Illustrations of the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians: With Letters and Notes Written During Eight Years of Travel and Adventure Among the Wildest and Most Remarkable Tribes Now Existing : with Three Hundred and Sixty Engravings, from the Author's Original Paintings, 1. köideHenry G. Bohn, 1850 |
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Illustrations of the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American ... George Catlin No preview available - 2018 |
Common terms and phrases
amongst amusements animals appearance arrows battle bear beautiful body brought buffalo called carried ceremonies character chief civilized close continually Crows curious custom dance death described distance dress eight enemies entirely equal eyes face fact fall feet four friends give given ground hair hand head heart held honourable horns horses hundred Indian instances killed kind lance leaving length Letter living lodge looking Mah-to-toh-pa Mandan village Mandans manner means meat medicine miles Missouri modes mysteries natural never occasion ornamented painted passed pipe PLATE poor portrait prairie prepared present quills raised reader river robe scalp scenes seemed seen side Sioux skin smoke soon Spirit stand strange taken thing took traveller tribe turned village warriors whilst whole wigwam wild women young
Popular passages
Page 252 - What a beautiful and thrilling specimen for America to preserve and hold up to the view of her refined citizens and the world, in future ages! A nation's Park, containing man and beast, in all the wild and freshness of their nature's beauty!
Page 250 - I have often, in concurrence with a known custom of the , country, held my hands over the eyes of the calf, and breathed a few strong . / breaths into its nostrils ; after which I have, with my hunting companions, ]/ rode several miles into our encampment, with the little prisoner busily following the heels of my horse the whole way...
Page 116 - The buffalo meat, however, is the great staple and " staff of life" in this country, and seldom (if ever) fails to afford them an abundant and wholesome means of subsistence. There are, from a fair computation, something like...
Page 251 - ... might in future be seen (by some great protecting policy of government) preserved in their pristine beauty and wildness, in a magnificent park, where the world could see for ages to come, the native Indian in his classic attire, galloping his wild horse, with sinewy bow, and shield and lance, amid the fleeting herds of elks and buffaloes.
Page 112 - ... manufacture of pottery, though they have not yet got the art of glazing, which would be to them a most valuable secret. They make them so strong and serviceable, however, that they hang them over the fire as we do our iron pots, and boil their meat in them with perfect success. I have seen some few specimens of such manufacture, which have been dug up in Indian mounds and tombs in the Southern and Middle states, placed in our Eastern museums, and looked upon as a great wonder, when here this...
Page 24 - ... away over the plain, scarcely able to tell whether I was on a buffalo's back or my horse — hit, and hooked, and jostled about, till at length I found myself alongside of my game, when I gave him a shot, as I passed him. I saw guns flash in several directions about me, but I heard them not. Amidst the trampling throng, Mons. Chardon had •wounded a stately bull, and at this moment was passing him again with his piece...
Page 50 - States, with a beaver hat and feather, with epaulettes of gold — with sash and belt, and broad sword ; with high-heeled boots — with a keg of whiskey under his arm, and a blue umbrella in his hand. In this plight and metamorphose, he took his position on the bank, Amongst his friends — his wife and other relations; not one of whom exhibited, for an half-hour or more, the least symptoms of recognition, although they knew well who was before them.
Page 130 - Spirit above, who rides in clouds and commands, the winds ! Three days they have sat here, my friends, and nothing has been done to relieve your distress. On the first day was Wah-kee (the shield), he could do nothing ; he counted his beads and came down — his medicine was not good — his name was bad, and it kept off the rain. The next was Om-pah (the elk) ; on his head the raven was seen, who flies above the storm, and he failed. War-rah-pa (the beaver) was the next, my friends ; the beaver...
Page 173 - I was painting his portrait, he told me there were four tortoises, — one in the North — one in the East — one in the South, and one in the West; that each one of these rained ten days, and the water covered over the earth.
Page 21 - The buffalo herds, which graze in almost countless numbers on these beautiful prairies, afford them an abundance of meat ; and so much is it preferred to all other, that the deer, the elk, and the antelope sport upon the prairies in herds in the greatest security ; as the Indians seldom kill them, unless they want their skins for a dress.