over one of the ends of which a skin was stretched, which was struck by a small stick; and another instrument consisting of a stick of firm wood, notched like a saw, over the teeth of which a smaller stick was rubbed forcibly backward and forward; with these, rude as they were, very good time was preserved with the vocal performers, who sat around them, and by all the natives, as they sat, in the inflection of their bodies, or the movements of their limbs. After the lapse of a little time, three individvals leaped up and danced around for a few minutes; then, at a concerted signal from the master of the ceremonies, the music ceased, and they retired to their seats, uttering a loud noise, which, by patting the mouth rapidly with the hand, was broken into a succession of similar sounds, somewhat like the hurried barking of a dog. Several sets of dancers succeeded, each terminating as the first. In the intervals of the dances, a warrior would step forward and strike a flag-staff they had erected with a stick, whip, or other weapon, and recount his martial deeds. This ceremony is called striking the post, and whatever is then said may be relied upon as rigid truth, being delivered in the presence of many a jealous warrior and witness, who could easily detect and would immediately disgrace the striker for exaggeration or falsehood. This is called the beggars' dance, during which some presents are always expected by the performers, as tobacco, whiskey, or trinkets. But on this occasion, as none of those articles were immediately offered, the amusement was not, at first, distinguished by much activity. The master of the ceremonies continually called aloud to them to exert themselves; but still they were somewhat dull and backward. Ietan now stepped forward and lashed a post with his whip, declaring that he would thus punish those who did not dance. This threat, from one whom they had vested with authority for this occasion, had a manifest effect upon his auditors, who were presently highly wrought up by the sight of two or three little mounds of tobacco twist, which were now laid before them, and appeared to infuse new life.

'After lashing the post and making his threat, Ietan went on to narrate his martial exploits. He had stolen horses seven or eight times from the Konzas; he had first struck the bodies of three of that nation slain in battle. He had stolen horses from the Ietan nation, and had struck one of their dead. He had stolen horses from the Pawnees, and struck the body of one Pawnee Loup. He had stolen horses several times from the Omawhaws, and once from the Puncas. He had struck the bodies of two Sioux. On a war party, in company with the Pawnees, he had attacked the Spaniards, and penetrated into one of their camps; the Spaniards, excepting a man and a boy, fled, himself being at a distance before his party; he was shot at and missed by the man, whom he immediately shot down and struck. "This, my father," said he, "is the only martial act of my life, that I am ashamed of." After several rounds of dancing, and of striking at the post by the warriors, Mi-a-ke-ta, or the Little Soldier, a war-worn veteran, took his turn to strike the post. He leaped actively about, and strained his voice to its utmost pitch, whilst he portrayed some of the scenes of blood in which he had acted. He had struck dead bodies of individuals of all the red nations around, Osages, Konzas, Pawnee

Loups, Pawnee Republicans, Grand Pawnees, Puncas, Omawhaws, and Sioux, Padoucas, La Plais or Bald Heads, Ietans, Sauks, Foxes, and Ioways; he had struck eight of one nation, seven of another, &c. He was proceeding with his account when Ietan ran up to him, put his hand upon his mouth, and respectfully led him to his seat. This act was no trifling compliment paid to the well-known brave. It indicated that he had still so many glorious acts to speak of, that he would occupy so much time as to prevent others from speaking, and put to shame the other warriors by the contrast of his actions with theirs.'

On the day succeeding this friendly council the Pawnees, who had been summoned to give account of the outrage mentioned, and of various other acts of violence, appeared at the encampment. They advanced leisurely onward in a narrow pathway, in Indian file, led by a grand chief. Near this pathway the American band of music had been stationed; and when Long-hair, the chief, arrived opposite to it, the band struck up suddenly and loudly a martial air. 'We wished to observe the effect,' add our authors, which instruments, that he had never seen nor heard before, would produce on this distinguished man, and therefore eyed him closely, and were not disappointed to observe, that he did not deign to look upon them, or to manifest, by any emotion whatever, that he was sensible of their presence. The Indians arranged themselves on the benches prepared for them, and the cessation of the music was succeeded by stillness, which was suddenly interrupted by loud explosions of our howitzers, that startled many of us, but did not appear to attract the notice of the Pawnees.' We have never seen so complete an illustration of the control possessed by these savages over their curiosity, and the command they are able to exercise over their nerves. The council terminated, after much of the property taken from Mr. Say's party had been restored, and promises given that the offenders should be punished with a whipping.-Having thus established his party at the Council Bluff, Major Long, with Mr. Jessup, on the 11th of October, took leave of their friends at the encampment, and descended the Missouri in a canoe, on their way back to Washington and Philadelphia.

