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be pretty old, and at one hundred years you will be of no account; your skin will peel off. From the time you are born till you are fifty you will be strong and well; from sixty you will feel the weight of many winters; will be crippled and go down hill." He said then, I have given you all these things, sometimes give me what I have told you to, and when you make these offerings call on me; I will hear and help you.' He then took them all over the country and at Powder River disappeared."

CHAPTER III.

FURTHER ABOUT THE CROWS.

In appearance the Crows are fine-looking, tall, and well built. Catlin, in speaking of them in 1832, says: "They are really as handsome and well-formed a set of men as can be seen in any part of the world. There is a sort of grace and ease added to their dignity of manner, which gives them the air of gentlemen at once. I observed that many of them were over six feet in height, and many of them have cultivated their natural hair to such an almost incredible length that it sweeps the ground as they walk."

Irving writes of them in "Astoria": " They are notorious marauders and horse-stealers; crossing and recrossing the mountains, robbing on one side and carrying their spoils to the other." Hence, we are told their name is derived: given them on account of their unsettled and predatory habits, winging their flight, like the crows, from one side of the mountain to the other, and making free booty of everything that lies in their way.

Their language is coarse and harsh and does not seem to have a rich vocabulary. They have the reputation among the other red men for their cunning, skill and bravery in war. They have been almost constantly at war with the Cheyennes, Arapahoes and Sioux since the latter crossed

the Missouri river, though they have made peace dozens of times and confederated with them against other tribes and the whites. With the U. S. army they have been friendly since 1876, and have rendered some service as enlisted scouts. In their modes of life, manner of dressing, religious belief and warfare they are like the other tribes of the Cheyennes and Sioux. I subjoin here a letter from the great Indian missionary, Father De Smet, which he wrote after his second visit to the Crows:

"UNIVERSITY OF ST. LOUIS, 1st of November, 1849. "Very Rev. Father:

"In my last letter of August, I promised to write from St. Louis, should I arrive safely in that city. Heaven has preserved me, and here I am about to fulfill my promise. Leaving Father Point and the Flat-Head camps on the river Madison, I was accompanied by twelve of our Indians. We traveled in three days a distance of 150 miles, crossing two chains of mountains, in a country frequently visited by the Blackfeet warriors, without, however, meeting with any of these scalping savages. At the mouth of the Twenty-five-Yard river, a branch of the Yellowstone, we found 250 huts, belonging to several nations, all friendly to us: the Flat-Heads, Pierced-Noses, Kayuses, and Snakes. I spent three days among them exhorting them to perseverance, and to make some preparation for my long journey.

"The day of my departure, ten neophites presented themselves at my lodge to serve as my escort, and to introduce me to the Crow tribe. On the evening of the second day we were in the midst of this large and interesting tribe. The Crows had perceived us from a distance; as we approached some of them recognized me, and at the cry of "the Blackgown," "the Blackgown," the Crows, young and old, to the number of three thousand, came out of their wigwams. On entering the village, a comical scene occurred, of which they made me the principal personage. All the chiefs and about fifty of their warriors hastened around me, and I was literally assailed by them. Holding

me by the gown, they drew me in every direction, whilst a robust savage of gigantic stature seemed resolved to carry me off by main force. All spoke at the same time, and appeared to be quarreling, whilst I, the sole object of all this contention, could not conceive what they were about. I remained passive, not knowing whether I should laugh or be serious. The interpreter soon came to my relief and said that all this was but an excess of politeness and kindness toward me, as every one wished to have the honor of lodging and entertaining the Black-Gown. With his advice I selected my host, upon which the others immediately loosed their hold and I followed the chief to his lodge, which was the largest and best in the camp.

