144 THE GEORGE CATLIN INDIAN GALLERY. 



This young man, only 32 years of age, has, by several humane and noble acts since 

 he inherited the office, proved himself well worthy of it, and has thereby gained the 

 love of all his tribe, and also the admiration of the President of the United States, 

 who has granted him the unusual permission to make the journey to Europe, and to 

 select such a party as he chose to bring with him; and he, having chosen them ac- 

 cording to merit, as warriors, has brought the aristocracy of the tribe. 



The stature of this man is about 5 feet 10 inches, and he may generally be recog- 

 nized in the group by his beautiful head-dress of war — eagles' quills — necklace of 

 grizzly bears' claws, and the skin of a white wolf hanging down over his back. His 

 features arc Roman, with a benignant expression, but rather embarrassed, from a de- 

 fect in one of his eyes. 



Neu-mon-ya (the Walking Rain, and third chief of the tribe) is more easily dis- 

 covered in the group from his stature, being the tallest man of the party, and nearly 

 six feet and a half in height. This chief, who is 54 years of age, is much more dis- 

 tinguished as a warrior than White Cloud, and, undoubtedly, one of the most re- 

 markable and celebrated men of the nation. (See No. 258.) 



Se-non-ly-yah (Blister Feet), of 5 feet 11 inches in height, and near GO years of 

 age. The medicine (mystery) man of the party is a man of great consequence in 

 the tribe, inasmuch as he pays his visits to the sick as their physician, and at the 

 same time deals in (or professes to deal in) mysteries and charms of various sorts. 



These personages are found in every tribe, and so much control have they over the 

 superstitious minds of their people that their influence and power in the tribe often 

 transcend that of the chief. In all councils of war and peace they have a seat by the 

 chiefs, and are as regularly consulted by the chiefs as soothsayers were consulted in 

 ancient days, and equal deference and respect are paid to their advice or opinions, 

 rendering them oracles of the tribe in which they live. 



The word medicine is one that has, somehow, grown into general use along the 

 Canadian and United States frontiers, synonymous with mystery, and all the physi- 

 cians in Indian tribes dealing in (or professing to deal in) mysteries of various kinds 

 are denominated (in the phrase of the country) medicine men. Such a person is sure 

 to accompany a party on a visit to a foreign country, or on a war or hunting excur- 

 sion, as physician and surgeon to the party, and also as soothsayer, astrologer, con- 

 jurer (jongleur), and caterer for everything that needs be procured through the su- 

 pernatural aids of incantation and hocus-pocus. 



A good illustration of this was given by this magician while on their voyage to 

 this country a few weeks since when near the land oif the English coast ; the packet 

 ship on which the Indians were passengers was becalmed for several days, much to 

 the annoyance of the Indians and numerous other passengers, when it was decided 

 by the Indian chief that they must call upon the medicine man to try the efficacy of 

 his magical powers in the endeavor to raise a wind. For this purpose he very grad- 

 ually went to work with all due ceremony, according to the modes of the country, and 

 after the usual ceremony of a mystery feast and various invocations to the spirit of 

 the wind and the ocean both were conciliated by the sacrifice of many plugs of to- 

 bacco thrown into the sea; and in a little time the wind began to blow, the sails 

 were filled, and the vessel soon wafted into port to the amusement of the passengers, 

 and much to the gratification of the Indians who all believed and ever will that the 

 vessel was set in motion by the potency of the doctor's mysterious and supernatural 

 powers. 



The (medicini;) bag (talismanic charm) of this man is suspended from his neck by 

 a rope made of sweet-scented grass, and consists of two small bags about the size of 

 a filbert nut, the sacred contents of which are superstitiously sealed from the eyes of 

 the world; and in a group with these a human finger, shrivelled and dried, taken 

 from the hand of some victim who has fallen by his weapons in battle. 



George the Third medal. — Suspended from the neck of this man also is a large 

 silver medal with the portrait of George the Third in relief upon it. This he received 



