The Shoshonies, or Snakes, reside north of the Arrapahoes, and are also a wandering tribe, who inhabit that part of the Rocky Mountains which lies on the Grand and Green River branches of the Colorado of the West, the valley of the Great Bear River, the habitable shores of the Great Salt Lake, and a tract of country on the Snake River. Some of them subsist principally on roots; while others live on fish. They are said to own many horses, and, from their first acquaintance with the whites, to have been averse to war and cruelty. They have, however, been obliged to fight with the Blackfeet, Crows, Sioux, and Eutaws, to defend portions of their territory; and these tribes have formerly been much accustomed to send parties to rob them of their horses. They are described as being an intelligent race, possessing many domestic comforts, and opposed to immorality. They refuse the use of intoxicating liquor, saying, “It unmans us for the hunt and for defending ourselves against our enemies; it causes unnatural divisions among ourselves; it makes the chief less than his Indian; and by its use, imbecility and ruin would come upon the Shoshonie tribe.” The Nezpercés and Chinnooks, or Flatheads, with the Skyuse Indians, are found near the mouth and branches of the Columbia River. Catlin thinks the Chinnooks are related to the Choctaws, and tells a tradition of the latter which seems to favor this opinion. The Nezpercés excited much interest a few years ago, in consequence of a delegation which came from them across the Rocky Mountains, saying they had heard from a white man that the religion of the whites was better than theirs, and they would be lost if they did not embrace it, and they came to inquire for teachers. Missionaries were sent among them, who are said to be in some measure successful in their efforts. The code of laws existing among this tribe, as given in the last report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, is very strict, and exhibits a determination on the part of the people to have justice truly administered. Murder and arson are punished with death; the burning of an outbuilding with six months’ imprisonment, fifty lashes, and the payment of all damages. Careless burning of a house subjects the person doing it to the payment of damages. The Chiens are a small tribe, about 3,000 in number, neighbours to the Sioux on the west. They are a fine race of men, scarcely a man in the tribe being less than six feet in height. They are said to be the richest in horses of any tribe on the continent, living, as they do, where the greatest herds are grazing on the prairies; these they catch in great numbers, and vend to the Sioux, Mandans, and other tribes, as well as to the fur-traders. They are described as dexterous horsemen and fierce warriors, having carried on an unceasing contest with the Pawnees and the Blackfeet.