424 THE PAWNEES AND MR MURRAY. 



never do it again ; " so with Mr Murray's tale of his sojourn 

 with the Pawnees on the prairies, eating raw bison, liver, 

 &c. &c. From my knowledge of what that tribe at present 

 is, I would bet him similar immense odds that he " never 

 did it again," nor any other gentleman breathing, had 

 he sojourned with them. I think it must have been some 

 other tribe ; for such are the degraded and thievish pro 

 pensities of that abominably filthy and squalid race, that 

 any white man would not only have been robbed and 

 murdered, but ere his death he would most assuredly 

 have had to submit his head to the will, or at least 

 to the inspection, of the chiefs on sunny days, in 

 their camps, to have afforded them the pastime of refresh 

 ment, entomological capture, and food, for the Pawnees 

 are the only tribe who deem the most revolting insects a 

 luxury. It is a favourite occupation of the chiefs of the 

 Pawnees in idle hours and they are always idle to order 

 the children of the whole tribe thus to contribute heads 

 full of filth to the enjoyment of their elders. 



But to return to Captain Marcy's book, " The Prairie 

 Traveller." 



In one point alone my gallant friend and myself con 

 siderably differ, and that is in the best method of swim 

 ming the horse. Capt. Marcy says, in page 79 of his 

 book, and with reference to crossing rivers in a swollen 

 state, " If the traveller be alone, his only way is to swim 

 his horse ; but if he retains his seat in his saddle, his 

 weight presses the animal down into the water and 

 cramps his movements very sensibly. It is a much 

 better plan to attach a cord to the bridle-bit and drive him 

 into the stream, then, seizing his tail, allow him to tow you 

 across." Now, in this advice I cannot agree ; whatever 

 a man has to do with a horse with a saddle on his back, 



