History of the expedition under the command of Captains Lewis and Clark, to the sources of the Missouri, thence across the Rocky mountains and down the River Columbia to the Pacific Ocean : performed during the years 1804-5-6 by order of the government of the United States; Volume 1

Page 235

428 L etm·s and Cflarl~e's Expedition flint or elk-laorn, the JaHrr of ' J . I . ·wedge in splitting wood Tl . ~ ue_ 1 Is always used as a b . leH' utensils consist b 'd rass krttles, of pots in t. 1 r f~ ·. · CSJ es tJw 1C JOrm o a Jat· ll d . I earth, ot· of a stone fou d . 4h J • • , la e Cit tct• of J ffi n In " e 'tlls between M d' e crson rivers which tJ 1 a Ison and state, becomes ~ery 11-:t~d ~~t:l•gd lbs'loftkandf white in its natural fi • ' c ae · a ter expo J Ire. The hot•ns of the b ffi l sure to t te with spoons. u a oe and Uw bighorn supply them The fire is always kimllf'd b m and a Jlit>cc of well-seasoned w~od nans of a blunt arrow, s J I of a soft spongy kind, ue l as t te willow ot• cot4. onwoo d • Tlw Shoshonees are of a dimint t. fiat feet. and ankles ct•ooked I • d•vc stature, with thick • • , rgs, an at•e generall k Ing. worse fot•med tha.n an . f :' y spea - Th . y nanon o Indtans we lta CH' compJrxion resembles 1hat of . ve seen. than that of the Mi { the Swux, and is darker nne arees Mandan Sl hair in both sexes J·s ffi d' • s, or mwnecs. The . su <'t'C to f: II I and down the should . a oosely over the face ers. some men 1 1. . . me:tns ofthonoos ofd II ' lOWcvcr, t tvuJc 1t by h resse( catheJ• or ott I . . queues. which h cr sun 1D to two equal the body· but at ~~g over the cars and are dt•awn in front of . • le present moment h tJ . . fhetE>d by the Joss f ' w en 1e natiOn 1s af-o so many rclatio k'll d . of them have the bah· t . ~ 118 ' 1 e m wart most ahwait has the h·lii' ctu l(}lllte short iu the neck, and Came- , • Cll s wrt all o J • I d the customary mom· . o· {I < ver ns 1ea , this being '1 .., 1 d nmr., or a de(lcased kindrrd 1c J•ess f tl • 0 IC men consists f ( long leggings and . 0 a 1'0 :>e, a tippet, a shirt, moccasms rrJ b . f' commonh· of 11 1 .,. k' f · le ro e Js ormcd most .; ,. s ms o an tel b' when it can be d ope, Jghorn, or deer, though • procure ' the buff: 1 b'd . Sometimes too th~ a oc J e IS preferred. ·y are made of be • wolves, and f•·equen~l d . ave•' moonax, and small • t Y urmg tl These aa·e tlt·cssed with the h . le summer of elk skin. as the middle of· the le 'I'air on, and reach about as low shoulders the sid , b !5· hey are worn loosely over tho ' es emg at I>le . drann together b tl h asure CJthcr left o1>en or by a ootfdle, dy •e at~d, and in cold weathe1• kept close o roun the WalSt • 1,hI.s _r obe answers the 1mr- UjJ the Misso1tl'i. pose of a cloak during the day, and at night is their only cover·ing. The tippet is the most dcgant article oflndian dress we have ever seen. 'l'he neck or collar of it is a strip about four or five indlCs wide, cut from the back of the otter sldn, the nose and eyes forming one extremity, and the tail all­oiher. This being dt·essetl with the fur on, they attacl1 to one edge of it, from one hund1•ed to two hundred and fif .. ty little rolls of eemine skin, beginning at the ear, and pro­ceeding towar(ls the tail. These ermine skins are the same kind of na1·row strips from the back of that animal. which arr sewed round a small cord of twisted sill~ grass thick enough to make the skin taper towards the tail which hangs from the end, and are generally auout the size of a large quill. These are tied at the heat\ into little bundles, of two. three or more according to the ca1>rice of the wearer, and then suspended from the collar, and a broacl ft·inge of ct·udut :skin is fixed so as to cover the parts where they unite, which might have a coarse appraranc·c. Little tassels or ft•inge of the same matcl'ials a1·e also fastcnrd to the extremities of the tail, so as to show its black colom· to gt•cate•· advantage. The cen­tre of the c4:lllar is further ot·namcntt·d with the shells of the pead oyster. 'l'lws adot·ncd, the collar is worn close round the neck, and the little rolls fall down over the shoulders nearly to the waist, so as to form a sort of short cloak, which has a very handsome appcaranee. These tippets are very highly esteemed, and arc given or disposed of on im­pOI ·tant occasions only. 'rhc ermine is the fur known to the northwest traders by the name of' the white weasel, but is the genuine ermine; and by cncou•·a.ging tbc Indians to take them, might no doubt be 1·endcred a valuable branch of t1·ade. 'l'hese animals must be very abundant, for the tippets are in great numbers, and the con&truction of each requires at least one hundred skins. The shirt is a covel'ing of d1·essed skin without the hair, and form.et\ of the hide of the antelope, deer, bighorn, or