616 THE GEORGE CATLIN INDIAN GALLERY. 



They insisted on the giant and giantess receiving from them some little keepsakes of 

 trinkets, &c., as evidences of the pleasure they had afforded them by calling on them. 



This extraordinary occurrence, like most others of an exciting or interesting nature 

 which these jovial and funny fellows met with, made subject for much subsequent anec- 

 dote and amusement. Wash-ka-mon-ya (the fast dancer), a big-mouthed and waggish 

 sort of fellow (who for brevity's sake was called in English parlance "Jim"), was 

 continually teasing the doctor about his gallantry among the ladies; and could rather 

 easily and coolly do it, as he was a married man, and had his wife constantly by the side 

 of him. He had naturally an abundant stock of wit and good humor, and being so much 

 of a wag withal, he was rather a painful companion for the doctor all the way, and was fre- 

 quently passing jokes of a cruel as well as of a light and amusing kind upon him. It was 

 known to the whole party that there was no record kept of the length and breadth of the 

 giant lady, except the one that the doctor had taken, and carefully rolled up and put away 

 in a little box, amongst other precious things, at the head of his bed, and which he gen- 

 erally used as his pillow. It was known also that much stress would be laid upon this 

 in his own country, when they returned home, as something which the rest of the party 

 could not produce, and which for him, therefore, would be of great and peculiar interest 

 there, and probably on other occasions, when it might be proper to refer to it as a thing 

 he could swear to as a subject of interest in this country. Jim's best jokes (like most 

 Indian jokes) were those which no one else takes a share in; and a piece of the twine 

 that had caught his eye as it was lying upon the floor probably first suggested the 

 wicked idea of being cut about 2 feet longer than the doctor's measure of the fair giantess, 

 and with a knot about 1 foot higher than the one made for her waist, and of being rolled 

 up in the same way, and slipped (in place of the other) into the same corner of the box, 

 to which the doctor had a key, but, according to all Indian practice, he never made use 

 of it. The sequel to all this, and the fun it might have subsequently made for "Jim," 

 with his big mouth, the reader may as well imagine here or patiently wait till we come 

 to it. 



TALK WITH THE CATHOLIC CLERGYMAN. 



In the afternoon the Catholic clergyman called with a couple of friends for the inter- 

 view which Jeffrey and the war-chief had promised. Mr. Melody sent me word when 

 they called, and I came to the meeting, having taken a great interest in these interviews, 

 which were eliciting opinions from the Indians which are exceedingly difficult to obtain 

 in any other way, and which I was careful on all occasions to write down as translated 

 at the time. These opinions, however unimportant they may seem to be, I am sure 

 many of my readers will find to be of curious interest, and I fully believe, if rightly 

 appreciated, of much importance in directing future efforts to the right points in en- 

 deavoring to impress upon these ignorant and benighted people the importance -of educa- 

 tion and a knowledge of the true Christian religion. 



On this occasion Wash-ka-mon-ya (or Jim, as I shall often call him) endeavored to 

 make himself conspicuous by teasing the war-chief and Jeffrey about ' ' going to pray 

 with the black-coats," and springing upon his feet, took his tomahawk in his hand, and 

 throwing off his robe, jumped to the middle of the floor, where, naked down to the hips, 

 he landed, in an attitude not unlike that of the colossal statue of Rhodes. He frowned 

 a moment upon all around him, and then said, "Let me go in; I have said nothing yet; 

 I want to make a speech to the black-coats." 



White Cloud, who was at that moment taking up his robe to accompany Jeffrey and 

 the war-chief to the " talk," very mildly said to Jim, that "he would look much more 

 respectful if he would sit down again and hold his tongue, for these were very good peo- 

 ple, who were calling to talk with them, and must be treated with respect, however their 

 opinions might differ from those of the Indians." This severe rebuke from the chief 

 instantly silenced Jim, who quietly and respectfully joined the rest of the party, at 



