SOURCE OP ST. Peter's river. 1G7 



ders are well set and well proportioned; their legs are not 

 very good, generally destitute of calf, with thick knees 

 and ankles'; their feet are large; their arms and hands 

 small and well-shaped ; they possess great strength in the 

 wrist ; their voice is strong and harmonious, many of them 

 sing, and their ear appears good. Of their musical talent 

 we cannot, however, form a high estimation. The second 

 air in Plate 5 is the Chippewa song which accom.panies the 

 scalp dance. The words of it as furnished by one of our 

 half-breed canoe-men were Wagon'an n'andaw'andank otk- 

 game k^oshemot, which was translated, " What does he, tlie 

 Sauk, mean, that he runs off thus." The song is said to 

 have been written on the occasion of a Sauk having joined 

 the Dacotas, and guided a party of their warriors against 

 the Chippewas ; on being discovered the Sauk made his es- 

 cape. 



Their sight is keen, it becomes weak at an early age : 

 they are frequently afflicted with sore eyes, which is sup- 

 posed to be caused by their constant exposure to the re- 

 flection of the sun by the water during the summer, and by 

 the snow in the winter season. Blindness is not common. 

 Many of them become deaf at an early age ; their stomach is 

 naturally very strong, but is impaired by the inordinate 

 excesses in which they indulge when provided with food. 

 They appear to be deficient in mechanical ingenuity, and 

 do not cultivate the few natural talents with which they 

 are gifted. Their ornaments consist of beads, paints, and 

 other trifles which they obtain from traders at very high 

 prices. Their cabins are constructed of birch bark, secured 

 to a slight frame by means of heavy poles placed upon it 

 to prevent the wind from blowing it away. 



Hospitality is one of their chief virtues. Their disposi- 

 tion though cheerful is taciturn ; the \\'omen ore more lo- 



