Extracts of Letters from the Ioway Mission, Upper Missouri 327
Arrival of fourteen Ioway Indians in London--Their lodgings in St. James's Street--The Author visits them--Their portraits and names--Mr. Melody, their conductor--Jeffrey Doraway, their interpreter--Landlady's alarm--Indians visit the Author's Collection in the Egyptian Hall--Arrangement to dance in the Collection--The Doctor (Medicine or Mystery man) on top of the Hall--Their first drive in a bus--Doctor's appearance outside--Indians' first impressions of London--Lascars sweeping the streets--Man with a big nose--The Doctor lost, and found on the housetop--Their first exhibition in Egyptian Hall--Eagle-dance--The Doctor's speech--Great amusement of the ladies--His description of the railroad from Liverpool to London--War-dance, great applause--The "jolly fat dame"--She presents a gold bracelet to the Doctor by mistake--Her admiration of the _Roman-nose_--War-whoop--Description of--Approaching-dance--Wolf-song, and description of--Great amusement of the audience--Shaking hands--Mistake with the bracelet.
The event which I spoke of at the close of my last chapter--the arrival of another party of Indians--was one which called upon me at once for a new enterprise, and I suddenly entered upon it, again deferring the time of my return to my native land.
The "fourteen Ioway Indians," as report had said, had arrived, and were in apartments at No. 7, St. James's Street, with their interpreter. This party was in charge of Mr. G. H. C. Melody, who had accompanied them from their own country, with a permission gained from the Secretary at War to bring them to Europe, which permission was granted in the following words:--
_War Department, Washington City, Sept. 14th, 1843._
In answer to your application relative to Mr. Melody's making a tour to Europe with a party of Ioway Indians, as well as to a similar one on his behalf from the Rev. Wm. P. Cochran, of Marian County, Missouri, I beg leave to say, that it has not been usual to grant any permissions of the kind, and the verbal instructions to the Agents, Superintendents, &c. have been against permitting such tours, for the reason, I presume, that the persons having them in charge are usually men who merely wish to make money out of them by exhibitions, without taking any care of their habits or morals, or inducing them to profit by what they see and hear upon their route.