400 THE GEORGE CATLIN INDIAN GALLERY. 



I gave you also, iu auotlier epistle, au account of tlie manner in wMch he invited me 

 to a feast in his hospitable wigwam, at the same time presenting me a beautifully 

 garnished robe ; and I promised to say mora of him on a future occasion. My readers 

 will therefore pardon rae for devoting a letter or two at this time to a sketch of this 

 extraordinary man, which I will give in as brief a manner as possible, by describing 

 the costume in which I painted his portrait, and afterwards reciting the most remark- 

 able incidents of his life, as I had them from the traders and the Indian agents, and 

 afterwards corroborated by his own words, translated to me as he spoke, whilst I was 

 writing them down. 



The dress of Mah-to-toh-pa, then, the greater part of which I have represented in 

 his full-length portrait, and which I shall now describe, was purchased of him after 

 I had painted his picture; andevory article of it can be seen iu my Indian gallery by 

 the side of the portrait, provided I succeed in getting them home to the civilized 

 world without injury. 



Mah-to-toh-pa had agreed to stand before me for his portrait at an early hour of 

 the next morning, and on that day I sat with my palette of colors prepared, and 

 waited till 12 o'clock, before he could leave his toilette with feelings of satisfaction 

 as to the propriety of his looks andthe arrangement of his equipments; and at that 

 time it was announced that " Mah-to-toh-pa was coming in full dress!" I looked 

 out of the door of the wigwam and saw him approaching with a hrm and elastic step, 

 accompanied by a great crowd of women and children, who were gazing on him with 

 admiration and escorting him to my room. No tragedian ever trod the stage nor glad- 

 iator ever entered the Roman forum with more grace and manly dignity than did Mah- 

 to-toh-pa enter the wigwam, where I was in readiness to receive him. He took his 

 attitude before me (Plate 64), and with the sternness of a Brutus and the stillness of a 

 statue, he stood until- the darkness of night broke uponthe solitary stillness. His dress, 

 which was a very splendid oue, was complete iu all its parts, and consisted of a shirt or 

 tunic, leggings, moccasins, head-dress, necklace, shield, bow and quiver, lance, to- 

 bacco-sack, and pipe; robe, belt, and knife; medicine-bag, tomahawk, and war-club, 

 or Po-lco-mo-lcon. 



The shirt of which I have spoken was made of two skins of the moimtain sheep, 

 beautifully dressed and sewed together by seams which rested upon the arms ; one 

 skin hanging in front upon the breast, and the other falling down upon the back, the 

 head being passed between them and they falling over and resting on the shoulders. 

 Across each shoulder and somewhat in the form of an epaulette was a beautiful band, 

 and down each arm from the neck to the hand was a similar one of two inches in width 

 (and crossing the other at right angles on the shoulder) beautifully embroidered Avith 

 porcupine quills worked on the dress and covering the seams. To the lower edge of 

 these bands the whole way at intervals of half an inch were attached long looks of 

 black hair, which he had taken with his own hand from the heads of his enemies whom 

 he had slain in battle, and which he thus wore as a trophy and also as an ornament to 

 his dress. The front and back of the shirt were curiously garnished in several parts 

 with porcupine quills and paintings of the battles he had fought, and also with repre- 

 sentations of the victims that had fallen by his hand. The bottom of the dress was 

 bound or hemmed with ermine skins, and tassels of ermines' tails were suspended from 

 the arms and the shoulders. 



The leggings, which were made of deer skins, beautifully dressed and fitting tight 

 to the leg, extended from the feet to the hips, and were fastened to a belt which was 

 passed around the waist. These, like the shirt, had a similar band, worked with por- 

 cupine quills of richest dyes passing down the seam on the outer part of the leg, and 

 fringed also the whole length of the leg with the scalp-locks taken from his enemies' 

 heads. 



The moccasins were of buckskin, and covered in almost every part with the beau- 

 tiful cmbro'dcy of porcupines' qnills. 



