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and there passed the night as best they could. The day was marked by 

 another event also worthy of record — the death of my porcupine. I had 

 the skeleton preserved. 



Ill the evening when we landed, Mr. Picotte was seen running up a 

 very steep, high bluff, and while we were admiring his activity he called to 

 us ; we all at once started off, supposing he had seen game. Mr. Clark 

 taking his rifle, and Ferd his knife ; but on coming up to him we were much 

 amused to hear the old man instead of pointing out the game, ask us to 

 slide down the hill to the water's edge. Fortune favored me at this place, 

 for as we desceneded the hill, I saw for the first time in my life, the cactus 

 in bloom. It was a most agreeable surprise to find this unsightly plant 

 which is the great annoyance of moccasined voyageurs adorned with flowers 

 of a fine straw color. I secured several of them although none appeared to 

 be in full bloom ; how to preserve them is a great difficulty with me, for so 

 much of the fleshy substance must go with the flower, that it is almost im- 

 possible to dry it. The structure of the flower, also was full of interest to 

 me, so that on the whole, I thought I had secured a real prize. 



At night I listened with great pleasure to a long conversation between 

 Mr. Clark and Mr. Picotte, on Indian customs and language, and I regret 

 that I cannot record it fully. They mentioned the great generosity of all 

 Indians manifested in their disposition to give presents, and so great is the 

 desire to do so, that they will even steal to gratify it ; the same generous 

 disposition is remarked in nearly all half breeds. Pol teness amongst them, 

 assumes some very singular forms ; for instance, it is a mark of great respect 

 for an Indian to pass his plate with the remnant of his meal to any one who 

 may be with him ; this I have observed at the feasts, and have seen it in the 

 half-breeds constantly. And it is the very quintessence of politeness for an 

 Indian who is drinking liquor, to fill his mouth and then pass the contents 

 to his friend's mouth from his own. The Indians notice the manner in 

 which they are treated by the traders, and think it rather strange — say they, 

 "we give you the best food and the best robe, while you give us poor food 

 and put us in another room to sleep." "Well," reply the traders, "the 

 reason is, that there are so many of you, and so few of us, we cannot afford 

 to find you all, as we feed ourselves, and if we feed one of you better than 

 another, jealousy is produced. 



The Indians in their intercourse like to see a man well dressed because it 

 shows respect to them, and they despise a man who adopts their own cos- 

 tume ; they are conscious of, and admit the white man's superiority, and 

 have mind enough to despise the man who lowers himself to them. They 

 all make it a point to dress in their best when they reach a fort, except the 

 Assiniboines ; and Ferdinand says that if they are not dirty before they get 

 near the fort they make themselves so purposely. 



The Indian name of the Gros Ventres is Minetaree — the people of the 

 willows — the Aricarees call themselves Corn Eaters, and the Mandans 

 have no translation fi)r their name. Mr. Clark mentioned a difficulty in 

 acquiring an Indian language worthy of notice, namely, that the women 

 and men use a language so different that after acquiring one you would 

 almost be ignorant of the other — that the men would pretend to be entire- 

 ly ignorant of many w^ords which the women use, and these are not words 

 peculiar to feminine dress or habits, but the names of very common articles 

 and acts. This is doubtless owing to the social position of the female — 

 their interest is separate from that of the men, and they are mad< to feel 



