3 24 



The Panis republican, or Big Paunch, is a 

 band which has separated from the Panis proper, 

 and established a village on a branch of the Kan- 

 sas river : but being harassed by their trouble- 

 some neighbours, the Kanzas, they have united 

 themselves again with the Panis proper. They 

 have three hundred warriors, and fourteen hun- 

 dred souls. , 



Another branch of the Panis proper, is the 

 Panis Loups, or Wolves. They live on Wolf 

 river, which enters into the river Plate. They 

 hunt on "Wolf river above their village, and on 

 the river Plate, between Wolf and the river Corn 

 de Cerf, or Elkhorn. They are rarely visited by' 

 traders, and carry their firs and peltry to the vil- 

 lage of Panis proper. They cultivate corn, beans, 

 and other vegetables. They have two hundred 

 and eighty warriors, and are at war with all other 

 nations near their excursions, except the Panis 

 proper and Panis republican or Big Paunch. 

 They consist of about one thousand people. 



The Mahas was a powerful nation until lately, 

 residing on the west bank of the Missouri, two 

 hundred and thirty miles above the mouth of the 

 Plate river. They could boast seven hundred 

 warriors, were warlike, and a terror to their neigh- 

 bours. But in the autumn of 1802, they were 

 visited by the small pox, which made such rav- 

 ages among them, as to reduce their warriors to 

 less than three hundred, and to about six hundred 

 souls. This distressing calamity induced them* 



