SANE'S WANDERINGS AMONGST THE INDIANS OF NORTH AMERICA.*
MB. Pain KANE is a Canadian artist who has studied in Europe, and who on his return to Canada some fourteen years ago, deter- mined to devote himself to "painting a series of pictures illus- trative of the North American Indians and scenery." With the aid and hospitality of the Hudson's Bay Company, in those days readily enough granted whatever may be the case now, Mr. Kane traversed their line of posts, which, commencing at the Sault St. Marie, or more strictly a little westward of Lake Superior, continues at intervals across the Rocky Mountains to Fort Van- _conver on the Columbia, not far from its embouchure in the Pa- cific. These journies, mainly to distribute necessary commodi- ties and transport furs, though made regularly are made but sel- dom ; and from the manner of travelling halts often take place. Hence Mr. Kane passed more than six months in the valley of the Columbia, making excursions into the new " State " of Ore- gon, and to Vancouver's island, now part of the new El Dorado of British Columbia. On his return he wintered at Fort Edmon- ton, a few hundred miles east of the Rocky Mountains, and de- lays of a much less extended kind occurred both in the outward and return journies. On these occasions, as well as en route, he took every opportunity of observing the country, and mingling with the Indians, visiting their tents, listening to their tales, _noting their peculiarities, joining in their hunts, and painting the portraits of chiefs or striking persons ; his skill as an artist at- taching to him great reputation as a medicine man, but supersti- tious motives sometimes rendering it difficult to persuade some Indians to sit for their likeness.
"In one of my daily excursions, I was particularly struck by the ugliness of an Indian whom I met. Upon inquiry, I found he was Shawstun, the head chief of the Sinahomas. He inquired very earnestly if my sketching him would not involve the risk of his dying ; and after I had finished the sketch, and given him a piece of tobacco, he held it up for some moments, and said it was a small recompense for risking his life. He followed me afterwards for two or three days, begging of me to destroy the picture ; and at last, to get rid of him, I made a rough copy of it, which I tore up in his presence, pretending that it was the original.'
The Indians who fell under Mr. Kane's observations were not tribes of the highest character " among the stoics of the woods ; " for he scarcely passed south of the 45th degree of north latitude, while his main line was much within that limit, and the heroic Red Indian nations seem to occupy a more genial climate. The tribes he did see, however, might be less debased than those in the American territory southwards ; for it does not answer the purpose of the Hudson Bay Company to ineroach upon their lands, and whatever other shortcomings the Company may have been guilty of, ill-treatment of the Indians is not among the number, either as regards sins of commission or omission. They have in- deed been charged with not carrying out a condition of their char- ter—the conversion of the natives ; but that is more easily written down than done.
" We eat up very late, talking to the chief, who seemed to enjoy our so- ciety very much. Amongst other topics of discourse, he began talking about the efforts of the missionaries amongst his people, and seemed to • Wanderings of an Artist among the Indiana of North America. from Canada to Vancouver's Island and Oregon, through the Hudson's Bay Company's Terri- tory and back again. Published by Longmans and Co. think that they would not be very successful ; for though he did not inter- fere with the religious belief of any of his tribe, yet many thought as he did ; and his idea was, that as Mx. Rundell had told him that what he preached was the only true road to heaven, and Mr. Hunter told him the same thing, and so did Mr. Thebo, and as they all three said that the other two were wrong, and as he did not know which was right, he thought they ought to call a council amongst themselves, and that then he would go with them all three ; but that until they agreed he would wait."
From the various stories told by Mr. Kane instances of deep and enduring affection may be picked out, and probably the Indian would be found as affectionate as other peoples, and more so than some peoples, if opportunity offered, and pains were taken to trace his feelings. To face suffering or death unshrinkingly is the essential characteristic of the North American Indian ; and examples of that kind prove nothing. But the stores of our author furnish some traits of what on a larger sphere of action would be called patriotism, as well as of a conscientious regard of chiefs for their people. These things, however, are exceptional. The general impression is that of ingratitude, treachery, and cruelty, according to civilized standards of morality ; an incapa- city of resisting immediate impulse, and a childish disposition to enjoy and waste without regard to consequences ; a state of filth and discomfort, to a great extent unnecessary, and a condition of physical suffering and moral horrors from want of food, not per- haps so easily within remedy, unless we could change the people. We take a story or two illustrative of these last points.
"After relating various stories of his war and hunting exploits, he, to my great astonishment, told me that he had killed his own mother. It appears that, while travelling, she told him that she felt too old and feeble to sus- tain the hardships of life, and too lame to travel any further, and asked him to take pity on her and end her misery, on which he unhesitatingly shot her on the spot. I asked him whereabouts he had directed his ball. His reply was, `Do you think I would shoot her in a bad place ? I hit her there; ' pointing his finger to the region of the heart. ' She died instantly, and I cued at first; but after I had buried her, the impression wore off.'
