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Show THE PUNCA INDIANS----PORTRAIT OF THEIR CHIEF. 137 river must, formerly, have flowed in that direction; and the cylindrical hollow marked the ancient bed of the river. In the prairie itself there were many pools of water, and we found several interesting plants, among which were some with long roots like carrots, especially the yellow flowering Batschia longiflora (Pursh.), and the Oxitropis Lamberti B. The great yellow-breasted lark {Sturnella, Vieill.), was everywhere seen in pairs, and its short, coy call, and its pleasing, whistling note, were heard from every side. Besides these, we saw the prairie hen, and the great long-billed curlews (Numenius longirostris), of which we shall speak hereafter. Skeletons of buffaloes were scattered in the plain, especially many skulls, but very few of which were entire. When I returned to the vessel, I found there three Punca Indians, the chief of the tribe Shudegacheh,* his brother Passitopa,f and Ha-cha-ga. They were all robust, good-looking men, tall, and well-proportioned, with strongly-marked features, high cheek-bones, aquiline noses, and animated dark hazel eyes. Their hair hung down as far as the shoulders, and part of it lower ; that of the chief was shorter, and fastened together in a plait. The upper part of the body of these Indians was naked, only they wore round the neck an ornamented band, and had a large slit in their ears : from those of the chief an ornament of shell work was suspended. His beard below the chin consisted of scanty hairs, which had been suffered to grow very long. (See the portrait, Plate VII. Fig. 3, which is a good resemblance.) They wore a narrow bracelet of white metal round the wrist, very plain, leather pantaloons, and large buffalo robes; the chief, however, was wrapped in a white blanket. The Puncas, as they are now universally called, or as some travellers formerly called them, Poncaras, or Poncars, the Pons of the French, were originally a branch of the Omahas, and speak nearly the same language. They have, however, been long separated from them, and dwell on both sides of Running-water River, and on Punca Creek, which Lewis and Clarke call Poncara. They formerly lived, like the Omahas, in clay huts at the mouth of the river, but their powerful enemies, the Sioux and the Pawnees, destroyed their villages, and they have since adopted the mode of life of the former, living more generally in tents made of skins, and changing their place from time to time. Their external appearance and dress do not much differ from those of the Omahas. They are said to have been brave warriors, but have been greatly reduced by war and the smallpox. According to Dr. Morse's report, they numbered, in 1822, 1,750 in all; at present the total amount of their warriors is estimated at about 300. The band of them, which * This name signifies " the smoker." The French Canadians generally call this chief Le Boucan, because smoke has that name among them. f The word Passitopa signifies the number " four." This brother of the chief is known from the circumstance of his having shot an Indian, who sought the life of a white man, who was his friend. Mr. Bodmer drew the portraits of the two brothers, which are very like. He has succeeded particularly in that of Shudegacheh. T |