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Show a-t IJewis and Clcn·ke"s EajJeclition they form a tribe of four hundred m~n. All ~hese tribes lin~ in villages, and raise corn; but durmg the mtcrvals of cul-ture rove in the plains in quest of butfaloe. Beyond them on the river, and westward of the Black mountains, are tl1e Kaninaviescb, consisting of about four hundred men. They are supposed to have emigrated originally from the Pawnees nation; but they lmve degenerated from i11e improYemcnts of the parent tribe, and no longer live in villages, but rove through the plains. . Still fnrtl1er to the westward, are several tr1bes, who wander and hunt on the sources of the river Platte, and thence to Rock Mountain. These tribes, of 'vhich little more is known than the names and the population, are :first, the Staitan, or Kite Indians, a small tribe of one hundred men. They have acquire(} the name of Kites, from their flying; that is, their being always on horseback; and the smallness of their numbers is to be attributed to their extreme ferocity; they are the most warlike of all the western Indians; they never yield in battle; they never spare their enemies; and the retaliation of this barbarity bas almost extinguished the nation. Then come the 'Vctapahato, and Kiawa tribes, associated together, and amounting to two hundred men; the Castabana, of three hundred men, to 'vhich are to be added the Cataka ot' seventy-five men, and the Dotami. ,..rbese wandering tribes, are conjectured to be the remnants of the Great Padouca nation, who occupied the country between the upper parts of the river Platte, and the river Kanzas. 'rhey were visited by Bourgemont, in 1724, and then lived on the Kan· zas river. The scats, wl1ich he describes as their resjdcncc, are now occupied by the Kan zas nation; and of the Padoucas, there does not now exist even the name. July 27. Having completed the object of our stay, we set sail, with a pleasant breeze from theN. W. The two horses swam over to tl1e soutl1ern shore, along which we went, passing by an island, at three and a half miles, formed by a pond, fed by springs: three miles further is a large Up the Missou1•i. S5 ~and island, in the middle of the river; the land on the south being high, and covered with timber; that on the north, a high prairie. At ten and a half miles from our encamp· mcnt, we saw and examined a curious collection of graves ot• mounds, on the south side of the river. Not far from a low piece of land and a pond, is a tract of about two hun· dred acres in circumference, which is covered with mounds of different heights, shapes, and sizes: some of sand, and some of both earth and sand; the largest being nearest the river. These mounds indicate the position of the ancient village of the Ottoes, before they retired to the protection of the Pawnees. After making fifteen miles, we encamped on the south, on the bank of a high handsome prairie, with lofty cottonwood in groves, neat• the river. July 28. At one mile, this morning we reached a bluff, on the north, being the first highlands, which approach the river on that side, since we left the N adawa. Above this, is an islan<l and a creek, about fiftceen yards wide, which, as it has no name, we called Indian Knob creek, from a number of round knobs bare of timber, on the highlands, to tho north. A little below the bluff, on the north, is the spot where the Ayauway Indians formerly lived. They were a branch ofthe Ottoes, and emigrated from this place to the river Desmoines. At ten and tht·ee quarter miles, we encam1>ed on the north, opposite an is] and, in the middle of the river. rrhe land, generally, on the not•th, consists of high prairie and hills, with timber: on the south, low and covered with cottonwood. Our huntet• brought to us in the evening, a :Missouri Indian, whom he had found, with two others, dressing an elk; they were llet·fectly fr·icndly, gave him some ot' the meat, and one of them agreed to accompany him to the boat. He is one of the few remaining ~lissouris, who live with the Ottoes: he belongs to a small par·ty, whose camp is four miles fl·om the river; and he says, that the body of the nation is now hunting butfaloe in the plains: he appea1•ed quite spt•ightly, and his language resemh!ed that |
