As
the day broke Indians were descried in considerable number on the
bluffs, three or four miles down the river. The noise and
agitation in the village continued. The tops of the lodges were
crowded with the inhabitants, all earnestly looking towards the
hills, and keeping up a vehement chattering. Presently an Indian
warrior galloped past the camp towards the village, and in a
little while the legions began to pour forth.
The truth of the matter was now ascertained. The Indians upon the
distant hills were three hundred Arickara braves, returning home
from a foray. They had met the war party of Sioux who had been so
long hovering about the neighborhood, had fought them the day
before, killed several, and defeated the rest with the loss of
but two or three of their own men and about a dozen wounded; and
they were now halting at a distance until their comrades in the
village should come forth to meet them, and swell the parade of
their triumphal entry. The warrior who had galloped past the camp
was the leader of the party hastening home to give tidings of his
victory.
Preparations were now made for this great martial ceremony. All
the finery and equipments of the warriors were sent forth to
them, that they might appear to the greatest advantage. Those,
too, who had remained at home, tasked their wardrobes and toilets
to do honor to the procession.
The Arickaras generally go naked, but, like all savages, they
have their gala dress, of which they are not a little vain. This
usually consists of a gray surcoat and leggins of the dressed
skin of the antelope, resembling chamois leather, and embroidered
with porcupine quills brilliantly dyed. A buffalo robe is thrown
over the right shoulder, and across the left is slung a quiver of
arrows. They wear gay coronets of plumes, particularly those of
the swan; but the feathers of the black eagle are considered the
most worthy, being a sacred bird among the Indian warriors.
He who has killed an enemy in his own land, is entitled to drag
at his heels a fox-skin attached to each moccasin; and he who has
slain a grizzly bear, wears a necklace of his claws, the most
glorious trophy that a hunter can exhibit.
An Indian toilet is an operation of some toil and trouble; the
warrior often has to paint himself from head to foot, and is
extremely capricious and difficult to please, as to the hideous
distribution of streaks and colors. A great part of the morning,
therefore, passed away before there were any signs of the distant
pageant. In the meantime a profound stillness reigned over the
village. Most of the inhabitants had gone forth; others remained
in mute expectation. All sports and occupations were suspended,
excepting that in the lodges the painstaking squaws were silently
busied in preparing the repasts for the warriors.
It was near noon that a mingled sound of voices and rude music,
faintly heard from a distance, gave notice that the procession
was on the march. The old men and such of the squaws as could
leave their employments hastened forth to meet it. In a little
while it emerged from behind a hill, and had a wild and
picturesque appearance as it came moving over the summit in
measured step, and to the cadence of songs and savage
instruments; the warlike standards and trophies flaunting aloft,
and the feathers, and paint, and silver ornaments of the warriors
glaring and glittering in the sunshine.
The pageant had really something chivalrous in its arrangement.
The Arickaras are divided into several bands, each bearing the
name of some animal or bird, as the buffalo, the bear, the dog,
the pheasant. The present party consisted of four of these bands,
one of which was the dog, the most esteemed in war, being
composed of young men under thirty, and noted for prowess. It is
engaged in the most desperate occasions. The bands marched in
separate bodies under their several leaders. The warriors on foot
came first, in platoons of ten or twelve abreast; then the
horsemen. Each band bore as an ensign a spear or bow decorated
with beads, porcupine quills, and painted feathers. Each bore its
trophies of scalps, elevated on poles, their long black locks
streaming in the wind. Each was accompanied by its rude music and
minstrelsy . In this way the procession extended nearly a quarter
of a mile. The warriors were variously armed, some few with guns,
others with bows and arrows, and war clubs; all had shields of
buffalo hide, a kind of defense generally used by the Indians of
the open prairies, who have not the covert of trees and forests
to protect them. They were painted in the most savage style. Some
had the stamp of a red hand across their mouths, a sign that they
had drunk the life-blood of a foe!
As they drew near to the village the old men and the women began
to meet them, and now a scene ensued that proved the fallacy of
the old fable of Indian apathy and stoicism. Parents and
children, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters met with the
most rapturous expressions of joy; while wailings and
lamentations were heard from the relatives of the killed and
wounded. The procession, however, continued on with slow and
measured step, in cadence to the solemn chant, and the warriors
maintained their fixed and stern demeanor.
Between two of the principal chiefs rode a young warrior who had
distinguished himself in the battle. He was severely wounded, so
as with difficulty to keep on his horse; but he preserved a
serene and steadfast countenance, as if perfectly unharmed.
