Villages of the Algonquian, Siouan, and Caddoan Tribes West of the MississippiBushnell, David I. (David Ives)
History
Villages of the Algonquian, Siouan, and Caddoan Tribes West of the Mississippi
Bushnell, David I. (David Ives)
Algonquian Indians; Caddoan Indians; Indians of North America -- Dwellings; Siouan Indians
During the year 1832 George Catlin remained for some time at and near
the mouth of the Teton, where a few years before had been erected a
station of the American Fur Company, which was soon given the name Fort
Pierre. "The country about this Fort is almost entirely prairie,
producing along the banks of the river and streams only, slight
skirtings of timber.... On my way up the river I made a painting of this
lovely spot, taken from the summit of the bluffs, a mile or two distant,
showing an encampment of Sioux, of six hundred tents of skin lodges,
around the Fort, where they had concentrated to make their spring trade;
exchanging their furs and peltries for articles and luxuries of
civilized manufactures." (Catlin, (1), I, p. 209.) And he continued (p.
211): "I mentioned that this is the nucleus or place of concentration of
the numerous tribe of the Sioux, who often congregate here in great
masses to make their trades with the American Fur Company; and that on
my way up the river, some months since, I found here encamped, six
hundred families of Sioux, living in tents covered with buffalo hides.
Amongst these there were twenty or more of the different bands, each one
with their chief at their head, over whom was a _superior chief_ and
leader, a middle-aged man, of middling stature, with a noble
countenance.... The name of this chief is Ha-won-je-tah (the one horn)
of the Mee-ne-cow-e-gee band, who has risen rapidly to the highest
honours in the tribe."
About this time a "grand feast" was prepared by the Indians in honor of
the Indian agent and the several Americans who were then at Fort Pierre,
including Catlin. A sketch of the gathering is shown in plate 23, _a_,
after the illustration in Catlin's narrative, but it may be of interest
to know that the original painting is now in the National Museum,
Washington. Describing this scene, Catlin wrote:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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