Northwestern University
Digital Library Collections
|
Northwestern University
| |
 |  |  |
Note: This text was created electronically and contains occasional uncorrected
errors (generally in spelling and diacritics).
Please refer to the page image for the definitive version of the text.
Vol.5. The Mandan. The Arikara. The Atsina.{view image of page i} THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN {view image of page ii} CThid Otrition id Xiwitlrb to btte untrttetr Aetd of Which thid td gumrberA5...... {view image of Frontispiece} On the banks of the Missouri [photogravure plate] {view image of page iii} THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN BEING A SERIES OF VOLUMES PICTURING AND DESCRIBING THE INDIANS OF THE UNITED STATES AND ALASKA WRITTEN, ILLUSTRATED, AND PUBLISHED BYEDWARD S. CURTIS EDITED BY FREDERICK WEBB HODGE FOREWORD BY THEODORE ROOSEVELT FIELD RESEARCH CONDUCTED UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF J. PIERPONT MORGAN IN TWENTY VOLUMES THIS, THE FIFTH VOLUME, PUBLISHED IN THE YEAR NINETEEN HUNDRED AND NINE {view image of page iv} L D3 r0 I L C 7 o, i v. ''~ 143901 COPYRIGHT 909 BY EDWARD S. CURTIS THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A. {view image of page v} Contents of Volume Five ALPHABET USED IN RECORDING INDIAN TERMS... ILLUSTRATIONS......... INTRODUCTION......... THE MANDAN PAGE vi vii Vl HISTORY AND CUSTOMS......... RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND CEREMONIES The Sacred Turtles.... The Sacred Enclosure........ The Okipe Ceremony.... MYTHOLOGY Genesis Myth........... The Son of Foolish Doer... The Winning of the Buffalo 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 I9 20 24 25.... 39.... 48.... 5~ THE ARIKARA GENERAL DESCRIPTION.... CEREMONIES The Medicine Fraternity The Medicine Ceremony.. The Sun Dance.... MYTHOLOGY Genesis Myth.... FOLK-TALES The Elk Medicine-man Lucky Man and the Buffalo........ 59........ 64........ 70........ 76........ 8o....... 86........ 93 THE ATSINA TRADITIONS AND HISTORY.... POLITICAL AND CEREMONIAL ORGANIZATION. RELIGION...... MYTHS AND TALES Gray Hawk Plume........ Cherry-bush Man........ Blood-clot..... The Adventures of Spider......... 103....... IO32........~ 112........ II9 &.....0 123 ~ ~ ~~........ 127........~ ~ 130........ * 134 {view image of page vi} vi CONTENTS APPENDIX TRIBAL SUMMARY The Mandan......... The Arikara......... The Atsina.... Songs of Arikara Medicine Orders Two Songs of Arikara Corn Ceremony. A Song of Pidhe-4hkunni.. Atsina Songs.... ~~~ ~~~ PAGE.... I43..... 148..... 152..... I55..... 62.....I63... 164 VOCABULARIES.. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES Arikara.. Atsina.. INDEX TO VOLUME FIVE.............. I169 1......... I78......... 180........ I85 Alphabet Used in Recording Indian Terms [The consonants are as in English, except when otherwise noted] a as in father A as in cat a as aw in awl ai as in aisle e as ey in they 6 as in net i as in machine I as in sit o as in old 8 as ow in how oi as in oil u as in ruin t as in nut u as in German Hiitte u as in push dTh between d and t; a lingual r gh as in Arabic ghain h always aspirated h as ch in German Bach k a non-aspirated k p a non-aspirated p q as qu in quick fL as in thin t a non-aspirated t ( as in hits ch as in church Ch as in shall, sash n nasal, as in French dans fh as z in azure a pause {view image of page vii} Illustrations On the Banks of the Missouri Frontispiece Mandan Earthen Lodge 4 Crow's Heart - Mandan 6 Cutting Rushes - Mandan 8 Mandan Bull-boat 10 The Bather - Mandan 12 Buffalo-berry Gatherers - Mandan 14 Offering the Buffalo-skull - Mandan 16 Scattered Corn Woman - Mandan 18 Record of Custodians of a Turtle-drum - Mandan 21 Contents of Bundle of Numak-mahana - Mandan 22 The Sacred Turtles - Mandan 24 The Turtles, with Feather Adornment - Mandan 26 Numak-mahana 28 Buffalo Dance Costume - Mandan 30 Ready for Okipe Buffalo Dance - Mandan 32 Packs Wolf as Numak-mahana - Mandan 34 Buffalo Dancer - Mandan 36 Mandan Girl 40 In the Medicine-lodge - Arikara 60 Arikara Maiden 62 Ground Plan of Arikara Medicine-lodge 64 Arikara Medicine-lodge 66 The Altar - Arikara 68 Contents of Arikara Tribal Medicine Bundle 70 Arikara Corn Ceremony - Bearing out the Osiers 72 Arikara Medicine Ceremony - The Bears 74 Medicine Bundles - Arikara 76 Arikara Medicine Ceremony -Bear, Buffalo, and Night Men 78 Arikara Medicine Ceremony - The Buffalo 80 {view image of page viii} viii ILLUSTRATIONS Bringing the Cedar - Arikara 82 Blessing the Children - Arikara 84 Arikara Medicine Ceremony - Night Men Dancing 86 "At the water's edge" 88 The Bear Emerges - Arikara 90 Arikara Medicine Ceremony - The Buffalo Dancing 92 The Brush-gatherers - Arikara 94 The Buffalo-medicine - Arikara 96 The Bear-medicine - Arikara 98 Prayer to the Cedar - Arikara 100 Atsina War-party 102 Atsina Camp Scene 104 Atsina Scalp Dance 106 Making a Travois - Atsina 108 A Gathering War-party - Atsina 110 Parfleches - Atsina 112 Atsina Fly Dance 114 Atsina Fly Dance - "Robes outstretched" 116 Atsina Crazy Dance - A Dancer Kisses the Grandfather 118 Atsina Crazy Dance - The Flight of Arrows 120 Atsina Crazy Dancers 122 Singing in the Crazy Dance 124 Incense - Atsina 126 The Pipe-bearer - Atsina 128 Travaux - Atsina 130 "Beside the stream" 132 The Halt - Atsina 134 Moving Camp - Atsina 136 Atsina Burial 138 Travelling Atsina 140 Rattles of Arikara Bear Medicine-men 142 Dancing into the Medicine-lodge - Arikara 144 Keeper of a Medicine Bundle - Arikara 146 Arikara Woman 148 Arikara Summer Home 150 Camp Gossips - Atsina 152 {view image of page ix} ILLUSTRATIONS ix Atsina Burial-ground 154 Singing to the Cedar - Arikara 170 Atsina Maiden 172 Curly Head - Atsina 174 Three White Cows - Atsina 178 Red Star - Atsina 180 Crow Ghost - Arikara 182 Cuts Tether - Atsina 182 Running Fisher - Atsina 184 White And Yellow Cow - Atsina 186 Photogravures by John Andrew & Son, Boston {view image of page x} I {view image of page xi} Introduction IN this volume are grouped three tribes, -the Mandan, the Arikara, and the Atsina, - all differing linguistically; but the first two have lived as close neighbors for so long that externally they are much alike. Information relative to the Mandan must, for the average person of this generation, have a particular interest, as it answers questions already in his mind. For three-quarters of a century serious literature has been published in all parts of the world, built upon George Catlin's romantic day-dreams, in which he endeavored to show that the Mandan were Welsh, going even so far as to print in his book a chart on which are indicated the ships reputed to have brought Madoc and his colonists to America. Theories of a foreign origin for the American Indian, and particularly of his descent from the so-called Lost Tribes of Israel, were very popular in that day, and indeed for two hundred and fifty years before, and while modern research has left no foundation for them, still for the majority of those who read this volume there yet exists a special interest in the Mandan owing to that romantic conjecture. It is not our purpose to criticise Catlin. He did a remarkable work, one for which the world will always be his debtor. He made mistakes, many of them natural, and anyone working as he did would, perhaps, have made as many. Unfortunately he seems to have had his readers too much in mind and yielded to a desire to interest. In the few cases in which it has been necessary to state here a fact that apparently disproves his conclusions, it has been done not in a spirit of faultfinding, but because the situation demands it. In the present weakened condition of the Mandan tribe, there is scant material for illustration. It is felt, however, that the text affords a very adequate idea of them and their former mode of life. {view image of page xii} xii INTRODUCTION The Arikara material is alive with illustrations, many of which picture a reenactment of their old-time medicine ceremony. In this the participants made no pretence of performing the feats of legerdemain that were such a feature of the ceremony during past generations, but otherwise they followed the usual procedure of this most interesting rite. The tricks were, in reality, the dramatic features of the ceremony, designed to convince the people of the supernatural power of the performers, and perhaps to strengthen their own belief in it, while at the same time entertainment was afforded the audience. So little has been written of the Atsina, and most of that has usually been of so derogatory a nature, that it is with much pleasure the present material is given. It is not exhaustive in any sense of the word, yet sufficiently ample to show that the Atsina were a strong, active tribe, the equal of many of their better known neighbors. It is anticipated that a future close study of the tribes to the north and south will shed additional light on the subject of their migrations. In gathering and compiling the material for this volume, I have had the able assistance of Mr. W. E. Myers, Mr. E. J. Dalby, and Mr. A. B. Upshaw; and, in the laboratory, of Mr. A. F. Muhr. EDWARD S. CURTIS {view image of page 1} The Mandan {view image of page 2} {view image of page 3} THE MANDAN History and Customs N O one can say how long the Mandan had been living in their little stockaded villages at Heart river when, in I738, le Sieur de la Verendrye, on a mission of exploration for the Canadian Fur Company, found friendly welcome there. If credence is to be given Indian traditional history, their residence in that locality had already been measured by generations; for they had long been dwelling there when from their neighbors and allies, the Hidatsa, seceded the band that became the Apsaroke, an event that occurred about the middle of the seventeenth century.1 Mandan tradition and legend tell of a gradual migration up the Missouri "from the place where the river flows into the great water," and frequent are the allusions in their stories to the land of the south where the green of the trees never faded and the birds were always singing. One can hardly doubt, therefore, that the Mandan dwelt originally in the warm Gulf region in the vicinity of the mouth of the Mississippi. Indeed, this tradition has a sounder basis than would at first appear, as it is now known that several tribes belonging to the same linguistic family as the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Apsaroke, lived in the Gulf region during the historical period, and remnants of some of the tribes still reside there. The earliest village site definitely located by their traditions is on the Missouri, a short distance below Cannonball river in North Dakota. It was there they lost one of the sacred Turtle-drums, as narrated in the origin myth, and the village is now referred to as Pke-mmni-t6kzds, Turtle Goes Home Into Water. Pressing ever northward, they crossed the Cannonball, and still 1 See Volume IV, pages 38, I30-131. {view image of page 4} 4 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN following the Missouri began to erect their earth lodges south of Heart river. About this time there appeared on the eastern shore of the larger stream a throng of strangers, who desired to be taken across. The newcomers, who were at once given the name MInm-tadhi, Cross Water, were made welcome, and they built their villages to the north of the Mandan. There both tribes were living, the Mandan to the south, and the Hidatsa mainly to the north of Heart river, when La Verendrye visited them. Though his is the earliest account of the Mandan, it is quite probable that he was not the first white visitor. For many years before his coming, solitary French voyageurs had been pushing their way westward from the Great Lakes, and it is not unreasonable to suppose that some of them had visited the river villages. A Mandan tradition relates that long ago a hunting party found wandering on the plains a man with white skin, fair hair, and blue eyes, who said he was from the north. They took him to their village, and clothed and fed and made much of him. La Verendrye found the Mandan occupying six villages, the smallest of which contained a hundred and thirty lodges, and one of the largest he estimated at about twice that size. The total number of habitations, therefore, could scarcely have been less than a thousand, and if each lodge sheltered, as was the rule less than a century later, twenty to forty people, there was a population almost incredibly great in view of the fact that Lewis and Clark sixty-six years later estimated the Mandan as numbering three hundred and fifty warriors or twelve hundred and fifty souls. Much has been written as to the number of these almost prehistoric Heart River villages, and it has been generally accepted that there were nine. Tribal tradition, however, confirms the Frenchman by definitely locating five Mandan villages on the west bank of the Missouri and one on the east, all south of Heart river. The five were called collectively Mit-utahank, East Village, a reminiscence perhaps of a time when on the lower course of the river they lived to the east of the others; the one across the Missouri from the five was Mahi-miti, Burned Boughs Village, or Nfiptata-mitis, and its inhabitants were known as Nuptadhi. North of Heart river were some scattered {view image of facing page 4} Mandan earthen lodge [photogravure plate] {view image of page 5} THE MANDAN 5 smaller settlements of families crowded out of the larger ones; these were doubtless responsible for the conflicting estimates of the number of the Heart River villages. About I770 Nuptatamitis was attacked by overwhelming numbers of Yanktonai, many of whom had flintlocks. The villagers had only one firearm, and that one they were ignorant how to use.' Its owner, pointing it bravely toward the enemy, says the'tradition, commanded it to shoot, and threw it down in disgust when it failed to obey. Besieged within an imperfect stockade by a superior force armed with guns, the Nuptadhi were at the mercy of the Sioux. Warriors from Mitutahank attempted to cross to their assistance, but Yanktonai were guarding the bank above and below the village, and they could not land. When darkness came, a part of the Nuptadhi escaped across the Missouri; the others, with the exception of a few prisoners, were killed. The survivors rescued their sacred Turtle-drums and went to live temporarily in Mitutahank. Soon after the destruction of Nuptatamitis the entire tribe resumed once more their northward migration. After a journey of approximately seventy-five miles they stopped and built their homes on a rocky butte southwest of the site of Washburn, North Dakota. Here the two divisions were not far apart, and strife arose in which the Nuptadhi under their chief Little Raven, Keka-hiamahe, were aided by the Hidatsa, who were then living no great distance up the stream at Knife river; while the warriors of Mitutahank, led by Good Child, Suk-Ahi, sought and obtained help from the Arikara in the south. Hostilities continued for eight years. Following the cessation of this internal strife, the Mandan made strenuous effort to rehabilitate the tribe. A high birth-rate was urged, and removal from the tribe by marriage prohibited; but dreams of once more seeing the Mandan a great people were doomed never to be fulfilled, and the heroic efforts of the leading men to make this desire of their heart a reality were unavailing. Their day as a tribal power had passed. 1 It is difficult to believe that the Mandan did not know how to use firearms in 1770, for La Verendrye records that in I738 they gave to the Assiniboin grain, tobacco, peltry, and painted plumes, in exchange for muskets, axes, and other implements. {view image of page 6} 6 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN The Mandan now proceeded up the Missouri, their course lying to the west, and four miles below Knife river formed two villages, the Nuptadhi returning to the east side of the Missouri and building a new Nuptatamitis. This was about I783. Here they were visited by the party of Lewis and Clark, who wintered near Nuptatamitis in 1804 -1805. Traders from Canada and French interpreters had already established themselves in the villages. Toussaint Charbonneau (the husband of the celebrated Sacajawea [Tsakaka-wia], or Bird Woman, the Shoshoni captive), who became an interpreter for the expedition, had been living among the Hidatsa from 1796. In 1832 steamboat traffic between St. Louis and the upper Missouri was begun and the Mandan villages were thus made readily accessible to travellers and traders. In 1837 came the terrible scourge of smallpox. Out of a total population of sixteen hundred, fifty-three males above fourteen years of age escaped. Probably one hundred and fifty is a fair estimate of the number of survivors in the two Mandan towns. The deserted houses were plundered by the Arikara, who had just come up from the south and now decided to remain, and with them the remnant of the Mandan made their homes. A few accompanied the Hidatsa (who also had suffered the ravages of the plague) in 1845 to their new village at Fort Berthold on the north bank of the river, and in I857, after a quarrel with the Arikara, - the result of the killing of a Mandan Soldier in the performance of his duties, -the remainder joined their friends in the new village. Even this last poor relic of tribal life was demolished when in I893 the agency headquarters were removed from Fort Berthold and the disintegration of the village, already well under way as a result of allotting the lands in severalty, was complete. The Mandan with the Hidatsa and nine hundred and fifty lodges of Apsaroke under Red Feather At The Temple made a treaty of friendship with the United States at a council near Mitutahank at Knife river on July 30, 1825, - a treaty that suffered no rupture by any of the participants, excepting an insignificant and sporadic affair with the Apsaroke in I887. They signed the treaty of Fort Laramie in 185I, by which the limits of the territories dominated by various north {view image of facing page 6} Crow's Heart - Mandan [photogravure plate] {view image of page 7} THE MANDAN 7 western tribes were established.' A reservation, including the site of the village at Fort Berthold, was created in 1870, but its dimensions were reduced in 1886. With the Hidatsa and the Arikara, the two hundred and fifty descendants of the thousands that once lived at Heart river in the midst of plenty now occupy a reservation of nearly fourteen hundred square miles, mostly on the north side of the Missouri river in western North Dakota. Of these only about a score can lay claim to being of pure blood. When observed by Lewis and Clark, Catlin, and Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied, the Mandan, considering their numbers, were a vigorous people, of splendid physique, living in lodges that were not only spacious but provided with comforts unknown to the roving tribes, and growing crops ample for their immediate needs and affording a surplus for barter. Like all their neighbors, they depended chiefly on the buffalo for their meat supply. No more impaired than their material culture were their religious and ceremonial beliefs and practices. Nothing had yet shaken their faith in their own gods. As the bird instinctively builds its nest to meet its own needs, the Mandan had formulated their religion to fit the requirements of their life, and were strong in precepts. Their well-developed political organization enabled them to execute effectually the tribal laws. To-day there is scarcely a shadow of their former greatness, with their six populous villages and thousands of warriors: scarcely a hardy full-blood is left, only a few feeble old men and women bemoaning the fact that they did not die before the hopelessness of the present came upon them. But from these ancients it has been possible to gather considerable historical, traditional, and mythical lore, and to restore in fair degree much of the life that has passed. A few years more and the knowledge still preserved in the memories of these old people will have departed with them. Causes tending to the rapid decrease of the Mandan population between I738 and I804 are not difficult to determine. The earlier 1 The Fort Laramie treaty of September I7, 1851, was ratified by the Senate as signed, with an amendment changing the annuity in Article 7 from fifty to ten years, subject to acceptance by the tribes. Assent of all the tribes except the Apsaroke was procured, and in subsequent agreements this treaty has been recognized as in force. {view image of page 8} 8 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN date is not far from the beginning of active Sioux hostility toward them, which, judging by their own stories and by Sioux wintercounts, developed into an almost unceasing warfare; and we have the repeated assertion of Lewis and Clark that the Mandan had suffered seriously both from the Sioux and from that no less implacable enemy the smallpox, long prior to the winter's stay of those explorers among them. In studying the Mandan a confusion of material is found, which adds greatly to the task. Since they have lived as near neighbors of the Hidatsa for centuries, there has been a constant interchange of thought, which has blended their mythology as effectually as intermarriage has mingled their blood. The myths and legends obtained from the two tribes have been carefully analyzed, in order, if possible, to determine to which one they primarily belonged. Any conclusion worthy of consideration must be reached from study of the material as a whole rather than from direct statements of members of either tribe, who invariably claim every myth as a part of their own birthright. The story of Numak-mahana is taken as indicative of the early habitat of the nucleus of the Mandan tribe, and the myth of an emergence from a lower world by climbing up a grapevine, which is told by both Mandan and Hidatsa, is really a Hidatsa myth, and was derived by the Mandan from them. Such a separation of myth and legend demands the conclusion that the Mandan never lived to the northeast of their present location, but rather that their migratory movements were constantly northwestward. It is further believed that if in these movements the Mandan crossed the Mississippi, it was below the junction of that stream with the Missouri; consequently they have known but one great river. Information gathered from both Hidatsa and Apsaroke indicates that the arrival of these two combined tribes at the Missouri was prior to the middle of the seventeenth century, and the Mandan at that time had no tradition of a home other than the one on the river: all of which tends to show a very early occupancy of the upper Missouri River region by this tribe. Compared with neighboring Indians, the Mandan were not a {view image of facing page 8} Cutting rushes - Mandan [photogravure plate] {view image of page 9} THE MANDAN 9 warrior people, their fighting being for the greater part defensive, not predatory. It is true that in their ceremonies and stories great stress is laid on deeds of valor in war, and each of their chiefs could boast of a fair collection of scalps; yet it is certain that they were not the equal of their foe, the Sioux, and it was owing only to their well-built stockades that more than once they were saved from extermination. They admit that their near neighbors, the Hidatsa, were greater warriors. The Sioux, after reaching the Missouri, harassed them so constantly that it was even necessary for the women, when going out to gather berries and roots, to be guarded by the men; while it was a common occurrence for buffalo hunters to be attacked by small bands of Sioux invaders. An occasional season of truce occurred at harvest time, when their enemies came to barter for corn. Corn was the chief staple of the Mandan, and was grown in considerable quantities. The fields consisted of small patches of rich alluvial land cleared of trees and shrubbery; the ground was worked with a wooden dibble, and with a hoe bladed with a buffalo-scapula. Each family's garden was divided into three to seven beds of six rows each, the rows a step apart and the hills in the row the same distance. What may be regarded as an unusually large plot was about eighty yards in length. As with many tribes, the work of preparing the soil and tending the crop was a task of the women, the men meanwhile performing the sometimes dangerous duty of keeping sharp lookout for Sioux and other Indians of hostile intent. In addition to maize they raised, in smaller quantities, beans, squashes, and sunflower seeds, a mixture of which with corn and buffalo-fat made the "fourmixture" so often mentioned in ceremony and myth. No tradition of the Mandan alludes to a time when they did not cultivate corn, and indeed this grain enters into a great many of their myths, as in that of the contest between Kcihonhe, Waving Corn, and the Sun. The story runs: Waving Corn was always in her corn-field, in which she built a strong scaffold, there to live and watch her corn. The Sun, falling in love with her, came down and sat by her side, wooing her with soft words, saying, "I love you better than I love any other woman." She refused him, and bade him begone; but the next day the Sun {view image of page 10} IO THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN returned and sat beside her on the scaffold. Still she refused him, and sent him away, three times in all. In anger the Sun said: "Very well, you will not have me. Then you shall never taste of this fine field of corn!" "No, I will eat this corn; that is why I planted it," retorted Waving Corn. Then the Sun repeated that she should never eat of it, and so the word was thrown back and forth three times. After that the Sun shone so hot that the corn withered and sank to the ground. When darkness came, Waving Corn went over the field looking and wondering how to master the Sun, and suddenly the corn rose again and was green as before. In the morning a heavy fog covered the earth, but at noon it walked away and the Sun again shone hot on the land until the cornstalks were dry, and rattled. Again as night came Kahonhe walked forth and revived the seared and prostrate corn. Four times in all this was done, when the Sun gave up the contest and the corn was left to reach maturity, and all was gathered and stored. The typical dwelling of the Mandan is a large earthen lodge exactly like that of the Hidatsa.' The erection of a lodge was a community undertaking, and feasting and laughter enlivened the task, which was one of considerable magnitude. The interior arrangements were more complete than was usual in Indian homes. Between the central fire-pit and the entrance was erected a screen of poles, interwoven with rawhide, extending from the wall to a little beyond the middle. Just inside the door, on one side or both, the horses were stabled. The beds, which were placed between the outer posts and screened with curtains of hides, were made of poles supported at the ends by cross-sticks which rested on two forked posts, the whole piled thickly with robes. The door, consisting of a framework of poles covered with rawhide, was suspended from the lintel so as to swing inward only. To the rawhide covering were fastened several dry buffalo-hoofs, so that no one could enter unnoticed. The door was secured at night by a bar dropped into the crotches of two small posts set firmly in the ground. A single lodge sheltered from twenty to 1 See Volume IV, pages I37-I38. {view image of facing page 10} Mandan bull-boat [photogravure plate] {view image of page 11} THE MANDAN II forty people. The son-in-law of the head of the household occupied the place of honor at the rear, while the master of the house claimed the space between the two main posts nearest the door. The houses were erected indiscriminately about an open circle, and the village itself was surrounded by a stockade of upright logs set firmly in the ground, and by a trench in which the defenders could take position in event of attack.' The most noteworthy of the aboriginal arts of the Mandan was the manufacture of rude glass beads and pendants. The process is described by Lewis and Clark, wildly conjectured by Catlin, and ably discussed by Matthews. To Matthews' conclusions little can now be added. It may have been a primitive art with them, perhaps learned from some other tribe; but inasmuch as when the Mandan were first observed making beads a trader had been living among them and selling glass beads for eight years, it is not improbable that the first beads of native manufacture were of material derived from those obtained in barter. These ornaments consisted of a core of clay covered with a vitreous glaze, and were valued more highly than any other article of barter. It was customary for a father who was particularly fond and proud of his daughter to have an ornament of glass beads made, and then to employ a medicine-man to tie it in her hair, where it remained until her betrothal, when it was cut loose and thrown away. The Arikara also were acquainted with this method of making beads, and may have manufactured them previous to their contact with the Mandan. The Mandan also made heavy earthen pots, similar to those of the Hidatsa, Arikara, and other tribes of the region. The pure clay was mixed with a considerable proportion of coarse sand formed by pulverizing granite or sandstone. The mass having been thoroughly kneaded, a deep depression was made in it with the fist, then with a piece of smooth bark for a paddle, and holding a round stone on the inside, the potter modelled the lump to the desired shape and thickness. 