580 TRIBES OF THE UPPER MISSOURI [eth. ANN. 40 



can well be anything more than what they are. Harassed by inter- 

 nal wars, pinched by necessities that compel them to constant exer- 

 tion, discouraged by the ravages of diseases, and overwhelmed by 

 innumerable superstitious fears, their condition is not one calculated 

 to prepare either mind or body for the arts and habits of civiliza- 

 tion. The whole tenor of an Indian's life, and the sum and sub- 

 stance of all his labors is to live, to support his family, and rear 

 his children, and he must bring them up in such a way that they in 

 their turn can do the same. For this all is risked, and to this end 

 the whole of their occupations, even their amusements, tend. They 

 would be most willing to embrace any mode of life by which this 

 main object could be realized with less risk and toil than the one 

 they now pursue, but they must first be convinced of the certainty 

 of success in the strange pursuit to which their formed habits must 

 give way before they would apply themselves. 



Their present manner is certainly precarious, but they would not 

 abandon it unless some better way to live was made manifest, not 

 by tales and speeches but by actual experiment. Indians (men) will 

 not work. Even the slight attempt at agricultural labor by the few 

 nations on the upper Missouri who raise corn and other vegetables 

 devolves solely upon the women to perforin them, and the men hunt 

 as the other tribes. Meat must be had, and as yet no relish has been 

 formed by any of them, except the Sioux, for the flesh of domestic 

 animals. Notwithstanding all this, we see in many things a desire 

 to change for the better, exhibiting itself in a general feature of im- 

 provement when compared with that of 20 years since. Within that 

 time and within our acquaintance with these people the Sioux, As- 

 siniboin, and other nations were much more savage than they now 

 are. At the period to which we allude it was almost impossible for 

 even the traders, much less strangers, to travel through their country 

 without being robbed and often killed. Horses were stolen from 

 whites on all occasions; every person outside the fort was liable to 

 be abused, imposed upon, flogged, or pillaged, and even their dealings 

 with each other were no better. Murders upon slight provocation, 

 robberies, and misdemeanors of all kinds were common among 

 them. Even whole bands armed against each other and skirmishes 

 took place whenever they met. 



All these things now, if not obsolete, are very rare. Whites move 

 about among most of the nations with security of life and property, 

 and the Indians are better clothed, provided for, armed and contented 

 than formerly. For these happy results so far we are indebted to the 

 unmitigated exertions and good counsel of a few white traders of the 

 old stock, some good Indian agents, the entire abolishment of the 

 liquor trade, and lately the humane endeavors on the part of the 

 Government by the treaty at Laramie in 1851. 



