428 THE GEORGE CATLIN INDIAN GALLERY. 



sides and slopes of these bluffs (around wliich they fearlessly hound) are nearly in- 

 accessible. 



The grizzly bear also has chosen these jilaces for his abode. He sullenly sneaks 

 through the gulphs and chasms, and ravines, and frowns away the lurking Indian, 

 whilst the mountain-sheep and antelope are bounding over and around the hill-tops, 

 safe and free from harm of man and beast. 



Such is a hasty sketch of the river scenes and scenery for 2,000 miles, over which 

 we tugged, and puffed, and blowed, and toiled for three months, before we reached 

 this place, Fort Union. Since we arrived here the steamer has returned, and left me 

 here to explore the country and visit the tribes in this vicinity, and then descend the 

 river from this place to Saint Louis ; which tour, if I live through it, will furnish 

 material for many a story and curious incident, which I may give you in detail in 

 future epistles, and when I have more leisure than I have at the present moment. 

 I will then undertake to tell how we astonished the natives, in many an instance, 

 which I can in this letter but just hint at and say adieu. If anything did ever liter- 

 ally and completely "astonish (and astound) the natives," it was the appearance of 

 our steamer, puf&ng and blowing and paddling and rushing by their villages which 

 were on the banks of the river. 



These poor and ignorant people for the distance of 2,000 miles had never before seen 

 or heard of a steamboat, and at some places they seemed at a loss to know what to 

 do or how to act ; they could not, as the Dutch did atNewburgh, on the Hudson river, 

 take it to be a "floating saw-mill," and they had no name for it; so it was, like 

 everything else (with them) which is mysterious and unaccountable, called medicine 

 (mystery). We had on board one twelve-pound cannon and three or four eight-pound 

 swivels, which we were taking up to arm the Fur Company's fort at the mouth of 

 Yellowstone, and at the approach to every village they were all discharged several 

 times in rapid succession, which threw the inhabitants into utter confusion and amaze- 

 ment. Some of them laid their faces to the ground and cried to the Great Spirit ; some 

 shot their horses and dogs and sacrificed them to appease the Great Spirit, whom they 

 conceived was offended ; some deserted their villages and ran to the tops of the bluffs 

 some miles distant ; and others, in some places, as the boat landed in front of their 

 villages, came with great caution and peeped over the bank of the river to see the 

 fate of their chiefs, whose duty it was, from the nature of their office, to approach us, 

 whether friend or foe, and to go on board. Sometimes in this plight they were in- 

 stantly thrown " neck and heels " over each other's heads and shoulders — men, women 

 and children, and dogs — sage, sachem, old and young — all in a mass, at the frightful 

 discharge of the steam from the escape-pipe, which the captain of the boat let loose 

 upon them for his own fun and amusement. 



There were many curious conjectures amongst their wise men with regard to the 

 nature and powers of the steamboat. Amongst the Mandans some called it the "big 

 thunder canoe," for when in distance below the village they "saw the lightning flash 

 from its sides, and heard the thunder come from it ; " others called it the "big medi- 

 cine canoe with eyes ; " it was medicine (mystery) because they could not understand 

 it ; and it must have eyes, for, said they, "it sees its own way, and takes the deep 

 water in the middle of the channel." 



They had no idea of the boat being steered by the man at the wheel, and well they 

 might have been astonished at its taking the deepest water. I may (if I do not for- 

 get it) hereafter give you an account of some other curious incidents of this kind which 

 we met with in this voyage, for we met many, and some of them were really laugh- 

 able. — Pages 17-19, vol. 2, Catlin's Eight Years. 



WITH THE PONCAS AND OTHER TRIBES. 



Mr. Catlin spent some days with the Puncahs (Poncas), on this voyage 

 to the Yellowstone (going up), at their village on the west bank of the 