1 La Verendrye says that the village which he visited was surrounded by a ditch, more than fifteen feet deep and fifteen to eighteen feet wide. "Their fort," he says, "can only be gained by steps or posts which can be removed when threatened by an enemy." One of the subsequently built Knife River villages is said by Catlin to have had, inside the palisade, a trench three or four feet deep, in which the defenders sheltered themselves. {view image of page 12} 12 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN After drying in the sun, the vessel was fired. In this stage the pottery was rather light in color, and it was now smeared with scum from boiling corn, in order to fill the pores and produce a dull gloss. These pots were not painted, but while still in the plastic state were marked by the pressure of a piece of wood carved with the desired pattern, or of a cord, sometimes knotted, or of a piece of coarsely woven cloth. The vessels assumed a black tinge from use. Some were made with narrow openings, and others, elliptical in shape with two openings in the top, were known as "twin-mouthed pots." All these utensils were round at the bottom. The vessel designed for holding water was set in a ring of willow-bark, to hold it upright, and near the rim was a thong to which was attached a pack-string. Corn was pounded into meal with a pestle of ash in a mortar deeply embedded in the ground so that only about six inches protruded above the surface. The mortar was made of a section of an ash log about a foot in diameter and twenty inches in length. The hollow was burnt larger at the bottom than at the top, by checking the effect of the flame with moist clay and accelerating it with a reed blowpipe. The pestle was long and heavy, the handle rather small, and the head hardened by charring. With these implements corn could be pounded into a fairly fine meal. The village head-chief was he who had acquired the greatest reputation as a warrior, and as a peacemaker among his people. Great stress was laid upon ability to effect peace. Bravery was indispensable, as were honors won in war, and medicine-power. A new chief was not formally elected in council, but became the successor logically, his position as the most prominent person next to the late chief being recognized generally. If it happened that there were two men of equal importance, they acted jointly as leaders, and when questions of moment were to be decided one would defer to the other. Men whose reputation depended largely on their known sense of justice and their desire for intratribal peace would not be likely to permit discord to arise between them. Aspiring to chieftainship, a man endeavored to gain great spiritual strength, hoping at each period of fasting to see in his vision some new spirit being. Each maAloptni thus revealed to an aspirant was that much added {view image of facing page 12} The bather - Mandan [photogravure plate] {view image of page 13} THE MANDAN I3 power, and in addition to the mystery-strength gained by personal supplication he might buy the medicine, or hopmni power, of others. The council was composed of the elders of the village, many of whom were clan chiefs or sub-chiefs. From time to time, as the younger men performed deeds of valor or otherwise proved themselves worthy, they were admitted to the council. Here discussion was free, but after a question had been fully debated the final decision lay with the chief. Public announcements were made from the housetops by the chief's herald, and the members of the Soldier order policed the village and saw that all instructions of the chief were fully obeyed. If a member of the tribe should fail to heed such orders, he was severely punished, the Soldiers having full power even to decree and execute the death penalty. There was no need of jails. When the Soldiers pushed open an offender's door, he knew he was face to face with the law of his tribe and its executors: whatever their demands, he must acquiesce without delay or demur. If the plan was to "soldierkill" a malefactor by destroying his hunting-lodge and maiming his horse, he knew that any resentment would probably be at the cost of his own life. Such organizations for the preservation of peace and authority within the tribe were as necessary as they were common; for when a fractious member of a tribe or village that must be constantly on the alert to preserve its very existence might at any time bring disaster by his misbehavior, the solidarity of the community depended on swift and decisive action. The society organization of the Mandan is worthy of particular notice. The system comprised seven societies, or lodges, through which a man passed successively, beginning with the Fox order. The usual age of entrance into this grade was eighteen or twenty years, and no one younger than fifty years was permitted to enter the Bull society, the sixth organization of the system. To become a member of this system one had first to purchase the rights of a member of the lowest order before passing successively through the others. This could not be done individually, but only when it was arranged that the whole society purchase the right of the next higher one. Each society had its own lodge as a meeting-place, - to which only members and past members were admitted, - and its own songs, {view image of page 14} I4 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN which constituted their most valued possession. These songs were in fact what the new members acquired by purchase: in the Indian way of thinking they were not buying membership -the right to enter the lodge and to participate in its proceedings - so much as they were purchasing the songs, the right to sing which belonged to the society. Once having disposed of its songs, a society would not have dared to make further use of them. To illustrate the custom of acquiring society membership: The Foolish Dogs purchased the rights and privileges of the Half-sheared, leaving them without membership in any society. After a time the latter assembled, but not as an organization, and decided that the time had arrived for them to buy the privileges of the Soldier order. They collected quantities of blankets, shirts, moccasins, pemmican, pipes, tobacco, and horses, and when sufficient property had been accumulated they took all to the lodge of the Soldier order and placed the ceremonial pipe inside the door. When the Soldiers assembled, if the quantity seemed to be sufficient, they smoked the pipe, thus signifying their acceptance. If, however, the property was deemed by them inadequate, they left the pipe untouched until the Half-sheared members added sufficient material. If the Foolish Dogs purchased the songs of the society next above them before their own rights were disposed of, they would possess two memberships, but would not exercise the rights of the lower order; and until the Foxes decided to pass into the Foolish Dog order the latter had no active members. Each society had its own dances, in which the members alone might participate; but the performance was not conducted in secret. Each had also its own costumes, which sometimes, as in the case of the Bulls, included masks; and in each there were two leaders, who bore the staffs and were committed to deeds of bravery, as in the military organizations of other plains tribes.1 During courtship the Mandan young man brought presents to the girl of his choice, and if she accepted them, he felt sufficiently encouraged to effect a meeting with her, when they would sit and talk, he endeavoring to pursuade her to come with him at once. If she were 1 See Volume IV, pages 13-20. {view image of facing page 14} Buffalo-berry gatherers - Mandan [photogravure plate] {view image of page 15} THE MANDAN I5 a proud maiden, such a proposal would be refused, as it was the ambition of every Mandan girl to have many presents exchanged for her. If she simply refused, yet gave the suitor cause to think she cared for him, he brought presents to her family, and his relations too gave whatever articles of value they could afford. If the family of the girl were in favor of the union and the girl herself acquiesced, she went to the young man's house, bearing food and gifts. The man's family and his other close relations came to the feast laden with presents for the bride, which she later took home and distributed among her clanspeople. From the time the young woman first went to her suitor's house they were regarded as married. If she went secretly, without the knowledge of her family, no gifts having been exchanged, she lived in the husband's lodge; in the other case the man dwelt with her family. If the marriage were formally arranged in accordance with the general custom, the bride's younger sisters were usually included in the contract. In the case of an elopement the husband had no claim on the younger sisters; but if he were a worthy man, bringing food frequently to his father-in-law, the younger sisters were commonly given to him as soon as they reached the marriageable age, the logic being that it was better to make sure of one good son-in-law than to incur the risk of gaining a worthless one. Divorce consisted simply in parting, and usually was caused by one of the pair becoming infatuated with another; but sometimes it was the result of a less serious matter, such as constant disagreement. Punishment of marital unfaithfulness on the part of a woman was left to the husband, who might either send the wife away or keep her; to take the latter course, however, was proof that his "heart was weak" and caused him to become the subject of contemptuous criticism in the tribe and a laughing-stock in his clan. If a man eloped with another's wife, the deserted husband might call the old men together and ask one to go and bring back the recreant. On her arrival, he combed and perfumed her hair, put on her best dress and leggings, led out a favorite horse and decked it with fine trappings, then taking down his best bow and arrows, he handed them to her, saying, "Now you have found a better husband than I, take and {view image of page 16} i6 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN give these to him." Thenceforth no enmity existed between the two men; they were friends for life, and the magnanimity of the husband was regarded as an act of which any man might have been proud. Fasting was observed for the purpose of bringing one's self into communication with the spirits, that the suppliant might obtain hopini, mysterious, power, and thus be enabled to see into the future and to forecast the fate of intended war expeditions. The faster prepared himself by purification in the sweat-lodge and by perfuming his body with sacred sweet-grass; then, clad only in moccasins and loin-cloth, and bearing medicine bundle, buffalo-skull, and pipe, he walked forth alone to some high peak. The start was made very early, since he must reach his goal and be in position when the sun first looked over the edge of the earth. As the sky became illumined by the approaching orb, the suppliant stood on the buffalo-skull and looked to the east, and just as the sun came into view he prayed, "O Sun, give me strength in this deed!" He remained on the summit the entire day, looking in the same direction and crying aloud, that the spirits might come to him. At night he made a light brush shelter or dug a shallow cave in which to sleep. The rising sun found him again standing on the skull praying for divine revelation, and all through the day he cried out to the mahAopni, or spirit powers, "How shall I be most successful?" The prescribed length of the fast was four days and four nights, but this was often extended to as many as seven days and seven nights in order to make the suppliant so free from earthly things that he became hoppni. Even this long period of fasting and praying was exceeded by Cherries In The Mouth, who fasted nine days and nine nights; and Big Shirt, a contemporary of the Hidatsa chief Roadmaker, observed the seven-day fast eight times. At the end of these long periods of abstinence from food and water the men were so emaciated and weak that they could not return to the village unaided. Fasting was urged upon Mandan boys at maturity, but not required of them as among many tribes. Those making this sacrifice ranged from the youth of fourteen, who felt the first promptings of approaching manhood and the desire to go on the war-path, to the gray old patriarch, bent and maimed, who slowly wended his way to the high places that he might once more humble himself in supplication. It {view image of facing page 16} Offering the buffalo-skull - Mandan [photogravure plate] {view image of page 17} THE MANDAN I7 was thought, however, that men of youthful vigor, not yet hardened in life's ways, experienced the most potent visions. Medicine practices of the Mandan were similar to those of the Hidatsa,1 and the information here recorded may be considered as applying to both tribes. As among so many Indians, medicine-power was obtained either in visions produced by fasting or through purchase. The more medicine a man could obtain the greater his spiritual power was supposed to be. Each particular medicine was accompanied with certain songs pertaining to it, and in purchasing medicine the songs became the property of the new owner jointly with their original possessor. Broken Axe, a celebrated Mandan medicine-man, acquired his medicine by killing a bear in a hand-to-hand encounter; as he had vanquished the bear in this way, he had imbibed the power of the animal and consequently became a Bear medicine-man. It is told of the great Mandan chief Four Bears that he went out to fast by the burial scaffold of an Apsaroke, and after many days the spirit of the dead warrior appeared, gave his medicine-power to the faster, and told him how to use it. Following this, and before the chief had told of his new power, there came a great drought, and Four Bears went to his housetop, beat his drum, and called out in Apsaroke words, "Father, come this way! Help my people!" Soon a black cloud came toward the village, and the gardens were drenched with rain. The treatment of disease among the Mandan was usually a fourday performance in which blowing of the breath and singing formed an important part. Such plants as they employed were gathered secretly in the spring, and were prepared and used according to the instructions of the tutelary spirit of the medicine-man giving the treatment. Medicine paraphernalia, including the medicine-bag containing herbs tied up in little bunches, was kept on a small scaffold in the honor place at the rear of the medicine-man's lodge, making this part of the house sacred. The skin of the medicine animal was spread over the scaffold in a lifelike position, and under it were the medicinebag, eagle-feathers, and rattle. Anyone seeking aid of a medicine-man would first fill a pipe, take it reverently to his lodge, and lay it on the See Volume IV, pages 144-148. VOL. V- 2 {view image of page 18} THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN ground in front of the scaffold. The healer's acceptance of the case was indicated by his smoking the pipe. Three methods of disposing of the dead were in vogue among the Mandan: on a scaffold, in the ground, or within a cairn. The body of a man of prominence was placed on a platform, unless before death he had requested that his remains be disposed otherwise; while ordinary men and women, unless their dying wish had been that their bodies be deposited on a scaffold, and children, except in cases of special favorites, were buried in shallow graves. Sometimes a man would ask that his remains repose in a cairn; in this event his body was wrapped in skins from head to foot and placed in a sitting posture with stones piled completely about him save for a small opening about his face, so that his spirit might look down from the hill over the earth where he had lived. A corpse buried in the ground was likewise placed in a sitting posture, leaning slightly back; it was covered first with poles, then with grass, and finally with earth, and in all cases the body faced the west. A man was prepared for his final resting-place by a clanswoman of his father, who combed his hair, washed and painted his face, and dressed him in his best garments. All this was done, if possible, shortly before the end came, the belief being that the soul entered the next world clothed as was the body at the time of death. Before his death or immediately thereafter, the woman, with the assistance of her sister or husband, erected the scaffold (if the remains were to be placed on one), which was a little higher than a man's head. After death had come she wrapped the body completely in skins and tied them, and a few hours later it was carried out to the scaffold, where she addressed its spirit: "You have gone to the Spirit-land. While you were here you did not have all the good-fortune that should have been yours, so what you did not have, leave to us. Do not look back." Each day for four days the relatives went out and sat under the scaffold, weeping. Sometimes they killed a horse and laid the weapons of the deceased beside the body, but this was not a general custom. They did not furnish food and drink for the departing spirit. {view image of facing page 18} Scattered Corn Woman - Mandan [photogravure plate] {view image of page 19} THE MANDAN I9 Death was attended with violent mourning, which extended to personal torture, such as gashing the body or cutting off the first joint of the little finger on the hand not used in shooting the bow. Religious Beliefs and Ceremonies In considering the religious concepts of the Mandan, the word hopini and its derivative maho6pini should be first understood. The former is analogous to the Lakota waka", "mysterious," and the latter is the substantive derived from the adjective, equivalent to the Lakota tdku-waka", "something mysterious."1 All creatures, spirits, objects, and phenomena possessing, or supposedly possessing, hopini, or inexplicable, power, are called mahopmni, and thus are personified and deified. All animals and birds, and even inanimate objects, are hopini, and can transfer their spirit-power to men. In supplications the individual spirits may be addressed as maho6pni, but usually the suppliant seems to consider that he is calling upon all the forces of the infinite. Numak-mahana, One (solitary) Man, is the principal mythcharacter, and according to Mandan legend the creator of mankind. Ki-numakshi, He Becomes Chief, is scarcely less important, and next in order is Ho6'tahe. These three were probably men of the Mandan tribe, who from great personal deeds have with the passing of time become deified: a view borne out by the fact that one of the clans is still designated as that to which Numak-mahana belonged. Other characters of mythology are Old Woman Who Never Dies, the spirit of plant life, corresponding to a like character in Hidatsa lore; the Sun, Mahanp-minaki; the Moon, Ifhtzu-minaki; and Thunder, Htate. The soul is inuhike, and is identified with the human shadow. The word itself does not mean "shadow," but inuhike has grown to be identified with the shadow of man. The human being has four shadows, all souls, one black, two lighter, and one almost indistinguishable, so transparent is it. This faint shadow leaves the body at death, the others remaining, "for the body still casts a shadow, but See Volume III, pages 60-62. {view image of page 20} 20 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN not the light one." The soul-shadow is now manuAhk. The spirit hovers about its earthly home for four days, then journeys by underground ways to a spirit-world and a spirit-life similar to that described by the Hidatsa. The Sacred Turtles As the Calf Pipe is the object of greatest veneration to the Lakota, so with the Mandan are the three sacred Turtle-drums. Their antiquity is such that only the origin myth of the people can afford a glimpse of their acquisition. Scattered Corn Woman, oFpi te, is now the keeper of one of these sacred objects. Her father, Moves Slowly, occupied this office for many years, and to aid his memory in retaining the names of the thirty-four who preceded him as custodians of this particular one he improvised a song in which their names were interwoven. Wopinte, unfortunately, did not learn the song perfectly and could recall only twenty-three of the names, which follow: I H6intah6 2 Ohtin-6kidhe, Cedar Plume 3 Ankit-mahuidh, Shoulder Bone 4 M hdh6k-akiha-make, Bull Lying On Top 5 Pi-inna'n6, Head Rattle 6 7 Widhatan-pa, Enemy Head 8 Ohkin-hcdhh, Foolish Doer 9 Madhukidhike, Air Quivering With Heat IO I IOkahinhka, Cooking Pot 12 Ko-ghi-nad&, Good Gourd Rattle '3 14 15 16 IHo6htek (another name for Nimakmaiana) 17 Musta-mahM, Garden Tree 8 '9 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 3I 32 33 34 Pa-mahudhe, Head Bones Widhitan-kitadhe, Looks For Enemy Shehek, Coyote Kika-kshuk6, Slim Raven Mahin-k&dh6, Bloody Knife Ohtandh6, Cedars Madh6kidhi-hedhI, Laid In A Row Hudhi-sos'k, Strong Leg-bones MWdhok-nasuska, Left-hand Bull Hakohe, Scabby Pahu-hot6, Gray Nose (a kind of bird). fIakohe, the thirty-third keeper, the brother of Moves Slowly, died during the smallpox plague of I837, and, no adult male member of the family surviving, Gray Nose kept the drum until Moves Slowly grew to manhood. The latter was seventeen years of age at the time of the epidemic, and married at twenty; but W6pi0te does not know when he took possession of the Turtle. While there is lack of certainty on the part of Scattered Corn Woman respecting the names of eleven {view image of facing page 20} Record of custodians of a turtle-drum - Mandan [photogravure plate] {view image of page 21} THE MANDAN 21 of the custodians, and even of some of those recorded above, she is very positive as to their number - thirty-six, including herself. Furthermore, a pictographic memorandum kept by her father gives a symbol for each of the keepers and confirms her statement as to the number. To allow a reasonable average period for each guardian to have kept this Turtle-drum gives it a seemingly impossible antiquity. However, the material is worthy of record even if necessarily viewed with some skepticism, and it is more than unfortunate that the subject could not have been investigated thoroughly during the lifetime of Moves Slowly. According to tradition, the Turtle that became angry and made his escape went into the river when the tribe was living below the Cannonball. That was their home long before the Midhokaft, the ancestors of the Hidatsa, came to the Missouri. This in itself makes the Turtledrums centuries old, and Scattered Corn Woman considered the time when this one " escaped" as not very remote compared with the time the objects had been in their possession, though she could not name the keeper of that period. However, she was certain that her father knew. When asked how it was that Catlin had four turtles in his picture of the Okipe lodge, she said, "Perhaps some one told him about the fourth and he made them that way in his picture." Moves Slowly was thirteen years of age at the time Catlin's picture was made, and it is inconceivable that he could have been ignorant of the number of the Turtle-drums at that time. It is equally inconceivable that one of four objects so sacred as these could have disappeared subsequently to so recent a date as 1833 without leaving a thread of tradition that would lead back to historical certainty. Catlin's drawing also portrays the Turtles on their backs, which is contrary to Mandan teachings. Nfimak-mahana said, "When you become weak in numbers and wish to die together, turn the Turtles on their backs and sing a song, * In comparing this pictograph with the printed catalogue of custodians of the Turtledrum, hold the volume in normal position and read upward in the right-hand row of signs; reverse the book and read the middle row in the same direction; and with the volume again held normally follow the left-hand row upward. The column at the right includes the symbols for the first thirteen custodians; the middle one those of the sixteenth to the twenty-fifth; the one to the left those of the twenty-eighth to the thirty-fourth. The symbols of the fourteenth, fifteenth, twenty-sixth, and twenty-seventh do not appear in the illustration. {view image of page 22} 22 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN which I will give to you." 1 All this indicates that Catlin drew either from misinformation or from careless observation. Packs Wolf is the keeper of the other two Turtles, which descended to him through two distinct families. He is also the guardian of practically all the remaining paraphernalia pertaining to the Okipe ceremony. The room in which these sacred objects are kept is a part of the log house in which he lives, and the priest insisted that, until the day the writer and his two assistants entered the room, no white man had seen its inner walls. For some days we had had the promise of this privilege, but it was not until we were inside the room and the door locked to prevent intrusion, that we could realize our good fortune. The room was dingy, being lighted by only two small windows. At one side, on a raised platform or table, were the sacred objects buried beneath countless offerings of cloths of many hues. After a short prayer and the burning of incense, the priest began to remove the offerings one by one, and soon the two Turtles were exposed to view. They rested side by side on the table, and each was provided with a necklace of ancient, thickly clustered eagle-feathers. After addressing a brief prayer to the Turtles, the priest very slowly and reverently placed them on the floor, then took down a medicine bundle containing the articles traditionally worn and used by Nfimak-maihana. When the bundle was opened, the following articles were revealed: a girdle of buffalo-skin from which hung numerous strands of twisted buffalo-hair; a large wooden pipe inlaid with stone; a cimeter-shaped club of ash ornamented on one side with carved figures of the Moon and the Thunderbird, on the other with the Sun and the Morning Star; a stuffed raven; a head-dress of porcupine-hair at the top with jack-rabbit skin hanging down; a collar and anklets of jackrabbit skin; a bunch of four buffalo-tails wrapped at the upper ends with white buffalo-hair; a buffalo-tail with white fur at the top, used on the end of a staff worn in the hair of Nfimak-mahana; a set of buffalo-teeth; a strip of skin with raven tail-feathers and white crane-feathers inserted as in the trailer of a war-bonnet; an upright head-dress of matted buffalo-hair, with a small stuffed owl attached. First a photograph was made of the Turtles with their eagle-feather 1This song is still known to the older members of the tribe. {view image of facing page 22} Contents of bundle of Numak-Mahana - Mandan [photogravure plate] {view image of page 23} THE MANDAN 23 necklaces, and then the unexpected permission was granted to photograph them without the feathers, thus affording an opportunity actually to lay hands on them. The Turtles were found to be made of heavy buffalo-skin, and considering the material used are excellently well formed. Their length is about twenty inches, and the weight probably twenty pounds each. The priests claim for these Turtle-drums great weight because each contains a spirit-buffalo, a belief which they carefully keep alive in the minds of the people by pretending to exert great strength in handling them. Packs Wolf watched closely when a white man's hands were on them, and repeatedly gave the warning, "Do not turn them over; if you do, all the people will die! " On the table were the eight costumes worn by the Buffalo Dancers participating in Okipe. Each consists of a kilt formed of narrow dangling strips of buffalo-skin, and a large piece of buffalorobe designed to cover the head and back. When this was worn the shaggy hair almost covered the face. Fastened directly in the middle of the back of this cape is a single horn, but there is no horn at the head. Here Catlin made another mistake in depicting the Buffalo Dancers with a pair of horns on the head of each. The contention might be made that the costumes are not the ones used in Okipe when Catlin presumably saw it; but their appearance indicates an age of more than seventy-five years, and the priest insists they are the ones that have always been used. Certainly no one would believe that even during the forty-eight years intervening between Catlin's day and the last observance of Okipe (in I88i) the form of the costume could have changed so materially and in such an apparently essential detail. Furthermore, all the old men scoff at the idea that horns were worn on the head-dress. Unfortunately the old skins are badly moth-eaten and are crumbling with age. Only one of them is sufficiently well preserved to be made the subject of photography, and even from that the hair in great part has gone. The day was spent in the midst of these ancient relics which had played a part in so many a frenzied Okipe, and with regret that the time had passed so quickly we reverently lifted the Turtles to their place on the table and saw them again covered from sight. {view image of page 24} 24 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN The Sacred Enclosure Scarcely less revered than the Turtles was a structure occupying the centre of the open space in the middle of the village. A myth ascribes its origin to Numak-mahana.' In the ancient times when Nimak-mahana, the creator, was still dwelling among the Mandan, the people had a wonderful boat, which moved of itself. It was called Idehe, He Goes. The people would embark in it, and say, "Idehe, go!" and the boat would glide away across a certain body of water to the home of another people, where the Mandan obtained a kind of large shell called "the shell that has a noise." These strangers would feast them until many of the visitors died. Nfimak-mahana, disapproving of this, accompanied them on one of their voyages, disguising himself, and running the long hollow stem of a water-lily through his body. Thus he was able to swallow all the food that was brought, and still call for more when the supply had been exhausted, for it passed through without lodging in his stomach. His hosts recognized him as a mah6opni, and for the time abandoned the effort to kill their visitors. With seeming friendliness they promised to come to the Mandan the next year. Having returned home in safety, Nfimak-mahana at once planted a cedar post in the ground and painted it red. This, he said, would represent him to the people after his departure. Cedar was chosen because it is chief of all woods, outlasting all others. Around the post in a circle he erected wooden slabs, held together by two hoops of cottonwood saplings, one inside and one outside. "This," said he, "is mmnimi'tahhe,2 and it shall be a 1 This incident is related also by the Hidatsa as a portion of their genesis myth. If the Mandan borrowed it from them, it must have been very long ago, for Lance, born in 1833, declares that when a very small boy he heard his grandfather, Young Grasshopper, then a man of about seventy years, relate the myth as of Mandan origin. For another account of the origin of the sacred enclosure, see page 46. 