Page:Early western travels, 1748-1846 (1907 Volume 6).djvu/149

 with anxiety for their approach to the village, which we were informed would be made with considerable ceremony; that they had halted within a few miles of the place, to prepare themselves for a formal and splendid entry, and that a great deal of Indian finery had been sent, to enable the warriors to decorate themselves to the best advantage.

{188} It was nearly eleven o'clock in the day, before their approach was announced; in the meanwhile a stilly suspense reigned throughout the village, all sports and business suspended, and resembling a holiday in one of our towns. We discovered them at length, advancing by the sound of their voices over a hill, about a mile below our encampment. In a short time they made their appearance; at the same time, the inhabitants of the town moved out on foot to meet them. I accompanied them for some distance, and then took a favorable position where I might have a full view of this singular scene. They advanced in regular procession, with a slow step and solemn music, extending nearly a quarter of a mile in length, and separated in platoons, ten or twelve abreast, the horsemen placed between them, which contributed to extend their line. The different bands, of which I have spoken, the buffaloe, the bear, the pheasant, the dog, marched in separate bodies, each carrying their ensigns, which consisted of a large spear, or bow, richly ornamented with painted feathers, beads, and porcupine quills. The warriors were dressed in a variety of ways, some {189} with their cincture and crown of feathers, bearing their war clubs, guns, bows and arrows, and painted shields: each platoon having its musicians, while the whole joined in the song and step together, with great precision. In each band there were scalps fastened to long poles: this was nothing more than the few scalps they had taken, divided into different locks of hair, so as to give the semblance of a greater number. The appearance of the whole, their