20 BULLiETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 



beasts, birds, fishes, and even vegetables or stones, were distinguished by 

 size or singularity. If Saint Paul had extendecl his travels to visit the 

 i)akotas, he might not have found them resembling the Athenians in 

 other respects, but equally entitled to the ambiguous compliment so 

 lamely translated in the English New Testament, " -/.aTo. -a.vza wc oz'.aioai- 



jjiovearipouq ". 



Fig. 52, 1851. — Peace with the Crows. Two Indians with differing 

 arrangement of hair, showing two tribes, are exchanging pipes for a 

 peace-smoke. 



Fig. 53, 1852. — The Nez Perces came to Lone Horn's lodge at mid. 

 night. The symbol shows an Indian touching with a pipe a tepee, the 

 top of which is black or opaque, signifying night, and perhaps, also, 

 that the chieftain visited, suspecting something wrong about the un- 

 timely " surprise party " — notwithstanding the peace-offering of a pipe 

 —had put out his fire aud lights as " not at home", while he watched 

 developments in the vicinage. The newspapers veraciously tell how 

 Sitting Bull perfects himself in strategy by studying the campaigns of 

 is^apoleon in the original French, so they may authorize a conjecture 

 that Lone Horn, in his consultation of Virgil about the siege of Troy, 

 had been struck by Laocoon's shrewd suggestion, " Timeo Danaos et 

 dona ferentes ". There was doubtless some incident or result to this 

 nocturnal visitation, which the Indians examined did not recall, or the 

 interpreters did not translate. Why the Nez Perces are so styled is not 

 understood, as they never have been known to jMerce their noses, and 

 they call themselves Namepo. The tribe is still large, dwelling chiefly 

 in Idalio. 



Fig. 54, 1853. — Spanish blankets were first brought to the country. 

 A fair drawing of one of those striped blankets, held out by a white 

 trader to tempt purchasers. 



Fig. 55, 1854. — " Brave Bear " was killed. This warrior had already 

 invested in the new style of blanket. 



I Fig. 56, 1855. — General Harney made peace with a number of the 

 tribes or bands of the Dakotas. This was at Fort Pierre, Dak. The 

 figure is an attempt at an of&cer in uniform shaking hands with an 

 Indian. 



On first examining the records, it seemed as if the chronology were 

 faulty about this great peace council at Fort Pierre, as the most import- 

 ant occasion of the kind was in 1856. Executive Document No. 94, 

 Thirty-fourth Congress, first session, Senate, contains the " minutes of a 

 council held at Fort Pierre, Nebraska Territory, on the 1st daj' of March, 

 1856, by Brevet Brigadier General Wm. S. Harney, U. S. A., com- 

 manding the Sioux expedition, with the delegations from nine of the 

 bands of the Sioux, viz, the Two Kettle band, Lower Yankton, Oncpapas, 

 Blackfeet Sioux, Minneconjous, Sans Arcs, Yanctonnais (two bands), 

 Brules of the Platte ". The great council was in fact opened on the 1st 

 of March, 1856, closing on the 5th ; bat the chronologer made no mistake, 