2 The meaning of the word mYnimi'tahh9 cannot be determined. It is said by one Mandan to be compounded of an obsolete word signifying "surround," and tah, "to bellow," the allusion being to the dancing around it by the bellowing Buffalo Dancers in Okipg. This derivation cannot be verified. Catlin called the structure the " big canoe," and evolved a theory that it was typical of the " ark " in which they escaped from the fury of a deluge; but in this he was undoubtedly wrong. Catlin the more easily fell into error because he had no competent interpreter. James Kipp, acting in that capacity, was a trader, and knew Mandan only as a trader. Asked, without a leading question or a hint of the ulterior object of the {view image of facing page 24} The sacred turtles - Mandan [photogravure plate] {view image of page 25} THE MANDAN 25 breastwork for your protection. When the people from across the water come against you, they may kill some, but never all so long as this stands." In the following year their enemies came against them as expected, and caused a great flood, but the hoops around minimi'tahhe prevented the water from rising above them. The sacred enclosure was used principally as the pivotal point in the dances of Okipe, but at any time during the year offerings could be made to it. Any offering so exposed in this shrine could be removed by any member of Nfimak-mahana's clan, the Mahikina, who would say, " Nimak-mahana, I take what they give you." But if it remained there over night, it belonged to Nimak-mahana, and could never be appropriated. At the present time, there being no village, mmnimi'tahheh stands near one of the small Mandan communities about five miles west of the agency, south of the river. It consists of a rude palisade, about five feet in height and three feet in diameter, surrounding a redstained cedar post and decked with a few fluttering offerings of calico. The Okipe Ceremony The four-days religious rite of the Mandan might be, but was not necessarily, at least not in later times, celebrated annually at the season "when the squashes were almost large enough to be eaten." The time is also described as "the longest and hottest day of the year," and it seems probable that originally the ceremony was observed near the summer solstice, when in their more southerly habitat their squashes were maturing, but as they moved ever northward inquiry, how much of the Mandan language Kipp was master of, Lance replied: "He knew Mandan well - in his store. But he could not interpret a sacred story or carry on a conversation in Mandan." Lance knew Kipp many years after Catlin's visit, hence his knowledge of the language could certainly have been no better at the time he served as Catlin's interpreter and host. " Big boat " in Mandan is minaki-hito, a word sufficiently close to mYnimi'taAihW to confuse a novice in the language, or, if the difference were noted, to lead him to regard it as a more modern form of the latter word. No man or woman of the tribe recognizes any connection, either by etymology or by association, between mnimi'taAih and a boat; and only Lance, and he only after repeated questionings, connected it with a deluge. The simple fact seems to be that it originated as an enclosure protecting a sacred cedar post, which at first had no mythic significance more than was attached to the sacred cedar posts planted by various other Siouan tribes. {view image of page 26} 26 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN the season of ripening became later, so that Okipi 1 did not occur before the beginning of August. The purpose of the ceremony was in general the welfare of the tribe. In particular, they asked for abundant crops, healthy children, numerous buffalo in the vicinity of the villages, and freedom from disease. The prayers, spoken or unexpressed save in thought, were addressed to the various maho6pni, especially the sun, while individual fasters invoked also their own medicine, their guardian spirits, for success in their love-making or war-making; or if none of the spirits had as yet undertaken their guidance and protection, they sought earnestly for visions in which some mysterious being would appear to them. The desire to demonstrate publicly one's power of endurance, if present at all, was entirely overshadowed by this higher aspiration for communication with the spirit beings. The performance was instituted each time by some man who, having in four successive dreams heard a voice singing the songs of Okipe, knew that the spirits desired, nay commanded, him to make this sacrifice. Failure to obey would have been to court swift retribution, even death, at their hands. Going then at once to one of the custodians of the Turtles the suppliant made known what had come to him, and at the other's bidding engaged the village herald to announce that night to the people that in the following summer he would be Okipe-kiseka, Okipe Maker. This usually occurred in the winter, and throughout the remainder of that season and the following spring the Okipe Maker collected as much property as possible, to be given away during the ceremony. Each lodge was visited by him and a few friends, and in response to the laying of a pipe and a buffalo-beard on the floor within the four centre-posts, each head of a family brought out some gift of value. In butchering after a hunt, a prospective Okipe Maker was not permitted to touch the entrails of the buffalo, for that would have brought a disastrous epidemic. Further to guard the health 1 The word okipe is obscure, but it is said to mean "look like," or "effigy," referring to the masked dancers. The full ceremony was last observed in 1881, but a performance lacking the features of torture was held in I889. For the account of the mythic origin of this ceremony, see pages 43-47. {view image of facing page 26} The turtles, with feather adornment - Mandan [photogravure plate] {view image of page 27} THE MANDAN 27 of the people he every morning entered the sweat-lodge, and at intervals he fasted, going alone into the hills for days at a time. At the proper season, young men, summoned by the herald, cleaned the medicine-lodge thoroughly inside and out, and gave the roof a fresh covering of earth. This, the ti-ta, or "different lodge," was a large structure of the ordinary type in every point except that in the front it was flattened as though a small segment of the circle had been cut off. The entrance, facing the southwest, is always described by the old men as being toward the south. Four men, known to have had prophetic dreams, painted around each centre-post, at the height of about eight feet, a band some four inches wide, the two posts on the west side being marked with charcoal, the other two with red earth paint. This is said to have symbolized the conception that the structure was supported by the influence of these four men with the spirits. Thus prepared, the ti-ta was called ti-hopini, house of mystery. From now until the close of the ceremony no woman was permitted to approach it. At sunset the Maker entered. At the same time through all the devious ways of the village went the headmen of the tribal divisions, calling aloud, urging their young men to enter ti-topini and there fast to induce visions of the spirits. Presently, with no previous declaration of their intentions, the devotees began to pass silently under the covered entry-way, either singly or in small groups, each with his medicine bundle, or, if he had none, with that of some older relative, and bearing a bleached buffalo-skull for his pillow, an armful of sage for his bed. Once inside they stationed themselves in a circle near the wall, beginning at the west of the door, members of the Tamisik phratry on that side of the lodge, and those of the Sipu"nhka on the east, an order observed as well by all others that entered the house of mystery. Each hung his shield overhead and his medicine to a rafter or to a pole planted in front of him, and then proceeded to smear himself from head to foot with white clay. Opposite the door and behind the centre-posts in the place of honor sat the Maker. Over his head hung a basket filled with balls of corn pemmican; on them lay a pipe. In front of him, but to his right, near one of the posts, was a scaffold of slender sticks on which {view image of page 28} 28 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN reposed the articles supposed to have been worn by Nfimak-mahana. The Maker's medicine swung suspended from a pole. As darkness settled, one who had formerly been Okipe-kiseka carried in and deposited in front of the first faster west of the entrance an uncured buffalo-hide rolled into a cylinder and tied near each end with a twisted rope of grass. This drum symbolized and took the place of the three Turtles on the first night and day of the ceremony. Three of the men who had inherited or purchased the right to sing the Okipe songs sat down before it. Their entire bodies were painted red; a single tuft of sage was fastened in their hair; and about wrists, elbows, knees, and ankles were worn amulets to ward off the sickness that else would have been incurred by breathing the dust raised by the dancers. Each had a handful of sage with which to wipe the perspiration from his face. Two young men chosen from the spectators, who by now had gathered in the lodge, stood beside the singers, each with a rawhide rattle in his hand, and the Maker laid in front of the roll of rawhide a filled pipe and a ball of pemmican. At the conclusion of four songs, or sometimes five, the two youths divided the pemmican while the singers smoked the pipe. Their leader then called out, Ho6tahe, ihike kedehofh! Kamiseka, ihihke kedehoAh! - " Hoitahe, the pipe is going! Maker, the pipe is going!" He who personated H6iotahe, sitting on the Maker's right, bade him "Go and get the pipe! " The latter immediately came forward, drew both hands slowly down the length of the pipe, symbolically receiving power from the leader of the singers, who held it in his hands. Returning to his station he refilled it and placed it on a scaffold where lay the buffalo-skin costumes to be used by the dancers. The three singers filled and smoked their own pipe, -a pipe of black stone, for they could not use the red stone since it was believed to be blood, - and their leader cried, Numak-ma'ana, pke mawahadhata!-"Nuimak-mahana, move the Turtle!" At that the one representing the mythic creator -there were more than one possessing that right, either from inheritance or through purchase, but only one officiated in each observance of Okipe - moved the rawhide farther to the left, and the singers followed. In the meantime the devotees stood, sat, or lounged in their {view image of facing page 28} Numak-Mahana [photogravure plate] {view image of page 29} THE MANDAN 29 places, some silent and thoughtful, others uttering heartrending sobs and cries of anguish as they stretched forth open hands to the medicine bundles and besought the mysterious powers above to take pity on them. Again two youths were summoned from the crowd to use the rattles; the Maker laid pipe and food before the drum, and the singing started anew. Thus the drum was moved forward, stopping at different points in front of the votaries, until it reached the spot at the eastern side of the door. The singing continued until about midnight, or until the fasters had ceased to cry aloud to the spirits; and frequently this was not long before dawn. At sunrise three men chosen by Nfimak-mahana from those qualified to perform the function carried out the rawhide roll and deposited it near mnimi'tahhe, on the side toward the lodge. Each with his drumstick sat beside it, and two youths, also selected by Nuimak-mahana, took their places with the rattles. Then appeared the Maker wearing an apron of antelope-skin, which fell from waist to ankles, and a head-covering of old buffalo-hair, which hung down over his eyes save when he raised it with his hand to see his way before him. Laying the customary pipe and pemmican in front of the singers, he passed around minimi'taihhe on the west, and at the south side stood upon a buffalo-skull, which he himself had placed there, clutching the slabs of the sacred enclosure and pressing his face against it, while he wept loudly and sorrowfully in supplication to the spirits. At the same instant the singing and the beating of the drum began, and two fasters appeared wrapped close, body and head, in their shaggy buffalo-robes. One to the east, the other to the west, they moved, dancing in a large circle to the rear of minim?'tahihe; meeting, they advanced together rhythmically back of the crying Maker, then separating they stood facing the sacred enclosure, but still dancing, one at the northeast, the other at the northwest corner. Another pair followed in the same manner and took their places beside the first two; and thus the fasters continued until all stood there in two rows about minimi'taihhe, extending from the Maker to the singers. Then, "All are out!" shouted Nfimakmahana, and as the wild chanting of another song filled the air the {view image of page 30} 30 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN fasters danced backward and about without regular order. As the song approached its end they moved gradually toward the covered entry-way of the medicine-lodge, forming there in two rows facing each other and extending outward parallel with the walls of the passage-way. Their robes, supported on arms partly outstretched, created two black unbroken walls between which passed the singers, the Maker, and the personators of myth-characters. Then the fasters themselves withdrew into the lodge. At noon, and again just before sunset, the dance was repeated. When the participants had finally retired, the women in response to the bidding of Nfimak-mahana, whose duty it was to keep the fire blazing at night, gathered great fagots of willows and deposited them outside the door, whence young men removed them and piled them on each side of the entrance, observing the rule that each phratry had its own side of the lodge. Nuimak-mahana for the first time arrayed himself in the costume that all this time had been reposing on its scaffold. His body was painted red, and a wolf-skin half covered his shoulders; on his hair was perched a stuffed raven, and upright at the back of his head appeared a short rod from which depended a row of raven and white crane feathers inserted into a narrow strip of skin, and from whose tip curved a short buffalo-tail. A wide band of brown buffalo-hair covering his forehead, collar and anklets of jack-rabbit skin, and a kilt of twisted strands of buffalo-hair completed his dress. In the crook of his left arm rested a large pipe of wood inlaid with stone, and his right hand gripped a sword-shaped club of ash, on one side of which appeared the carved images of the Moon and the Thunderbird, on the other of the Sun and the Morning Star. Thus accoutred, a striking figure, he visited the lodges of the three custodians of the Turtles and carried these sacred effigies one by one into the ceremonial lodge, making a pretence of exerting great strength in moving the Turtles and their imprisoned spirit-buffalo. Taking their place beside the Turtle-drums, the three singers who had performed on the preceding night painted them with red and added offerings of eagle-feathers to the thick clusters that already were massed around their necks. The ceremony progressed as on the first night, the {view image of facing page 30} Buffalo dance costume - Mandan [photogravure plate] {view image of page 31} THE MANDAN 3I singers and the wielders of the rattles moving by degrees around the lodge, following the Turtles as they were carried forward by Numakmahana and two youthful assistants, who each time in single file bore them completely around the lodge, past the spot where sat the singers, to their new position. As on the first night the fasters cried out pitifully their petitions to the mysteries. Early in the morning of the second day, while young men were bringing from the lowlands huge armfuls of green willow branches to be used in dressing the Buffalo Dancers, Numak-mahana came forth apparelled in the full costume of his prototype, and as he went about distributing small bits of a mixture of corn, beans, squash, and sunflower seeds, presents given as offerings to the real Nfimakmahana were showered upon him from every side. Reentering the lodge, he was addressed by the leader of the singers: "Friend, you have been roaming about the country. What have you seen? " "Many buffalo are coming," he made answer; "game is abundant, and so are the crops. I have seen many scalps waving above the village, and the people dancing joyfully." In the meantime eight men, who had now entered the lodge with the intention of participating in the eight Buffalo Dances to be performed on this day, were being painted by men of their own selection. As they stood with arms half outstretched at the sides, holding their bodies rigid and motionless by means of a staff in each hand, they were painted with a black stripe an inch and a half wide down the middle of the chest, which was then completely enclosed in black by a line drawn across it just below the clavicle, a second across the abdomen, and another down each side of the chest. The space thus circumscribed was painted red, but across the lower half ran three bars of white clay. The remainder of the upper part of the body was black, as were also the neck, upper arms, wrists, hands, thighs, ankles, and feet. Forearms and calves were marked with longitudinal lines of alternate red and white. From a platform in the back of the lodge were taken the costumes of the Buffalo Dancers, each of whom now donned anklets of thick buffalo-hair, and a belt from which hung a knee-length kilt consisting of ribbons of buffalo {view image of page 32} 32 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN skin. A short buffalo-robe was thrown over the dancer's back and head, the long black hair falling over his face and leaving only mouth and chin exposed. At the back was a single buffalo-horn pointing upward, and under the thongs that fastened it to the mask were thrust numerous green willow branches from above and below, until a great bushy sheaf of them projected above the dancer's head and another swept the ground. Each thumb passed through a hole at the edge of the skin, and the hands were held out on a level with the shoulders, while the elbows remained bent, producing the effect of bat's wings. Nimak-mahana and his two aids placed the Turtles at the north side of mnimi'tahhe, facing the ceremonial lodge; the Maker laid pipe and pemmican before them, took his position on the buffaloskull, and began to wail; drums beat and singers chanted shrilly, when suddenly appeared two of the masked dancers. With upper bodies bent to a horizontal position they moved with a forcible, yet not rapid, skipping step around opposite sides of the sacred enclosure to the south side, where they crossed and danced forward to the Maker. With scarcely an interval came a second pair dancing up between the first two, who spread apart to accommodate the newcomers, and when the two remaining couples had joined them the entire line danced without leaving its position. While the singing continued they moved forward, still keeping the dance-step, and formed an arch about the Turtles, its base resting upon m-nimi'tahhe and its crown toward the lodge. Another song was begun, and they broke ranks, dancing at will about the open space, spreading their arms and exhibiting the painting on their breasts. Finally they formed in two lines outward from the lodge door, and the various actors in the drama retired. Eight times during the day the Buffalo Dance was performed without variation. The third night of the ceremony was marked by the selection of men to personate in the dances of the following day various animals such as bear, skunk, eagle, hawk, snake, and antelope, and two stars, two women, and the myth-character OhSkilhedhe, Foolish Doer. Nfimak-mahana, walking about with his great pipe in front of the spectators, would call out: {view image of facing page 32} Ready for Okipe buffalo dance - Mandan [photogravure plate] {view image of page 33} THE MANDAN 33 "I want a man to be Bear! " Someone to whom the bear was medicine would respond: "Bring it here!" He received the pipe, and while he clasped it in his hands Niumakmahana spoke aloud, promising him many good things from the spirits. "What you give, I gain," said the other, handing back the pipe. Any other man who possessed the bear-medicine and wished to participate in the morrow's dance expressed his desire in the same way. Youths without medicine engaged to play the part of antelope. In the end Nfimak-mahana lighted the pipe and passed it among those who had accepted parts, holding it for each to puff. Then the spectators filed out, and the usual order of singing was observed. The next morning fresh willows were gathered for the eight new Buffalo Dancers, and those who were to represent animals assembled in the ceremonial lodge, characteristically dressed and painted. A pair of Buffalo Dancers at each end of the lodge danced to the rhythm of a song and the beating of the Turtle-drums; the two couples approached each other, passed, turned, and passed again, all the while making gestures with body and head imitative of the buffalo. At the fourth and final repetition of the song they simulated a fight between buffalo bulls. Then in their order came all the other animal dancers, each kind stepping to the music of its own song and fighting in characteristic manner during the last repetition of it. At about this time the people caught sight of a solitary figure approaching the village in a zigzag line. Instantly all was confusion and excitement. As he came nearer it could be seen that his body was black. About his hideous mouth was a square of white, and a wooden ring wrapped with corn-husks was held in place over each eye by a cord passing back of the head. A disc of red on his chest represented the sun, and a red crescent between his shoulders the new moon. The side of each knee and elbow was marked with a small round spot of red surrounded by a narrow line of white, so that his limbs seemed to be pierced with holes. Suspended from a thong about his neck was another corn-husk ring. His headdress was a close-fitting cap of buffalo-skin, its hair clipped short VOL. V-3 {view image of page 34} 34 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN and painted red, surmounting which like a crest was a black eagletail. He carried a long staff whose lower end terminated in an elastic ball of buffalo-hair wrapped in white deerskin, from one side of which streamed long hair as though the ball were an enemy's head. Ever as he ran he pushed his staff before him, the ball skipping and bounding over the ground. Amid the shouting of men and women, the shrill cries of frightened children, and the excited barking of dogs, Ohki hedhe entered the village and moved about the crowded streets, vaulting with his staff over anyone too slow in making way for him. The women fled from his approach in well-feigned terror. Now and again offerings were thrown on the ground before him, when invariably he started back in the greatest surprise, then made the sign, "Good!" Two men, who also owned the right to enact the part of Ohkinhedhe, followed him and collected these presents, which later were divided among the three. The clown directed his apparently aimless course into the ceremonial lodge, just in time to perform his dance after the other maskers had finished theirs. When the Turtles had been carried out, and the Maker had taken his place at the farther side of minimi'tahhe, the fasters, painted yellow and wearing aprons of sage, marched forth in single file, and side by side, with the space of almost two feet between each two, they lay face downward on the ground back of the Maker, their heads toward the west. In pairs the Buffalo danced out, passed around mmnimi'taIhhe, and leaped over the fasters, stepping between each two. They were followed by the other animal dancers, and lastly by Ohkinhedhe; then all disposed themselves in order around the sacred cedar, facing it, a pair of Buffalo Dancers at each semi-cardinal point and the others between them. The circle moved back, then dispersed, and in the irregular dance that followed each mimicked the actions of the creature he represented. Women were constantly offering food to the growling, body-swaying Bears, but it was as constantly snatched up by the Eagles, who in turn were pursued and deprived of their booty by a horde of Antelope. The clown, as the dance progressed, encountered the two maskers personating women. He at once followed the one of grave and sedate manner, saying by signs that he loved her, and offering her his corn-husk neck-ornament. {view image of facing page 34} Packs Wolf As Numak-Mahana - Mandan [photogravure plate] {view image of page 35} THE MANDAN 35 But she was blind to his entreaties, and he turned his attention to the other, who, more frivolous and foolish, was all smiles and encouragement, and accepted his attentions. The incident was intended to furnish a lesson in morals for maid and matron. Altogether there was a deal of laughter and merrymaking. The animal dancers and Ohkiihedhe participated in the first four of the twelve Buffalo Dances occurring on this third day. Entering the lodge at the conclusion of the fourth dance the clown held his staff crosswise, and of course when it came in contact with the doorposts it snapped - a sign that his part in the ceremony was finished. His two assistants rolled up a calf-skin and fastened on it the cornhusk rings and cap of Ohkinhedhe, making an effigy which the donor of the skin elevated on a tall pole. The clown himself, closely wrapped in a buffalo-skin, retired to a secluded spot on the riverbank to remove his paint, while the other maskers went in a body to the customary bathing pool. The two who played the part of stars, however, continued to dance, and during the events of the succeeding night they stood motionless behind the Maker's seat until dawn. Only in the first dance did the fasters assume their prostrate position behind minimi'tahhe; at other times they remained in the lodge or sat on the roof watching the dancers. Those who wished to do so were permitted to withdraw from further participation at the end of the third day, whether because they had experienced a vision or because they had become disheartened in their quest. As a rule, those who intended to submit their bodies to torture waited until the fourth day; but if any chose to do so before retiring on the third day, he had that privilege. One of his clansmen, called from the assembly, with thumb and forefinger raised the flesh on the breasts or shoulders and pushed through it a knife with a nicked edge, cutting through the outer edge of the muscles. Through each of the two slits was pressed a stout skewer, over which was fastened a loop in the end of a rawhide rope, and the line running over a roof-timber of the entry-way was drawn taut until the devotee hung free of the ground. At the conclusion of the dance the eight Buffalo Dancers jostled roughly against the swinging body as they withdrew into the lodge. After a brief {view image of page 36} 36 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN interval, long enough only to produce unconsciousness, the faster was lowered to the ground. The proceedings of the fourth night were a repetition of those of the second. On the final day the Buffalo Dancers numbered but four, all men of unusually powerful physique. Except for the addition of a black streak across the face below the mouth, and a line of black down the nose and each cheek, they were painted and garbed exactly as the eight had been on the preceding day. A strong leafy hoop about five inches in diameter, made of intertwined willows, was hung over the horn at the back of their buffalo-skin capes. Frequently while being painted they would fall as if stricken by some mysterious power. In the meantime, the younger men of the village had painted themselves after their individual custom, and they now entered the lodge, each with his hoop of willow and a willow rod to which several sunflower stalks had been tied. After a preliminary dance by the four Buffalo Dancers, they and the other participants, excepting the fasters, passed outside for the Buffalo Dance, which was performed sixteen times in the course of the day.' In the interval before the last appearance of the dancers, those fasters who wished to undergo further ordeal in their effort to communicate with the spirits were pierced through their breasts or back of their shoulders and suspended from the roof, while from other slits in the arms at shoulder and elbow, and in the legs at hip and knee, were hung shield, robe, medicine bundle, and buffalo-skulls. Weakened as they were by long fasting, oblivion came quickly, and they were let down to the ground. Outside, the four Buffalo Dancers were playing their parts at the semi-cardinal points. Unhampered now by the capes of buffalo-skin, they and the young men by grasping the willow hoops formed in a circle around mmnimJ'tahhe, and as they swung madly around the sacred cedar post the fasters were led out, freed of the skewers that had pierced their breasts, but not of the objects that hung from their other wounds. Two clansmen or friends were selected for each devotee, who, laying hold of their willow hoops, ran between them about the sacred enclosure, faster and faster. Weak 1 In later years this number was usually lessened. {view image of facing page 36} Buffalo dancer - Mandan [photogravure plate] {view image of page 37} THE MANDAN 37 and faint he soon lost his feet, but hanging to the hoops with the grip of death he was dragged headlong at a rapid pace round and round the circle, until his encumbrances were left behind, torn from the flesh, and he lay unconscious ready to receive the revelations of the spirits. All this was to the accompaniment of the wildest singing, during which Ho6itahe, holding a bundle of a hundred sticks, dropped them slowly to the ground, one by one, and with the falling of the last the singing and the dragging of the votaries ceased. The four dancers gathered around the Turtles, and as the voices of the singers rose once more, everyone threw his hoop into the air with a shout. The Buffalo Dancers took their places at the entrance of the lodge, and in the usual order the performers passed in between them. The fasters, emaciated and bloody, resumed their position around the wall, and to those on the side of the Tamisik phratry one of the singers gave a bit of pemmican, which they rubbed on their bodies; while the Sipu~nhka were commanded to wash their persons with masticated leaves. The Buffalo Dancers repaired to an unfrequented spot on the river-bank to bathe; the singers carried the sacred Turtles into a sweat-lodge, and the fasters sought their homes, to be washed and fed. Two of the songs employed in this ceremony are as follow: Alegro >.. > > > > > > DRUM.C= -_Z... > ~ ' > > - - m -- -- - I --- —-. —r —l- _ ----r ---- _-, —1 1_=>^= —>- <-^=d cg== m St m = z..,, i::::::=^q^=1^^^==j^^q==1^^^=^Pq-qn ^ -- = -- -^ -- ^ - ^ -h - ^ ^ ^ ^ 1F P {view image of page 38} 38 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN > > - ^ 0- > A,l. > > > V r,. > > > > faster iA' t. * > > > t/ n,. -> > > "> _> > > t/ A l > > > > > > DRUM _A 6 >_ * V {view image of page 39} THE MANDAN 39 Mythology Genesis Myth A man appeared running on the earth. It yielded beneath his feet, and he went quickly, never walking, in order to avoid breaking through the crust. That was Numak-ma'hana, One Man. About his shoulders hung the skin of a gray wolf, and his moccasins and anklets were of jack-rabbit skin. On his back, inside the robe and extending above his head, was a staff decorated with raven-wings and an eaglefeather, and in the crook of his left arm he carried a pipe. As he looked at the earth, he thought: "This is not good. The earth is not solid to walk on. I see nothing anywhere except myself. Whence came I? " Looking behind him he saw his tracks, and thought, "Perhaps if I go back I may see something and learn whence I came." So he went back and at last came to a clump of weeds, and crawling up one of the stalks was a very large grasshopper, one which had not wings large enough to enable him to fly. He stood looking at the weeds and the grasshopper, and thought, "I wonder which one of you is my mother?" But he did not speak. He turned away and hurried on, and after a while met another man, Ki-numakshi, He Becomes Chief. "Ho, Younger Brother! " was his greeting. "This is the first time I have been called Younger Brother," responded Ki-numakghi. "It seems to me that I should be called Elder Brother." Then followed a dispute as to which should have the honor of being Elder Brother. "Let us stand here," said Ki-numakghi; "the one who lasts the longer shall be Elder Brother." "No, my Little Brother," spoke Nfmak-mahana, "that would not be fair, since I am so much stronger than you." "I know you are strong, but we will decide it that way," answered the other. So Numak-maihana took his staff in his hand, made three motions toward the earth, and then thrust it deep in the ground, saying, "This will stand for me." {view image of page 40} 40 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN Ki-numakshi shook himself and became a sleek, finely formed coyote, which, after turning around four times as if making a bed, lay down beside the pole. Nfmak-mihana went away, looking thoughtfully at the earth and considering its unfinished condition. In the course of time he forgot all about Ki-numakghi, but one day, longing for a companion, he remembered, and his heart was sad that he had not made a friend of him. "Now," he said, "he is dead. But it was not my fault, for he said he was Elder Brother. I shall go back to the place and see what is there." He found only a pile of whitened bones to remind him of the coyote, and his staff had rotted half away. Again he went wandering away over the world, and after a long time returned once more. This time there was no trace of the coyote, but over the spot where the bones had lain a dark patch of grass was growing thickly. His staff had rotted away until only a stub was left. He said to himself, sorrowfully, "Well, now you see! You would be Elder Brother, and now you are dead! " He pulled up the rotting staff, and it