Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 2.djvu/173

Rh never seen a man walk more proudly. He was well dressed, too. At the tepee which he had left, I noticed the spear or lance, and shield near the opening, which was the best of its kind I ever saw, being ornamented with nude figures of men and horses and buffalo. The skin was of buffalo skin, as I judged, though I did not touch it, or any of the other things I saw. At several of the tepees groups of children were playing, tumbling about with the dogs; at some, old women were at work dressing skins. I did not look inside or see inside any tepee, nor did I see any girl or young women to note as such. I say this in connection with what occurred at our camp within two hours after I made my round of curiosity. I was then at work behind our wagon, I don't remember at what, when Mrs. Morrison called out, "John, John, come here!" from the camp fire in front. I went; she was holding her sides to repress laughing, and three Indian women were standing side by side on the opposite side of the fire. Mrs. Morrison then said, "John, if I understand these women's signs, they think you belong to me, and want to buy you for a husband for that one in the middle; they offer six horses." I left the sign business mainly to Mrs. Morrison, feeling a little sorry, though, for the young Indian women, who did not look to be over twenty-two to twenty-four years of age.

The three friends went away in seeming disappointment, leaving me mystified as to whether they had not made a mistake about the young man wanted as husband by adoption, and the proper place in the camp in which to find him. There was an air of hesitancy and confusion about them as they looked at me, while Mrs. Morrison was trying to convey to them that I was not her property,—which led me to believe that they had made a mistake. This incident occurred just two years prior to Francis Parkman's joining a camp of Sioux at