Volume 1

. for
;
384 CHEYENNE TRADE— PEACE REIGNS.
and the other to the S. ; the former falls into the Missourie,
below the Pawnee village, I believe, under the name of
Riviere Platte ; the other, of course, into the Gulf of Mexico.
Near the sources of these two rivers they make
their annual hunts of bear and beaver, in company with
the Buffalo Indians, or, as some call them, the Caveninavish
*
tribe, a very numerous nation inhabiting that part
of the country. They consist of about 500 tents. I saw a
few of them in this camp. The Schians, having made their
winter's hunt, move northward. They sometimes dispose
of their skins to the Pawnees and Sioux
; or, if they find
any traders from the Islenois [Illinois river], they deal with
them.
They are of a roving disposition, and seldom remain
long in any one spot.
They informed us that last fall two Spaniards came up
the river which runs to the S., in a wooden canoe or a
boat loaded with goods, who passed the winter among
them, disposed of all their property, and sold very cheap,
giving a large double handful of gunpowder and 50 balls
one beaver. They told us that by spring the two men
had collected such a quantity of skins that they were
obliged to make another canoe ; and
even two could
scarcely contain the packs, with just room for a man to sit
behind to steer.
Affairs went on smoothly, and peace seemed to be settled
; nothing was heard but singing throughout the camp
the young men were on horseback, as is a very common
custom among the Missourie tribes. Almost every day,
and particularly toward evening, the young men mount
their horses and parade around the village singing ; sometimes
two or three will get upon the same horse to make
their rounds. The women were also busy exchanging their
corn for leather, robes, smocks, and dried provisions, as if
at a country fair. Each one was anxious to dispose of her
property to advantage, and to this end carried a load from
*
Kaninaviesch of Lewis and Clark, p. 57 ; Gens des Vaches of the French,
whence the name Buffalo Indians.
They are the Arapahoes.