No. 75.] 



85 



^hose of the stirrup, were originally of ropes, made of Buffalo's hair. 

 Triangular stirrups, of wood, completed the trappings of the saddle. As 

 the Iroquois seldom made use of the Indian horse, the saddle with 

 them was rather an accidental, than a usual article. A specimen, of 

 Seneca manufacture, will be found among the articles. 



Ga-ga-an-dii, or Am Gttn; and Gii-no, or Arrow. 



Air gun, 6 feet. Arrow, 2-| feet. 



The air gun is claimed as an Indian invention, but with what correct- 

 ness the writer cannot state. It is a simple tabe or barrel, about six 

 feet in length, above an inch in diameter, and having a uniform bore, 

 about half an inch in diameter. It is made of alder, and also of other 

 wood, which is bored by some artificial contrivance. A very slender 

 arrow, about two and a half feet in length, with a sharp point, is the 

 missile. Upon the foot of the arrow, the down or floss of the thistle is 

 fastened on entire, with sinew. This down is soft and yielding, and 

 when the arrow is placed in the barrel, it fills it air tight. The arrow 

 is then discharged by the lungs. It is used for bird shooting. 



Ya-o-da-was-tii, or Indian Flute. 



li feet. 



This instrument is unlike any known among us, but it clearly resem- 

 bles the clarionet. Its name signifies " a blow pipe." It is usually made 

 of red cedar, is about eighteen inches in length, and above an inch in 

 diameter. The finger holes, six in number, are equidistant. Between 

 them and the mouth-piece, which is at the end, is the whistle, contrived 

 much upon the same principle as the common whistle. It makes six 

 consecutive notes, from the lowest, on a rising scale. The seventh note 

 is wanting, but the three or four next above are regularly made. This 

 is the whole compass of the instrument. As played by the Indians, it 

 afl^brds a species of wild and plaintive music. It is claimed as an 

 Indian invention. 