"The Crows did not tarry long before they all gathered together around me, and loaded me with marks of kindness. The social Calumet, emblem of savage brotherhood and union, went round that evening so frequently, that it was scarcely ever extinguished. It was accompanied with all the antics for which the Crows are so famous, when they offer the Calumet to the Great Spirit, to the four winds, to the sun, fire, earth and water. These Indians are unquestionably the most anxious to learn; the most inquisitive, ingenious, and polished of all the savage tribes east of the mountains. They profess great friendship and admiration for the whites. They asked me innumerable questions; among others, they wished to know the number of the whites. "Count," I replied, the blades of grass upon your immense plain and you will know pretty nearly the number of the whites.' They all smiled, saying that the thing was impossible, but they understood my meaning.

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"And when I explained to them the vast extent of the villages' inhabited by white men (viz., New York, Philadelphia, London, Paris, etc.), the grand lodges (houses) built as near each other as the fingers of my hand, and four or five piled up one above the other (meaning the different stories of our dwellings); when I told them that some of these lodges (speaking of the churches and towers) were as high as mountains, and large

enough to contain all the Crow together; that in the Grand Lodge of the national council (the Capitol at Washington) all the great chiefs of the whole world could smoke the calumet of peace at their ease; that the roads in these great villages were always filled with passengers, who came and went more thickly than the vast herds of buffaloes that sometimes cover their beautiful plains; when I explained to them the extraordinary celerity of those moving lodges (the cars on the railroad), that leave behind them the swiftest horse, and which are drawn along by frightful machines, whose repeated groanings re-echo far and wide, as they belch forth immense columns of fire and smoke; and next those fire-canoes (the steam-boats) which transport whole villages with provisions, arms and baggage, in a few days, from one country to another, crossing large lakes (the seas), ascending and descending the great rivers and streams; when I told them that I had seen white men mounting into the air (in balloons) and flying with as much agility as the warrior eagle of their mountains; then their astonishment was at its height; and all placing their hands upon their mouths, sent forth at the same time, one general cry of wonder. The Master of life is great,' said the chief, and the white men are his favorites.' But what appeared to interest them more than aught else was prayer (religion); to this object they listened with the strictest individual attention. They told me that they had already heard of it, and they knew that this prayer made men wise and good upon earth, and insured their happiness in the future life.

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They begged me to permit the whole camp to assemble, that they might hear for themselves the words of truth. I pitched my lodge on a large field, in the midst of the camp, and there three thousand savages, including the sick, who were carried in skins, gathered around me. I knelt down, beneath the banner of our country, my ten Flat-head neophytes by my side, and surrounded by this multitude, eager to hear the glad tidings of the gospel of peace. We began by intoning two canticles, after which I recited all

the prayers, which were interpreted to them. Then again we sang canticles, and I finished by explaining to them the Apostles Creed and the Ten Commandments. They all appeared to be filled with joy, and declared it was the happiest day of their lives. They begged me to have pity on them, to remain among them and instruct them and their children in the knowledge, love and service of the Great Spirit.

"I promised that a blackgown should visit them, but on condition that the chiefs would engage themselves to put a stop to the thievish practice among them, and to oppose vigorously the corrupt morals of their tribe. Believing me to be endowed with supernatural powers, they had entreated me from the very commencement of our conversation, to supply them with plenty. I repeated to them on this occasion that the Great Spirit alone could remove evils. God, I said, listens to the supplication of the good and pure of heart; of those who detest their sins and wish to devote themselves to his service. But he shuts his ear to the prayers of those who violate his holy law. In his anger, God had destroyed by fire, five infamous villages, Sodom, Gomorrah, etc., in consequence of their horrid abominations — that the Crows walked in the way of these wicked men, consequently they could not complain if the Great Spirit seemed to punish them by sickness, war and famine, and they were themselves the authors of all their calamities and if they did not change their mode of life very soon they might expect to see their misfortune increase from day to day, while the most awful torments awaited them and all wicked men after their death. I assured them, in fine that heaven would be the reward of those who would repent of their evil deeds and practice the religion of the Great Spirit.

"The grand orator of the camp was the first to reply: Black-gown,' said he, I understand you. You have said what is true. Your words have passed from my ears into my heart. I wish all could comprehend them.' Whereon, addressing himself to the Crows, he repeated

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