THE GEORGE CATLIN INDIAN GALLERY. 725 



eyes, which were piercing my hut in a hundred places, from a natural and restless 

 propensity, a curiosity to see what was going on within. 



An hour or more passed in this way, and the soft and silken throng continually in- 

 creased, until some hundreds of them were clinging ahout my wigwam like a swarm 

 of bees hanging on in front and sides of their hive. 



During this time not a man made his appearance about the premises. After a while, 

 however, they could be seen folded in their robes, gradually siding up towards the 

 lodge, with a silly look upon their faces, which confessed at once that curiosity was 

 leading them reluctantly where their pride checked and forbade them to go. The 

 rush soon became general, and the chiefs a nd medicine-men took possession of my 

 room, placing soldiers (braves, with spears in their hands) at the door, admitting no 

 one but such as were allowed by the chiefs to come in. 



Mons. Kipp (the agent of the Fur Compauy) at this time took a seat with the 

 chiefs, and, speaking their language fluently, he explained to them my views and 

 the objects for which I was painting these portraits, and also expounded to them the 

 manner in which they were made, at which they seemed all to be very much pleased. 

 The necessity at this time of exposing the portraits to the view of the crowds who 

 were assembled around the house became imperative, and they were held up to- 

 gether over the door, so that the whole village had a chance to see and recognize 

 their chiefs. The effect upon so mixed a multitude, who as yet had heard no way of 

 accounting for them, was novel and really laughable. The likenesses were instantly 

 recognized, and many of the gaping multitude commenced yelping ; some were stamp- 

 ing off in the jarring dance; others were singiug, and others again were crying; 

 hundreds covered their mouths with their hands and were mute ; others, indignant, 

 drove their spears frightfully into the ground, and some threw a reddened arrow at 

 the sun, and went home to their wigwams. 



The pictures seen, the next curiosity was to see the man who made them, and I 

 was called forth. I stepped forth, and was instantly hemmed in by the throng. 

 Women were gaping and gazing and warriors and braves were offering me their hands, 

 whilst little boys and girls by dozens were struggling through the crowd to touch 

 me with the ends of their fingers ; and whilst I was engaged, from the waist up- 

 wards, in fending off the throng and shaking hands, my legs were assailed (not un- 

 like the nibbling of little fish when I have been standing in deep water) by chil- 

 dren, who were creeping between the legs of the bystanders for the curiosity or honor 

 of touching me with the end of their finger. The eager curiosity and expression of 

 astonishment with which they gazed upon me plainly showed that they looked upon 

 me as some strange and unaccountable being. They pronounced me as the greatest 

 medicine-man in the world, for they said I had made living beings ; they said they 

 could see their chiefs alive in two places ; those that I had made were a little alive ; 

 they could see their eyes move, could see them smile and laugh, and that if they 

 could laugh they could certainly speak, if they should try, and they must therefore 

 have some life in them. 



The squaws generally agreed that they had discovered life enough in them to ren- 

 der my medicine too great for the Mandans ; saying that such an operation could not 

 be performed without taking away from the original something of his existence 

 which I put in the picture, and they could see it move, could see it stir. 



This curtailing of the primary existence, for the purpose of instilling life into the 

 secondary one, they decided to be a useless and destructive operation, and one 

 which was calculated to do great mischief in their happy community; and they com- 

 menced a mournful and doleful chant against me, crying and weeping bitterly through 

 the village, proclaiming me a most " dangerous man ; one who could make living 

 persons by looking at them, and at the same time could, as a matter of course, de- 

 stroy life in the same way if I chose ; that my medicine was dangerous to their 

 lives, and that I must leave the village immediately ; that bad luck would happen 

 to those whom I painted ; that I was to take a part of the existence of those whom I 