* * • • • •
" We passed down the river ' Macau,' where there are some beautiful rapids and falls. Here we fell in with the first Indians we had met since leaving the Lake of the Thousand Islands ; they are called ' Salteaux,' being a,branch of the Ojibbeways, whose language they speak with very slight variation. We purchased from an Indian man and woman some dried stur- geon. The female wore a rabbit-skin dress • they were, as I afterwards learned, considered to be cannibals, the Indian term for which is Weendigo, or ' One who eats Human Flesh.' There is a superstitious belief among Indians that the Weendigo cannot be killed by anything short of a silver bullet. I was informed, on good authority., that a case had occurred here in which a father and daughter had killed and eaten six of their own fa- mily from absolute want. The story. went on to state, that they then camped at some distance oft' in the vicinity of an old Indian woman, who happened to be alone in her lodge, her relations having gone out hunting. Seeing the father and daughter arrive unaccompanied by any other mem- bers of the family, all of whom she knew, she began to suspect that some foul play had taken place, and to feel apprehensive for her own safety. By way of precaution, she resolved to make the entrance to her lodge very slippery, and as it was winter, and the frost severe., she poured water repeatedly over the ground as fast as it froze, until it was covered with a mass of smooth ice ; and instead of going to bed, she remained sitting up in her lodge, watching with an axe in her hand. When near midnight, she up steps advancing cautiously over the crack- ling snow, and looking through the crevices of the lodge, caught sight of the girl in the attitude of listening, as if to ascertain whether the inmate was asleep; this the old woman feigned by snoring aloud. The welcome sound no sooner reached the ears of the wretched gut, than she rushed for- ward, but, slipping on the ice, fell down at the entrance of the lodge, whereupon the intended victim sprang upon the murderess and buried the axe in her brains : and not doubting but the villanous father was near at hand, she fled with all her speed to a distance, to escape his vengeance. In the meantime, the Weendigo father, who was impatiently watching for the expected signal to his horrid repast, crept up to the lodge, and called to his daughter; hearing no reply, he went on, and, in place of the dead body of the old woman, he saw his own daughter,. and hunger overcoming every other feeling he saved his own life by devouring her remains."
The different tribes that fell under Mr. Kane's observation were very numerous, being, in fact, the inhabitants of, it may be said, the entire range across the continent,. between a parallel of some five or six degrees of latitude. His pictures of the Blackfeet and other Indians of the Rocky Mountains, or west of them, is on the whole better than those of some travellers of the trapper or hunting genus ; but then it must be said that Mr. Kane was only by accident and for the moment, as it were, in their power. The route of Mr. Kane,though new to the mass of books-of- travel readers, is not absolutely new. Sonic servants of the Hud- son's Bay Company have published their journeyings along parts of the line ; an elaborate account of the Red River settlement appeared a few years since, and various American adventurers or voyagers have written notices of the lower valley of the Columbia. Still these works are but scattered in their notices, or have dropped out of the public memory, which soon forgets now-a-days. Even were it otherwise, Mr. Kane's journey is one of unceasing in- terest from its variety, its hardships, and its perils. In the best of weather and at the best of places you are running a rapid at the risk of your life, sitting cramped in a boat all day till it is relief to get out and walk across a portage--a place where the canoes have to be emptied and hauled through a difficulty, or carried bodily by land as well as the goods they contain. Of the total
nje want of table condiments and comforts, we say nothi ' : appetite makes up for all such defects. The camping at t all fine weather is not unpleasant, when you are used to it ; at you do , not get used to the terrible bitings of the mosquitoes. The real hardships, however, are in cold weather; and *de caravans as they may be called seem to cross the Rocky Ifountaine—not in dead winter, for that would be death to aft, but in very cold weather. In these dreary regions yr:: wade through river when your clothes freeze on you. Vali with snow shoes over snOw as well as
you can, or clamber over hummocks of ice, and sleep in the open air with a temperature far below zero. Yet those who are native, and to the manner born, either feel it but little, or will not own it. One of the men, an Iroquois, fell into deep water, and before he had been extricated five minutes his clothes were stiff with ice. Mr. Kane asked him if he were not cold, and he replied, " My clothes are cold, but I am not." Even in such encampment as they can form, a joke is enjoyed if a mishap occurs.
' It is necessary to walk repeatedly with snow shoes over the place chosen for the encampment until it is sufficiently beaten down to bear a man with- out sinking on its surface. Five or six logs of green timber, from eighteen to twenty feet long, are laid down close together, in parallel lines, so as to form a platform. The fire of dry wood is then kindled on it, and pine branches are spread on each side' on which the party, wrapped in their blankets, lie down with their feet towards the fire. The parallel logs rarely burn through in one night, but the dropping coals and heat form a deep chasm immediately under the fire, into which the logs are prevented from falling by their length. Into this hole an Iroquois, who had placed himself too near the fire, rolled a depth of at least six or seven feet, the snow having melted from under him while asleep. His cries awoke me, and after a -hearty laugh at his fiery entombment, we succeeded in dragging him out."
We could multiply such extracts ad libitum, but the pressure of many demands forbids. The Wanderings of an Artist may, however, be safely recommended as one of the most interesting books of-travel that has appeared for some time. It is varied and adventurous ; fresh in its matter and graphic in the telling.
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