at once became as it was in the beginning. At the same instant there appeared standing before him a sleek coyote, which immediately became a man. "Now you see that I am the elder," he cried, exulting over Nfimakmahana, who was compelled to yield him the honor of being Elder Brother. They separated, and after a long time met again in the east where the yielding sand of the earth was bordered by water. "Elder Brother," said Numak-mahana, "let us make this earth good with rivers, lakes, springs, hills, and trees." "I have just found that thought. Let us do this," was the answer. So Numak-mahana stretched forth his staff and there was the river flowing into the great water. Then he said: "Elder Brother, you go north of the river and I shall work on the south, and let us make a good land." So it was divided between them. When their labors were finished, Numak-mahana went to see what Ki-numakghi had done, and was displeased with the flat unbroken surface of the land to the north. {view image of facing page 40} Mandan girl [photogravure plate] {view image of page 41} THE MANDAN 4I1 "It is just the way I wanted it," declared its maker; "it is smooth and easy to walk on." He then returned with Niumak-mahana to the south and was greatly pleased with the varied appearance of the country, its streams and lakes, green hills, and rolling prairies. Again they separated. As he went, Numak-mhiana looked at himself and wondered about his origin and why he was carrying the pipe and staff. Soon he came upon a Buffalo Bull lying on the ground. "Why do you lie there, brother?" he asked. "I do not know," was the answer; "I eat this grass, but I do not know who made me. What is that you are carrying?" "I do not know," said Niumak-mahana; "there is a hole, but nothing to put into it." Said Buffalo, "I will make you something to put into it." So he pawed the earth and made a little soft wallow. Then he told Numak-mahana to go away and to return when he heard the earth rumbling. Nfimak-mahana departed, and after a time heard the earth rumbling and felt it shake beneath his feet. "What is that for?" he asked of himself. He pondered long, and when he remembered what Buffalo had told him, he returned. There in the wallow he saw a fine growth of beautiful plants in bloom; butterflies were fluttering about and alighting on the blossoms. That was tobacco. Buffalo Bull said, "Pick a handful of these leaves and blossoms." Then he rolled over, leaving a blanket of his hair on the ground. "Dry your leaves on that," he said. When the tobacco was dry, Numak-mahana filled his pipe, and asked, "What am I to do with this?" Buffalo sent him to a certain man whose body was painted red, who told him to return to Buffalo Bull and get a dry buffalo-chip. So he brought the chip and received fire on it. This man was the Fire that burns in the ground of itself. After Nuimak-mahana and Buffalo had smoked together, the latter took from himself a paunch, which the wanderer carried away filled with tobacco. As he ran, he was constantly looking to see if there were others like himself. Not finding any, he decided to make some, and when he came {view image of page 42} 42 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN to where the river met the great water, he took the lower rib from each side of his body, and of the right he formed a man, and of the left a woman. Nfimak-mahana left them for a while, and on his return found a man-child and a woman-child. Raising them in the air and singing, he made them grow at once to maturity, and bade them mate. Thrice more was this repeated, until at length there were five pairs of human beings. These lived together in one village, and were the first Mandan. Numak-mahana went away, promising to return. After many years he came back and found the valley crowded with lodges, so that the air was filled with the smoke of the fires as if the earth were covered with a fog. He was surprised to see what he had accomplished. A second time he went away, travelling over the earth, and again remembering his people he returned and saw that there had been another great increase. The lodges could not be counted. He thought it best to separate them into groups, each with its chiefs, and he bade each live in a village of his own. Then he went away once more, never walking but always running. After many years he returned again and decided to be born as a Mandan. First he looked about through the villages, and beginning at the east found the people frivolous and foolish, so he would not be one of them. In the next village the women were continually looking out for men. In the fifth, the largest, he found only good people; they were the Mahikina. He chose a beautiful young woman to be his mother, and transforming himself into a dead Buffalo with its side torn open, came floating down the river. The girl was in the garden with her mother, and going to get a drink, she saw the carcass of the Buffalo coming down the river, and rushing into the water she pulled it ashore. The kidney-fat was exposed, and she ate of it. Then she went to call her mother to help bring the animal out of the water, but when they arrived at the place where the carcass had been tied to the willows, it was gone. In a short while it was noticed that the girl was to become a mother, and the people all spoke of it, as she had no husband. In due time the child was born, and they wrapped it in deerskin; but it cried continually, until they exchanged the deerskin for buffalo-skin with the {view image of page 43} THE MANDAN 43 hairy side inward. As the child grew into a fine strong boy and played about with the other children, the people almost forgot that he had no father. One day the chief sat on the housetop scanning the village. The boys were sliding down a hill and into a hollow; but after they had disappeared from his sight he would always see a Buffalo Calf following them. The chief made sure of his sight and called other men to see this thing. Another day he was on the roof and some boys came along and jumped into a hole from which the earth had been taken in repairing the house. Again he noticed a Buffalo Calf among them, and called some men to see. It was Niumak-mahana revealing his spirit to the chief. Certain that this boy was a mysterious being, the chief invited him to come to his house and partake of food. After the corn soup was eaten, he ordered the four-kinds mixture to be brought. The boy ate the whole of it, and the people thought, "This is a buffalo turned into a boy;" for the buffalo were very fond of corn. Many times after that the chief asked the boy to visit him, and at length the wonderful youth began to foretell to him the coming of herds of buffalo. Little by little the people learned of his mysterious power, and when he became a young man it was known that he was Nfimakmahana. There was another being of mysterious power in the same village - a Black Eagle in the form of a man. His body was the darkness. The people called him Ho6itahe, and he had a following even larger than that of Nfmak-mahana. One day the people secured a white buffaloskin, and after much talk it was given to H6iotahe. Jealous and angry, Nuimak-mahana prayed to Thunderbird to cause a heavy rain that would wash into the lodge and spoil the skin; and to Sun and Whirlwind to complete the work of destruction by shrivelling and blowing it away. His medicine was strong, and after a pouring rain and a burning sun, the Wind whirled away bull-boats, skins, and corn-scaffolds, and in the midst of great excitement the white robe was seen flying away. The hide came to the ground in the south near another tribe, which had just decided to make a visit to the Mandan. 1 Corn, beans, dried squash, and sunflower seeds, all pounded and mixed with buffalo-fat. {view image of page 44} 44 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN So again the skin was brought to the village of the Mahikina and given to a follower of Nfimak-mahana, and thus it came in the end to him. Ho6itahe was very angry, and in the winter, after the stores of berries, corn, beans, and squash were nearly exhausted, he took all the living animals into a butte in order to starve Nfimak-maihana and the people. Thereafter when the people went out hunting they killed nothing. Nfimak-mahana himself went into the hills and found bones, some of which had marrow in them, and he gave them to his starving people. One day from the top of a high hill he saw a Raven flapping slowly toward the butte. "That must be the last bird going in," he thought. On other days he saw a White Crane, an Eagle, then a Wolf, a Jack-rabbit, and last, seven Buffalo, all going to the same place. He determined to find out how to get in, and went to the butte, but could see no opening. While looking for the entrance he heard a voice "Nfimak-mahana, you seem to have lost your power. That Raven you saw was the raven-wing from your staff. The Crane and the Eagle, too, were your feathers. The Jack-rabbit was the skin from your ankles, and the Wolf your wolf-skin blanket. Pretty soon your pipe will be rolling into the butte, and then your body will follow if you do not do something! Why do you not do something?" He looked and saw that Field-mouse was speaking. Then he glanced down, and sure enough he had nothing left but his pipe. Field-mouse then told him he must make peace in some way with Ho6ntahe, and in order to do so he must get into the butte. The only way was to change himself into a large Jack-rabbit, for the Jackrabbits came out every day to eat cactus, and at dusk went back. So he did as Field-mouse told him, and went to the butte, but all the animals were inside. He asked to be admitted, but Hointahe cried: "No! Go away; you are Nfimak-mahana, and I know it!" "No, no," said Numak-mahana, "I am Jack-rabbit. Ask someone in there." So the question was asked, and Field-mouse said, "We are not {view image of page 45} THE MANDAN 45 yet all here. The Jack-rabbit that tied the eagle-feather to the staff of Numak-mahana is not in. That must be the one out there." Then having assumed the shape of a Jack-rabbit, he was admitted. The butte was full of animals, and in the midst of them sat Hoi~tahe, wrapped in a thick-haired buffalo-robe. His eyes flashed fire. Numak-maihana became a Spider and crawled to the top of the cave, and from there he watched H6iotahe and his animal people making medicine. In the morning when the Jack-rabbits went out he returned to the village. That night he called all the people into one house, and in the middle placed a young man who looked like H6otahe. In each eye of the man he put a Firefly. A great fire was lighted, and they made medicine as those in the butte had done. When the animals heard the loud singing and saw the light of the fire, Marten went down to see what it meant, and returning told Ho6itahe that the people were using his medicine; but his report was not believed, and the next night Red Fox was sent down. He brought the same news, and on the third night Wildcat looked carefully, came back, and said: "I saw you, or perhaps it was your son, making medicine. It is not good to remain penned up in this place, for you cannot starve these people when they have your medicine." Then H6iotahe decided to see this thing for himself, and Nfimakmahana, knowing that he was coming, told a woman what to do. When Hoi tahe entered the lodge and saw a man who looked like him and used his medicine, he cried, "Who are you? " The woman stepped in front of him, and said, "That is our son! When you lived here I was your wife, and that is your son." Ho6itahe would not believe her, and told them to replenish the fire, so that he might see if the man was in truth his son. He looked carefully at him on every side, and said, "Yes, he is like me; but now I must see his eyes. Look at me, boy! " At that moment some of the people, at the bidding of Nfimakmahana, pushed the sticks from the fire, and in the semi-darkness the Fireflies flashed like the eyes of H6iotahe himself. "Nfimak-mahana," said he, "I see that you are a medicine {view image of page 46} 46 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN man. You have done this thing, and now I cannot kill you with hunger, for my son is among your people." So he returned to the butte and released the animals, and once more the people had food. H6oitahe went back to the village of the Mahikina, and the two men of mystery became friends. Nfmak-mhiana pondered what he should do to help the people become strong, and he asked Hointahe to aid him in initiating a great dance, which would be called Okipe. Eight buffalo masks were made, and for the drum they tried Badger. But one blow of the stick drove his legs into the ground, strong as he was. Then they tried to persuade Beaver to be the drum, but he refused. "I am soft," he said, "for I live in the mud, and if Badger was not good, I surely would not do." Next they tried River Turtle and other strong animals, but all these when beaten were driven into the ground. So for a while they gave up the search for a drum and built the dance-lodge. In front of it they placed a round palisade of split slabs, in the middle of which they planted the sacred post of cedar and painted it red. They called that mlnimi'tahhe. Then Nfmak-mahana went forth in his search for the drum and came to the great water. Being mahopini he walked far out upon it, and in the distance saw what appeared to be a clump of weeds; but going closer he found them to be large oaks growing from the cracks in the shells of four enormous Turtles. These were like islands, and their shells a rocky surface of many colors. He filled his pipe and went toward them, holding it before him. One of them said, "Why are you holding that pipe in front of you?" "My friends," he answered, "I am looking for a drum. My people have fine corn and good food, and I wish you to go back with me." Said they: "We are just like land in this place. We are very heavy. If you can take us, we will go." Extending his staff, Nfimak-mahana made the waters walk back, and stooped to lift the Turtles, but they were far too heavy. "Look well at our bodies," they told him; "then go back to your {view image of page 47} THE MANDAN 47 people and make of buffalo-skin shells just like ours, and we will go into them." So Nfimak-mahana returned, and of the thick neck-skin of two buffalo bulls made four drums, which looked just like the shells of the Turtles. They were hardened over the fire, and the legs and the drumsticks were made of the oak that Nfmak-mahana had brought from the great water. Then he bade all the people be quiet while the Turtles entered. So they were very still, and as the Turtles were mah6pini they went in, though nobody saw them. Numakmahana sewed up the skins, and the Turtles have remained there ever since. Now that drums were provided, the people were ready for the dance. Nimak-mahana directed that for four days the men should neither eat nor drink, and women should not enter the lodge in which they dwelt. After the ceremony Nfimak-mahana said that he was going away, for he had lived long with them, eating the same food, drinking the same water, laughing when they laughed, sorrowing when they were troubled. He told them that when they were in want of food, they should take out the Turtle of that season and pray to it, when buffalo would be sent to them; for the buffalo-spirit also was in them. When they were in danger, they should call his name, and help would come; and if ever the Mandan became weak in numbers and wished to die together, they should turn the Turtles on their backs, sing a song, which he gave them, and strike the drums once. He then went away to the south. The people had been moving up the river and arrived at last near the Cannonball. Here one day they brought out the Turtles to decorate them, as was the custom. Three they adorned with black eagle-feathers, and the fourth with a spotted one. Angry with jealousy the Turtle rushed down to the river, and though many laid hold of him, they were not strong enough to prevent him from disappearing in its depths. In their trouble they called for Numakmahana, and he came. When he was told of their difficulty he held his staff over the water, which divided and revealed the Turtle lying at the bottom. {view image of page 48} 48 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN "Why did you run away from these people? " he asked. "They gave the others eagle-feathers, but to me only a snowbird-feather," was the Turtle's reply. Nfimak-mahana explained in vain that the feather they had given him was that of a spotted eagle, which was the best. "I am here in this water now, and I like it. I will not go back," said the Turtle. After that the people kept calling on Nfimak-mhiana for help in lesser troubles, and after coming many times, he said, "This time when I go away I shall not return. But when a gentle breeze blows from the south, that will be my spirit." Afterward, at a time when the people were being overwhelmed by their enemies, many medicine-men tried to call Nfimak-mahana back, but without success. The only medicine-man who had not tried said he would bring Nfmak-mahana if the people would first give him presents. So they made a great heap of robes, and on the top spread the skin of a white buffalo calf. The medicine-man sat down on the pile and wrapped the white skin about him, chanting, "I am going, I shall return! I am gone, I have returned! " Then throwing off the skin, he sat there reeking with sweat, as if he had been running a long way. He cried, "He is coming! " The people looked to the south and saw Nfmak-mahana approaching them, running, as he always did, and the sunlight glinted on his staff. As he waved the staff toward the enemy, those within reach of its magic power fell dead, and the besieging horde fled from his wrath. That was the last time Nfmak-mahana was seen, but he is still present in the south breeze, and he it is that drives away the cold north wind. The Son of Foolish Doer The daughter of a certain honored man was as well known for her modesty and virtue as for her beauty. On a day when all the rest of the family were in the gardens, she sat alone in the lodge basking in the broad shaft of warm sunlight that streamed through the smoke-hole. Suddenly a shadow fell upon her body, and looking {view image of page 49} THE MANDAN 49 quickly upward she beheld far away in the sky next to the sun a black-visaged man, who made signs that he loved her. The girl gave no response, and after another declaration of his love the apparition vanished. This was Ohkinhedhe.1 In the course of time it was evident that the girl was to become a mother, but to her grieved parents she avowed herself innocent of any wrong. The child was born, but the women present were unable to discover it until, looking about, they saw a diminutive baby, black as a crow, dancing up and down in the middle of the lodge. Then it was known that the young woman was innocent and had been chosen by some spirit to be the mother of his child. The boy grew rapidly, and constantly moved about with quick, alert actions. Usually he left the lodge by way of the smoke-hole. One day he asked his grandfather to make him some little arrows, and when they were finished he desired a close-fitting cap of clipped buffalo-hair with a black eagle-tail for a crest. Thus equipped he would sally forth into the hills and slay many evil creatures. At length the spirits united in an effort to destroy this menace to their peace, and producing a dense fog so that Ohkinhedhe might not see the conflict and come to his son's aid, they approached the village. The youthful mahiopmni assembled the people in one lodge where they would be secure from random missiles, and went forth. Soon Ohkinhedhe's son returned filled with arrows, which he plucked from his body before going back to battle. Three times the champion of the people sought shelter to remove arrows from his wounds, and the last time he informed them that he could not return again, for he was to be killed. And so it proved to be, for he was never seen again. When the fog rolled away, Ohkinhedhe, looking down from the sky, perceived his son lying dead. With rage in his heart he sought the murderers, and meeting Nfimak-mahana accused him of the deed. The other, however, denied all knowledge of it, and then, 1 6kinh dhk, Foolish Doer (o6ka, foolish; "ihIdhl, to act, to do). The anomaly of such a name for a deity suggests that the myth-character was devised to account for the presence of the clown in Okipa, q. v., rather than the reverse. The clown is very frequently seen in Indian ceremonies, and usually, if not always, the greatest respect is manifested toward this character. VOL. V- 4 {view image of page 50} 50 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN being asked to bury the body, he carried it to a hilltop and with his staff split open a great black bowlder. There in the cleft he laid the body of the son of Ohkihedhe, and closed the rock, which still is marked with a line of red blood. The Winning of the Buffalo Looking Down was different from other boys. He never joined in their pastimes, but sat alone on an isolated knoll. His father, Black Eagle, who had assumed human shape, one day soared away never to return; and as the youth, growing day by day more like him, approached manhood, his mother began to cherish for him an affection that had in it something more than a mother's love. The young man noticed this and was displeased. One day as he sat on his lonely hill he seemed to hear sweet singing wafted faintly from the distance. On the morrow the same sounds came to his ears a little more distinctly. The third day he could distinguish his own name in the song, and on the fourth he plainly heard the voices softly singing: "Looking Down, I love you in my heart. I come. But your mother looks at you. This is the thing that strikes my heart. I come from afar, my feet are sore." Two young women appeared, approaching him on either hand. One placed before him a bowl of pemmican and a pair of moccasins, the other a quantity of corn-mixture and another pair of moccasins. They stood with modest downcast eyes awaiting his acceptance of their gifts. Not to displease either, he placed a bit of each kind of food on his tongue at the same time, and drew on his feet one moccasin of each pair. Then silently he arose and led the women to his lodge. His mother was sitting as usual in front of the lodge playing with a ball, her face painted gayly. She wore a dress covered with bright quills, for she used all her efforts to appear young and beautiful since she had begun to feel that profane love for her son. {view image of page 51} THE MANDAN 5i The instant she saw him approaching with two strange young women, she withdrew quickly into the lodge, washed off her paint, put on an old greasy dress, and dusted ashes over her hair. Looking Down entered. "Go and bring in your daughters-inlaw," he said. The mother led them in, and they placed before her presents such as they had given her son. Looking Down was watching her anxiously, fearing she would not have wit to avoid giving offence, but the mother did exactly as he had done, and the two were pleased. In due time one of the wives of Looking Down apprised him that she was about to become a mother. "My mother will be with you," said Looking Down. "No," she responded, "I wish to be alone." Looking Down made no answer, but he thought it strange that his wife should desire to be alone at such a time, and when she went out and passed around a hill, he followed. A mysterious thing occurred. From his concealment he saw his young wife become suddenly a Buffalo Cow, which immediately gave birth to a Calf. This she transformed into a human baby, and herself into a woman, and with her child wrapped in a calf-skin she returned to the lodge. The young man said nothing, but many thoughts were in his heart. On the next day he learned that his other wife was to give him a child. She, too, refused assistance, and made her way into the cornfield. Her husband, following secretly, beheld her turn into a tall waving stalk of corn supporting a single large ear, from which soon sprouted a smaller one. This was transformed into a baby, and the stalk into a woman, who wrapped it in the skin of an elk calf and retraced her steps. But Looking Down still maintained his silence. The boys grew as did other boys. Buffalo Woman made a skop 1 to amuse her son. The other boy cried, wishing to play with it, but Calf Boy would not give it up for a moment, nor would his mother interpose. Corn Woman sat there in silence, and after a while she said, "Come here, my son, you shall have something to play with." From a bag she produced a beautiful striped squash, perfectly round. 1 The perforated stone disc used in the wheel-and-pole game. {view image of page 52} 52 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN Then it was Calf Boy's turn to cry, and Corn Boy retaliated by keeping jealous hold of the squash. His mother, however, chided him, saying, "Let your brother play with it a while;" but still he would not. There ensued a bitter dispute in which Buffalo Woman was the aggressor, and each taunted the other with making the people gray, referring to the dust that coated the fatigued worker in the cornfield and the returning buffalo hunter. Corn Woman had somewhat the better of it, for she could boast that corn benefited the people constantly, while buffalo came to the village only occasionally, and in an angry mood Buffalo Woman took her child upon her back and left the village. When Looking Down discovered one of his wives was gone, he sat down and pondered: if he followed her, the other would be displeased. Divining his thoughts, Corn Woman said, "You may go after her, and it will be well, for my heart is good. I will help you at all times." So for the first time using his inherited mysterious power, he rose high in the air, a wide-winged Black Eagle, and saw far away a Buffalo Cow with a little Calf trotting at her flank. They were travelling through a vast extent of prickly-pear cactus, and he was filled with anxiety for his son, lest the feet of the Calf should be pierced with the thorns. But they passed through in safety, went a little farther, and camped. The Eagle descended, and as a man Looking Down came to the spot, where he found his wife and his son in a new skin lodge. Buffalo-ribs were roasting beside the red coals. The boy ran to him at once and grasped his hands, chattering delightedly: "Here is my father! Come, father, and eat! Mother, mother, here is my father! How did you come through that bad place? I had a terrible time!" The father gave an evasive answer, and entered. The woman did not so much as glance up. He sat down, and she began to eat, without a word or a look. Calf Boy at last could bear it no longer, and furtively snatching the last of the meat, handed it to his father. The night passed without a word, Buffalo Woman continuing utterly to ignore her husband. {view image of page 53} THE MANDAN 53 In the morning Looking Down awoke to find wife, child, and lodge gone, and himself lying in a buffalo-wallow. That day they journeyed through a dense growth of bushes spiked with long sharp thorns. At night the man again found the gleaming white-walled lodge of his wife and child, and the events of the previous night were repeated. As before, morning found him lying alone in a wallow. The third day's progress was obstructed by the well-nigh perpendicular walls of a deep coulee, and on the fourth day they encountered a river, wide and swift, which the Calf crossed with difficulty. That night the woman cut off a piece of meat, which the boy was told to give to his father. After Looking Down had eaten, Calf Boy lay beside him, and began to talk in whispers, forewarning him of the attempts that would be made on his life when they reached the village of the Buffalo on the succeeding night. The next morning Buffalo Woman and Calf Boy did not leave him, and all three journeyed on together over the hill, beyond which lay an enormous village, stretching as far as the eye could see. This was the village of the Buffalo people. The three travellers turned their steps toward the lodge of Buffalo Woman's mother. His spirit-power enabled Looking Down to become as light as a feather, and when the heavy door was suddenly dropped just as he entered, he was blown aside unharmed. Along the wall on one side were arranged ten covered beds, for Buffalo Woman was one of ten sisters. Her mother called out: "Calf's father will hang his bow and arrows on his wife's bed!" Calf Boy was skipping and gambolling about the lodge, apparently in ecstasy at being among his people, but as he passed a certain bed he struck it with a switch of his tail. On that bed Looking Down hung his weapons, and a second time he had the better of the Buffalo. "Calf's father will stand beside his wife!" cried the mother-in-law quickly. The ten sisters had gathered around the fire, and to the eye there appeared no point of difference between any two. But again Calf Boy designated with a touch of his tail which one should be his father's choice, and again Looking Down was saved. "All the Calves stand in a row!" was the next command, and the {view image of page 54} 54 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN intruder was required to point out his son, whom he readily recognized by a slight movement of the tail. Thrice foiled in her efforts to find a weakness in Looking Down's medicine, the old Buffalo made one more trial. "I think son-in-law should have a sweat-bath after his long journey," she said. The sweat-lodge was quickly made ready, and stones were heated to redness. Seven Bulls were charged with the duty of preventing the man's escape from the lodge. The two antagonists entered, and the Buffalo dipped a huge hornful of water from a paunch. But no sooner was the lodge filled with steam than Looking Down became a Spider and crawled down one of the hoops of the framework into the ground, putting his arm out to wield the buffalobeard brush.1 At intervals he would call out: "Yellow Calf, tell your grandmother to pour on more water. This is a strange sweat-lodge. It is not warm!" At last his mother-in-law, herself nearly dead, gave up the contest and rushed out. In a little while Looking Down leisurely came out, dry as a bone, and returned to the dwelling-lodge complaining that he had had no sweat. Next a dance was arranged, the intention being to crush and trample Looking Down, but as the seething mass of snorting fieryeyed Bulls rushed in from every side upon the spot where they had just seen Looking Down before a cloud of dust obscured him, his other wife, Corn Woman, suddenly stood beside him. She placed a large basket over him, and when he had grasped its ribs she raised him into the air until the danger was past. One final attempt was made to overcome the medicine of Looking Down. His mother-in-law proposed a wager with him, and he assented. "We will stake our people against each other," she said, "and we will race around the world. As you pass each post, mark a black stripe on it and I will paint a red one." That night Looking Down went secretly to the Snipes, whom he found walking on the edge of a mudhole. "Go and make very soft and muddy the land between the first two posts that mark the corners 1 A buffalo-beard was used to switch the body, and thus induce more profuse perspiration. {view image of page 55} THE MANDAN 55 of the world," he commanded them. When the race was about to begin, Looking Down became a magpie, one stroke of whose wings never failed to carry him forward to the brow of the next hill in front, while his adversary took up a magic staff, whose power was such that by merely touching it to the ground she transported herself a vast distance. The race was close until she planted her staff in the mud. It sank deep, and in trying to