348 Expedition to the 



that nation. It is evidently an artificial work, and the pro- 

 duct of much labour, being about two hundred feet long, one 

 hundred and thirty feet wide, and thirty deep. The origin 

 and object of this effort of savage labour is involved in mys- 

 tery, and the Pawnees cannot, at this day, give any rational 

 history of it ; the only advantage which we can suppose 

 people to have derived from such a work, is security from 

 the attack of a powerful enemy. An entire nation may have 

 here defied the efforts of some allied army of an extensive 

 coalition. We are inclined to conjecture, that the nation that 

 has left us this monument of a primitive military art, is no 

 other than the Rickarees, who now reside on the banks of 

 the Missouri, between the Sioux ('Dacota) and Mandan na- 

 tions, and who are, beyond a doubt, a branch of the Pawnee 

 stock, and probably are more immediately descended from 

 that branch of it, now known as Pawnee Loups. We are 

 led to this conjecture, however, only from the fact, that ruins 

 of their former village, apparently coeval with the excava- 

 tion, exist within two miles of Beaver creek. In this vicinity 

 several antelopes (Xervicapra americana, Ord) were seen by 

 the party, but they were so shy and swift, that it was not 

 possible to kill one of them. 



On the succeeding day, a large body of Indians was ob- 

 served in the distance moving towards us, which proved to 

 be the principal portion of the Oto nation, who were now 

 returning to their own village, from a trading visit to the 

 Pawnees. We here met with numerous acquaintances, who 

 saluted us cordially, although they appeared somewhat 

 jealous of our visit to the Pawnees. The Little Soldier rode 

 up, with great animation, and communicated to some of us, 

 by means of signs, an intimation that a glorious battle had 

 been fought by a party of Pawnee Loups, in which the great- 

 er part of them had been killed, and nearly all of the remain- 

 der wounded. 



We resumed our journey, and at the distance of two or 



