Rocky Mountains. 843 



to the settlements, they are furnished with a greater propor- 

 tion of manufactured articles from the whites. 



Their government, so far as we could ascertain, was of the 

 same description with that of the other nations, and their 

 manners, though perhaps less fierce and warlike, seem to be, 

 with the exception of their vociferous matins, not very es- 

 sentially distinct. 



They have the usual armature of the bow and arrow, to- 

 mahawk, war club, and scalping knife, but a large propor- 

 tion of them have fusees, and we saw but very few who bore 

 the lance and shield. They are freely branded by the Mis- 

 souri Indians with the epithet of cowards. They are at pre- 

 sent in amity with the Sauks and Foxes, and their friend- 

 ship with the Konzas, with whom they freely intermarry, 

 seems to have been uninterrupted since the expedition of 

 Lieut. Pike. 



The horses belonging to the Osages are by much the best 

 we have seen amongst the Indian nations, and they are kept 

 in the best order. The Indians generally of this country, ap- 

 pear to be excellent connoisseurs of horses, and to perceive 

 any defects in them with a remarkable readiness. One of 

 Clermont's sons possessed a very fine horse, for which the 

 Kaskaia horse was offered, but the exchange was refused. 



Horses are the object of a particular hunt to the Osages. 

 For the purpose of obtaining these animals, which in their 

 wild state preserve all their fleetness, they go in a large par- 

 ty to the country of the Red, or Canadian river, where these 

 animals are to be found in considerable numbers. When 

 they discover a gang of horses they distribute themselves 

 into three parties, two of which station themselves at differ- 

 ent and pi'oper distances on the route, which, by previous 

 experience, they know the horses will most probably take, 

 when endeavouring to escape. This arrangement being com- 

 pleted, the first party commences the pursuit in the direction 

 of their colleagues, at whose position they at length arrive. 