extricate it she herself became almost hopelessly mired, so that she had scarcely marked the first post when her opponent finished the course. She came in puffing and chagrined. "I have won your people," said Looking Down. "You have won my people, so far as eyes can see," she admitted. Seeking the bird with the keenest vision, he chose Raven, and went with him to the summit of a hill. "Brother," he commanded, "go up! " and the hill rose higher and higher, until Raven could descry the four posts, and consequently all the earth. Thus were the Buffalo won for the people. {view image of page 56} {view image of page 57} The Arikara {view image of page 58} {view image of page 59} THE ARIKARA General Description THE Arikara, popularly termed Rees (an abbreviated form of the incorrect spelling, Arickaree), are the northernmost fragment of the Caddoan stock. The earliest known habitat of this linguistic group being within the southern drainage area of the Mississippi, it is apparent that the wanderings of the Arikara have covered a vast range of territory, and any influence which a southern habitat may have had on their arts and customs has been almost eradicated by their long residence in the plains bordering the northern river and by contact with the Mandan and Hidatsa. The Arikara are an offshoot of the Pawnee, and more directly of the Skidi band of that tribe. As to why they separated from their brothers, tradition is not clear, but judging from the surviving remnant of the Arikara and from accounts given of them by early travellers, it probably was owing to their ill-nature, which made it impossible for them to live in harmony with any tribe. According to le Sieur de la Verendrye the separation of the two bands occurred about 1734, following an extended intratribal war. In their northward movements the Arikara established their villages at intervals along the Missouri from near the mouth of the Platte to their present locality. It is hard to believe that a people could have travelled so far in such a short time and built so many villages designed for permanent occupancy, the construction of which entailed an enormous amount of labor in cutting, with such rude instruments as they possessed, the logs required in building their lodges. However, the village sites with the traces of their former dwellings are still to be seen, and it is known that within the historical period their movements have been rapid. In 1770 the Arikara were below the mouth of Cheyenne river; Lewis and Clark in 1804 found {view image of page 60} 6o THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN them above the Cannonball; Catlin visited them in 1833 at Grand river, and after the Mandan had been well-nigh exterminated by the smallpox epidemic of 1837, the Arikara joined the remnant of that tribe below Knife river. After the vicissitudes of nearly a century of northward wandering, they in I823 came into serious conflict with the Government, when, having attacked a trading party, they were punished by an expedition of troops and friendly Sioux.' In 1833 they went southward and rejoined the Pawnee in Nebraska; but they soon exhausted their welcome, and at the end of two years were forced by their hosts to return to the Missouri. Tradition and history indicate that at the time of their separation from the Pawnee, the Arikara were a large tribe with ten subdivisions. War and disease must have dealt harshly with them, for when visited by Lewis and Clark they were occupying three villages at the mouth of Grand river and then numbered probably two thousand six hundred. By I871 they had decreased one thousand; in I888 there were but five hundred, while in I907 they numbered three hundred and eighty-nine. The tribal enemies of the Arikara following the separation and during their migration northward were the Wichita, Comanche, Kiowa, Cheyenne, Apsaroke, and of course the Sioux. At times they were on peaceful terms with the Mandan and the Hidatsa, but more often at war. They say that prior to the establishment of final peace with these two sedentary tribes they could not claim a friend or an ally - every man, Indian and white, was an enemy. While ever prone to create trouble and discord, the Arikara have also been unfortunate in their dealings with the white race. Rival fur companies used them as pawns, a policy which in I823 culminated in their attack on a trading party of one of these companies, and the resulting unfriendliness continued throughout the succeeding decade. The first treaty with the Arikara was that of 1825, and in I85I at the general treaty-making at Fort Laramie an agreement with them and with other tribes was formulated. The first reservation boundaries of the Arikara, Mandan, and Hidatsa were established in 1870, but these were contracted ten years later; in I891 the reservation was 1 See Volume III, page 173. {view image of facing page 60} In the medicine-lodge - Arikara [photogravure plate] {view image of page 61} THE ARIKARA 6i again diminished in area, but in the following year a comparatively small tract was added. In 1887 their lands were allotted in severalty, and by the peculiar acts under which this was effected they became citizens of the United States with the right of franchise. Though cursed in I820 by rival fur companies, they are far more heavily burdened now through being purchased and thrown into dissension by rival politicians. The Arikara are a semi-agricultural people, and have apparently been such from an early period, many myths and ceremonies bearing relation to growing corn and other products of the soil. The variety of corn raised is that characteristic of the agricultural tribes in the Southwest - dwarf-like but very leafy stalks with many small ears of varicolored grains growing near the ground. The primitive dwelling of the Arikara is the same as that of the Hidatsa and the Mandan, previously described; and their domestic life so closely resembles that of their neighbors in practically every respect that little further description is required. The basket common to the three tribes is claimed by the Arikara as originally a product of their own art, and writers acquainted with the basketry of the southern Caddoan tribes assert that this is a Caddoan pattern. If this be true, we have to do with a craft retained by the Arikara through all their wanderings. Lewis and Clark stated that the Arikara consisted of ten bands, and although some of these are now extinct, knowledge of the former divisions of the tribe still exists among the older of its members. Marriage within the bands was permissible and was of common occurrence, and children of other unions were regarded as belonging to the father's band. The Arikara seemingly have no knowledge of the clanship system existent in so many tribes. Each band had a headchief and three subordinate chiefs, and the chief of the tribe was always a member of the Awahu band. When he died, all the men of the tribe assembled at a feast, at which the first chief of each band had the right to make a speech in nomination of a candidate for the vacant position. No votes were cast, but the man whose name aroused the greatest applause was declared elected. The duties of the chiefs were to extend hospitality to strangers, preserve peace within the tribe, and {view image of page 62} 62 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN order hunts and tribal movements. The head-chief made frequent harangues to the people, exhorting the young men to brave deeds and the women to industry and virtue. Any needy person or a stranger in the village could find welcome in the house of the chief, which was kept supplied with food by the hunters. All the adult males met for the discussion of important questions, but the decision of the majority did not necessarily enjoin obedience on the part of the others; nor could the minority, even though headed by the chief, carry its point if their opponents refused to yield. Thus tribal councils afforded an opportunity for all the men to assemble and reach an agreement, and so avoid internal discord. Property was distributed at death in accordance with the wishes expressed by the dying person. Usually a small portion was given to the near relations and friends, and the rest to the wife, or the husband, and the children. If a man died suddenly, without time to make known his wish, his parents disposed of his property. A horse or two, some blankets, and the household belongings were given to the wife, and the remainder, together with the children, were taken by the parents of the deceased. In the case of a wife who had proved unsatisfactory, she was entirely ignored in the distribution. The taboo, so common among Indians, against any form of communication between son-in-law and mother-in-law prevailed among the Arikara; he must neither speak to her nor remain in the lodge with her, but by giving her an enemy's scalp taken by himself, or many captured horses, the restriction might be removed. Brothers-inlaw were the closest of friends,, more devoted even than bloodbrothers. A man must not remain alone with a sister; exchange of words between them was of the briefest character and only such as was necessitated by daily intercourse. Marriage was usually arranged by the families of the lovers, but the consent of the girl was always necessary. The relations of the young man went to those of the girl, and asked for her, agreeing to pay a certain stipend, from one to four horses, or perhaps a gun and many articles of lesser value. A first refusal was not considered final, and the young man's relations would continue their efforts. Satisfactory arrangements having at last been made, the presents were {view image of facing page 62} Arikara maiden [photogravure plate] {view image of page 63} THE ARIKARA 63 brought to the girl's lodge, and the youth claimed his bride. He made her lodge his home for a considerable time at least, and usually for always. Polygyny was common, and marriage to an eldest daughter gave a man a prior right to her sisters as they attained nubility. In case of serious disagreement, separation occurred, the man leaving his father-in-law's house, or, if the couple had a lodge of their own, the wife returning to her parents. Adultery was punished by beating or by abandonment. If the guilty man were known, the husband would shoot his best horse, and in rare instances the culprit himself was bodily injured. Nothing more than a severe beating was meted out to the woman. A wife who had abandoned her husband might be taken back without disgrace to the latter. The dead were dressed and painted by the parents and other close relations, and if no appropriate clothing had been left by the deceased they furnished it. The moment life had passed, the family hired some old woman to dig the grave, and at mid-forenoon of the following day her relations placed the body on a buffalo-robe and carried it to the grave, where it was laid on its back wrapped in a robe, the head toward the east and resting on a pillow. The old woman threw a handful of earth into the grave, with the words: "This man has gone to a happy place. This is a bad place, but he has gone where everything is good." Then the grave was quickly filled. In later times the body of an adult was usually carried on a travois. A gathering of relations and friends followed, and the parents and the bereaved spouse remained by the grave, crying and wailing until sunset, the mourning women usually cutting and gashing their legs. A man in mourning cut the tips of his hair-braids and placed them in the robe with the corpse. The fourth day after death, food and water were placed beside the grave, for the spirit was now to begin its journey, and must be made strong after the debilitating illness of the body. Weapons were never buried, nor were horses sacrificed at the grave. It was simply said of a dead man, Wetika'Ih -"He has gone home." The soul, called sifhu, is responsible for all the acts of a man during life; it resides in the breast, and appears in the spoken word, {view image of page 64} 64 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN in the look of the eye, in the movement of the muscles. It is si'hu that rattles in the throat of the dying in its attempt to escape. The shadow, nanokaatu, is vaguely identified with the soul. All animals have sifhu, but not trees or other inanimate objects. The healers of disease were usually men belonging to the medicine fraternity, but such membership was not essential. In the treatment they used many herbs in connection with the universal incantation; but each herb employed was supposedly possessed of spiritual strength, and the knowledge of its potency with the right to use it was acquired by each medicine-man through revelation, inheritance, or purchase from some other medicine-man. Each acquisition, whether a plant, an animal, or instruction as to method, was an added unit, one more medicine. The more of such possessed by an individual the greater was his standing in the eyes of the tribe. Medicine-men procured many of their medicines by sending their wives as emissaries to men possessing the desired power, a practice common to various other tribes, as the Mandan, Hidatsa, Apsaroke, and Cheyenne. In treating his patient a healer usually remained four days, not singing, but smoking and praying much to his spirit helpers. If no improvement was apparent, he departed and allowed some one else to attempt a cure, but if progress was made under his ministrations, he usually remained until the patient could move about. After the recovery and before his departure the healer sang his medicine-songs, in thankfulness for the success of his efforts. In short the treatment was a combination of mental healing, primitive therapeutics, and massage. Ceremonies The Medicine Fraternity The medicine fraternity of the Arikara was composed of nine groups: Tuwas, also called Neksanu, Ghost; Takatit, Black-tail Deer, also known as Aldhk-adhanu, Branched Horn, that is, Buck Deer; Chiw'ku, Shedding (Buffalo); Kohnit, an unidentified swamp bird; Nawin-chitawiu, Principal Medicine; Hwat-kuhsu, Big Foot, {view image of facing page 64} Ground plan of Arikara medicine-lodge [photogravure plate] {view image of page 65} THE ARIKARA 65 that is, Duck; Pa, Moon, also called Jhzuchu, Owl; Atna-hnuttik'hanu, Mother Night, also called Hachi-pidhinu, Young Dog, and Wakanwiu; Kuznui, Bear. These groups had their regular and unvarying positions in the medicine-lodge, their members sitting in a row beside the outer posts in the order named, beginning at the post directly south from the southeastern centre-post. Thus the first four occupied the southern, the last four the northern half of the lodge, the two divisions being separated by the Principal Medicine, who, four in number and representing respectively Beaver, Otter, Muskrat, and Swamp-owl, - all inhabitants of the marshes, - sat in the extreme rear upon a slightly raised square dais of earth. Beaver was always the leader of the Principal Medicine. Above the head of each Principal Medicine man was fastened to a beam a long bundle wrapped in a buffalo-skin and tied securely, and having five large gourd rattles fastened at right angles to its length. These were four of the ten bundles supposed to have been given, one to each band of the tribe, by Mother, as related in the genesis myth, and they contained the stuffed skins of various creatures connected with the mythic emergence and migrations of the people. Each afternoon the members, appropriately painted in accordance with the manner prescribed by their medicine, danced and marched about the cedar and the stone in front of the lodge, singing to and calling upon the Wonderful Grandmother and the Wonderful Grandfather, that is, the cedar and the stone, which represented respectively Mother, the mythic leader of the people, and Neshanu, Chief, the supreme deity. The ceremony, which began at the time of the ripening of squashes and continued until autumn, consisted largely of legerdemain. It was appropriately named Shunawanuh, Magic Performance. Each order of medicine-men had its appropriate songs1 and feats of magic, 1 For a typical song of each order (except Kohnft), see pages I55-I62. * The plate shows the relative position of the groups of medicine-men, as herein described. The entrance of the lodge faces to the eastward. The posts supporting the eave beams are indicated by the circles beside the names of the orders, while the square outlines the position of the low earthen platform. The central circle represents the fireplace, and the four surrounding ones stand for the main pillars of the structure. The diameter of the lodge is about seventy feet, and the drawing is in proportion. VOL. - 5 {view image of page 66} 66 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN and each night was devoted to the performance of a single trick or set of tricks. Following is a brief description of a trick from the repertoire of each order: The leader of the Ghosts, rising, held a human skull above his head and apparently swallowed it. Then while he lay flat on the floor, face downward, another Ghost covered him with a robe, and when the leader arose the skull was seen lying on the ground. The Black-tail Deer stood forth in a row and sang; then one of them ran quickly outside, mounted to the roof, and whistled. In the distance was heard the answer of an elk,1 which was called closer and closer by the continued whistling of the medicine-man. A skull of their animal was placed by the Buffalo men beside the southwestern centre-post, then all of them danced on the opposite side of the fire. Soon the skull appeared to bellow. The men of the Kohnit order stood in a row and sang a long time, then ran outside and passed several times around the cedar. They reentered, ran out again, leaped into the river, and returned into the lodge, each with two large fish in his hands. The owners of the Principal Medicine brought in a tree-top, the butt about four inches thick, and set it upright in the ground in front of the platform. Then dancing around the fire with his beaverskin in his hand the Beaver medicine-man at length held its nose to the tree. After a while the tree fell, ostensibly gnawed asunder by the Beaver. In performing another of their tricks the men of the Principal Medicine called a boy from the crowd, removed his moccasins and leggings, and stretched him on the ground. One of them, pressing the tip of a sword-shaped piece of ash against the sole of the boy's foot, caused it to disappear, apparently into his leg. Then the Beaver medicine-man "cured" the lad by bringing the sword to light, for his medicine was supposed to mend broken limbs. Again, the leader of the Principal Medicine stepped forward stretching out his robe, and as the people moved back he shook it, and the gourds tied to the bundles hanging above the platform seemed to rattle. 1 As indicated by their alternative name of Branched Horn, the Black-tail Deer possessed also the medicine of other horned animals. {view image of facing page 66} Arikara medicine-lodge [photogravure plate] {view image of page 67} THE ARIKARA 67 The Big Feet, wearing necklaces of duck-bills strung on otterskin, ran to the waterside and brought back rushes, which a woman was engaged to set in the earth near the fireplace, typifying the marsh where ducks nest. Another woman was called upon, and to her they gave their necklaces, which she raised aloft to the north and then cast among the rushes. Straightway was heard a sound supposed to be the quacking of the spirit duck that was believed to dwell in the body of the leader. As the fire died down he passed to the opposite side of the fireplace and imitated the actions of a duck, and there was heard the sound of a large flock quacking, and flapping their wings in the water. The Moon medicine-men spread a robe beside the fire, which was then permitted to die down. The leader raised the robe and swung it several times through the air, and then a light was seen streaming down through the smoke-hole, yellow like the rays of the moon. A more spectacular trick was that performed by the same order, when they began by spreading a mat of dry rushes on the ground. The leader painted a black circle around his face, others about wrists and ankles, and a black spot on his chest. Sticks were set up and the rush mat was thrown over them, forming a miniature lodge. With a whistle and a small drum the medicine-man crawled under, and when he had disappeared the firekeeper ignited the mat, which blazed fiercely. Everybody shouted in excitement. When the little lodge was burned to the ground, no trace of the man was to be seen; but some of the people, going to the river, would see him emerging from the water, beating his drum, and staggering as if exhausted. Supported by brother medicine-men he entered the lodge and sat beside the fire, saying, "I have travelled far. I have learned that we are going to have good crops and many buffalo." ' 1 It is said that there was a time when the Moon medicine was feared and shunned by initiates, because a man and his son, having entered the rush lodge together, failed to return. It was supposed that, entering the earth as usual to escape the heat and flames, they had encountered a thick wall of rock which held them prisoners in spite of three days of medicinemaking in their behalf. If there is any basis in fact for this anecdote, the probable explanation is that the father and son, having in the usual manner - whatever that was - made their escape unnoticed from the rush lodge, were set upon at the river's edge and killed or captured by enemies lying in wait for stragglers. {view image of page 68} 68 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN A round stone painted red lay back of the Mother Night medicine-men, who wore red paint on their legs, black on their bodies, and red spots over the black on their faces. The wife of a younger member came forward; her hair was then loosened and brushed, and her face painted. She touched the stone, then all the members of the order rolled it into the fireplace, while the keeper was told to build a great fire. When the stone was supposedly red-hot, the young assistant, who had been rubbed with medicine by the leader and encouraged to fear nothing, leaped upon it and "danced," - in reality he touched his feet to the stone a very few times, - supporting himself by a stout staff in each hand, while the flames singed his eyebrows and skin. Quickly he leaped through the flames to the opposite side, where the leader rubbed him with an infusion of herbs. Another act of the Night medicine-men was similar to this. A large earthen vessel was painted red, decorated with four feathers, and set beside the fire, which the keeper then replenished. The men sang while the performer danced around the fire, and all the medicinemen in the lodge gathered about in a circle, crying, "Hurry! Hurry! " Now a woman placed in her mouth a pinch of a mixture of pulverized willow root and an unidentified root, then took a sup of water and sprayed the feet and legs of the dancer. He then stepped into the jar, supporting himself with two staffs, and quickly leaped out sideways. He danced a few moments, and the leader rubbed his body with medicine. A third trick of this group was one in which the chief loaded a gun with powder, bullet, and wadding. His helper danced around the fire, holding the gun aloft, and discharged it. He danced again, then held the muzzle down, when bullet and powder rolled upon the ground. After the Bear men had sung, one of them, clothed in a bearskin, ran across the lodge, then dashed madly back and forth. Coming in front of the platform he placed his hands to his mouth and kicked the ground, and when he dropped his hands long bear-teeth protruded from his mouth. The others beat the drum and sang, and another Bear ran out. Some of the strongest men in the lodge were deputed to throw him to the ground and hold him. With a knife they made a pretence of cutting off his foreleg, and either a {view image of facing page 68} The altar - Arikara [photogravure plate] {view image of page 69} THE ARIKARA 69 stuffed foreleg or an object resembling one was then thrown in front of the Bear group. They hurled it across the lodge in front of the Ghosts, while everybody cried, "Hurry! Hurry! Put it back!" One of the Bear medicine-men picked it up, ran with it to the struggling, prostrate Bear, and supposedly reunited it with his body. Connected with the medicine fraternity were several supernumeraries chosen by the members to perform the necessary manual labor. After a term as attendant a man had the privilege of buying the medicine of any order and thus becoming a member. Wishing to join the organization, a man first offered a pipe of tobacco to the cedar, crying the while, then he entered the lodge and extended the pipe first to the firekeeper, then to each group in order, beginning with the Ghosts. Finally making his way to the group he wished to join, he held out the pipe to their leader, but the medicine-man clenched his hands as if unwilling to accept it. The aspirant, however, forced them open and thrust the pipe into them, an act taken as a sign that he was to be initiated. The pipe was then smoked in turn by all the medicine-men in the lodge. The novitiate stripped and was painted, not carefully on this first day, but rather hurriedly, and the painter received his clothing in payment. Medicine was rubbed over his body, and he drank a decoction of roots. From the hour of joining he assisted in the singing, learning thus the numerous songs of his medicine, and he was given some small part in the performance of tricks. He was, in fact, now servant to the selected group instead of to the entire fraternity. From time to time he was given further instruction in the mysteries of his medicine, and for each new lesson a fee was levied. Instruction was apparently not given willingly: there was no desire to help the novitiate become an adept at once. The initiation rather was in the nature of a contest between the older members and the younger, the latter striving to be taught immediately, the former bargaining for the amount of the payment, reserving their secrets and parting with them only after much persuasion and many promises. When the leader of a group of the medicine fraternity died, the one who had learned the most from him became his successor. The {view image of page 70} 7~ THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN number of members for each group was not fixed. It seems to have been usually four to six, though it must have been considerably larger in the days when the Arikara prospered. The Medicine Ceremony Any tribe living in permanent villages was apt to develop in its religious ceremonies an elaborateness that found expression both in esoteric performances and in those designed more or less for the entertainment of the people. As distinguished from the practices of charlatans, common to many tribes, the so-called medicine rites were all of a religious character. The Arikara developed the legerdemain of their all-summer medicine ceremony to such an extent that other tribes, far and near, learned of their wonderful and potent magic. The superstition and credulity of the Indian are such that medicine-men living afar, as well as the tribesmen of the performers, believed these tricks to be the mysterious acts of supernatural powers. This remarkable ceremony of the medicine fraternity of the Arikara has long been dormant, the agency officials having suppressed it about 1885. The writer, desiring to learn as much as was possible of a rite that had such unusual recognition among all the northern plains Indians, made arrangements with the remnant of the fraternity for a performance of it; not of course presuming to make it an allsummer one, or hoping to revive the sleight-of-hand, the secrets of which they admit have been lost, but to reproduce the ritualistic features. For of course the opening days of the rites, as they were primitively observed, were the important ones, the weeks following being measurably a repetition of the dramaturgic events. The scene was on Beaver creek, in a medicine-lodge of the primitive type, one built within the last few years. This earthen lodge is about seventy feet in diameter and consequently forms a most spacious ceremonial room. In former times it was the custom, in the early spring before the planting season, to open one of the medicine bundles fabled to have been left with the several bands by Mother (the Corn). The act was {view image of facing page 70} Contents of Arikara tribal medicine bundle [photogravure plate] {view image of page 71} THE ARIKARA 71 accompanied by a repetition of the myth of the genesis and migration of the Arikara, and there followed a dramatic enactment in the nature of a prayer for bounteous crops. To a performance of this rite was devoted the day preceding the beginning of the revival of the medicine ceremony. During the morning one of the sacred bundles was opened, and the articles of mythological significance were spread upon the dais, which, later in the medicine ceremony, was occupied by the men of the Principal Medicine. There were the ears of corn, symbolizing Mother; the mole, which helped them emerge from the under-world; the fish and the loon, which divided the waters for the people on their mythic migration; the kingfisher, which burrowed into the cliff and threw it into the chasm to afford a crossing for the people; and the owl, which blazed a way through the forest. There were also the skins of a crow and a hawk, two small bird-skins, an antelope-skin, the heads and necks of two white swans, and a large double-edged sword-like knife of some dark wood. In the words of the Arikara: "Mother has undone her belt. Her feet are placed on the earth, that she may understand we are praying to Neghanu and struggling to help ourselves by planting corn and other things that grow. We pray for rain and moisture, that we may have good crops." In front of the altar four sticks were set upright in the ground, with two horizontal crosspieces in the forks, and on these lay three bows and arrows,while under the framework were three ears of corn. Three primitive hoes, each bladed with a buffalo-scapula, lay behind the scaffold. As the people assembled, they brought presents and laid them before the altar, and as each offering was made, four heralds ran out and around the lodge, announcing in loud tones the gift made in honor of Mother. Thirty-nine green osiers (according to the ritual there should have been forty-six) were laid around the fireplace with their butts pointing outward, and a small offering of meat was placed beside the butt of each stick. Then the men formed into four groups, one man to each stick, and carried them outside, where they knelt in a semicircle and uttered three calls. Each group quickly departed in one of the semicardinal directions, and at the distance of about a hundred and fifty {view image of page 72} 72 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN yards they repeated the three calls and each thrust his stick into the ground, first placing the piece of meat in the hole. On their return they smeared their bodies with blue-black clay. A Bear medicine-man took from the altar the three bows and arrows and the wooden sword, and placed them around the fireplace, a bow and an arrow at each of three semi-cardinal points, and the sword at the other. Beside the latter they deposited the ear of corn from the medicine bundle, and beside the other weapons the three primitive hoes. The four heralds, standing near these objects, were joined by four women, and a willow basket-dish containing water was passed to the latter, each of whom dipped the tips of her fingers therein and hurriedly stroked her body from the feet to the head, continuing the swift motion until the arm was outstretched overhead. Quickly the hand was allowed to fall. Thus was symbolized a prayer for rain. The heralds then lifted the weapons, and the women the hoes and the ear of corn, and the four couples danced with a swaying movement, the men enacting in pantomime their duty of protecting the growing crops from the enemy, and the women going through the motions of hoeing the ground, which was believed to soften the earth favorably for the growth of corn. These eight, one by one, were quickly relieved by others of their respective sex from the gathering of spectators, who in turn were replaced by others, and thus the dance was continued to the end of the song. They danced thus at intervals several times to the rhythm of different songs.1 A priest now took his position on a buffalo-robe at the south of the fireplace, and with the wooden sword from the sacred bundle in his hand, he fixed his eyes upon a Sioux scalp on the ground before him, and with great feeling and splendid delivery uttered a prayer, the thought of which is: "They have cleared away the place where the corn is to be planted; they have planted it; the ground grows damp; it begins to grow; now the work is done. The corn will give me strength; I will conquer the enemy. Chief, make everything grow. My Mother has done her work: the corn is growing; the leaves are spreading out; I see the enemy. We are strong. The corn is ripening." 