Page:Don Coronado through Kansas.djvu/267

252 262, TnE PIPE Off PEACE. miiBt be smoked to seal tbe good will of both partiea* and Goronado could do nothing else but acquiesce. At the appointed time, Goronado, Alonso, Jara- Bifflo, Father Padilla and several officers met a goodly number of natives in a tent or hall. After the lormal introduction had been gone through, (Ysopete, acting as Interpreter,) there was a large circle formed, each man Bitting on the ground (these people had no inlaid or mosaic floors), the natives with their legs crossed in their customary manner. Then Ghief Tatarrax called upon the Uttle Osage chief, who had arrived the day before with a large party of warriors; he was a man to be respected, for his tribe combined with the great Osages were more powerful, having a larger number of warriors than the Kansans, thus the rea- sons for making him the prominent figure, this man being a born leader and no ordinary character, for it was by merit alone that caused his being made chief, as these men of nature knew that a i>ampered, born-with-a-silver-spoon-in-his-mouth man rarely had the attributes requisite to dominate others. Hie talk of the Osage, on being translated by Ysopete, was in effect an invitation to visit the chief's villages, pledg- ing bis protection to the death. After inquiry by Goronado as to the direction where the chief resided, it was agreed that the country of the Osages shonld be honored by the presence of the Spaniards. In due time an account of same will be forthcoming, as well as a short history of this remarkable branch of the Kansas tribe. Other chiefs of the Pawnees, Omahas and Mis- ■ouris also requested the party to partake of their