their vanity. Do you wish to have an idea of a Kansa satisfied with himself in the highest degree? Picture him to yourself with rings of vermilion encircling his eyes, with white, black or red streaks running down his face, a fantastic necklace, adorned in the center with a large medal of silver or copper, dangling on his breast; bracelets of tin, copper or brass, on his arms and wrists; a cincture of white around his waist, a cutlass and scabbard, embroidered shoes or moccasins on his feet; and, to crown all, a mantle, it matters not for the color, thrown over the shoulders and falling around the body in such folds or drapery as the wants or caprice of the wearer rnay direct, and the individual stands before you as he exhibited himself to us.
As for dress, manners, religion, modes of making war, etc., the Kansas are like the savages of their neighborhood, with whom they have preserved peaceful and friendly relations from time immemorial. In stature, they are generally tall and well made. Their physiognomy is manly, their language is guttural, and remarkable for the length and strong accentuation of the final syllables. Their style of singing is monotonous, whence it may be inferred that the enchanting music heard on the rivers of Paraguay never cheers the voyager on the otherwise beautiful streams of the country of the Kansas.
With regard to the qualities which distinguish man from the brute, they are far from being deficient. To bodily strength and courage they unite a shrewdness and address superior to other savages, and in their wars or the chase they make a dexterous use of fire-arms, which gives them a decided advantage over their enemies.
Among the chiefs of this tribe are found men really distinguished in many respects. The most celebrated was White Plume, whom the author of the Conquest of Granada' represents as a man of great powers of mind and chival
e Irving in Captain Bonneville, chapter II.