an that of any Indians we have seen, has in
it much of the dignity of misfortune. In their intercourse with
strangers they are frank and communicative, in their dealings perfectly
fair, nor have we had during our stay with them, any reason to suspect
that the display of all our new and valuable wealth, has tempted them
into a single act of dishonesty. While they have generally shared with
us the little they possess, they have always abstained from begging any
thing from us. With their liveliness of temper, they are fond of gaudy
dresses, and of all sorts of amusements, particularly to games of
hazard; and like most Indians fond of boasting of their own warlike
exploits, whether real or fictitious. In their conduct towards
ourselves, they were kind and obliging, and though on one occasion they
seemed willing to neglect us, yet we scarcely knew how to blame the
treatment by which we suffered, when we recollected how few civilized
chiefs would have hazarded the comforts or the subsistence of their
people for the sake of a few strangers. This manliness of character may
cause or it may be formed by the nature of their government, which is
perfectly free from any restraint. Each individual is his own master,
and the only control to which his conduct is subjected, is the advice of
a chief supported by his influence over the opinions of the rest of the
tribe. The chief himself is in fact no more than the most confidential
person among the warriors, a rank neither distinguished by any external
honor, nor invested by any ceremony, but gradually acquired from the
good wishes of his companions and by superior merit. Such an officer has
therefore strictly no power; he may recommend or advise or influence,
but his commands have no effect on those who incline to disobey, and who
may at any time withdraw from their voluntary allegiance. His shadowy
authority which cannot survive the confidence which supports it, often
decays with the personal vigour of the chief, or is transferred to some
more fortunate or favourite hero.

In their domestic economy, the man is equally sovereign. The man is the
sole proprietor of his wives and daughters, and can barter them away, or
dispose of them in any manner he may think proper. The children are
seldom corrected; the boys, particularly, soon become their own
masters; they are never whipped, for they say that it breaks their
spirit, and that after being flogged they never recover their
independence o