Page:A Topographical Description of the State of Ohio, Indiana Territory, and Louisiana.djvu/204

192 passage out and in, during the winter. At this encampment we prepared our buffaloe skin canoes, to descend the Big-horn river, which is large, being three hundred yards wide, with a strong current. On the 9th, we embarked, for the mouth of the river, having detached eight Indians to proceed with the horses by land. At night we stopped at a camp of Crow Indians. Early in the morning of the 10th, we again proceeded, the current very rapid, and at night encamped. On the 11th, we proceeded early, and at night, arrived at the mouth of the river. Here is a village of Crow Indians, but of a different band from those we met with in the mountains. The Crow Indians are divided into four bands, which they distinguish by the following names, Ah-hah-hee-no-pah, Nootsa-pah-zasah, Keet-keet-sah, and Ehart-sah. This village belongs to the Nootsa-pah-zasah band. The band we had left was the Keet-keet-sah,and is the largest of them, consisting of two hundred warriors. The band here consists of one hundred and sixty warriors. This band had lately been on a war expedition against a nation of Indians, who reside on the west side of Rocky mountains, called Pal-lo-to-path, or Flat-heads, and had returned with sixteen prisoners, and a number of scalps. The Flat-heads have a singular practice of flattening their heads, which is different from any other nation of Indianes in this country. It is effected in the following manner. Soon after an