198 NOTES TAKEN. 
About nine at night several of them collected upon the 
prairie to sing and dance. Seated on the ground in a‘cirele, 
the leader commenced drumming upon a tin mess pan, accom- 
panied with a low, guttural, monotonous chaunt, at intervals 
raising his voice louder, when a general grunt or a yell was 
added by the rest, and the whole strain ended with a pro- 
longed ugh. 
They sung for more than an hour, occasionally two or three 
throwing their arms up and hopping around like what chil- 
dren call playing at frogs, ending by seating themselves again 
with a grunt. 
I soon tired of the scene, which by the light of a low fire 
looked mote like a parcel of monkeys at dull play than any 
thing else. Their audience of teamsters and soldiers, how- 
ever, seemed greatly pleased, and as a novelty it was some- 
what interesting. 
August 20.—The usual morning toilette was gone through 
‘with by the men, but the intense heat—one hundred five 
degrees in the shade —kept all quiet in and ee 
except the women, some of whom were unusually busy, con- 
spicuous among whom were the two wives of the chief Ke- 
tum-a-see, 
Our Delawares took the opportunity to have their deer 
skins—of which they had accumulated quite a large bale— 
dressed by these women, and the process was very simple but 
rapid. Having soaked the skins thoroughly, they threw them _ 
over a smooth log leaned against a tree at an angle, and then 
