136 INTERESTING TO ANTIQUARIANS. 



with the arms,) constitute her gown, which is completed by two other 

 pieces of skin sewed from neck to waist so as to fall loosely upon the arms 

 as far as the elbow ; then, with leggins of thin deer or . antelope skin, 

 garnished moccasins, and a painted robe, you have before you the full rig 

 of a mountain squaw. 



Some of the younger ones, however, flaunt dresses quite tastefully orna- 

 mented, with full capes and fringe-works, garnished with beads and porcu- 

 pine-quills, that present a wild, fantastic appearance, not altogether es- 

 tranged to beauty. 



A squaw prides herself much upon the number of rings in her ears and 

 upon her fingers, as well as the taste displayed in plaiting her hair and 

 beautifying her face. 



Women, in savage alike with civilized life, are vested with a good sup- 

 ply of pride and vanity in their composition, — all, fond of show and gaudy 

 equipage. But the mountain squaw, next to ornaments, displays the most 

 vanity in the gay caparison of her riding horse, and the splendid trappings 

 of his saddle. Both of them are fancifully garnished with beads and paint, 

 and bestrung with various trinkets, that impart a tinkling sound, as they 

 strike each other at every movement, and fill the rider's ears with that wild 

 and simple music so consonant to her feelings and thoughts. 



Men and women practise the same mode of riding, (astride,) and a 

 squaw is as much at home on horseback as the most experienced cavalier. 



This fashion is properly considered unbecoming for ladies of civilized 

 countries ; yet, improper as it may seem, it is quite common with the ladies 

 of New Mexico. 



As my subsequent travels in the countries bordering upon the Rocky 

 Mountains preclude the opportunity of speaking connectedly of the Sioux 

 nation, I cannot forego the present occasion for presenting to the curious, 

 some few items relative to the language of these Indians, that tend to shed 

 no small amount of light upon the ancient history of the American conti- 

 nent. 



There are several remarkable peculiarities in the Sioux language, that 

 cannot fail to prove interesting and satisfactory, so far as they go, to all 

 lovers of antiquarian research. 



The first of these consists in the striking similarity observable in its 

 general structure to that of the ancient Romans, when the two are care- 

 fully compared with each other. 



In regard to the arrangement of words and the construction of sen- 

 tences, they are both governed by the same fixed laws of euphony, irre- 

 spective of the relative position otherwise maintained by the different 

 parts of speech. It will be observed that the leading purpose of the speak- 

 er of either language is, to avoid a harsh and inharmonious intermingling 

 of words, such as would grate upon the ear when pronounced in an ab- 

 rupt connection ; and, by so doing, to give a smooth and musical turn to 

 the expression of his ideas. 



The few brief sentences, hereto subjoined in the same order as they oc- 

 cur in the original, accompanied by the translation of each word as it ap- 

 pears, will serve to illustrate this matter more fully : 



