496 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1816. 



of red clothj edged round with 

 beads at the skirts. The chief 

 ornament is ovei' the breast, 

 where tlieie are curious tlgures 

 made with the usual luxury of 

 porcupine quills. Like the men 

 they have a girdle round the waist, 

 and when eitlier sex wishes to 

 disengage the arm, it is drawn up 

 through the hole near the shoulder, 

 and tS'.e lower ]>art of the sleeve 

 thrown behind the body. 



Chikh'en alone wear, Leads 

 round their necks ; grown per- 

 sons of both sexes prefer them 

 susi)ended in little bunclies from 

 the ear, and sometimes inter- 

 mixed with triangular pieces of 

 the shell of the pearl oyster. 

 Sometimes the men tie them in 

 the same way to the hair of the 

 foiejjart of the head, and increase 

 the beauty of it by adding the 

 wings and tails of birds, and par- 

 ticularly the feathers of the great 

 eagle or calumet bird, of which 

 they are extremely fond. The 

 collars are formed either of sea 

 shells jjrocured from their rela- 

 tions to the soiitii-west, or of the 

 sweet-scented grass which grows 

 in tlie neighbouihood, and Avhich 

 they twist or })lait together, to 

 the thickness of a man's finger, 

 and then co'.er with porcupine 

 quills of various ci;lou'-s. Tiie 

 first of these is worn indiscrimi- 

 nately by botli sexes, the second 

 principally confined to the men, 

 while a string of elk's tusks is a 

 collar almost peculiar to the 

 women and cliildren. Another 

 collar worn by tlie men is a string 

 of round bones like the joints of 

 a fish's back, but the collar most 

 preferred, because most honour- 

 able, is one of the claws of tlie 

 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 

 diessed leather, and being orna- 

 mented Avitli beads, are worn 

 round the neck by the warriors 

 with great pride, llie men also 

 frequently wear the ukin of a fox, 

 or a strip of otter skin round the 

 head in the form of a bandeau. 



In short, the dress of the Shos- 

 honees, is as convenient and de- 

 cent 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 how- 

 e\er 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 num- 

 ber, and do not appear to he 

 treated with much tenderness or 

 respect. 



The tobacco iised by the Shos- 

 lionees is not cultivated among 

 them, but obtained from the In- 

 dians of the Rocky mountains, 

 and from some of the bands of 

 their own nation who live soxUh 

 of them : it is the same plant 

 which is in use among the Min- 

 netarees, Mandans, and Ricaras. 



Their chief intercourse with 

 other nations seems to consist in 

 their association with other Snake 

 Indians, and with the Flatheads 



when 



