confined to signs. He imme- 

 diately gave us to understand that he knew two of the party to 

 be Englishmen, which he did by pointing to the eastward, and 

 waving with his hand far away across the sea. On seating 

 ourselves upon the log, he expressed by gestures his great satisfac- 

 tion, as though this was an act of considerable condescension, and I 

 now observed that the squaw and the boy appeared wild with 

 delight. 



Our companion the Kentuckian turned his back and remained 

 standing, apparently displeased at our familiarity with the Indians ; 

 for the prejudices of colour prevail almost as strongly against the red 

 people as against the negro population of the planting States. The 

 squaw offered us refreshments, consisting of wild honey, bread of In- 

 dian corn, and a small quantity of milk. A fine haunch of venison 

 was roasting by the fire, a stick being passed through the meat and 

 stuck into the ground, and this being occasionally turned, the opera- 



