, 1858-07-16
cATLuN AMONG The iSDrAxs.

Throughout his long and intimate intercourse
/ with the Indians, Catlin never encountered a
single offence Of any kind-never received blow
and never had anything stolen from him, al
though he always carried his paintings with him,
/, which might be attractive enough to tempt the
cupidity Of the sitters and their friends. On one
occasion, however, it appears he incurred great
personal danger; but to the honor Of the people,
be Il observed, that IL they had placed his life in
jeopardy, and would have taken il IL they had
caught him, they were actuatod by deliberate mo
tives, which to them appeared a sufficient justi-
fcatiOn for such proceeding. 1 s--t aa-zi
The origin Of this affair was portrait which
Mr.. Catlin was painting Of Mah-to-tchee-ga, a
chief Of the Sioux Indians. Great feuds hap
pened at this time to prevail amongst the Sioux
chiefs, arising from personal jealousies about get
ting their likenesses taken. While he was paint
ing the portrait Of the above named chief sur
rounded by an assembly Of infammable spirits,
an incident occurred which, he says, changed in q
moment the features Of the scene from tho free
and jOcular garrulity Of an Indian lovec, 10 the
frightfdl yes and agiatsd treads and starts of an
Indian battle" ,Estrt u 20 ss1
Twas painting almost profile view Of his face,
throwing part Of Il into shadow, and had it
nearly finished, when an Indian by the name Of
Shon.ka, (the dog) chief Of the Cax-a. .zshee-ta
band, an ill-natured and surly man, despised BY
the chiefs Of every other band, entered the wig
wan in sullen mood, and seated himself on the
floor in front Of my sitter, where he could have
a full view Of the picture in its operation After
sitting while with his arms folded, and his lips
stiffly arched with contempt he sneeringiy spoke
thus: "Mah-tO-tcheo-g is but half man" +
Dead silence cnsued for moment and nought
was in motion save the eyes Of the chief, who
were seated around the room, and darting their
glances about upon each other in llstless anxiety
to hear the sequel that was to followl During this
interval, the eyes Of Mah-tO-tchee-ga had not
moved-his lips became slightly curved and he
pleasantly asked, in low and steady accent, "Who
says thati" "ShOn.ka says it." was the reply,
"and Shon-kaa can prove il" At this the eyes
Of Mah-to-tehee-ga, which had not yet moved,
began steadily to turn, and slow, as il upon pivots,
and when they were rolled out Of their sockets
till they had fixed upon the object Of their con-
tompt his dark and jutting brows were showed
down in trembling contention with the blazing
rays that were actually burning with contempt the
object that was before them. "Why does Shon.
ka say itf" l,s5 4
"Ask We-chash-a-wa-kon, (the painter) he can
tell you, he knows you are but half a man-he
has painted but one half Of your face, and knows
the other half is good for nOthingl" lsrst b
Upon this ensucd brief but fiery colloquy be-
tween the two chiefs, ending by the retirement Of
the Dog full of chagrin, and the calm and grace
ful acknowledgment on the part Of the Little
Bear, (the picturesque translation Of the other
cheftain's name) Of Mr. Catlin's talents and cour.
tesy. But the sequel, which may be easily anti
cipated, formed the groundwork Of the sdbse-
quent prejudice against the artist
He then left my wigwam, and few steps
brought him to the door Of his own, where the
Dog intercepted him, and asked, "what meant
Mah-tO-tchee-ga by the last words that he spoke
to ShOn-kaT "Mah-to-tchee-ga said IL and
ShOn-ka is not fOol-that is enough" At this
the Dog walked violently to his own lodge, and
the Little Bear retreatOd into his, both knowing
from looks and gestures what was about To be the
consequence Of their alteration. s1s usfN
Tho Little Bear instantly charged his gun, and
then las their custom is) threw himself upon his