mer ; they pass whole days in playing in the water or the mire; in winter they are lapped in scraps of leather. The women cover themselves with a big cape, ornamented with elk-teeth and rows of pearls of various colors. This attire makes a handsome effect, on a white and clean skin. A savage takes as great pains in decorating his courser as with his own person; the animal's head, chest and flanks are covered with hangings of scarlet cloth, embroidered with pearls and adorned with long fringes, to which they attach little bells.
It may be said in general that cleanliness is not among the virtues of the savage; it took me some time to become used to them; it will very likely take me more to correct them. Excuse me for going here into some rather disgusting details; any one who thinks himself called to these missions ought to know what he is to meet. I have seen the Cheyennes, Snakes, Utes, etc., eat vermin off each other by the fistfull. Often great chiefs, while they talked to me, would pull off their shirt in my presence without ceremony, and while they chatted would amuse themselves with carrying on this branch of the chase in the seams. As fast as they dislodged the game, they crunched it with as much relish as more civilized mouths crack almonds and hazelnuts or the claws of crabs and crawfishes. Their pots, kettles and dishes, unless they fall in the water by accident, never touch that element to be washed. The women wear ~~ sort of rimless hats, made of straw, very close-woven and gummed; in their lodges, these hats serve them as drinking vessels and soup dishes, and, what will seem incredible to you at first sight, they make use of there even to boil meat in; it is by the aid of heated pebbles that water is made to boil in this sort of pot.
The great ambition of the savage and all his wealth consist in having horses, a fine lodge, a good blanket or cloak and a good gun. Beyond these, there is hardly anything that can tempt him. The only advantage that his horses