OCR Text |
Show tl 456 THE SIOUX INDIANS-THE LITTLE SOLDIER. On the 27th of April I visited the stores of the Fur Company, which contained goods to the amount of 80,000 dollars. In the afternoon some hunters arrived, with twenty horses, who had been absent about three weeks on a buffalo chase, but returned with only one horse-load of meat. From their appearance I should certainly have taken them for savages. In the afternoon I took a walk in the prairie, though my strength was not fully restored, and the sight of the verdant plain was most refreshing to my mind. No birds were to be seen except the starling (Sturnella ludoviciana), which enlivened me with its short whistling note. Below the ridge which bounds the low bank of the river, the wild plum was covered with its snowy blossoms, which appear at the same time with the leaves; the scent is exactly like that of the flowers of our blackthorn. A small pink flower of the class Tetra dynamia covered the prairie. The beautiful yellow blossom of the Hijerocldoa fragrans was likewise open. The Indian horses, which graze here, had now abundance of food, and quickly recovered from the effects of their fast in the severe winter. I visited the tents of the Indians, of whom, at least, fifty had gone away this morning on account of the scarceness of provisions. I was much struck with the difference of the physiognomy of the Sioux, after living so long among other tribes. Their features are much less agreeable, the cheek-bones more prominent, and their stature is lower and less vigorous than that of the Mandans, Manitaries, Arikkaras, and Crows. On the other hand, the expression of their countenances is more frank and good-tempered than that of those tribes. By way of comparison, I subjoin a woodcut of the Little Soldier, our former travelling companion (see page 153), who, at this time, was absent on an expedition. |