by the
Principal, Mr. Foster, and one of the teachers. On their arrival at the
hotel they were received by Mr. Welsh, the humane commissioner, and
shown into a well furnished private parlour, when they were introduced,
one by one, to General Smith and his Indians, whose faces plainly showed
the delight which their hearts felt. They at once singled out the two
girls who had taken part in the reception at the Academy, and bestowed
upon them special marks of friendship.

Tea being announced in a few minutes, the whole party proceeded to the
dining room, where they were seated at well spread tables, three Indians
and one mute at each. Here the striking similarity between the signs
used by the Indians of the West and our deaf mutes was plainly
observable in the spirited conversation which ensued. The merry laughter
which broke forth from these usually quiet stolid men was sufficient to
mark their keen appreciation of what was said. One old chief, slightly
confused, sought to excuse his awkwardness with the knife and fork to
one of the young ladies, by stating that at home he never used them,
but ate with his fingers. They exchanged signs for butter, coffee, milk,
meat, bread, salt, sugar, knife, fork, &c., which were remarkably
similar.

After tea the whole party assembled in the parlour, and then began a
scene indescribable. The Indians, wild with delight, talked away to the
mutes, who, equally happy, seemed to catch and understand everything
they said. They described their homes, their hunting expeditions, their
wives and children; how they lived and how they buried their dead. One
of them gave a very graphic account of the great snowstorms which
frequently occur among the mountains. One told about the wars he had
engaged in, and the number of scalps he had taken, and then asked the
teacher if he had ever killed a man, and on receiving a reply in the
negative, seemed quite disgusted. Another, a great rider, said that with
them the horses had plenty of grass to eat, and were fat, but here, in
the city, they had none, and were consequently very poor. Another old
chief, a very fine looking man, stated that he had a large family of
children at home, and then asked the smallest of the girls if she
wouldn't go home with him, promising to bring her back as soon as she
had taught his little boys and girls how to make signs like the mutes.

These wild men seemed thoroughly at home in the presence of the
children, their habitual