PLEADING FOR WHISKEY. 49 



hat required tribute of tlie Israelites passing through them to ])ossess the 

 ,and of their forefathers. 



Sept. 9th. Early in the forenoon we came to the Kansas, and were em- 

 ployed till nearly ni^ht in eflecting a ford. This proved rather difficult, as 

 the water was deep and the botto u sandy; — the course, bearing directly 

 across, till near midway of the river, follows the current for sLx or eight 

 Hundred yards, and then turns abruptly to the opposite shore. The Kansas, 

 at the crossing, was not far from six hundred yards wide, with steep banks 

 of clay and sand. The fording accomplished, we travelled some six miles, 

 and encamped for the night. Our visitors yet honored us v/ith their pres- 

 ence ; some, under pretence of trading horses ; others, of bartering for 

 tobacco, whiskey, coffee, and ammunition ; but most of them for the real 

 purpose of begging and steaUng. 



The Caw Indians are a branch of the Osage tribe — speaking the same 

 language, and identified b) the same manners and customs. They num- 

 ber a population of sixteen hundred, and claim all the territory v/est of the 

 Delaware, Shawnee, and Pottowatomie line, to the head waters of the 

 Kansas. Their main village is on the left bank of the river, a few miles 

 above the crossing. Tiieir houses are built Pav/nee fa: hion, being coni- 

 form and covered with a thick coat of dirt, presenting a holo at the apex to 

 emit the smoke, and another at the side to serve the double purpose of a 

 door and window. The whole building describes a complete circle, in 

 whose centre is placed the hearth-fire, and at the circumference the couches 

 of its inmates. Its floor is the bare ground, and its ceiling the grass, brush, 

 and poles which uphold the superincumbent earth forming the roof and 

 sides. 



The Caws are generally a lazy and slovenly people, raising but little 

 corn, and scarcely any vegetables. For a living they depend mostly upon 

 the chase. Their regular hunts are in the summer, fall, and winter, at 

 which time they all leave for the buffalo range, and return laden with a 

 full supply of choice provisions. The robes and skins thus obtained, 

 furnish tlieir clothing and aiUcles for traffic. 



As yet, civilization has made but small advances among them. Some, 

 however, are tolerably well educated, and a Protestant mission established 

 with them, is beginning ua oiuw "uut oucc^i^orul operations for their good, — 

 while two or three families of half-breeds, near by, occupy neat houses, and 

 have splendid farms and improvements, thus affording a wholesome contrast 

 to the poverty and misery of then* rude neighbors. 



The distance from Independence to this place, by the mountain trail, is 

 6ome eighty miles, over a beautiful and fertile country, which I shall here- 

 after take occasion to notice more fully. Before leaving, we were further 

 increased by the accession of two Canadian voyageurs — French of course. 

 Our force now numbered some twentv-four — one sufficiently formidable for 

 all the dangers of the route. 



Sept. IQth. Resuming our way, we proceeded till late at night, still 

 attended bv our Indian friends ; (noL the originals, but a " few more of the 

 same sort, who kindly supplied their pLces,- -seeking to levy fresh drafts 

 upon patience and generosity.) Tiiese were more importunate for liquor than 

 anjr preceding them — though, in fact, the whole nation is nowise remiss in 

 their devotion to King AlcoTiol One fellow, in particular, exhausted ail hin 



