THE MISSOURI RIVER JOURNALS 



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ing that last spring early, during a snow-storm, he and 

 Mr. Larpenteur were out in an Indian lodge close by the 

 fort, when they heard the mares which had young colts 

 making much noise; and that on going out they saw a 

 single Wolf that had thrown down one of the colts, and 

 was about doing the same with another. They both made 

 towards the spot with their pistols ; and, fearing that the 

 Wolf might kill both the colts, fired before reaching the 

 spot, when too far off to take aim. Master Wolf ran off, 

 but both colts bear evidence of his teeth to this day. 

 When I came down this morning early, I was delighted 

 to see the dirty and rascally Indians walking off to their 

 lodge on the other side of the hills, and before many 

 days they will be at their camp enjoying their merriment 

 (rough and senseless as it seems to me), yelling out their 

 scalp song, and dancing. Now this dance, to commemo- 

 rate the death of an enemy, is a mere bending and slack- 

 ening of the body, and patting of the ground with both 

 feet at once, in very tolerable time with their music. 

 Our squaws yesterday joined them in this exemplary cere- 

 mony; one was blackened, and all the others painted with 

 vermilion. The art of painting in any color is to mix 

 the color desired with grease of one sort or another; and 

 when well done, it will stick on for a day or two, if not 

 longer, Indians are not equal to the whites in the art of 

 dyeing Porcupine quills; their ingredients are altogether 

 too simple and natural to equal the knowledge of chemi- 

 cals. Mr Denig dyed a good quantity to-day for Mrs. 

 Culbertson ; he boiled water in a tin kettle with the quills 

 put in when the water boiled, to remove the oil attached 

 naturally to them ; next they were thoroughly washed, and 

 fresh water boiled, wherein he placed the color wanted, 

 and boiled the whole for a few minutes, when he looked 

 at them to judge of the color, and so continued until all 

 were dyed. Red, yellow, green, and black quills were 

 the result of his labors. A good deal of vegetable acid is 



VOL. II. ■ 



