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are ob en-ed previously to issuing an order for the removal of the camps, unles a majority should decide the question before entering [the Com1cil ?] There is no authority appointed among them for the administeration of justice, if a.ny one is injured or bereift of property, and he and his friends consider them elves not powerful enough to contend_ with the agressor ~· friend they permit the matter to pass in silence, until such time as they may haYe a sufficient number of friends around to enable them to demand redress by force of arm , 1'heu they will forcibly seize on any property that may be found to an amount sufficient to in- demnify all damages sn tained-They adore the Snn as their Deity and the earth as their Common l\Iother, and in order to inable them the more conveniently to offer their morning prayers, they invcriably place the front of the tent towards the East, and watch the Sun as he emerges from the horizon- Previou ly to the year 1814 the Lipan Indians were at war with the Comanche Indian; at that period they made peace In the year a party of indians called charite·cas inhabitants of a northern region together \\"ith a party of Lipaus [from] th[e a]me Region (which the Comanches designate by the name of Pra[i] re Lipans)· descended near- ly to the head of tlle Brazos River, where they accidentally met a party of Comanche and the Lipan from the western part of 'l'exas-'l'he priaire Lipan who accompanied the other northern Indians the Charetecas, bad acquired a perfect knowledge of the language of those Indians, and when in presence of Strange tribes used uo other language-When the two parties tlli [thus] accidentally met, ~nd the northern Lipans heard their native language spoken by the Texas Lipan indian they were struck with a tonishment-the strangnes of the circum tance led to the neces ity of convoking a Great Counsel; the pipe the token of peace & friendship was introduced into the cousel hall, and after performing the usual ceremonie· eorrunon on such occasions, an inquiry was made in order to solve the strange mys- tery-It appeared from the intelligence that could be obtained from the oldest ehiefs of the _nation then & ther as embled that, uch was the information received from their ance tors, probably in and about the commencement of the year 1700 their did exist a kind of rival- ship or jealousy between some of the great chiefs of that then great nation, this party feelling had been cheri hed to uch a derrree as to cause a divi ion of the nation, and strong preparation were about beiJ1g made to decide the difference by recour e to arms but after matnr~ reflection on the matter, they desisted from their hostile inten- tions, and separated; the one party de cended southwarly and con- tinned their journey until having arrived somewhere in the vicinit:,• of Chihuahua, or on the Rio Grande abont th~ "Pa o del :\fonte"-The f,ipans arc the mo. t active Ilor e[men] of a(ny) tribe of r1ndian ] in Texas, and handle the Oun, lance and bow and arrow with snrpriz- ing dexterity-They live on the game of the fore t & sometime. plant corn, they arc a wandering tribe very much reduc!'d in number OCl'8- sioned by the deva....,iation of war & the mnllpox, the now IiYc pcinci- pally n!'ar the H.ioOrande hetwecn it & the mountain of the State of Conhuila-'l'heir principal Deity is the Snn, yet their supper. tilion leads them to adore at time the Dear & Aligntor-so dor al o the
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