Passage to America by Gloria Deák

Author:Gloria Deák [Deák, Gloria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Europe, General, Travel, Essays & Travelogues
ISBN: 9780857723185
Google: M93kDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2013-06-06T01:12:03+00:00

With regard to Indian women, Murray declared that he never saw one instance of beauty in either face or figure, nor neatness of dress, cleanliness in appearance, or any other attractive attribute characteristic of females. He considered the life of Indian women one of perpetual degradation and slavery, while admiring the good humor with which they performed their labors. So carefully did the Scottish traveler observe and record the customs of the Indians during that summer of 1835 that he presents a virtual primer on North American Indian culture, covering every aspect of Native American life from childhood to adulthood. He enchants the reader with descriptions of the Indian’s elaborate toilet, his effeminacy, his courage and his skills in the buffalo chase, as well as offering details regarding religious and tribal ceremonies, feuds, ‘medicine feasts’, war songs, the art of the bow and arrow, Indian superstition and Indian knavery. Meanwhile, the European adventurer had learned more than a few words and signs of the Pawnee language, all of which lend an intimacy to his exchanges with the Native Americans and heighten the immediacy of his stories.

A return to Fort Leavenworth was now planned. This would take several weeks, during the course of which Murray and his party experienced a fair share of unpleasant outdoor adventures, with sleep often interrupted by a pack of wolves in full cry after a deer, with damp sheets and no fire, with little indication of a river or stream for hours on end and with firewood very scarce. But nearly always there was the vision of a starry sky as night came, and the long-distance traveler would watch with uninterrupted pleasure the ‘mystic dance’ of the constellations and star clusters as they created the poetry of heaven with their silent, twinkling movements. Still, when it was finally reached, the fort was a welcome sight, and also very welcome were the hospitality that was offered and the sweet tranquility of a good night’s sleep. Murray confessed that he had for so long sat cross-legged on the ground that he literally felt difficulty in sitting on a chair as well as in adjusting to the social (formal) climate of a drawing room. He had, moreover, difficulty in accepting the various delicacies that were offered without causing havoc to the tea table. Near the fort was a village of Kickapoo Indians, a branch of the great Northern nation of Indians that included the Potawatomies, the Chippeways, and other tribes. Murray took the time to attend a Kickapoo ceremony and observed that, living so near the white settlements, the Indians of this tribe had gradually lost many of the traits of their original character.

After selling his horses and bidding goodbye, the Scotsman headed east: this he did via a steamboat headed for the city of St. Louis, where he spent only a few days, pleased to enjoy the musical entertainment provided by a German family. Curiosity then led him to the town of Galena in Illinois, located not far

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