Daily national Democrat., 1860-05-23
rInthends and Rlack Feet.

wagon road expedition along the upper Mis-
souri, The object of this expedition is to es-
tatlish an overland route between the Co
lumuia and The Missouri rivers. Lieut.. Null
len has so far met with no trouble from the
Indians. In reference to them eorrespon-
dent of the St Louis Republican, writing
from Fort Benton, on the Upper Missouri,
says:
The Flatheads, since the DAYS of Lewis and
Clarke have been celebrated for their char
acterisiic virtue and honesty. They live in
amicuble relations with the whites, and ex-
press their gladness in seeing Lieut. Ms large
expedition passing through the country
They have now an agent and other admins
trative officers Of the Government residing
among them, and much is being done for
their comfort and civilization. Gov, Stevens
of Washington Territory, is Justly entitled to
a full share of credit for the bond of peace
and friendship which has been established
and strengthened among this people. Be
sides, too, the example and religious teach
ings of those God like Christians, the Jesuit
missionaries, have not all fallen on stony
ground :" much thereof has taken deep root
and gives promise of a remuneratiye harvest
Indeed, this interesting and pliable tribe Is
well worthy the parental care and attention
of the Government Would the same could
be said to the honor of the Blackteet. Al
though they receive the usual annuities from
the Indian Bureau, the sincerity of their
friendship is at least dubious. They have
long enjoyed the reputation of expert horse
thieves-an nppellation they richly merit.
At times they will travel hundreds of miles,
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prey and have been known to extend their
ncursious as far as Salt Lake, upon the same
mission. Lieut.. Mullen's command cannot
use too much foresight, circumspection and
good judgment. upon entering the lands Of
this nation; otherwise the function Of the
escort will be no sinecure.
1t would seem somewhat singular, if there
be any truth in phrenology, that people,
whose heads are entirely smashed in, in the
moral region, should be SO honest and SO vir-
tuous as these Flatheads. AS to the Black
feet, their crania are left in the perfectly
natural state, and yet they are the biggest
thieves that ever existed since the days of the
early Spartans.
Some cf our readers may not know much
about these Flatheads and Blackfeet. The
Flatheads were first discovered by Lewis and
Clarke, about forty or fifty years ago, in their
governmental exploring expedition to the
Rocky Mountains. They numbered many
thousand, and lived in villages scatt cred along
the headwaters of the Missouri. The aston
ishment of Lewis and Clarke, on seeing that
their heads were fattened out into a shape
undreamed of by any civilized being before,
was great in the extreme. Whether it was
natural or the work of some violence to ma
ture they could not at first tell. But, they
shortly ascertained the truth of the matter bv
observing the treatment to which infants
were subjected. They noticed that they
were bound to a fat board, with their backs
securely strapped down, while another board
was fastened to the end of the first, by sinews,
just above the child's head, the two boards
forming an acute angle. The top board was
then brought down with gradual compres
sion upon the soft skull and the remaining
end fastened to the other board The head
was thus formed into a sort Of pointed affair
at the top, while the brow and frontal " ere
completely fattened out, bulging at the
sides. This process was persisted in until the
bones of the skull hardened, and thus a whole
Nation grew up into Fhtheads. What could
have originated so singular a custom we
krow not
What gave the Blackfeet their peculiar
name we are not certain about, but we have
been informed that they formerly had mack
Of dyeing their tanned deer and buffalo skins
black, and thus making their moeeasins of
the same hue. They would very naturally
be then spoken of as the Bqckfeet Indians.
by way of ontradistinguishing them from
the tribes who did not blacken their moe
,asns.
The Flatheads can he civilized. The Black
feet will never be, notwithstanding their
advantages.
The DEBuTANTE.-It was not, says the Bee,
Mrs. Revere, nor Miss Goodrich, or any other
Mrs. or Miss of Sacramento, who made her
debut lately in San Francisco at Maguire's
Opera House as Lady Teazle. in the school
for Scandal" The statement to that effect,
made by eotemporary, was nothing but
weak invention. The following brief note
sufficiently explains matters
SAN FGANoIsco, May II, 1860
EDITORS EE-GENrLEMEN In YOUR is
sue of the jth inst, You state "it is rumored
that the lady who appeared in Lady Teazle,'
on Saturday evening, in this city, has chosen
the stage for profession, and had studied
it for years Allow me, gentlemen, to cor
rect such rumor. The lady has given elocn-
tion but rery, very slight attention, and only
as a drawing room accomplishment She
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