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Show Al>PENDIX TO PART II. This Nczuma, whom Chouteau took on to Wnshin~ton bst fall with his wife, I am better acq11aintcd with, than pct·haps l\lt· Chouteau himself. In the first place, I marched with him from St. Louis to his town, and he started with us to visit the Pawuccs, hut the mean and pitiful wretch, ~ot alarmed and snenkcd ofl' without even advising us of his departure. lie has no more conllnand in the viiJag ·e than a child, is no wanior, ~md has not even the pown to controul the will of a single man of his nation. 'Vhether this youth is entitled to a grand medal, you may judge from the foregoing statement. Indeed, sir, our grand medal· have become so comlllon, that they do not cany with them the respect whi ch they should. I recollect one of the deputation who was at the seat of government, th y ',\r before the last, C<\me out with a laq~c medal, and an intet·llwtliate sized one. On our arrival at the villa~es, J calculated on hi~ <~ctinr:; a conspicuous part, hut to my uttet· ast nishmcnt, he was llOt permitted to sit among the chiefs, or even the warriors at the council. You well know, sir, how particular the Spanianls, and the B1·itish co.;pccially, have been in their cli~tril>ution of medals, and if lmistal~ e not, an Iowa chid, \\ ho had been to the scat of g·overmncut, ~nd there received a small medal, returned it in prcf•n:ncc to gir· ing up a lar!;e British medal, as he valued it more because it was a certain distinguishing mark o[ a chief. You gave to Mr. Pike an intermediate sizccl medal, for one of the Pnwncc chiefs, which he presented Jskatappc, who harin!j, remarked the medals pendant fi'Om the necks of the t'luC Pmunec young 1ur·n, \\ ho were 011 at \'\'a.shinp;ton, demanded of what utility it 'luoulrl be to him. The only Spanish medals in thr: Paw11ce nation, arc those worn by Characterish, or the lVhitc IVo(l and his son. The following sarcastic remark was made IJy the son of the " Hcl Oiseau," a chief of the fir~t standing among- the Granci Osages whilst living, and who unfortunately was killed by the Sacs on his way to \V~I!:ihington with the first deputation. The !>Oil of \\' hitc Iluirs, with" Sh •nga 'Yassa," or Reautift.l Rird, was to ac<:ompauy 11s to the Pa\\'nce village ; but tile for111cr proved rccr ant, and at the crossing or Grand Hi vcr, said he w~u~d rcturll home. " Shame on you," says the latter, " whnt a pily Jt 15 " so great and honorable a medal, should be di~gr·aced by so mean a " heart " "\ou will pardon this digression, but I would wi!->h to convince . . t you, from what I have ~ccn of Indians, how very requihite 1t IS "' AJ>PF.NDJX TO PART II. 29 usc the utmost caution in the distribution of out· presents and mark-, of distinction. Before I set out to visit Tuttasuggy, the icc had commenced drifting in large sheets, and on my return, I found it running from shot•e to shore, I however pushed on· and drifted with it. The night of the 2d of Occclllber was intensely cold, but hunger obli~ccl me to proceed, and we fortunatc..ly reached the mou.th of the Ncskalonska, t·iver, without accident ot· injury, cxcepllng that one of my men got frosted. Tbis clay we passed two salines which entct· on the south western sid . The scvc1·ity of the weather increas c.l, ancl the river froze ove1• on the moming- of the 3d. This circumstance placed me in a situation truly distre ssing, as my men wc1·c almost naked; the tatters which covered them were com fortlcss, and my am munition was nearly exhausted. The men solicited me to h11t, but I was resolved by persevert~ ncc and exct·tion, to overcome, if in rny power, the ol>sta.cles opposed to my progress. The Ncskalon~ka, is about 120 yards wide, s lloal and narrow at its month, but deepens and !Spr ·ads aftct· }OU turn the first poinL On this ~tJ·eam, the C rand and Little Osa,rcs form th cit· temporary fa.ll huntmg camps, and take thcit· p ·ltric.:s. 'Vhcn the severity of wmtct· sets in, the Grand Osages retire to" G1·ossr Isle," on the Vcrdig-risc, ot· \ asetihofje; and the Little Os::~gcs to one of its small branches called Possitonga, where they r •main during tile hard wcath<'r, and from thence return to their to\\'ns on the Ncskq, Ol' Osage ri vc , .. . ?n the 6th the icc began to drift, and immediately pushed oil' Wtth lt; but ns rny evil stars would h:wc it, my boats ag.~in gToundcd, and being in the llliddlc of the t·ivct·, my only alternati\'e was to get out and d1·ag· them along· fot' sen;ral miles, when we halted to wanu our benumbed feet and h,IJlcl-;. Th ' next day several large cakes of icc had blocked up the river, and we had to cut our way tht·ough them with axes; the boats a~ u ·ual ~rounded, and the mer~ bare 1egg·cd ancl bHt·e footed, were obliged to leap into the water. This happened so frequently, that two mot·e of my men got badly ft·ostcd. . On the 8th 011c or my canoes was driven on a bank of icc, du· l'Jng a snow storm, and rlid not overtake me until the evening of the 9 th, nnd in so shattered a condition, that ::;he could hardly he kept above Water·, nnd the pool' fellows who were in her, wrro almost frozen.· |