Our Indian
Guide Walked Toward The Lodge Of The Chief.
Here we dismounted; and
loosening the trail-ropes from our horses' necks, held them securely,
and sat down before the entrance, with our rifles laid across our
laps.
The chief came out and shook us by the hand. He was a mean-
looking fellow, very tall, thin-visaged, and sinewy, like the rest of
the nation, and with scarcely a vestige of clothing. We had not been
seated half a minute before a multitude of Indians came crowding
around us from every part of the village, and we were shut in by a
dense wall of savage faces. Some of the Indians crouched around us
on the ground; others again sat behind them; others, stooping, looked
over their heads; while many more stood crowded behind, stretching
themselves upward, and peering over each other's shoulders, to get a
view of us. I looked in vain among this multitude of faces to
discover one manly or generous expression; all were wolfish,
sinister, and malignant, and their complexions, as well as their
features, unlike those of the Dakota, were exceedingly bad. The
chief, who sat close to the entrance, called to a squaw within the
lodge, who soon came out and placed a wooden bowl of meat before us.
To our surprise, however, no pipe was offered. Having tasted of the
meat as a matter of form, I began to open a bundle of presents -
tobacco, knives, vermilion, and other articles which I had brought
with me.
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