fore that time, he was only a brave, he was not even admitted into the council of the head chiefs, (loud interruption and a brawl without;) now, he was acknowledged head chief of the Menomenees-the mere tool of the Grignons and other traders, (here the speaker was interrupted by the Grignons and a crowd of half-breeds, but he still maintained his position.) He said it was new to him to be interrupted while speaking-it shewed the bad manners of the half breeds—and besides, said he, why are the halfbreeds, or, indeed, any people but the chiefs and money-box keepers, allowed to push into the CouncilLodge, ("eugh, wheugh, wheugh," cheered the chiefs.) "The pale-faces," continued he, in a bitter strain of irony, “have such a regard for us poor red men that they wish to instruct us how to hoe our lands-they wish us to worship the little white man they have fixed up in their praying houses (catholic chapels) at Green Bay and the Grand Cocaloo. We have granted their grand medicine (priest) a large and fertile tract of land, not because of the little white man in his chapel, but because he is our friend, and sells us good gunpowder, and gives us advice. If the palefaces despise us, why do they sleep so much with our squaws? (loud laughter, murmurs, and tumult.) Our young squaws bear them children, and we are beset with a mongrel yelping race; disowned by their white fathers, they follow their red mothers, they hang upon our robes, they fawn upon us, they bite their red brethren; every year we are obliged to provide for them; last payment, we agreed to pay them off, and have done with them-now, behold them, as noisy as ever, barking in our very Council Lodge."

Such was the vehemence and shrewdness of Coron's harangue, that even the chiefs who had agreed to vote for the half-breeds began to waver. Shunion (or Silver) spoke in favour of the half-breeds; he told his brother chiefs they ought to be generous, and have large hearts and open hands for friendly white→→faces. A great deal of palaver and " log-rolling" took place, and, at last, a venerable old chief, Ko-ma-ni-kin, (Big-wave,) proposed that the half-breeds should be paid this time, and never after. Coron (or the Crown) was prevailed on to accede to the proposition; he made another speech, which I did not get interpreted as well as his first, and at the end of it he said, "Well, pay the half-breeds this once let this be their last interference in our affairs-let them go home to their white fathers-let us not see the colour of their eyes any more."

The council broke up.

This evening, accompanied by an intelligent young fellow, who had married the daughter of a Chippewa chief, I visited the lodge and wigwams of several chiefs and Indians. I was surprised to find the interior of some of those temporary abodes warm and comfortable, abundance of mats on the floor, and the chinks and holes in the back, roof, and sides carefully stopped with moss and long grass; bear and racoon, and even black fox skins, robes, and blankets, formed beds and divans not to be sneezed at ; the squaws received us with mild civility, pointing to the best mats and skins in the lodge, upon which they invited us to be seated. One of these lodges we visited belonged to a rich Menomenee belle; her father had been a chief, who died without male issue, and the tribe allotted

her some land on the Winnebago lake, where she lived in single blessedness, in a neat and permanently-built lodge, cultivated a large garden, fished in the lake, and was quite an independent character; she had many admirers and many suitors; even white traders had been rejected by her. I found this paragon of perfection seated beside the red embers of a fire in the middle of a lodge, with three or four old squaws, her relations, and a young girl, who resided with

her.

I was very much disappointed when I found this dusky beauty a dumpy squaw, with a little goitre under her chin-to be sure, she was richly dressed, in blue cloth, bedizened with beads and ribands; but her face was mild, and her fine dark eye spoke volumes: this was the reason she maintained her fame as the Menomenee belle-everything depended upon her eye, glancing with shrewd and deep intelligence. In the twinkling of a bedpost, one could perceive she was laughing in her sleeve at her red brethren. Soon after we entered, my friend's vocabulary of Menomenee and Chippewa words being expended, the belle (her age was somewhere the shady side of thirty, became alarmed, and sent for one of her male friends, a halfbreed, to inquire the object of our visit. Understanding our intentions were honourable, her mind was set at rest. Here my companion urged me to take a likeness of the Indian beauty; she was all compliance, lighted a yellow bees-wax candle, squatted herself down at the far end of the lodge, and, almost choked with laughter, I was obliged to kneel and sprawl bcfore her sable majesty, with all the squaws and children in the lodge crowding upon my shoulders, while, by the pale and flickering light of the little candle, I

sketched the outline of the sable beauty's head, neck, and shoulders, on a leaf of my note-book. My companion found fault with the sketch, and said it should be shaded. Doctors differ; but I was forced to shade the hair and some of her dress, whereupon the lady insisted upon seeing her picture, and was very much horrified to find it was not painted red, white, and black, on which colours she placed her fingers on her dress; and the interpreter conveyed her wishes that I should colour her portrait. It was easy enough to perceive divers colours on her dress, but her countenance was a uniform dusky hue, unconscious of a blush ; and, indeed, if I had had my colour-box beside me, I should have spared the carmine and light red. Wishing to get out of the scrape as easily as possible, I told her it was too dark, and, besides, I never could paint such transcendent beauties as hers save in the sun-light. Whether the compliment was literally translated to her or not I cannot say, but the Menomenee belle favoured me with a most 'witching smile, and extended her hand to me, whereupon I took the liberty to slide a ring upon one of her fingers, received a most cordial shake in return, and retreated. Before I left the cabin, my companion had observed a tall, grim-looking half-breed peeping in at the door : at last he entered, and demanded what we did there. Seeing my occupation, he said he was a painter himself, and that the lady might have been painted by him if she liked-in short, he was a rival, an aspirant to the hand of this model of beauty.

"You had better take care of that fellow," said my companion, as we left the lodge, "a jealous half-breed is the devil to deal with."

Fortunately I was not so deeply smitten with my

dusky belle as to accept her invitation to return to her lodge next day and as often as I liked, and had no idea of gratifying my vanity at the risk of my life.

On Saturday, another council was held, which was conducted with greater regularity than the last. The bills of the traders were considered, and claims for compensation for services done to the Indians and damages done by the Indians brought before the house (or wigwam). Fifty dollars claimed by a settler near the Little Cocaloo for a cow slain by them. Not allowed; "because," said the Indians, "the white man sold the flesh of the cow, which was shot by accident, therefore he lost nothing by it."-One hundred dollars claimed by a doctor at the Bay for attending a sick Indian family during the small-pox. His claim rejected, but afterwards he was allowed fifty dollars.-One hundred dollars claimed by one Boyd, an ex-agent, for having taken care of an old Indian he found frostbitten on the ice; loud laughter, and claim rejected. A claim by a merchant of Astor, who had buried an Indian, and incurred considerable expense at the funeral, was at once allowed.*

Sundry minor claims being allowed and rejected, Osh Cosh made a speech to the chiefs, which was not interpreted; but the purport of it was, that one of the Grignons should receive half a dollar a-head from the whole tribe; and after a little delay, the agent was directed to transfer some fifteen hundred dollars to this lucky wight for services rendered; in fact, it was

* A claim made by a tavern-keeper at Madison, who had entertained Osh Cosh and his Sachems for several days, when that chief consulted Governor Dodge upon the propriety of going to war with the Sanks and Foxes, was not allowed, because that war had not been countenanced by the U. N. S.