On the 28th of May, 1820, Major Long reascended to the encampment, having performed the journey from St. Louis to the Council Bluff by land. By orders of the Secretary at War, the direction of the party up the Missouri was countermanded, and a land journey to the source of the River Platte, and thence, by the way of the Arkansa and Red Rivers, to the Mississippi, was directed.

On the 21st of July a division of the party into two sections was ordered, of which the one under Major Long was destined to cross the Arkansa, and travel southward in search of the sources of the Red River; the other, under Captain Bell, to proceed down the Arkansa, by the most direct route, to Fort Smith. On the 24th the two divisions started on their respective destinations. The length to which our article has already extended prevents our following the motions of either. Misled by the information of the Kaskaia Indians, and in some degree by the incorrectness of the maps, the party of Major Long mistook the Canadian River for the Red River, of which they

were in search, nor did they discover their error till their arrival at the confluence of the former and the Arkansa, when it was too late to retrace their steps. On the 13th of September they arrived at Fort Smith, the place of rendezvous, which Captain Bell's party-by the direct route of the Arkansa-had reached before them. A different misfortune had befallen the latter party. In the course of their route three of the soldiers of the party had deserted in the night, after plundering the company of whatever they could carry off, and taking with them, among articles more easily replaced, some whose loss was irreparable:

"Our entire wardrobe, with the sole exception of the rude clothing on our persons, and our entire private stock of Indian presents, were included in the saddle-bags. But their most important contents were all the manuscripts of Mr. Say and Lieutenant Swift, completed during the extensive journey from Engineer cantonment to this place. Those of the former consisted of five books, viz. one book of observations on the manners and habits of the mountain Indians, and their history, so far as it could be obtained from the interpreters; one book of notes on the manners and habits of animals, and descriptions of species; one book containing a journal; two books containing vocabularies of the languages of the mountain Indians; and those of the latter consisted of a topographical journal of the same portion of our expedition. All these, being utterly useless to the wretches who now possessed them, were probably thrown away upon the ocean of prairie, and consequently the labour of months was consigned to oblivion by these uneducated Vandals.'

Shortly after this the party returned to the place of rendezvous, and the further prosecution of their labours was terminated. The reason given for this is the most absurd that can be imagined: it is because the state of the national finances, during the year 1821, having called for retrenchments in all expenditures of a public nature, the means for the further prosecution of the objects of the expedition were accordingly withheld.' Such parsimony is foolish, and would be unworthy even of a less boasting nation than America.-Such illjudged economy is not the road to greatness. It is really distressing to find that the energies of men whose zeal and talents seem to have fitted them for the task they had undertaken should be thus restricted by the meanness of authorities who could not understand the importance of their labours.

The literary execution of the work is upon the whole respectable; and the Atlas, describing the country drained by the Mississippi, is highly interesting.

Ghost Stories; collected with a particular View to counteract the vulgar Belief in Ghosts and Apparitions, and to promote a rational Estimate of the Nature of Phenomena commonly considered as supernatural.

We opened this volume with the expectation of finding that it would be useful in eradicating a superstition which, although it is less openly displayed, is probably no less prevalent at the present day than in less enlightened times. We have, however, sustained a great disappoint

ment: the collection has little novelty to recommend it, and its execution is entirely worthless. The longest tale is called The Green Mantle of Venice, and is only remarkable for its dulness and obscurity. The following tale has some little spirit, and, slight as this is, it forms a singular contrast to the other contents of the volume:

· THE FRIAR'S GHOST IN THE IMPERIAL PALACE AT VIENNA.

'The beautiful Aurora Königsmark had just given birth, in 1692, to the infant who became, in the sequel, the renowned Marshal Saxe, when Augustus II. Elector of Saxony, tore himself from her arms, and followed the call of honour to Hungary, where the Imperial army was opposing the Turks.

'The camp was not a harem. The dangers and the hardships of war formed so disagreeable a contrast to the magic festivities of Moritzburg, that Augustus soon grew weary of his new career; and at the end of the campaign he quitted the army, returning by way of Vienna for the purpose of paying his respects to the Emperor. Leopold received and treated the Elector with such distinction and attention as no Protestant prince had ever before experienced at the Austrian court.

