“You well say, brother, that the Great Spirit has made both of us, though your color is white and mine is red; but he made your heart and mine the same.  The only difference I find is, he made you speak one language, and I another.  He made the same sky above our heads for both.  He gave us hands to take each other by, and eyes to see each other.  I wish to take all present by the hand,—­to shake hands with all my white brethren.

“I am very happy to say, before I die, that I have been in the great house where my fathers and your fathers used to speak together as we do now.  And I hope the Great Spirit is pleased with this sight; and will long continue to keep friendship between the white and red men.  I hope that now, in this presence, he sees us; and hears our hearts proffer friendship to each other; and that he will aid us in what we are now engaged in.

“My remarks are short and this is what I say to you.  I take my friends all by the hand, and wish the Great Spirit to give them all a blessing.”

Several other chiefs spoke, and after them Black Hawk made a short address.  To these several speeches the governor replied collectively.  Presents were then distributed among them by the governor.  Keokuk received a splendid sword and brace of pistols; his son, Musanwont, a handsome little rifle:  The head chiefs received long swords and the others short ones.  Black Hawk was also presented with a brace of pistols and a sword.  When this ceremony had ended, the Indians repaired to the common in front of the capitol, and there, in the presence of some thirty thousand spectators, exhibited themselves in a war dance, for about half an hour; and from thence returned to their lodging.

Throughout the whole of his visit in Boston, Keokuk preserved his grave and dignified manners, winning the respect and admiration of all who had an opportunity of coming in contact with him.  Upon his return to the west, he spent a few hours in Cincinnati, and was visited by a great number of persons.  We had the pleasure of taking him by the hand, and of making some inquiries in regard to his character, of those who were personally acquainted with him.

In person, Keokuk, is stout, graceful and commanding, with fine features and an intelligent countenance.  His broad expanded chest and muscular limbs, denote activity and physical power; and he is known to excel in dancing, horsemanship, and all athletic exercises.  He has acquired considerable property, and lives in princely style.  He is fond of travelling, and makes frequent visits of state to the Osages, the Ottaways, the Omahas and the Winnebagoes.  On these occasions he is uniformly mounted on a fine horse, clad in a showy robe wrought by his six wives, equipped with his rifle, pipe, tomahawk and war-club.  He is usually attended in these excursions by forty or fifty of his young men, well mounted and handsomely dressed.  A man precedes the party to announce his approach to the tribe he is about to honor with a visit; and such is his popularity, that his reception is generally in a style corresponding with the state in which he moves.  These visits are most frequently made in autumn, and are enlivened by hunting, feasting, dancing, horse-racing and various athletic games, in all of which Keokuk takes an active part.  He moves, it is supposed, in more savage magnificence, than any other Indian chief upon the continent.