1 Two of the songs used during this part of the ceremony are recorded on pages I62-163. {view image of facing page 72} Arikara corn ceremony : bearing out the osiers [photogravure plate] {view image of page 73} THE ARIKARA 73 This was delivered quickly, in a chanting voice, a short passage being thrown out with breathless rapidity and extreme vehemence, to be followed by a few words in more measured time, the whole accompanied with the song and the rattles of the singers on the dais. Then a large wooden bowl of corn-meal mush was brought in and set before the altar. As the singing ceased, the four heralds made an attack on the food, which symbolized the enemy. Seizing handfuls of it, they ran with it to the medicine groups, giving a portion to a man in each, who divided it among those about him. Those receiving the mush burst into weeping; and it was handled as though it were something precious that would confer benefit on the recipient. This act was followed by a general outburst of emotion, crying and praying aloud, and offering of smoke by the men to the spirits. In the meanwhile men had gone to the far-away hills for a cedartree, for such Neghanu had commanded Mother to place in front of the original medicine-lodge. Returning with it they left it some distance from the village. Early on the following day, the first of the medicine rites, many women went to the river, gathered quantities of dry willow boughs, and bore them to within half a mile of the lodge, whence they were to be brought in ceremonially in the evening. At about the same time the leader of the Bear medicine-men placed his bear-skins on the roof of the lodge, and offerings were laid before them by any who wished to do so. Following this, the Principal Medicine men went out to bring in the cedar, this ceremony presuming that they themselves had gone to the forest and found the tree. After a full half-hour of singing and praying around it, the priests reverently placed the cedar on the shoulders of four men, who slowly and with seeming emotion brought it toward the lodge, circling about and approaching from the east. As they entered the village, women and children ran out and placed many offerings of cloth on the cedar, and within a hundred yards of the lodge it was deposited on the ground, where it was literally buried under offerings, and infants and older children were brought to the medicine-men for consecration. While repeating a prayer the priests brushed each child from head to foot with a bunch of sage, thus symbolically driving away all evil from it. This ceremonial blessing of children, analogous to infant {view image of page 74} 74 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN baptism, is universal with the Indians of the northern plains, its observance being a part of nearly every Sun Dance and other important ceremony. The tree was then taken into the lodge, carried around the central fire, and laid on the ground with its base toward the altar, amid a display of feeling by the different groups of medicine-men, who were already in their places. The Beaver, the leader of the ceremony, further consecrated the tree by rubbing red paint on its trunk and on each branch, and by tying eagle-feathers at its topmost twig as Mother had directed. In the meanwhile the different medicine groups had painted for the dance, each according to its prescribed form. First, the Moon men went out and danced in front of the lodge around the stone that represents Neshanu. They retired, then reappeared and repeated the dance, continuing in this manner four times; then one group after the other followed until each had danced the customary four times, when all came forth together. As the entire fraternity danced, there was evident uneasiness and excitement, and constant watching of the entry-way. A warning shout was heard among the dancers as from the entrance dashed two or three men hotly pursued by two Bears. The dancers fled in every direction, pursued by the Bears, who skilfully simulated the actions of real animals. Ever as the Bears chased the dancers, brave individuals tried to slip up behind and strike them with sticks. To succeed in this was regarded as a great deed, since it imparted some of the medicine strength of the Bear. After a time the Bears returned to the lodge as though it were their den, and the dancers crept stealthily up to the entrance, peeping in, but carefully listening for any movement. Suddenly there was a cry, and out rushed the Bears again, and so great was the apparent fright of the dancers that they fell over one another in their eagerness to escape. This incident was repeated thrice, and then forth came the Bears and two Buffalo, the latter also mimicking the actions of real animals. Four times they appeared together, and then a dancer slipped up and gave the pipe to one of the Bears. With apparent feeling and fear the Bear took a puff at the pipe and emitted a groan of anguish: his power was broken. With his companions he crept weakly back into the lodge, followed by all the dancers. Inside was pandemonium, {view image of facing page 74} Arikara medicine ceremony : The bears [photogravure plate] {view image of page 75} THE ARIKARA 75 men going from post to post of the lodge, weeping, crying, some kneeling before the buffalo-skull loudly moaning, others kneeling and standing about the bear-skins or wailing before the buffalo costumes, and still others passing from group to group of the medicine-men, uttering the same wails and howls of anguish. Later in the day the tree was carried out and planted in the ground close to the stone in front of the lodge, and again the members of the various medicine groups, including the Bear and the Buffalo, danced about them. When the sun was almost set, the women went to the pile of fuel and formed a long line which trailed slowly back, and as they entered the village, people threw offerings upon their bundles of boughs. This brush was deposited in the lodge close to the entrance. After dark began one of the most picturesque features of the entire ceremony, the Sage Dance. All members of the fraternity participated. Their bodies were nude and but slightly painted with white clay; each held in his hand a bunch of sage (Artemisia). Sitting in a large circle near the altar, around an outstretched, unworked rawhide, they beat upon it with long rods, and to the rhythm of this primitive drum sang songs of supplication for power to drive away illness. Willow brush was thrown on the fire, and the participants formed a circle close about it, holding the sage before their faces to avoid inhaling the flames. As they danced, more fuel was heaped on until the flames leaped almost to the roof, twenty-five feet overhead; and wilder grew the singing and dancing, the men constantly trying to force their unwilling bodies closer to the fire. They twisted and wriggled, turning first one side and then the other to the heat as it became almost too intense for endurance. Every moment they burst forth into wild concerted yelling. As one watched them from the dark outer space of the lodge, glowing in the brilliant firelight, their bodies seemed almost transparent. At the moment when one began to marvel that a human being could so long stand such scorching heat, the voices of the singers and the sound of the drum ceased, and the dancers sat down around the rawhide for a period of rest. The Sage Dance was performed four times in all, with brief intervals of rest. As a rule, however, this portion of the rites of the medicine-lodge was observed once each on three successive nights. {view image of page 76} 76 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN "Fire is sacred," said the priest in explanation, "so our medicinemen dance around it to drive away disease. It purifies our bodies and gives us strength, and our shouting frightens illness." On the afternoon of the next day was seen again the routine dancing of the different medicine groups. This in former times was repeated day after day through the season, while the nights were devoted to the performance of legerdemain. The Sun Dance The Sun Dance 1 of the Arikara, in its two principal featuresthe personal supplication for spiritual strength for the individual and the tribe, and the forceful promulgation of precepts of virtue in women - was strikingly like the ceremony among other tribes of the plains, but in its details it differed considerably. When a man decided to give this dance, he went among the people of the village, asking for arrows. After collecting a number, he carried them for purification to the priest of the ceremony; then filling a pipe, he took it with the arrows to a man who had a very fast horse. Tendering him the pipe, he said: "My friend, I wish you to help me; I am going to make the Sun Dance and I wish you to take these arrows and kill me a fat buffalo." The man smoked the pipe, signifying his consent; then the herald called for men to join the hunt. They assembled at once, and one of them took from the sheaf of arrows one that seemed the best, which he coated with paint. This arrow the owner of the fast horse was to take, and no other, for with this he must kill the buffalo. When the party went forth and the herd was sighted, he must first single out the animal that had been described by the priest of the dance and kill it. Before any butchering could be done, the leader of the hunt, first instructed by the priest, removed the skin from the face, head, and back of the slaughtered animal in such manner that a broad strip down the length of the back connected the tail and the skin of the head. This done, the others butchered and piled the meat on four horses, and the skin was placed 1 Called AkachfAhhwnahu (" house whistle "), in reference to the constant blowing of eagle-bone whistles in the ceremonial lodge. {view image of facing page 76} Medicine bundles - Arikara [photogravure plate] {view image of page 77} THE ARIKARA 77 on the fast horse, which was then led to the village, the others following. The priest and the dancers went to the edge of the village to meet them, and three men who had decided to dance took the skin on their shoulders, one at the head, one at the middle, and one at the tail, and carried it about the village, stopping at various places while the people made presents to the buffalo-skin, heaping them upon it. These with the skin were carried into the medicine-lodge Inside this structure the priest covered the hair of the skin with white clay. Then he called four noted warriors, who after dark went into the woods and selected a straight tree with a forked top. They cleared away the brush around it and remained there keeping constant vigil. In the morning they returned toward the village, running zigzag after the manner of scouts, stepping stealthily as if they saw enemies. Their approach was heralded by shouts, and people gathered on the housetops. The men assembled at the edge of the village, and the priest with the three dancers - those who had borne the buffalo-skin about the village - went out to meet them. One man in the party stepped forth, dropped his blanket in a heap, and quickly retired, and one of the bravest warriors ran and kicked it, thus symbolizing the striking of an enemy. The priest approached the scouts and asked the news, and was told that they had sighted a large village, meaning of course the tree, which represented the enemy. While the three dancers advanced to meet the scouts, they cried and prayed for success in war, such as these four brave men had experienced. Meanwhile the families of the dancers prepared food for the scouts. During the day twenty men were appointed, and sometimes one woman with them, to fetch the tree. In preparing to set forth, these men went about the village confiscating horses, as well as spears, shields, and other implements of war, for from the time they left the village they played the part of enemies of their people. At nightfall they went out to guard the tree in the same manner as the four scouts had done. Early the following morning the people of the village, men and women, donned their best clothing and mounted their best horses, the men with their weapons. Under the leadership of the three dancers, {view image of page 78} 78 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN who travelled afoot, they proceeded toward the tree and stopped some distance from it. The four scouts went forward and soon returned with the news that the enemy was at hand. The word was spread among the attacking party; every one, simulating great excitement, made a mad rush for the tree, while the twenty who had been its guard through the night rode out to intercept them. A mock battle ensued, lasting until the larger party reached the tree, where they halted. They surrounded it, and to a captive girl wearing a scalp tied to her hair was given an axe, which she used to notch the tree; then it was passed to a girl of the tribe, presumably virtuous, but who might have been suspected of being otherwise. If she accepted the implement, it became the duty of any man who of his own knowledge could challenge her, to do so, when she must drop the axe; should this happen, she was sure to die shortly, for she committed an act of sacrilege by accepting the position. It was believed also that a false accuser soon would die. If unchallenged, the girl cut the tree, and, as it fell, a shout of victory went up as though an enemy had been slain. A length of about twenty feet having been trimmed and cut off, the three young men, whose period of fasting had begun with this morning, assisted by a fourth man, lifted the heavy green pole and bore it to the village, in the centre of which it was deposited. The young women remained in the woods to gather bundles of willows, which they tied to the saddles, and the men to cut poles for the framework of the shelter in which the dance was to be held. Just before sunset the three dancers entered a sweat-lodge, prepared by the priest, for a purifying sweat. The priest and a few others accompanied them, while one woman sat in the middle at the rear and another just beside the entrance. A third woman carried in the stones and closed the entrance. During the sweat the priest sang, and when the singing was finished the women prayed for the success of the men in war. At times one of the three dancers, wishing to be specially favored of the spirits, raised himself from the ground by grasping the framework of the lodge, thus exposing himself to the fiercest heat. A bunch of choke-cherry sticks was tied in the crotch of the ceremonial pole to represent an eagle's nest, and from this was hung {view image of facing page 78} Arikara medicine ceremony : Bear, buffalo, and night men [photogravure plate] {view image of page 79} THE ARIKARA 79 the buffalo-skin, head downward, so that the spirit of the buffalo might look down and impart its strength to the dancers. As the pole was raised to be placed in the hole already prepared for it, one of the three dancers with an eagle-bone whistle in his mouth ran up its length to the nest and back again, moving his arms in imitation of an eagle's flight. The falling of the pole into the pit was greeted with a shout, as if a victory had been won. The women of the village then built the dance-shelter, with its entrance to the east, and at the opposite side was erected a low booth of ground-cedar for the priest and the singers. The priest and his helpers, old men whom he had chosen to paint the young dancers, one of them for each dancer, dressed in deerskins wrapped about the waist. The singers for each day were from a different society. Before the singing began a girl was given a rattle, which she held up toward the men in the audience as a challenge. If anyone could personally dispute her claim to purity, it was his duty to do so, and if she were justly accused she relinquished the rattle and sat down disgraced. If her chastity were not impugned, the maiden continued to wield the rattle, and the singing began with great rejoicing. The priest and his assistants danced in a circle, blowing constantly on their eagle-bone whistles and adding much to the furor and excitement. As they danced, any woman who so wished arose, and holding a bunch of willow in her hand, danced, challenging all men to question her honor. The three dancers, with any others who wished to join them, began dancing, and continued, with intervals of rest, throughout this night, and if their strength sufficed, until the close of the third night following, the singers changing frequently. On the morning of the third day, such participants as wished to do so went to different places on the prairie, where each individual was pierced through the muscles of his back by an old man previously engaged by him for that purpose. Skewers were inserted, and to them were tied with thongs a number of buffalo-skins. The sacrificer, moaning and crying out, then dragged the skins into the dance-lodge, around the village, and back to the starting point, where his sponsor withdrew the skewers. {view image of page 80} 80 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN About noon of the fourth day the priest went out of the booth and stood opposite the pole. Such dancers as remained steeled themselves for their final effort of endurance. Joining hands as the priest waved his buffalo-tail fan about his head as a signal, they ran around the pole, each until he fainted from sheer exhaustion. A helper placed cedar leaves on burning coals, and the priest waved his fan over the unconscious men until they revived. As each one regained consciousness he dragged himself to the burning cedar, exposed his body to the smoke, then crawled back to his place. When the last one had been revived they described their visions. Each dancer during the ceremony had promised the supernatural powers some portion of his body; he now informed the old man which part he had offered, and it was cut off in further sacrifice to these mysterious powers. Mythology Genesis Myth The earth was inhabited by a race which NeAhanu, Chief, had brought into being. But some of these people mocked the powers above, and their creator resolved to destroy them. First he transformed into grains of corn those who had not derided the mysteries, and placed them in safety with the animal people in a cavern far under ground. Then upon the earth descended a heavy, constant rain, and the rising flood drowned all whom Neghanu had not chosen to save. From his garden of golden rustling corn Chief plucked a ripened ear, and out of it he formed a living woman, whom he commanded to descend to the earth and lead the people out upon its surface. She searched long over all the world, and at last, far, far away in the east, she discovered the place where were hidden the animal people, and the others in the shape of grains of corn. She too was carried mysteriously under the ground by Neshanu, and when she stood among the people there, they called her Mother. As there was no way open by which they could leave their sunless cave, Mother called upon the animal people for assistance, and three offered their services. First, Mouse dug vigorously and long, {view image of facing page 80} Arikara medicine ceremony : The buffalo [photogravure plate] {view image of page 81} THE ARIKARA 8i and he, exhausted, was relieved by Mole, who in turn gave place to Badger. Refreshed by his rest, Mouse crawled up into the long burrow, and at length with his last effort the tip of his nose broke through. Hastening back, he reported his success, and asked that inasmuch as long digging had worn his nose sharp and slender, he and his kind should remain so forever, that all creatures might know that Mouse first had burrowed through to the light. Then Mole went to enlarge the opening, and as he crept out the bright sun struck him full in the eyes and blinded him, and blind he was permitted to remain as a mark of honor for the part he had taken in delivering the people. When the broad-backed Badger forced his body through the hole, the sun was hot and scorched his forelegs and face, and he like the others desired Mother to make the marks permanent upon the Badger people. The way being now prepared, Mother led all the people to the opening, through which she emerged as far as the shoulders, and stopped. With renewed strength she forced her way out as far as the waist, then as far as the knees. A final effort placed her on the surface, and the corn-people followed. Their former human shape was restored to them. They looked up into the blue sky and were glad; they gazed about them over the broad earth and rejoiced. It was good. A voice came from above: "West!" After an interval were heard the words: "I have left you a land in the west; go thither. There I have prepared everything, food and all that you need." They turned their faces toward the declining sun. As they journeyed they reached a large body of water, and while they stood hesitating and afraid on the bank, Neghanu placed in the water two creatures, Garpike and Loon. Swiftly they crossed the water, cleaving it with their bills, and it spread apart, leaving a wide path by which the people began to cross. But suddenly the walls of water rushed together and half the wayfarers were swallowed in its depths.1 The survivors continued on their way. 1 Some of the other versions, of which there are many, differing principally in details and in the order of the incidents, turn these, and others later destroyed in the present account, VOL. v-6 {view image of page 82} 82 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN Before the people appeared a great crevasse in the earth, wide, deep, impassable. "Who in the sky or on the earth will help us? " cried Mother. Kingfisher responded: "Mother, I will make a road for you." Then he went swooping into the hillside many times, boring swiftly with his bill, and soon the high bank came crashing down, filling the chasm with earth and stones, and the people began to cross. But scarcely had half of them passed safely over when a portion of the bank that had been left standing toppled over upon the others, burying them alive. The remnant struggled onward. After a while a great dense forest seemed to bar further progress, but in answer to her call for help Black Owl came forward, saying, "Mother, I will make a road for you." He flew into the forest, hooting, and the flapping of his great wings brought branches and trees thundering to the ground. When a path lay clear, Mother led her people through, but many became confused, lost their way, and wandered about in the woods until they perished. Again only half survived. Having passed with such terrible losses through so many dangers, the people stopped to rest. Now NeMhanu placed a thought in their hearts, and they prepared the sticks and the round stone for the wheel-and-pole game. They agreed then to play the new game, the victors to take the lives of the vanquished. Mother disapproved of this plan and forbade it, but the people insisted and she reluctantly consented. Three successive victories were necessary to decide the contest. When the very first three trials were won by the same band, they raised a tremendous shout: "Let us not wait! Let us fight at once! " "Wait! Let us try something else," begged the others. Two women were selected, and to each were given six plumseeds peculiarly marked with red and black and white. With the new game thus devised the women gambled, throwing the seeds into a small basket. Again the same player won the first three contests, and once more arose the clamor, "Let us fight! " into animals of species appropriate to the locality in which the transformation took place - fish, loons, kingfishers, and owls. {view image of facing page 82} Bringing in the cedar - Arikara [photogravure plate] {view image of page 83} THE ARIKARA 83 Then followed a fearful conflict, and so great was the turmoil and so intense the excitement that the language became confused. When the violence of the battle subsided, here and there on the tops of four hills were as many groups of people, all shouting and gesticulating wildly, and each speaking a language that none of the others could understand. The place therefore became known as Nawakachitadhlch, Where They Stood Shouting On Hilltops, and this was the beginning of the Assiniboin,1 Yankton, Chippewa, and Arikara. All this was of the doing of Neghanu. Westward once more moved the Arikara. The voice of Neghanu came to Mother, commanding her to build a lodge in which the Mysterious Ones should be worshipped. "In front of it," continued the voice, "place a stone, which will last forever; and plant a cedar, whose wood endures longer than any other. In the cedar is life, and in the stone is life, and these two will keep away a certain creature I have made, Mahiiu, Sickness. Call the stone Atip-wadhzThti [Wonderful Grandfather], and the cedar Atika-wadh uhti [Wonderful Grandmother]. When the lodge is built, enter it alone." So the house was erected facing the rising sun, and the stone and the cedar were placed in front of it in accordance with Neghanu's injunctions, and immediately there was seen ascending from the treetop a tall column of black dust. A whisper came from its rustling branches: "I have raised this cloud. In place of it put eagle-feathers on my head." Feather offerings were fastened to Wonderful Grandmother's head, and alone Mother entered the lodge, where she found groups of men sitting around the outer circle of posts. Their heads were bowed, and their knees drawn up. They neither spoke to her nor glanced up at her. But after a while those sitting at her left around the post nearest the door looked up and expressed pleasure at seeing her. She went to them at once, and they, who in reality were Ghosts, taught her what wonderful things they knew. 1 The myth does not take into account the fact that the Assiniboin were originally a part of the Yanktonai. {view image of page 84} 84 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN Straight across the lodge Mother passed to those that knew the secrets of the Moon, and next to the second group at their left, where she found the Bears. Again she crossed the open space, this time to visit those nearest the rear, the Buffalo, whence she turned her steps to the Night people sitting at the left of the Moon people. Next she stood in front of the altar, a low platform that occupied a position in the sacred part of the lodge. In the middle of it sat an old, old man, and at the left and the right lay certain objects. This man was Beaver. He arose and led Mother around the fireplace, and back to the altar. In front of it she now perceived a slough, and in the water she was laid. "Now you are lying in the water," he said. "Everything overhead that is wonderful is looking down upon you, and will be pleased. Whatever you desire will be given to you. I am the oldest person, the first that Neshanu made." After Mother had visited the three other groups, the Black-tail Deer, the Ducks, and Kohnit, and received their teachings, all the people in the lodge assumed their real form, and in a whirling cloud of dust passed up through the smoke-hole. Thus did the people receive the rites of the medicine-lodge. From this place of revelation the people continued to travel westward. In the distance appeared tall figures which, as the people drew near, proved to be five men and a woman. Nearby grazed a huge black animal. The wanderers gathered around them in awe and expectation, and the one who seemed to be leader spoke: "I am Neshanu, and these are Sun, Thunder, Wind, and Night, and She Who Causes Things To Grow. Mother, you have seen certain things in the lodge. These things are my law. I made them, and you must keep them. "There is a certain person called Sickness. Him I have created so that there may be death among the people, lest they should increase and fill the world and starve. For that reason also I have caused that there shall be fighting among the tribes. Whoever is brave and strong in war and helps his people shall wear a shirt like this of mine, with scalps on the sleeves. Him you will call Chief, as you call me Chief. {view image of facing page 84} Blessing the children - Arikara [photogravure plate] {view image of page 85} THE ARIKARA 85 "Pity the poor; feed and clothe them. He that goes into the hills and there weeps and mourns and prays to me, to him will I give whatever he desires. I have created other people besides you. They did not reverence me and these other wonderful ones, and I swept them from the earth with a flood. But you I have saved, and three things there are that will keep you right: Corn, the office of Chief, and the secrets that were revealed in the lodge. These three things you must preserve always. Never let them die. The corn you have for food, and I give you also this creature. Kill it." Five men stepped forward and killed the buffalo, then directed by Neshanu they opened the carcass, laid the liver on the ground, and gathered sticks. But no one knew how to make fire, and Chief commanded them to look for something to offer to the spirits. A Dog offered himself for the sacrifice, and after he had been killed, a man who was to be Keeper of the Fire stepped forward. A flash of light from the sky kindled the wood, and the Keeper was enveloped in smoke. "Behold this Dog!" said Neghanu. "I raised him up to worship me. Always kill a Dog first, that I may know you are worshipping me." While he was speaking, the liver became a blood-red stone, and he showed them how to make pipes of it before it hardened. The pipes there formed were ever afterward kept in the sacred bundles of the ten bands. Then the woman, She Who Causes Things To Grow, stepped aside, and soon was seen a strange plant, whose leaves Chief commanded them to pluck. He instructed them that when they wished to pray or to make offerings to him and the other spirits they should give smoke of this tobacco to Sun in the southeast, to Thunder in the southwest, to Wind in the northwest, to Night in the northeast, to Neghanu overhead, and beneath the earth to the Spirit of Growth. The six mysteries disappeared. The people resumed their journey, but Dog, lying asleep, was left behind. Awaking, he ran anxiously about in larger and larger circles, trying to find the people, who had passed out of sight. A distant murmuring voice filled the air: "My heart is sore because I {view image of page 86} 86 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN have had no smoke!" It was the voice of Sickness