"The easy and agreeable manner of Augustus paralysed, for a time, the Spanish etiquette of that court, and gave rise to a series of brilliant fêtes in honour of the Elector. Equality of age, and similarity of disposition, soon produced a close friendship between him and Joseph, King of the Romaus, which seemed to the courtiers to be of a political tendency, and therefore attracted universal notice. In order to discover the secret, they endeavoured to involve the Elector in love intrigues; but this stratagem at first failed. At length the proud and voluptuous Countess Esterle tried her powers of fascination, and the lovely Aurora was soon banished from his thoughts.

'Intoxicated with the rapture of the first enjoyment, Augustus was yet revelling in delicious morning dreams, when he received a summons to attend the King. He repaired without delay to his apartment; but what was his astonishment to find this prince, whom he had left perfectly well the preceding night, pale, perturbed, and indeed half delirious in bed?

"Good God!" exclaimed the Elector, "what is the matter? What has happened to your Majesty?"

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"A most frightful adventure," replied Joseph, collecting himself; you shall hear, and I am certain you will tremble along with me. Last night I was visited by the most horrid apparition that, perhaps, ever terrified mortal. I had been in bed about two hours, when the door of this chamber flew open with a great noise. Under the idea that it was my page, I did not undraw my curtain, but reprimanded him severely for disturbing me. Judge, however, what was my terror, when all at once I heard the rattling of chains, and near me stood a tall white figure, which, in a hollow frightful tone, thus addressed

me:

"King Joseph! behold in me a spirit which is enduring the pains of purgatory, and is commissioned by a higher power to announce to thee, that, by thy friendship for the Elector of Saxony, thou wilt infallibly plunge thyself into the abyss of destruction. I come to warn,

and to save thee. Renounce, then, this unhallowed connexion, or expect everlasting damnation!"

With this threat the clanking of chains was redoubled, and, as fright fettered my tongue, the spectre proceeded: "What, Joseph ! dost thou not answer me? Wilt thou have the audacity to defy the Almighty? Is the kindness, is the favour of a mortal, of more value to thee than the grace of God, to whom thou owest every thing? In three days I will come for thy answer; and if thou art then resolved to continue thy intercouase with the Elector, thy destruction and his are inevitable."

"With these words the figure vanished, and left me in an agony not to be described. I had not power to call my attendants. After some time I rang my bell with great difficulty, and my valet found me almost insensible.

"I am now somewhat more tranquil; for I am resolved to amend my life, and hope to obtain forgiveness of my sins. I am only apprehensive for you, and therefore conjure you to embrace our holy religion throw yourself into the bosom of that Church through which alone there is salvation, and thus assure yourself of eternal life.”

'Here the King finished his narrative, which cost him manifest effort, and sunk exhausted on his pillow. The Elector was too much confounded and affected to reply. He silently considered the possibilities and probabilities of this mysterious occurrence; but his sober reason could not find any ground for attributing the extraordinary circumstance to supernatural agency.

He endeavoured at first to persuade his friend that the apparition was nothing but a lively dream, the phantom of a mordid imagination: but the King repeatedly assured him he knew, alas! but two well, that it was a reality; that he was awake, and that his statement was perfectly accurate.

"But," said the Elector, " may it not have been a wilful deception?" 'Joseph, with genuine grandezza, refused for a moment to entertain this idea, because he was sure that no one would have the audacity to palm so gross an imposition upon him.

"Appearances, indeed," courteously rejoined Augustus, "are against this conjecture, but the host of intriguing priests, by which this court is encompassed, embraces many inventive geniuses. Might not some of these have formed a plan for ridding it of me, from a notion that our conversation may relate to religious topics, and that I may be revealing their rogueries to your Majesty ?"

'This idea had some weight with the King.

'The Elector asked, whether his confessor had never raised objections against their friendship? and Joseph frankly acknowledged, that he had not only frequently exhorted him to break it off, but even threatened to refuse him absolution, in case he should not discontinue his intercourse with the Elector. "Now we come to the point!" cried the Elector, recovering all at once his usual flow of spirits. He then explained to the King the probable motives of the plan, and the means employed for its execution, and undertook to unmask the prophet of evil. Both promised to observe inviolable silence respecting the result of this conversation, and Augustus retired to his apartVOL. 1. Nov. 1823. Br. Mag.

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