THE GEORGE CATLIN INDIAN GALLERY. 873 



dans, and none are quicker to embrace and welcome a white man than they are ; none 

 will press him closer to his bosom, that the pulsation of his heart may be felt, than a 

 Mandan, and no man in any country will keep his word and guard his honor more 

 closely. 



The shocking and disgusting custom that I have just described sickens the heart 

 and even the stomach of a traveler in the country, and he weeps for their ignorance. 

 He pities them with all his heart for their blindness, and laments that the light of 

 civilization, of agriculture and religion cannot be extended to them, and that their 

 hearts, which are good enough, could not be turned to embrace something more ra- 

 tional and conducive to their true happiness. 



Many would doubtless ask whether such a barbarous custom could be eradicated 

 from these people, and whether their thoughts and tastes, being turned to agriculture 

 and religion, could be made to abandon the dark and random channel in which they 

 are drudging, and made to flow in the light and life of civilization. 



To this query I answer, yes. Although this is a custom of long standing, being a 

 part of their religion, and probably valued as one of their dearest rights, and not- 

 withstanding the difficulty of making inroads upon the religion of a people in whose 

 country there is no severance of opinions, and consequently no division into different 

 sects, with different creeds to shake their faith, I still believe, and I know, that by a 

 judicious and persevering effort, this abominable custom and others might be extin- 

 guished, and the beautiful green fields about the Mandan village might be turned 

 into productive gardens, and the waving green bluffs that are spread in the surround- 

 ing distance might be spotted with lowing kine instead of the sneaking wolves and 

 the hobbled war-horses that are now stalking about them. 



All ignorant and superstitious people, it is a well-known fact, are the most fixed 

 and stubborn in their religious opinions, and perhaps the most difficult to divert from 

 their established belief, from the very fact that they are the most difficult to reason 

 with. Here is an ignorant race of human beings, who have from time immemorial 

 been in the habit of worshipping in their own way, and of enjoying their religious 

 opinions without ever having heard any one to question their correctness, and in 

 those opinions they are quiet and satisfied, and it requires a patient, gradual, and 

 untiring effort to convince such a people that they are wrong, and to work the 

 desired change in their belief, and consequently in their actions. 



It is decidedly my opinion, however, that such a thing can be done, and I do not 

 believe there is a race of wild people on earth where the experiment could be more 

 successfully made than amongst the kind and hospitable Mandans, nor any place 

 where the missionary labors of pious and industrious men would be more sure to 

 succeed, or more certain to be rewarded in the world to come. 



I deem such a trial of patience and perseverance with these people of great im- 

 portance, and well worth the experiment ; one which I shall hope soon to see ac- 

 complished, and which, if properly conducted, I am sure will result in success. Sev- 

 ered as they are from the contaminating and counteracting vices which oppose and 

 thwart most of the best efforts of the missionaries along the frontier, and free from 

 the almost fatal prejudices which they have there to contend with, they present a 

 better field for the labors of such benevolent teachers than they have yet worked in, 

 and a far better chance than they have yet had of proving to the world that the poor 

 Indian is not a brute; that he is a human and humane being; that he is capable of 

 improvement, and that his mind is a beautiful blank, on which anything can be writ- 

 ten if the proper means be taken. 



The Mandans, being but a small tribe, of two thousand only, and living all in two 

 villages, in sight of each other, and occupying these permanently, without roaming 

 about like other neighboring tribes, offer, undoubtedly, the best opportunity for such 

 an experiment of any tribe in the country. The land about their villages is of the 

 best quality for ploughing and grazing, and the water just such as would be desired. 

 Their villages are fortified with piqoets or stockades, which protect them from the 



