o meat. It is needless to say
how vigorously they acquitted themselves on this occasion, and how
unnecessary it was for their hosts to practice the usual cramming
principle of Indian hospitality.

When the repast was over, a long talk ensued. The chief showed the
same curiosity evinced by his tribe generally, to obtain information
concerning the United States, of which they knew little but what they
derived through their cousins, the Upper Nez Perces; as their traffic is
almost exclusively with the British traders of the Hudson's Bay Company.
Captain Bonneville did his best to set forth the merits of his nation,
and the importance of their friendship to the red men, in which he was
ably seconded by his worthy friend, the old chief with the hard name,
who did all that he could to glorify the Big Hearts of the East.

The chief, and all present, listened with profound attention, and
evidently with great interest; nor were the important facts thus
set forth, confined to the audience in the lodge; for sentence after
sentence was loudly repeated by a crier for the benefit of the whole
village.

This custom of promulgating everything by criers, is not confined to the
Nez Perces, but prevails among many other tribes. It has its advantage
where there are no gazettes to publish the news of the day, or to report
the proceedings of important meetings. And in fact, reports of this
kind, viva voce, made in the hearing of all parties, and liable to
be contradicted or corrected on the spot, are more likely to convey
accurate information to the public mind than those circulated through
the press. The office of crier is generally filled by some old man,
who is good for little else. A village has generally several of these
walking newspapers, as they are termed by the whites, who go about
proclaiming the news of the day, giving notice of public councils,
expeditions, dances, feasts, and other ceremonials, and advertising
anything lost. While Captain Bonneville remained among the Nez Perces,
if a glove, handkerchief, or anything of similar value, was lost or
mislaid, it was carried by the finder to the lodge of the chief, and
proclamation was made by one of their criers, for the owner to come and
claim his property.

How difficult it is to get at the true character of these wandering
tribes of the wilderness! In a recent work, we have had to speak of this
tribe of Indians from the experience of other traders who had casually
been amon