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Show 422 Ex. Doc. No, 41. He also brought me some specimens of the Myrtin~a Proboscidia, and clcome intcgrifolia. Th~ pods of the fi_rst men~roncd plant arc often used for pickles, and tlu· lattcr.l~Janl 1 · one oJ the most b~a~tiful that meets the eye of tlt(' pnunc traveller, covcr<>cl as 11 IS with rieh clusters of pinl flow<·rs . To clay a numbrr of Chcyt•nnc.•s 'i ·itcd the fort, amongst them were Old nark, his son "Ah mah-nah-co," an.d Yello~ Wolf, "0- cum who -waf't." The latter i!' a man of const cl <·ra b lc mfl ucn cc, of enlargrd vit·ws, ancl giftt·d with morr .foresig.ht. t~an. any other man in llis tribe. IT(' fr<'qu ntly talks o1 the dunuushmg numb(•rs of his pcop1c, ancl the decrt•asc o.f th<• once a~undant butTalo. He says that in a few year. they wtll beco_me extmcl; and unlcs~ t.hr lnflians ""ish to pas1' away also, they will hav( to adopt ~he habtts of the w l1i tc J>Cop lc, using u c h m casure to ~:roducc .su bs1stcn ce as will render tltrm indeprndeut of th(• precanous rclJancc atTorcled by the gamr. He has proposed to the interprdt•r at Bent'. fort, to triH• him a number of m tllcs, in t h<' proportion of on c from e,·cry man in the tribe, if ltc would build them a .·tructurc .'imilar to l3ent'R fort, and instruct tht•m to tultivatc the ground, and to raise cattle. H(• sa)'S that for some tjmc hi. people woul(l not be content to relinquish the dclightR of t1tc chase, and then the old men and :quaws 111ight remain at homr cultivating tllt' ground~, and bt· safely sN·ured in their fort from thr cl<'predations of }Jo:tilc tribe . The Cheyennes arc among tlw few trib . s for whom tht' United States has not don(• anything, and they ar<· among the most drscrv ing of assistance. Of late th y appear to be getting discont<•nted with uch treatment; they say, ''we have not robbed or ·tolen from you, and you t<l]C<· no not ice of us, nor do you m ak<' u any presents, ~hilc you are continually doing bcn('fits to the Pawner~, who both kdl and rob )Our people.·, ancl who arc our enemies." . Tl~r.y hav<· thr rrpulation of conduetiug tltcmsclves welJ, of tradmg ltberal1y, and of committing fe\V(.•r d(·pr<.>dations upon the whites than any oth(.;r nation. St·vez'U•<'fl) (.•;n · ago they numbered 400 lodges, but thry arc JJOW r('ducrd to one h:.df that number. ~ast year they sutTer d great ravetg(•s from dtc mca~les and the hoop tng c?ugh, and what wa~ to tht·m a ~till gn·at r calamity, they were suffcrwg. from hungt!r~ not having c.· en ;1ny buffalo, f'Xccpt now and then a swglc bull. fltis year tiH·y did not ~C£' t~ n} drove~, from January, when th~} were bunting in company with Mr. Willia~ Bent, at the C'tos~mg ol the Arkansas, until the early part of th1s II) on t h · A s t h <' p c o p 1 c of f h e l7 n i t q I " l a t (' s l~tl v f' b e en a n d a r e , t h (\ gr~at cau~e.of the diminution in the qmmtity of game: by c·ontinu ally tra:vtl1mg through the country, by m u ltipl) ing roads, and thus dcstroymg the qui~t rangrs where.· the animal. breed; by killing mar~y of them, and Ly the imm<'nsc.• nulllbt•rs that they induc·c .the Indians to de t•oy for their robes, it sec.·m~ but fait tlwt the Urutccl State .sh~ulcl assi t these Cheyennrs. At this moment a v<·r.y b~ndicral 1nfluencc might be cxt•rt<•d upon tla·m, as they have theJr mmds now full of this plan of 0 cum-who wast's, of forming per- O CUM - WHO WAST . |