WACOES, WITCHITAS, ETC. 305 
actor. He will mimic every exterior indica- 
tion of grief and the most heart-felt wailing, 
till the tears trickle in torrents down his cheeks. 
The Osages seem generally to worship a 
good and evil spirit, and to believe in the 
most usual Indian paradise. No people can 
ave more implicit faith in witchcraft and all 
kinds of sorcery and superstitions—such as 
holding converse with deceased friends or 
relations—appointing a time to die, ete.: 
and instances are related of their fancying 
themselves thus called to the world of spirits, 
which would so powerfully affect the imagina- 
tion as to cause them to pine away, and some- 
times die even to the appointed day. 
Owing partially, no doubt, to the burden- 
some life they lead, the squaws of all the 
tribes are, for the most part, much more-in- 
clined to corpulency than the men. They 
are generally chubby and ill-favored, while the 
males are usually tall, erect, well-turned and 
active. For their proverbial straightness, how- 
ever, the Osages are perhaps more famous 
than any of the other prairie Indians. 
The Wacoes, Witchitas and their kindred 
tribes on Red River, are, for the most part, a 
very indigent race. They are chiefly remark- 
able for their profuse tattooing, whereby they 
have sometimes acquired the title of ‘ Pawnee 
Picts: the females particularly make a per- 
fect calico of the whole under-jaw, breast and 
arms, and the mamme are fancifully orna- 
mented with rings and rays. The tattoo, in 
fact, seems to constitute the chief female or- 
