LIFE IN THE FAR WEST 73 



Jobs to manage a mule ; and in no case does the wilful 

 mulishness of the animal stir up one's choler more than 

 in the very trick this one played, and which is a daily 

 occurrence. After tugging ineffectually for several 

 minutes, winding the rope round his body, and throw- 

 ing himself suddenly forward with all his strength, the 

 trapper actually foamed with passion ; and although he 

 might have subdued the animal at once by fastening the 

 rope with a half-hitch round its nose, this, with an 

 obstinacy equal to that of the mule itself, he refused to 

 attempt, preferring to vanquish her by main strength. 

 Failing so to do, the mountaineer, with a volley of 

 blasphemous imprecations, suddenly seized his rifle, 

 and levelling it at the mule's head, shot her dead. 



Passing the Wa-ka-rasha, a well-timbered stream, 

 they met a band of Osages going " to buffalo." These 

 Indians, in common with some tribes of the Pawnees, 

 shave the head, with the exception of a ridge from the 

 forehead to the centre of the scalp, which is " roached " 

 or hogged like the mane of a mule, and stands erect, 

 plastered with unguents, and ornamented with feathers 

 of the hawk and turkey. The naked scalp is often 

 painted in mosaic with black and red, the face with 

 shining vermilion. This band were all naked to the 

 breech-clout, the warmth of the sun having made them 

 throw their dirty blankets from their shoulders. These 

 Indians not unfrequently levy contributions on the 

 strangers they accidentally meet; but they easily distin- 

 guish the determined mountaineer from the incautious 

 greenhorn, and think it better to let the former alone. 