travelling in the whirlwind. In terror Dog ran madly after the people. He overtook them at Piuchita'dhyht, Foggy Hilltop, and dashing in and out among them he found the leader, and panted: "Mother, you must do something! A person is pursuing us! He says his heart is sore because he has had no smoke! " Turning, the people saw swiftly approaching an enormous black whirlwind. Its top touched the sky, and its roar deafened them. Confused and frightened, they were uncertain what to do, when the Dog offered himself for sacrifice. The offering was made, and the storm abated, but not before many had perished. Proceeding to a new locality, Mother prepared to hold the rites which had been revealed to her. There she made the sacred bundles and instructed the people in the mysteries of the medicine-lodge. When they had learned all, she told them one night that she was about to depart, and they must throw her into the river. Ignorant of her meaning, they continued through the night singing the sacred songs of the bundles, and at the end they found in the place she had occupied an ear of corn wrapped in the robe she had worn. It then dawned upon them that this was Mother, and recalling her last command they cast her into the stream. Only once more, and that after many years, was Mother seen. Again the men sat in the medicine-lodge singing the songs of the bundles, when a strange woman entered. From one group to another she passed unnoticed, until at last she was recognized as Mother. There was great rejoicing over her return, but after giving them new songs she disappeared forever. Folk-tales The Elk Medicine-man Red Wolf was very handsome and strong, but he was quite poor, and his sole relation was an aged grandmother. Despite his poverty and his lowly rank, he loved the chief's beautiful daughter, and knowing that she had refused many suitors who had wooed her with rich gifts, he resolved to put his chances to the test. {view image of facing page 86} Arikara medicine ceremony : Night men dancing [photogravure plate] {view image of page 87} THE ARIKARA 87 So he stationed himself outside her father's lodge, and in the twilight he saw her slender form pause for an instant in the doorway, then glide down the trail that led to the stream. Quickly he followed, and a moment later, emerging silently from the trees, he saw her standing at the water's edge. The dipper hung listlessly from her hand, and her eyes were gazing pensively into the lapping water. This was his opportunity. He stepped swiftly to her side, threw a part of his robe over her shoulders, and put his arm around her. She did not repulse him, but asked quietly what he wished, and he replied that though he had nothing to give for her, yet he loved her and had come to ask her to run away with him and be his wife. She pondered a moment, then said: "When do you wish it?" "At once, to-night," he answered. But she pleaded for delay and told him to appoint a time and a place for meeting. So on the following evening they met outside the village, she with her bag containing awl and sinew-thread, and he with bow and arrows. All night they travelled, and all day, and at sunset they arrived at the border of the Bad Lands. They had eaten nothing. Back in the village the chief's family had been searching far and near for the missing girl, but having learned that Red Wolf also was absent and that he alone of all the men was unaccounted for, they concluded that she had eloped; so they covered their faces in shame, for she was the daughter of a chief, and beautiful, and should have been won with many robes and eagle-tails. In the morning Red Wolf went out with bow and arrows, and soon returned staggering under the meat and hide of a black-tail deer. They ate and were happy. Of the stomach of the deer he made a water-vessel, then together they constructed a shelter of brush over a framework of poles and thatched it with grass. "Remain here for a while," said Red Wolf, "and I will hunt." So he hunted constantly, killing many deer, and his wife dried the meat and tanned the hides. The season was autumn, and skins were good. One evening he said: "I think we have enough meat and skins {view image of page 88} 88 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN now. To-morrow let us repair an eagle-pit that I have found." In the afternoon they went to the old pit, renewed it, and gathered brush to make the covering. Red Wolf stuffed a deerhide and fastened fresh meat at the shoulders ready for use. On the following day the wind changed and came straight from the west,' and as the omen was favorable he said that he would hunt eagles that day, adding, "But I will not leave you here alone. Go with me, and midway I shall leave you in the thick cedars. There you must remain. If my luck is good, I shall be gone for a while, but if the eagles do not come soon, I shall return quickly." So it was planned, and so they did, and by midday he had caught four eagles. They journeyed homeward, happy because they loved each other and the spirits had been kind. The next day, as the wind still blew from the west, they went a second time to the pit, and again he quickly caught four, when he desisted, since a man cannot easily carry more. A third time the eagle-pit was visited, and the usual number of birds captured, and as they returned, Red Wolf said, "We have enough eagles. To-morrow I shall seek fresh meat." "I shall remain here," said his wife on the following day, "and finish the tanning of this last hide; then I shall come to the place in the cedars. Wait there if I am late." So he set out and she began her work. Suddenly she heard the sound of someone clearing his throat, and as she turned quickly her eyes fell upon a wonderfully handsome man. An eagle-feather was in his hair, a string of bear-claws around his neck. An instant she gazed, fascinated, then ran into the lodge to prepare food. Glancing out to see if the stranger were still waiting, she perceived that he had turned away and was walking toward the west. An overpowering curiosity to see whither he was going came upon the young woman, and she at once followed. He passed around a hill, and she turned it just in time to catch a glimpse of him ere he disappeared behind another. In this manner the pursuit continued, until after a while the unknown man vanished into a clump of cedars in a coulee. The young The Arikara trapped eagles only when a west wind was blowing. {view image of facing page 88} At the water's edge [photogravure plate] {view image of page 89} THE ARIKARA 89 woman paused at the edge of the trees, but a voice invited her: "Come in!" She pushed her way through the thick growth and soon reached a lodge, which she entered. There sat many women, all young and pretty, and all of different tribes; and at the side of the room sat the man. In the meantime Red Wolf had reached their accustomed rendezvous, waited, and gone on, thinking his young wife must have decided to remain at home. But there she was not. Anxiously he ran to the water, searched all the trails their feet had worn, called and wept, but no trace did he find, no answer rewarded him. At last he abandoned the search in despair and gave himself up to mourning. He neither ate nor drank. On the fourth day, so weak that he could scarcely stand, he started for the stream, and there threw himself down among the trees, thinking, "I may as well die here." Someone touched his foot. "My friend, if you are still alive, rise," said a voice; "I know why you are mourning." A few drops of water trickled into Red Wolf's parched mouth and over his face. His eyes opened, and he saw a man bending over him. The stranger ran quickly to the stream, brought another handful of water, and gave him drink. "I know," said the newcomer; "you are crying and starving yourself on account of your wife. But she is not far away, and you shall see her soon. Can you get up?" Red Wolf struggled to his feet, and together they went slowly to the lodge, where the man prepared food. His charge ate, and, refreshed and strengthened, noticed that his new-found friend wore a necklace and wristlets of elk-toes, and two eagle-feathers in his hair, one at each side; that his robe was yellow, and he carried a long willow whistle painted yellow, the green leaves still fluttering from its tip and its entire length wound with a green vine. Red Wolf was eager to start at once on their quest, but his deliverer assured him that he must rest four days and recover his strength. When this time had passed, the stranger said: "A certain person near here has your wife, but you shall recover {view image of page 90} 9~ THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN her and take all that he has. Now, you must prepare yourself, for that man is ferocious. My son, how old do you wish to be?" Not comprehending, Red Wolf looked dumbly at his benefactor, who, seeing his perplexity, went outside and quickly reappeared, a broad-horned Elk. "This is what I meant," he said. "How old do you wish to be? You are to change yourself into what I am." "I should like to be your age," answered the young man. "My son," returned the Elk, "I am not yet strong. Say again how old you would like to be." "I wish to be middle-aged," said Red Wolf, "neither too old nor too young." "You are right, the middle-aged one is strongest. Take the things I was wearing when you first saw me, and wear them just as I did. When you get there, act promptly, for that man does not remain long away, and he will be returning with another wife." They started, Red Wolf leading, and from the top of a hill the Elk pointed, and said: "Your wife is among those cedars. Raise your whistle and blow; then lower it, turn to the right and walk, and do not look back. When your wife comes, I will tell you." So the man turned and walked away, blowing upon his whistle, while the Elk remained on the hilltop. Through the trees appeared a line of women running toward the sound of the elk-whistle. "Your wife is coming," called the Elk; and Red Wolf, looking back, was filled with joy to see his young wife running toward him. But there was no time for words of explanation or endearment; the Elk was urging haste, and all the women were sent hurrying to the lodge. As they passed over the brow of the hill, a man came rushing out from the edge of the woods. He stopped abruptly, and the two opponents discharged their arrows at each other, but without effect. "Roll on the ground," cried the Elk, and Red Wolf, obeying, became a powerful Elk. His antagonist rolled and became a Bear. Red gushed from his mouth, and yellow from the nostrils of Red Wolf. The Bear approached, watching for an opportunity to rush in, but Red Wolf stood fast, facing him. Suddenly the Bear charged, but {view image of facing page 90} The bear emerges - Arikara [photogravure plate] {view image of page 91} THE ARIKARA 9I the other threw his head down and pinned him to the ground, his horns pressing into his adversary's shoulders. The Elk, seeing that his friend was becoming exhausted, threw his horns down over the Bear's flanks and held him while Red Wolf rested. Thus they relieved each other, trying to wear out their enemy. He was very tough. Still his red medicine continued to run from his mouth and he was growing weak. Finally he lay lifeless. The victors, once more men, turned wearily homeward. Above the body of the Bear was rising a cloud of fog, which soon spread over all the land, so dense that they could not see their way. Nevertheless they safely reached the lodge, and found the rescued women awaiting them. "My son," said the Elk-man, "you were ready to sacrifice yourself, grieving for your wife. Therefore, you must not think it necessary to give me anything, especially not your wife. You need not do that." " Father," Red Wolf answered, " I shall do as you wish: I shall not offer you my wife. But you speak of not accepting anything. I must give you something. Father, I ask you to go outside." The other passed out, rolled upon the ground, and resumed tne form of an elk. Out of a bundle the man took some of his new eagletails, and from one of his wife's deerskins he cut narrow strips. A feather and a thong were given to each woman, and Red Wolf went to the Elk. "Father," he said, "you have refused my wife. I shall not offend you by offering her, but all these others are yours. I will not take them back." Then the women came out one by one and tied their feathers to the Elk's horns. He was greatly pleased, and decided to give Red Wolf his medicine permanently. " My son," he said, "I am well satisfied with these women. Now, when it comes to this part about women, I do not think anyone can be compared with me. Once I have seen a woman, even at a distance, a note on my whistle brings her to me. All that I was wearing when first you saw me there among the trees belongs to you; whenever you wish to call any woman to you, wear these things and blow the whistle. She will come. As for war, you have done nothing; you have no {view image of page 92} 92 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN name. But you shall do things without being harmed; you shall become a great man. One thing you must do: this woman for whom you mourned you must always keep. Others you may have and throw away, but this one, keep. Now go back with your wife to your people." He turned toward the wooded stream, lowered his head until the nose almost touched the ground, and whistled. Then he led off on a swift trot and the women followed him into the shadow of the trees. Red Wolf and his wife gathered up what they could carry, and at sunset they began their journey. All night and all day they travelled, and in the darkness of the second night they entered the village of their people. They had decided that he should return to the lodge of his grandmother, while she, with the bundle of eagle-tails and skins, should go to her own family. The young woman was received in utter silence, for the sight of her brought back afresh the feeling that she had disgraced her family by going away, and that with so poor a man as Red Wolf. She, on her part, uttered not a word, but after a while the bundle was opened. Their disgrace was completely forgotten in their surprise and admiration for the rare eagle-tails, and the soft deerskins and mountain-sheep skins. Feathers were distributed among the men of the family, and skins among the women, but still many remained in the bundle, and people came to buy them, so that the chief and his wife received more than would have been the case had their daughter accepted one of her rich suitors. Then Red Wolf's brothers-in-law sent for him, and around the bed that was to be his they piled many gifts. Red Wolf became prosperous and honored as the Elk had promised. One day, out of curiosity, he tried his elk-medicine, and it was successful, for the women followed him. Growing daily greater because he could not be harmed in battle, he became reckless in the use of his power, taking whatever women he desired, even the wives of others. At last the men in secret council determined to kill him, and they went against him as he stood on the housetop wrapped in his yellow robe. He made no effort to defend himself, for their arrows were unable to pierce his body. Less and less did Red Wolf regard the rights of others. At last {view image of facing page 92} Arikara medicine ceremony : The buffalo dancing [photogravure plate] {view image of page 93} THE ARIKARA 93 a young woman whom his medicine had drawn away from her husband obtained from him the secret of his invulnerability, which she quickly imparted to his tribesmen. They made incense of elk-horn and hair, and passed their arrows through it. Then all the village, intent on ridding themselves of this scourge, searched for Red Wolf. They found him on the prairie sitting alone, for he knew that something was about to happen. Their arrows, themselves filled with the power of the elk-medicine, passed through and through his body, and he fell prone. Then, lest life should return to his body, they cast it into a great fire, which burned it to ashes. Lucky Man and the Buffalo Witakahwhan possessed the favor of the wonderful ones above. His house was always well stocked with food and soft skins, and because of his evident prosperity the people gave him his name of Lucky Man. One day he set forth on a deer hunt. Soon he had killed an animal, skinned it, thrown the meat and hide on his back, and started homeward. On his way he came upon a narrow, well-marked trail, which he followed down to the edge of a small stream. There on the bank sat a white-haired old woman. "Old woman," said he, "are you sitting here? " "Yes, grandson, I am sitting here," she replied. "I do not feel like getting into the water and wetting my legs. Will you carry me across? " Lucky Man consented, and after taking his meat to the other side, he returned for the old woman. He stooped low in obedience to her request, and she put her arms about his neck. On the other bank he paused a moment, but as she made no movement to release her hold, he said: "Old woman, you may get down now." 1 This tale, read in connection with THE WINNING OF THE BUFFALO, page 50, illustrates the assimilation that has been in progress among the Arikara, Mandan, and Hidatsa. Lucky Man is a true Arikara character, but with a change of names and details this story is related by the other two tribes. Whether the incident of the contest with the Buffalo people is originally Caddoan or Siouan is not clear. See Volume IV, pages I59-I6I. {view image of page 94} 94 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN " Take me to the top of the hill, grandson," she coaxed, "then I will let you go." But at the top of the hill she would only repeat: " Take me to the foot of the next hill, grandson, and I will get down." Lucky Man humored her once more, and again asked to be released, but the old woman still insisted on being carried a little farther. Out of patience, he protested: "Grandmother, I have brought you thus far, and my meat is still beside the stream," and he impatiently pulled at her hands and arms. At that she began to laugh in her cracked, shrill voice, and stopped, breathless, to say: " You are not doing right; I came to that stream to marry you! " Disgusted and alarmed, Lucky Man tugged at her arms, but they seemed to have grown fast to his neck, and her legs to his waist. He had killed his deer before the sun was high, but now the day was nearly spent. He walked on toward the village, but, almost overcome by the mere thought of his disgrace if he should be seen with that horrid grinning old woman with her arms about his neck, he loitered until evening fell and then slipped in among the houses. Carefully avoiding the few who still lingered in the open, he made his way to his own dwelling. Inside were many people awaiting his return to secure a portion of his meat, and keeping in the shadows, Lucky Man went at once to 'his covered bed. His parents and his sister observed that he was carrying something, and his father came to the bed. " My son," he said, "you do not tell what you have brought." " Father," replied Lucky Man, "what is on my back is hard to get off; it sticks tight." " What is it? " asked the older man, and the son related what had happened to him. Through the two women the news quickly spread throughout the village, and relatives and friends began to gather in the lodge. All night they sat talking in whispers, and at daylight they called to Lucky Man. He came, his head bent in shame, and sat down. Then his relatives seized the old woman by her white hair and her gaunt arms and legs, all pulling and twisting {view image of facing page 94} The brush-gatherers - Arikara [photogravure plate] {view image of page 95} THE ARIKARA 95 this way and that, but all they accomplished was to throw her into a fit of laughter. "This is another way to receive a new relative!" she taunted. "You ought to be giving me the best things you have!" Realizing the uselessness of their efforts, the people persuaded Raven to come and use his medicine; but even that was unavailing. "It is very hard," said Raven. He filled a pipe and sent a young man with it to Red-headed Woodpecker and Yellowhammer. "Raven gives you this pipe," said the youth. "Smoke it, and come to help him." They two smoked, and sent a message that they would come. When they entered the lodge, the people filed slowly out, leaving them alone. There sat Lucky Man, his head hanging in shame and his eyes covered with his hands. And there crouched the old woman, wrinkled and white-haired, hunched up on Lucky Man's back, arms and legs gripping him tightly. Woodpecker stood on one side and Yellowhammer on the other, and after singing their songs they darted in simultaneously and began pecking away at her arms, one starting at each hand. When they had loosened her hold as far as the shoulders, the old woman began to grow alarmed. "This is very bad treatment," she was heard to mutter, "when they all told me to come." Raven sat there watching, and calling out to the people what progress was being made; and as the woman's hold was broken more and more, the people began to gather dry wood and pile it up near the doorway. Just at sunset the difficult task of Woodpecker and Yellowhammer was finished. The huge pyre was already blazing, and when Raven sounded his cry of victory, the people rushed in, seized the struggling old woman, and cast her into the roaring fire. The young men stood by watching, and throwing on more wood, until even the bones were consumed; but in the lodge the relatives of Lucky Man were washing and purifying him, and rubbing him with fragrant herbs. It was night. Lucky Man lay in his bed, sleepless, thinking of the great dishonor that had come upon him. Just before daylight {view image of page 96} 96 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN he heard outside the crying of a child. Then came a woman's reproving voice: " Be quiet! Why are you crying? It was your grandfather and your grandmother and uncles who sent us here, but we have not been treated well!" "That is what has been in my mind," said Lucky Man to himself. "This must be something wonderful. I will go to see." He went to the door, and in the place where the fire had burned the old woman, there stood a lodge of skins. At each cardinal point hung a buffalo-tail. He approached the lodge silently and saw on its wall the shadow of a woman and a child. Lucky Man's entrance attracted no attention, and he returned to his bed, when once more he heard the child crying. As he came again to the door the woman was saying: "I am growing impatient with you! It is not my fault that this has happened. We were sent to get presents of feathers and shells for your grandfather, and this is what we have received. Your father is not treating you well!" When he heard that, Lucky Man collected many shells and eagle-feathers and an otter-skin, and brought them outside, but the skin lodge had disappeared, and a short distance away he saw the woman and child walking rapidly. As he looked, uncertain what to do, they became suddenly a White Buffalo Cow and a Calf. He decided to follow them, and set out at once. They were just disappearing over a ridge, and when he reached the top they were still journeying toward the west. He followed at their own pace, making no attempt to lessen the distance between, for he knew them to be mysterious. Once the Calf looked back, and seemed to wish to return, but the Cow compelled him to go on. A second time he stopped, and disregarding his mother's efforts to drive him ahead of her, he stood waiting for the man, while the Cow went on "Father," said the Calf, "when we come to the end of the journey, you are not to live, and on the way you are to pass through many dangers. Whenever we come to water, my mother will cause it to disappear. Are you thirsty?" "Yes," answered Lucky Man. {view image of facing page 96} The buffalo-medicine - Arikara [photogravure plate] {view image of page 97} THE ARIKARA 97 "Beyond that hill," continued the Calf, "is a lake, but it will disappear before you reach it. Watch me, and you shall drink." Then he ran ahead to rejoin the Cow, and Lucky Man took up the journey. When he mounted the next rise, no water was in sight; but down in the lowest part of the hollow he saw the Calf thrust one hoof deep into the mud and withdraw it. The two mysterious animals trotted on, and Lucky Man found in the hoof-print a pool of water. He drank, expecting it to afford only a few swallows, but to his surprise the hole remained full no matter how much he drank. As he travelled, Lucky Man pondered over these things, and he knew that in the ways of mysteries the old woman had been his wife and the Calf was their son. After a time the Calf came back to meet him, and repeated the warning that his mother was saying Lucky Man should not live when they reached their journey's end. "Beyond the next hill," he continued, "is the first Grandfather waiting for us. Have two feathers ready for him. Are you hungry? " "I am hungry," said the man, and the Calf gave him a dry buffalochip, which as Lucky Man's fingers closed upon it became a ball of pemmican. Like the pool of water, it was inexhaustible. The next hill was passed, and there lay an old Buffalo Bull. Lucky Man placed the feathers in his hair and the Bull was pleased, but the Cow remonstrated. "We were not treated well," she said. "Instead of receiving his feathers you had better come along and have your hoof in it." The Bull arose, shook himself, and went with them. The next warning of the Calf was, that in the coulee ahead were two Grandfathers. Like the first one they were pacified by offerings of feathers, but again the Cow uttered her reproof: " If you knew how I have been treated, you would not be so pleased with those feathers. You had better come along and have your hoof in it." The two joined the others, and all continued westward. In the next coulee lay three bearded Bulls. As before, Lucky Man pleased them with his presents, the Cow complained of what the people had done to her, and the Grandfathers accompanied her VOL. V 7 {view image of page 98} 98 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN party. Once again the Calf turned back to meet Lucky Man. This time he said: "Father, over yonder hill are my mother's people. There you will see her father, and I fear you will be killed." As Lucky Man came up over the crest of the hill his eyes rested on a vast herd of Buffalo filling a broad level plain. The Cow, the Calf, and the six old Bulls were running down the slope to the herd, but Lucky Man waited on the hill and looked. After a while the Calf returned hastily, and informed him: "The White Cow has told how she was treated, and the Grandfather is displeased. You must give an eagle-feather to each Buffalo to soften his heart. Can you do it?" "Yes," said Lucky Man; "let us go down." He fastened a feather in the hair of the Calf's head and another at the tail; then taking a bushy sheaf of feathers from the bundle in which he had been carrying them, he went below with the Calf and tied one to the hair of each Buffalo, beginning with the mother of the White Cow. Then he returned to the hilltop. "Father," said the Calf, coming to him again, "Grandfather commands that you look for your wife. Four White Cows of the same age will stand together; if you point out your wife, you will be safe. Now, father, look closely. At the root of my mother's tail I have placed a very small burr. By that you will know her." They went down and found the Buffalo all standing in a circle surrounding four White Cows. Lucky Man walked slowly about, looking intently for the burr, but it was not until the end of his fourth circuit that he discovered it and pointed out his wife. The man went back to the hill, and very soon came the Calf saying that he himself was to be identified among three other Calves exactly like him. " But I shall be marked with a small spot of blood," Lucky Man was assured, and following the Calf's advice he was once more successful. Then the Grandfather insisted that they had tried enough, that the upright animals had medicine so powerful that nothing could succeed against them. Nevertheless it was decided not to give up, and the Calf was sent to bid Lucky Man come and join in the dance. {view image of facing page 98} The bear-medicine - Arikara [photogravure plate] {view image of page 99} THE ARIKARA 99 Responding to the summons, the man entered the circle, and at a word from the Grandfather the Buffalo began to dance round and round him, in order to create a cloud of dust before they should crowd in upon him. But the wind of their motion raised the feather that was tied to his hair by a long cord, until it stood straight above his head and lifted him from the ground. Simultaneously the Buffalo rushed toward the centre, but Lucky Man was out of harm's way and they trampled under foot only some of their own number. At the command of the Grandfather they ceased and drew back, and before the dust settled Lucky Man had descended and stood once more on the earth. At his station on the hilltop Lucky Man was informed that there would be one more trial: he must race with the Buffalo over a course marked by three heaps of buffalo-chips. The Calf announced that he would run with his father, and Lucky Man made his medicine for the Calf, and told him to run in the lead during the first half of the race. Four fleet young Bulls, the Calf, and the man took their places in a row beside the first mound of dung, and the contest began. Running behind the Calf, Lucky Man blew his breath, and a strong wind forced the little Buffalo ahead of all the others. As the racers turned the third mound, Lucky Man took the lead, and blew; and this time a wind opposed the four Bulls, so that the man and the Calf finished the race far ahead of them. Without stopping, Lucky Man ran on to the top of the hill and thither came the Grandfather himself. "Grandson," he said, "you have won. I sent the White Cow to marry you, that she might get feathers and shells for our medicine; but when she transformed herself into a woman, she blundered in making herself old and ugly. Now she has tried to punish you for what was done to her by your people, yet your medicine has been too strong for us. Go home, and when the snow falls we will visit you. Lucky Man and the Calf, who after passing over the first hill transformed himself into a boy, journeyed back to the village, and the people there wondered that Lucky Man returned with a son. On the fourth day following the first snow of the winter, Lucky {view image of page 100} I 00 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN Man advised the people to send out scouts to the west. This was done, and the report was brought that the plains were black with animals. Through the herald Lucky Man now bade everybody prepare weapons, for the next day they would kill these animals. One man he took into the lodge, and said to him: "When you hunt to-morrow, go about and pull a tuft of hair from the beard of each one killed. Bring the tufts to me." Many of the buffalo were killed, and the people came in laden with red meat. One man brought only bits of hair, but when he threw them down in the lodge of Lucky Man they became buffalotongues. The following day the hunt was continued, and hair plucked from the humps for Lucky Man turned into buffalo-humps, fat and juicy. After a third day of slaughter, when hair from the sides of the buffalo furnished Lucky Man with an abundance of ribs for roasting, he turned the buffalo over to the people to hunt at their pleasure. {view image of facing page 100} Prayer to the cedar - Arikara [photogravure plate] {view image of page 101} The Atsina {view image of page 102} , W, {view image of facing page 102} Atsina war-party [photogravure plate] {view image of page 103} THE ATSINA Traditions and History THE Atsina, commonly