On the 10th of August preparations were made for the solemn reception of the Indians, which always precedes the opening of the trade, and which is considered by the Indians as a matter of great importance. The flag being hoisted, two small cannons, placed in the middle of the court-yard, fired signals for the commencement of the trade. It was full half an hour before a noise arose in the Indian camp: we heard singing, firing of guns, and saw the mass of the Indians advancing on all sides. When Ninoch-Kiaiu (the bear chief) approached the gate, it was opened, and the two cannons were again fired. He entered, followed by three or four chiefs, who approached Mr. Mitchell with their heads inclined; and, after shaking hands with him, were made to sit down in the Indian apartment. Soon afterwards another body appeared, and Mr. Mitchell went out of the gate to meet them. They advanced in small parties, headed by their chiefs, who always bring a present consisting either of some beavers' skins or of a horse. The first horses that we received in this manner were two greys and a light bay, which were variously { 263} painted with red, chiefly on the forehead, the shoulders, and the haunches, and marked on the legs with transverse stripes like a zebra, and on each side of the backbone with figures in the shape of arrow heads. The chiefs and about thirty of the principal warriors were admitted, and, after being seated on buffalo hides in the dining apartment, they refreshed themselves by drinking and smoking. In this manner three or four different bands advanced with rapid strides, repeatedly discharging their guns, and singing their rude songs. We observed some remarkable, martial-looking physiognomies among these men, painted in the strangest manner, marching with a very warlike air. The chiefs wore, for the most part, the uniform received from the Company, made in the fashion of a great coat, with round hats and tufts of feathers, on which they prided themselves greatly, but which disfigured them most lamentably. Their faces, painted of a bright red, surrounded with their thick, lank hair, and surmounted by a round hat with a tuft of feathers, such as our German post-boys used to wear, had such a ridiculous appearance, that we could not refrain from laughing. Some of their uniforms were of two colours--one half red, and the other half green, not unlike the dress of some of our prisoners in Bridewell. Mehkskéhmé-Sukahs was dressed in the true Indian fashion, and interested us more than any of the others. His face was black, with the eyelids, mouth, and some stripes on the forehead and cheeks, vermilion. After three or four bands of the Blackfeet had been received, they were followed by one of the dangerous Blood Indians, under their chief and medicine man, Natohs (the sun),[105] and these, too, were admitted; after which a detachment of from sixty to eighty of the Gros Ventres des Prairies arrived, who, having likewise brought a horse and some beaver skins as a present, were treated like the others. The chiefs were always welcomed by firing the cannon, and then delivered up their colours, most of which they had received from English merchants, and which were carried before them on long ensign staffs, quite in military style. Mr. Mitchell had attempted, in the preceding year, to dispense with these salutations, but the Indians immediately took offence and were even going to part without transacting any business; for they are extremely punctilious in points of honour.