him
that it was true, and sent for York: the Borgne was very much surprised
at his appearance, examined him closely, and spit on his finger and
rubbed the skin in order to wash off the paint; nor was it until the
negro uncovered his head, and showed his short hair, that the Borgne
could be persuaded that he was not a painted white man.

Sunday 10. A cold windy day. Tetuckopinreha, chief of the Ahnahaways,
and the Minnetaree chief Ompsehara, passed the day with us, and the
former remained during the night. We had occasion to see an instance of
the summary justice of the Indians: a young Minnetaree had carried off
the daughter of Cagonomokshe, the Raven Man, second chief of the upper
village of the Mandans; the father went to the village and found his
daughter, whom he brought home, and took with him a horse belonging to
the offender: this reprisal satisfied the vengeance of the father and of
the nation, as the young man would not dare to reclaim his horse, which
from that time became the property of the injured party. The stealing of
young women is one of the most common offenses against the police of the
village, and the punishment of it always measured by the power or the
passions of the kindred of the female. A voluntary elopement is of
course more rigorously chastised. One of the wives of the Borgne
deserted him in favour of a man who had been her lover before the
marriage, and who after some time left her, and she was obliged to
return to her father's house. As soon as he heard it the Borgne walked
there and found her sitting near the fire: without noticing his wife, he
began to smoke with the father; when they were joined by the old men of
the village, who knowing his temper had followed in hopes of appeasing
him. He continued to smoke quietly with them, till rising to return, he
took his wife by the hair, led her as far as the door, and with a single
stroke of his tomahawk put her to death before her father's eyes: then
turning fiercely upon the spectators, he said that if any of her
relations wished to avenge her, they might always find him at his lodge;
but the fate of the woman had not sufficient interest to excite the
vengeance of the family. The caprice or the generosity of the same chief
gave a very different result to a similar incident which occurred some
time afterwards. Another of his wives eloped with a young man, who not
being able to support her as she wished they both returned to the
village, and sh