570 THE GEORGE CATLlN INDIAN GALLERY. 



many of his Indian worcls,'to know what tribe they belong to ; and our partial knowl- 

 edge of so many tongues involves us at once in a difficulty not unlike the confusion at 

 Babel, and disqualifies his responses or mine as authority for such works as I hope 

 you are preparing for the world. With these views (though I profess to be the prop- 

 erty of the world, and ready and pleased to communicate anything that I have dis- 

 tinctly learned of the Indians and their modes), I must beg to decline giving you the 

 translation of a single word ; and at the same time to express a hope that you may 

 verbally, or in the valuable works which you are soon to bequeath to posterity, 

 leave a repentant word at least, to remove the censure which you say you were the 

 first to cast upon Hunter, and which is calculated to follow him to the grave.' " 



His royal highness was much interested and somewhat amused by this narrative, 

 and agreed with me, that such men as M. Duponceau and others, to whom the world is 

 to look for a full and correct account of the Indian languages of America, should go 

 themselves to the wigwams of the Indians, and there, in their respective tribes, open 

 the books in which to record their various vocabularies, rather than sit at home and 

 trust to the ignorant jargon that can be caught from the trapper and the trader and 

 the casual tourists who make flying visits through the Indian countries. He related 

 to me many curious anecdotes of poor Hunter, and as I left him enjoying his k'nick- 

 k'neck through his Indian pipe, he said to me, "Your name, sir, will be familiar at 

 my door, and I shall be delighted to see you again at the same hour, whenever you 

 feel disposed to come." 



ATTENDS A POLISH BALL IN INDIAN COSTUME. 



Our fatigue, when we got home, seemed enough for one day ; but, as it happened, on 

 that day our sight-seeing was only begun ; for it had been arranged that we were to 

 go to the Polish ball at the Mansion House on that evening, and what was to make it 

 a double task, it was arranged that we should all go, some five or six of us, in Indian 

 costumes. My Indian wardrobe was therefore laid under heavj contributions for that 

 night. My nephew Burr and myself were dressed as chiefs, and two or three more of 

 my friends were arrayed as warriors. My dear little Christian Clara, whose sphere it 

 was not, and who never wore an Indian dress or painted her fair face before, becom- 

 ing inspired with a wish to see the splendor of the scene, proposed to assume the dress 

 of an Indian woman and follow me through the mazes of that night as an Indian squaw 

 follows her lord on such occasions. I selected for her one of the prettiest and most 

 beautifully ornamented women's dresses, which was made of the fine white sfein of 

 the mountain sheep ; and with her hair spread over her back, and her face and her 

 arms painted to the color of a squaw, and her nsck and ears loaded with the usual 

 profusion of beads and other ornaments, and her fan of the eagle's tail in her hand, 

 she sidled along with us amidst the glare and splendor, and buzz and din of the happy 

 throng we were soon in the midst of, and dragging our awkward shields and quivers 

 and heavy buffalo robes through, as well as we could. We took good care not to 

 dance on that occasion, so we kept the paint on our faces, and by understanding no 

 questions, answered none, and passed off with everybody as real Indians. We went 

 resolved to gratify our eyes, but to give no gratification to others besides what they 

 could take to themselves by looking at us. Our interpreter was true to his promise ; 

 he made out his own descriptions for us, and assured all who inquired that we could 

 not speak a word of English. French, German, Russian, and Italian were all tried 

 in vain upon us ; and as they turned away, one after another, from us, they exclaimed, 

 ' ' What a pity ! How unfortunate the poor things can't speak English ! How interesting 

 it would be to talk with them ! That's a noble looking fellow, that big chief; egad, 

 he is six feet and a half. I'll be bound that fellow has taken many a scalp. That'sa 

 nice-looking little squaw ; upon my word, if she had a white skin she would be rather 

 pretty ! " And a thousand such remarks, as the reader can imagine, while we were 

 wending our tedious way through the bewildering mazes of this endless throng. The 

 task for my poor Clara soon became more than she had anticipated before entering the 



