[208] Dogs seem always to have been a favorite article of food among the aborigines of different parts. Father Marquette, in his voyage down the Mississippi in 1673, remarks of an Indian feast, "The third service was a huge Dog, whom they killed on purpose," &c.--GREGG. [209] See Irving, _Tour on the Prairies_, pp. 83, 84.--ED. [210] Dr. Samuel Thomson (1769-1843), a New England physician, advocated a method of treating fevers and similar diseases by means of steaming.--ED. [211] For the Pawnee groups and habitat, see Pattie's _Narrative_, in our volume xviii, p. 40, note 24. For the Arikara, consult Bradbury's _Travels_, in our volume v, p. 127, note 83.--ED. [212] For the Osage see our volume v, p. 50, note 22.--ED. [213] The custom of taking all the sisters of a family is also said to be common among the Kansas, Omahas and other kindred tribes; indeed it appears to have prevailed from the earliest ages among all the Dahcotah family as well as many Algonquins and most other tribes about the great Lakes. Mons. La Salle, in his trip from these to the Mississippi in 1673, remarks of the savages of those regions: "They marry several Wives, and commonly all Sisters, if they can, thinking they agree better in their Family." Hennepin, Charlevoix and others speak of the same custom. Murray also mentions something of the kind among the Pawnees. Forbes alludes to the same in California. But I am uninformed, whether, in these several instances, the husband's right was only _de facto_, or _de jure_ as among the Osages, to all the younger sisters.--GREGG. [214] Note Bradbury's experience with the mourning Osage, in our volume v, pp. 63, 64.--ED. [215] The population of the intermediate tribes, according to the Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, for 1844 is as follows: Pawnees, 12,500 souls (though some experienced traders rate them at only about 5,000); Rickaras, 1,200; Chippewas, Potawatomies and Ottawas of the North, 2,298; Sacs and Foxes, 2,762; Winnebagoes, 2,183; Iowas, 470; Poncas, 777; Omahas, 1,301; Otoes and Missouries, 931; Kansas, 1,700; Osages, 4,102;--besides of Caddoes and Inyes about 500; Wacoes, Witchitas, Towockanoes, Towyashes and Keechyes, 1,000; who maintain themselves chiefly in Northern Texas. The wild tribes proper of the Prairies, are, the Comanches, consisting of about 10,000 souls; Kiawas, 2,000; Apaches, 100; Arrapahoes, 2,000; Chayennes, 2,000; besides many others to the north and westward, who rarely descend within the regions to the notice of which these pages are confined. As these tribes would doubtless average at least three-fifths females, they could hardly turn out one-fifth of their numbers in warriors, though this is the usual rule of estimating them by men of Indian experience.--GREGG.