scalp. The lonely hunter, the wandering wayfarer, the poor
squaw cutting wood or gathering corn, was liable to be surprised and
slaughtered. In this way tribes were either swept away at once, or
gradually thinned out, and savage life was surrounded with constant
horrors and alarms. That the race of red men should diminish from
year to year, and so few should survive of the numerous nations
which evidently once peopled the vast regions of the west, is nothing
surprising; it is rather matter of surprise that so many should survive;
for the existence of a savage in these parts seems little better than a
prolonged and all-besetting death. It is, in fact, a caricature of the
boasted romance of feudal times; chivalry in its native and uncultured
state, and knight-errantry run wild.

In their most prosperous days, the Omahas looked upon themselves as the
most powerful and perfect of human beings, and considered all created
things as made for their peculiar use and benefit. It is this tribe of
whose chief, the famous Wash-ing-guhsah-ba, or Blackbird, such savage
and romantic stories are told. He had died about ten years previous to
the arrival of Mr. Hunt's party, but his name was still mentioned with
awe by his people. He was one of the first among the Indian chiefs on
the Missouri to deal with the white traders, and showed great sagacity
in levying his royal dues. When a trader arrived in his village, he
caused all his goods to be brought into his lodge and opened. From these
he selected whatever suited his sovereign pleasure; blankets, tobacco,
whiskey, powder, ball, beads, and red paint; and laid the articles on
one side, without deigning to give any compensation. Then calling to him
his herald or crier, he would order him to mount on top of the lodge
and summon all the tribe to bring in their peltries, and trade with the
white man. The lodge would soon be crowded with Indians bringing bear,
beaver, otter, and other skins. No one was allowed to dispute the prices
fixed by the white trader upon his articles; who took care to indemnify
himself five times over for the goods set apart by the chief. In this
way the Blackbird enriched himself, and enriched the white men, and
became exceedingly popular among the traders of the Missouri. His
people, however, were not equally satisfied by a regulation of trade
which worked so manifestly against them, and began to show signs of
discontent. Upon this a crafty and unprincipled trader re