After we had sat and gazed at each other in this way for some half an hour or so, the head chief of the band came galloping up to Colonel Dodge, and having shaken him by the hand, he passed on to the other officers in turn and then rode alongside of the different columns, shaking hands with every dragoon in the regiment; he was followed in this by his principal chiefs and braves, which altogether took up nearly an hour longer, when the Indians retreated slowly toward their village, escorting us to the banks of a fine, clear stream and a good spring of fresh water, half a mile from their village, which they designated as a suitable place for our encampment (_Catlin, 5_). While there the artist painted the pictures of the chief men of the tribe, together with camp scenes. The pictures form a part of the Catlin gallery in the National Museum at Washington, District of Columbia. In his usual incorrect style, he estimated the population of the tribe at thirty thousand to forty thousand. It may possibly have been one-tenth of that number. After a few days the command, guided by some of the Comanche, started for the Wichita village lying farther to the west. After four days' march, keeping close along the base of the mountains, they reached the village, which was situated on the northeast bank of the North fork of Red river, about 4 miles below the junction of Elm fork, and within the present limits of the reservation. It was close to the mouth of Devil canyon, with the river in front and the mountains behind. It was an old settlement site of the Wichita, having been occupied by them as far back at least as about the year 1765 (_Lewis and Clark, 8_). Catlin thus describes it: We found the mountains inclosing the Pawnee [i.e., Pawnee Pique, or Wichita] village, on the bank of Red river, about 90 miles from the Comanchee town. The dragoon regiment was drawn up within half a mile or so of this village and encamped in a square, where we remained three days. We found here a very numerous village containing some five or six hundred wigwams, all made of long prairie grass thatched over poles which are fastened in the ground and bent in at the top, giving to them in distance the appearance of straw beehives, as in plate 173 [figure 68 herein], which is an accurate view of it, showing the Red river in front and the "mountains of rocks" behind it. To our very great surprise we have found these people cultivating quite extensive fields of corn (maize), pumpkins, melons, beans, and squashes; so, with these aids and an abundant supply of buffalo meat, they may be said to be living very well (_Catlin, 6_).