Adventures of the Ojibbeway and Ioway Indians in England, France, and Belgium; Vol. 2 (of 2): being Notes of Eight Years' Travels and Residence in Europe with his North American Indian CollectionCatlin, George
History
Adventures of the Ojibbeway and Ioway Indians in England, France, and Belgium; Vol. 2 (of 2): being Notes of Eight Years' Travels and Residence in Europe with his North American Indian Collection
Catlin, George
England -- Description and travel; France -- Description and travel; Indians of North America
The Director, M. de Cailleux, had invited several of his distinguished
friends to meet him on the occasion, and it was to them, as well as
to us, interesting to see the Indians under such circumstances, where
there was so much to attract their attention and calculated to surprise
them. M. Vattemare was with us on this occasion, and of very great
service in his introductions and interpretations for us. Amongst the
distinguished persons who were present, and to whom I was introduced
on the occasion, was the Baron de Humboldt. He accompanied us quite
through the rooms of the Louvre, and took a great deal of interest in
the Indians, having seen and dealt with so many in the course of his
travels. I had much conversation with him, and in a few days after was
honoured by him with a private visit to my rooms, when I took great
pleasure in explaining the extent and objects of my collection.
The view of the Louvre was a great treat to the Indians, who had had
but little opportunity before of seeing works of art. In London we
thought we had showed them all the sights, but had entirely forgotten
the exhibitions of paintings; and I believe the poor fellows had been
led to think, before they saw the Louvre, that mine was the greatest
collection of paintings in the world. They had a great deal of talk
about it when they got home and had lit their pipe. The one great
objection they raised to it was, that "it was too long--there were too
many things to be seen; so many that they said they had forgotten all
the first before they got through, and they couldn't think of them
again." There was one impression they got while there, however--that no
length of room or number of pictures would easily eradicate from their
memories, the immense number of marks of bullets on the columns of the
portico, and even inside of the building, shot through the windows in
the time of the Revolution of July. This appalling scene was described
to them on the spot by M. Vattemare, which opened their eyes to an
historical fact quite new to them, and of which they soon taxed him and
me for some further account.
The poor fellows at this time were beginning to sympathize with the
noble fellow the Little Wolf, whose wife had been for some weeks
growing ill, and was now evidently declining with symptoms of quick
consumption. The buoyant spirits of the good and gallant fellow seemed
to be giving way to apprehensions; and although he joined in the
amusements, he seemed at times dejected and unhappy. There were days
when her symptoms seemed alarming, and then she would rally and be
in the room again in all the finery of her dress and trinkets, but
was evidently gradually losing strength and flesh, and decided by her
physician to be in a rapid decline. She was about this time advised to
keep to her chamber and away from the excitement of the exhibition and
sight-seeing, in which the rest of the party were daily engaged.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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