designated Gros Ventres of the Prairie, are of the Algonquian stock and a branch of the Arapaho. Their name for themselves is Aaninen, Atsina' being their Blackfoot name. Judging by the very vague tradition, their original separation from the Arapaho must have occurred in early times; but care should be taken not to confuse with this primal separation their return to the north from an extended visit to the Arapaho during the last century. As to the more remote event, practically all that can be learned is that the Atsina believe they once dwelt toward the south, where they left the main tribe on account of a quarrel with the head-chief over the division of a buffalo carcass. This incident is so similar to the Hidatsa-Apsaroke story of their separation that one is inclined to question if the tradition recounting it is not derived from that source. However, many hunting tribes probably quarrelled over the division of game, and it is not unlikely that the Atsina have a legitimate claim to this story. Apparently these people know practically nothing of a northward migration from that place, and their entire traditionary history is very vague. Running Fisher's account of the subsequent migration from the north is, that in an autumn of long ago a terrible plague came upon the people, destroying more than half their number, and in fear of 1 The name Atsina (At-se'-na) is the Blackfoot (Siksika) term for " Belly People," a meaning borne out by their Shoshoni designation, Si'pani, " Bellies," by the name applied to them in the sign language of the plains, and by that given them by the Canadian French, Gros Ventres, a contraction of Gros Ventres des Prairies, by which they were distinguished from the Gros Ventres of the Missouri, or Hidatsa. In the days of the early fur-traders the tribe was known as Fall Indians, Gens des Rapides, from the fact that when first seen they dwelt at the falls of the Saskatchewan. The Assiniboin name for them is practically identical, i. e., IHaia-tonwan, Water-fall Village. {view image of page 104} Io4 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN a revisitation they began a southeastward journey from the far Northwest. All through the winter they drifted, and as spring drew near they came to a large river flowing eastward, which Running Fisher believes to have been the Saskatchewan. The ice, already becoming weak from the spring thaws, was yet strong enough to afford a passage, so the tribe commenced to cross. About a third of the people had passed over, a third were on the ice, and the remainder were still on the northern bank. With those in the act of crossing was an old woman leading her grandson, who, seeing a horn protruding through the ice, asked his grandmother to cut it off for him. The woman at first paid no attention, but the boy's plea became so insistent that she turned back and began to chop off the horn. As she cut, blood commenced to flow, and suddenly a great monster heaved the entire length of its body out of the water, crushing the ice and drowning all the people thereon. The portion of the tribe that had successfully crossed continued their journey southeastward until they reached approximately their present locality, while the rest, terrified by the disaster, turned back. While this narration may possibly have some basis in fact, it of course is too vague to serve as a foundation for historical conclusions. Whether the Atsina reached their historical habitat in northern Montana prior to the arrival of the Blackfeet in that region seems impossible to answer from the point of view of Atsina tradition; they were certainly in the Blackfoot country in the middle of the eighteenth century. In Lewis and Clark's time (I805-06) the Atsina roved between the Missouri and the Askaw, or Bad river, a branch of the Saskatchewan. The narrations of their tribal wars give the best idea of their movements following their arrival in Montana. The earliest intertribal battle known in their traditions occurred, according to their system of reckoning, four generations ago. At that time, they say, the area now occupied by the Atsina and Blackfeet was Shoshoni country, and this battle was one of invasion into Shoshoni territory. The ground on which they fought was a rocky butte some distance north of the Bearpaw mountains, in Montana, but south of Milk river. The Shoshoni greatly outnumbered the Atsina, who held their own for a time through the great {view image of facing page 104} Atsina camp scene [photogravure plate] {view image of page 105} THE ATSINA Io5 bravery and individual valor of a man named Dirty-eyed Bird; but, notwithstanding his prowess, they were on the verge of defeat when an Atsina, with the first and only gun in possession of the tribe, rushed forward and at close range shot one of the enemy. They, strangers to firearms, looked upon the mysterious killing as due to some spiritual power, and fled in terror. This battle occurred before the Atsina acquired their first horses. We probably are afforded an approximation of the date of this conflict by the fact that the Dakota obtained their first guns during the closing years of the eighteenth century. The next recorded battle was engaged in a generation later, after the Atsina had obtained a few horses. This also was against the Shoshoni, and was fought between the Marias river and the site of the later Fort Benton. The Atsina greatly outnumbered the Shoshoni and almost annihilated them. The survivors fled to the south, forever abandoning this region as their home. The name of no chief taking part in this battle can now be recalled. Next came a battle that occurred at a time when a war-party of Piegan and Atsina led by White Owl, searching for the enemy, found the Sioux camped at the mouth of the Yellowstone. They charged the camp but were driven back, and to protect themselves built a breastwork of logs. Here in the depth of winter they held off the superior Dakota force for ten days, subsisting on their dogs, which they ate raw, having no means for building fires. Finally imminent starvation forced them to attempt an escape at night. But few of this war-party reached home. From concurrent historical events it may be assumed that this siege took place in the latter part of the eighteenth century. Perhaps a generation after the last fight with the Shoshoni, a young Atsina brave ran away to the south with the young wife of the tribal chief, Old Bald Eagle. The husband was so filled with longing for her that he induced the whole tribe to go in search of his fickle spouse. They at length found the runaway pair living among the Arapaho, and this is probably the visit to that tribe, about the year I820, so often referred to as the return to their people. The location of the Arapaho at that time is not known to the Atsina, ex {view image of page 106} Io6 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN cept that it was somewhere near Platte river.' After recovering his wife, the chief started to lead his people back to their northern home. On this journey, while camping on Rosebud river, Montana, they were attacked by a large party of Sioux and so severely defeated that they fled, leaving half their women prisoners among the enemy. The Sioux, however, must have been over-supplied with wives just at that time, for in a few days they provided the captives with food and clothing and sent them to overtake their people. The women travelled constantly and reached the Atsina camp on the Musselshell in two days and two nights. The chief lived to return with his young wife to their former camping-ground, but his people had become greatly weakened in numbers after years of wandering among hostile tribes.2 A year after the fight with the Sioux on the Rosebud occurred another engagement with the same relentless enemy. The scene was south of the Missouri, on Wolf creek, which empties into the Judith, in central Montana. The Sioux forces were stronger than the Atsina, and for a time the battle was in their favor. The hero of this occasion was a poor young man who had won no honors and was even without a horse to ride. He painted and dressed according to the vision he had received while fasting, and forcibly taking a splendid pinto pony from a chief's wife, who was guarding it, he rode into the fight. His bravery was that of a madman: he was everywhere at once, striking the Sioux down on all sides and spreading terror in their ranks, his actions so greatly encouraging his tribesmen that they rallied and won the day. The Sioux afterward sent word to the Atsina that they should take good care of such a valiant warrior, and stories and songs of his wonderful deeds on that day are still heard in Dakota camps. Sitting Woman, the first chief of that name, was leader of this party. It was during his lifetime that a hunting party of thirty lodges in the sweet-grass hills were beset by Sioux and About this period the allied Arapaho and Cheyenne occupied the country from the North Platte to southern Colorado, extending into western Nebraska and Kansas. 2 The Apsaroke tell of the time when the Atsina, returning from the South, crossed their country and were attacked by them. The aggressors were greatly superior in numbers, and the wayfarers were so overcome by the first day's fighting that they fled in the night, leaving most of their camp supplies. The Apsaroke claim they would have exterminated the tribe that day but for the bravery of an Atsina, Iron Robe, who fought with such fury that nothing could stand before him. {view image of facing page 106} Atsina scalp dance [photogravure plate] {view image of page 107} THE ATSINA I0o7 all but two of the men were killed or captured. The two escaped by riding the famous pinto horse. The next battle was in the Bearpaw mountains, northern Montana, where a large party of Sioux made a fierce assault on the Atsina camp while the men were out hunting buffalo. They heard the noise of attack and rushed for the Dakota as only men can when fighting for their women and children. The hand-to-hand conflict ended in defeat for the Sioux, but the loss to the Atsina was heavy, and to add further to their grief was the fact that their wonderful pinto warhorse was wounded. "The reason of that was that when Sitting Woman was killed in the previous battle they trimmed the pinto's tail; that weakened his spirit-power, and besides that someone thoughtlessly loaded him with buffalo-meat after a hunt. On account of that the enemy were able to hit him with a bullet. He died in a few days, and the whole camp mourned as if a chief had fallen." Then followed, according to the narration, a battle near Fort Benton, at about the time of its establishment as a trading-post. A party of Atsina and Bloods started to the post to traffic, and as they came near they encountered a party of Sioux, who were planning to attack the fort. The Dakota were the victors, and all but four of the Bloods and Atsina were killed. Comes In Sight Yellow, Flies This Way, Sacred Plume, and Not Liked By His Parents escaped, and afterward became great warriors and chiefs.1 1 Notwithstanding the discrepancies in the accounts, this fight is evidently the one that occurred not at Fort Benton, but at Fort McKenzie, on the west bank of the Marias, a few miles above its mouth. In April, 1842, after having made way for Fort F. A. C. (named after Chardon, the trader) on the north bank of the Missouri at the mouth of the Judith, its buildings were burned. Fort Lewis, on the south side of the river, at the head of the first rapids above the present Fort Benton, was next established, in the winter of 1843-44; but its situation proved to be unfavorable for Indian trade, and in the spring of 1846 Major Alexander Culbertson dismantled it and rafted the logs to the site of Fort Benton, where the celebrated post of that name, although known also as Fort Lewis during the succeeding four years, was built. It was maintained as a trading-post until acquired by the Government for military purposes in I869. The fight alluded to occurred late in August, 1832, during the stay of Maximilian, Prince of Wied-Neuwied, at Fort McKenzie. While a trading party of thirty lodges of Piegan (and Atsina?), under Lame Bull, was encamped under the walls of the fort, they were suddenly charged upon at dawn by a large party of Assiniboin warriors, said to number fifteen hundred. As the garrison thought the post was being attacked, its full force of seventy men opened fire on the assailants. The gates of the stockade were opened to receive the Piegan, but in the excitement the entrance became blocked and about twenty-five men, women, and children were there killed by the Assiniboin. The Piegan to the number of five hundred {view image of page 108} 108 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN Under the leadership of an unknown chief of the Bloods, a combined party of that tribe and Atsina went south in search of the Apsaroke, and found their camp near Lodgegrass creek, in southcentral Montana. The Apsaroke scouts had watched their coming, and knowing their strength had prepared for the conflict by digging pits for the women and children. The battle was bitterly fought throughout the day, and although the Apsaroke were practically defeated, the attacking war-party withdrew under cover of night. Again a large war-party under the father of Running Fisher went against the Apsaroke, meeting the enemy near Owl Hill butte, north of the Musselshell. This affair proved to be little more than a game of charge and countercharge, with few killed on either side. The expedition was evidently for the purpose of punishing the Mountain Crows for a severe blow they had dealt in an attack on the Atsina camp on the south side of the Yellowstone, when the Atsina had been compelled to swim the river in their attempt to escape. Their ammunition and bowstrings becoming wet, the Apsaroke found them an easy prey, killing every person except two small boys. The fighting strength of the Atsina in this engagement was forty warriors. Shortly following the last two fights an enduring truce was effected between the Atsina and the Apsaroke. The Mountain Crows held themselves somewhat aloof in the same superior manner they assumed toward their kindred, but the River Crows became quite friendly with the new allies. So marked grew the friendship, indeed, that it threatened to end in the permanent withdrawal of the River Crows, and their more powerful tribesmen sent word that unless they returned to the Crow country by a specified time they would be treated as enemies. The alacrity with which they heeded the warning and returned to their old haunts has assumed practically the nature of a tribal joke. The reminiscences of the present generation of warriors are replete lodges were then camped about three miles above, and when the Assiniboin appeared, the two tribes engaged in a running fight, but the Assiniboin were forced finally to flee, losing six or eight, while the Piegan lost about forty. That the Atsina are not mentioned may be because they were fewer than their Piegan allies. It is said that in the fall of I834 the same Assiniboin band cut off sixty lodges of Atsina encamped near Snow mountain, about seventy-five miles from Fort Benton, killing about four hundred, only one escaping to tell the tale. {view image of facing page 108} Making a travois - Atsina [photogravure plate] {view image of page 109} THE ATSINA Iog with stories of strife against their former allies, the Blackfeet, following the severance of their friendly relations in 1862. Once when Running Fisher and White And Yellow Cow were boys, their people were encamped on both sides of Beaver creek, east of the Little Rockies. The encampment was attacked by a party of Bloods and Piegan, and so furious was the assault that the Atsina became demoralized and all the people on one side of the creek were slaughtered. Many of the invaders were killed, but the victory was with them. A little later, in 1866, some three hundred Atsina were slain by the Blackfeet in a single engagement, which instilled such fear in the survivors that in the following year they refused to go to Fort Benton for their share of the supplies then being distributed among the Montana Indians. In 1867, a few years after peace had been effected between the Apsaroke and the Atsina, a large party of both tribes were dwelling close together near Cypress mountains in northern Montana. In the camp were three great war-leaders, the Atsina Sitting Woman, the second of that name, and Twists His Tail and Lone Tree 1 of the Apsaroke. A small returning war-party reporting that they had seen thirty lodges of Blackfeet some distance away, great excitement was created in the camp of the allies, for here was an opportunity to win easy victory over their enemy. Sitting Woman, whose medicine was the sun, called all the chiefs and warriors into his lodge, where he made medicine in preparation for the coming battle. For a long time he sang and talked to his sacred objects, and then told the watching warriors that it was good, that they would have an easy victory. Twists His Tail opened his sacred bundle, and through a hoop taken from it gazed into the land of the unknown, following the action with a similar promise of success. Then Lone Tree, whose medicine is the eagle, was asked to make medicine and tell them what he saw. He was held in awe, and when he made medicine it was in his own lodge, the flaps of which were closed tightly, and no women were permitted in or near it; only old warriors and medicine-men were allowed within, while around it gathered the many warriors anxiously waiting for the vision. In the lodge Lone Tree made his incense of 1 See Volume IV, pages 49 and 202, for biographical sketches of Twists His Tail and Lone Tree respectively. {view image of page 110} IIO THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN ground-cedar; then, wrapped in a buffalo-robe with the hairy side outward, and with a stuffed eagle on his head, he sat close to the rising smoke. He assumed the attitude and simulated the actions of an eagle, whistling and singing and looking constantly about. These incantations he continued for a long time, then throwing off the character of eagle and turning to the expectant men, he said: "Sitting Woman, your father is the Sun; he is able to see everywhere, even the smallest insects in the thick grass. Why does he deceive you? I see the blood of our people flowing toward us from the camp of the enemy, and the bird refuses to drink it." Throughout the camp ran the unexpressed fear of impending danger, but the Atsina chiefs would not heed the warning of Lone Tree, and on the following day the greatest war-party that ever set out from an Atsina camp started off, led by the proud Sitting Woman and Twists His Tail. Scouts soon returned with word that the thirty lodges were decoys and that beyond were large camps of the enemy. Still the chiefs would not heed the warning. The Apsaroke held a parley among themselves and expressed their belief that the enemy were too strong to be successfully assailed. The majority of the Atsina had forced them into this undertaking against their better judgment. They therefore planned to proceed to the attack, make one swift rush, gather as many horses as they could, and, if the odds seemed to be against them, retreat at once. The attack was splendid, but from the timber back of the decoy camp came such a horde of Bloods, Piegan, and Sarsi as they had never met before. The wily Crows followed their plan and escaped with slight loss; the Atsina, however, were not equally fortunate, suffering so greatly that the story of this battle will pass through the generations as the worst defeat in the history of the tribe. According to Running Fisher, when he was a young man the tribe had fifteen hundred lodges which, on a conservative estimate, would give them a population, during the closing years of their primitive life, of from five thousand to seven thousand. It is difficult to reconcile this statement with that of Lewis and Clark, who estimated the " Fall Indians" at two hundred and sixty lodges, or twenty-five hundred souls. It should be remembered, however, that the explorers do not, {view image of facing page 110} A gathering war-party - Atsina [photogravure plate] {view image of page 111} THE ATSINA I I I in this instance, write with the authority of actual observation. They never saw the Atsina tribe. The Atsina have been mentioned comparatively little in history, partly, no doubt, because of their isolation and of their indisposition to show the same hostility toward advancing civilization as their neighbors, and more because of their alliance with the overshadowing Blackfoot tribes in the days when the early history of their country was in the making. It would seem to have become almost a habit with those writers who have referred to the Atsina to speak slightingly of them. Yet the record of their tribal wars shows no indication of deficiency in courage or vigor. The Apsaroke say of them that they were a fine people, not given to quarrelling, and reasonable in parley and argument. The pleasure of the writer's experience with them was unmarred; indeed the Atsina proved to be one of the most agreeable and tractable tribes he had ever met. With the close of their buffalo-hunting days the Atsina have settled down in the foothills of the Little Rockies. In their material culture they closely resemble the tribes about them. They were essentially a hunting people, raising no crops of any sort, and subsisting principally on the flesh of the buffalo, which primitively they took by decoying and driving them between two converging rows of stone or brush shelters behind which crouched the hunters in concealment. Each, as the herd came opposite him, revealed himself suddenly, which, aided by his shouts and gesticulations, kept the buffalo in motion and eventually forced them over an abrupt bank into a corral at its base. Their dwelling was the buffalo-skin tipi, and the domiciles of the medicine-men were painted to represent the spirit-animals or objects revealed to them in their visions or procured by inheritance. Before horses were acquired, perhaps in the early years of the nineteenth century, the dog-travois was the means of conveyance; later, vehicles of the same kind, only larger, were drawn by horses. Pottery is said to have been made a long time ago, but not within the memory of those now living. The clothing of the men consisted of moccasins, hip-length leggings, loin-cloth, and, about the shoulders, a buffalo-robe as the weather demanded, or a shirt when the occasion justified gala garments; while the women were {view image of page 112} 112 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN clad in moccasins, knee-length leggings, the one-piece dress falling from the shoulders to mid-calf, and in severe weather the buffalorobe. Save the robe, all these garments were made of deerskin, or, excepting the woman's dress, of weathered buffalo-skin, and all were ornamented more or less with dyed porcupine-quill embroidery. Political and Ceremonial Organization The tribe was composed of ten bands, all under one head, who, with the chiefs of the bands, formed the council. The head-chief conducted treaties on the part of the tribe, selected camp sites, and directed tribal affairs generally. When he and the council disagreed, two young men, each representing a faction, were sent out with a bundle of sticks. Passing around the camp in opposite directions they stopped at each sub-chief's lodge and asked which side of the question he favored. If he wished to advocate the side represented by the first messenger to visit him, he took one of the sticks; if not, he awaited the coming of the other. Having completed the circuit of the camp, the two young men returned to the head-chief's lodge, the decision of those represented by the messenger with the fewer sticks was accepted by all, and the result was publicly announced by the herald. On the death of the chief, the man holding the next highest rank in the honors of war was unanimously elected by the council. There could be no dispute as to the successor's qualifications, since every warrior's record was known to all. The names of the head-chiefs from 1856 to I908 are: Running Fisher (known also as Sleeps Above), father of the present chief; Sitting Woman; Sitting Woman (son of the former); Black Raven; Bear Child; and Running Fisher. The tribe separated into bands during the winter and at various times during the summer for the purpose of hunting. On these occasions, however, they were still subject to the command of the head-chief, and if one band were threatened, the others came quickly to its aid in response to a messenger sent by the chief. The ceremonial life of the Atsina found expression mainly in the rites of a system of societies - the Fly, Crazy, Fox (kit-fox), Dog, and {view image of facing page 112} Parfleches - Atsina [photogravure plate] {view image of page 113} THE ATSINA I 13 Drum organizations.1 Membership in these societies depended, as in those of the Mandan, on age, but the Atsina exhibited a feature not to be found in the case of the other tribe. Among the Mandan each organization consisted of a single group of men, who all together passed step by step through the various grades of the system. A society ceremony could be observed by only a single set of men, until, acquiring the rites of the society next above them, they relinquished their claim to those of the lower. Among the Atsina, on the contrary, while all men whose age lay between certain limits had the right to perform the ceremony appropriate to that age, they were organized, not in one company, but in several, each one of which gave the ceremony without the assistance of any of the others; and a company had the right to perform the same ceremony more than once. These companies bore names such as Ugly Dogs, Young Sheep, White Noses, - names which they always retained as they passed through the various grades of the system, - and each of them, as it passed the age-limit, acquired thereby the right to perform the ceremony of the next higher society. The five ceremonies were of a distinctly religious character, although they were accompanied by acts intended only to amuse, and while they differed greatly in their themes, they were much alike in their inception and method of procedure. Always they were performed at the request of some member of one of the companies, who thus redeemed a vow so to do in return for the recovery of a relative from illness, or the preservation of his own life in the midst of peril. His prayer having been granted, he sought the services of some old man to " erect the lodge." The one so selected had charge of the ceremony. The lodge, which faced eastward, consisted of two ordinary tipis made into one. Each member of the company 1 By some informants the Fly society is said to have been outside of the regular order. Perhaps the divergence of opinion is to be taken as meaning that this society was in a state of transition from a special ceremonial organization to a place in the series of recognized societies. Some say also that there was another organization, between the Dogs and the Drums. The Atsina usually include in this succession of ceremonies the Star Dance. It appears, however, that this, even more than the Fly society, was outside the regular order, inasmuch as some men seem to have performed it early in their career, others much later, and still others not at all. Furthermore, while all the other ceremonial organizations were called by a name analogous to " society," there is no such term applied to the performers of the Star Dance. VOL. v 8 {view image of page 114} II4 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN secured the aid of an old man versed in the ritual, who was known as his " Grandfather." Each morning of the ceremony the Grandfathers painted the dancers and (except in the rites of the Fly society) the dancers' wives, and each night they, in company with the women, left the camp to observe certain rites by which the old men transferred their medicine to the dancers through the medium of their wives.' In the dance of the Fly society, which lasted but one day, the performers were of four grades: the leader, who, unpainted, wore a buffalo-robe, hairy side out, and carried a wand; the pledger of the ceremony, who was painted yellow; four " elder brothers," members of companies which had already given the Fly Dance, who, painted yellow, acted as guides in the dance; and finally, the rank and file of members, who were painted with white stripes across cheeks and nose, on arms and legs and across the abdomen, and with a band of red around the neck. The Grandfathers chewed an herb which they rubbed on the dancers to make them brave and strong. Each of the ordinary dancers carried a stick about three feet long with a cactus thorn at the end. About noon the members of the society assembled in their lodge and began to walk about the circular encampment. Four times they halted and formed a circle, then danced up and down without shifting from their places. While thus dancing they held their robes outstretched, wing-fashion, and made a humming noise like mosquitoes. At the close of a dance, while still forming a circle, all fell to their knees and touched their heads to the ground. When the fourth dance was ended, the Flies were at liberty during the next two hours or so to pursue all bystanders and to prick them with their gads. At the close of this sport they gathered in the centre of the camp and ran four races, then proceeded to their lodge and feasted on meat which one of their members had cooked. A man who had vowed to give the Crazy Dance went with a pipe to an old man familiar with its performance. If the pipe was accepted, the old man became the " Maker of the Crazy Dance," and he directed the members of the company to choose Grandfathers to 1 For a similar custom among other tribes, see page 64, and the Lewis and Clark Journals under date of January 5, I805. {view image of facing page 114} Atsina fly dance [photogravure plate] {view image of page 115} THE ATSINA I15 paint them. Every member of the company was expected to participate; if one should chance to be absent, some relative took his place. The dancers were painted yellow to the knees and elbows, and wore robes with a hole cut near the top, through which the head passed, poncho fashion. Two loose strips, at the end of which were feathers and claws of an owl, hung down the sides from the shoulders. They carried bows and arrows to which crow-feathers were attached, and whistles of eagle wing-bones. One side of the head was daubed with clay, the ears were stuffed with a spongy fungus like a puffball, and at the right temple was worn an owl-head. The dancers also carried straight staffs, about four feet in length, from which were suspended the hoofs and claws of various animals. Two or three lodges were combined to make one sufficiently capacious for the ceremony, and inside was erected a very small lodge, in which the man giving the dance remained for the night. The ceremony lasted four days and four nights, but the dancing continued until darkness, when the dancers' wives accompanied the Grandfathers beyond the campcircle to receive medicine from them. Each woman, on her return to the lodge, was kissed by all the dancers in turn, and her husband ended by kissing the Grandfather. In the morning, when the performers had been painted, they gathered in the lodge, the dancers' wives taking their places behind the Grandfathers. The members marched once around the lodge and then stopped, the singers commenced to sing, and the dance began. When the dancers sat down to rest, they thrust their bows and arrows into the ground in front of them, and there they remained during the entire dance except for a certain brief time, when they were pulled out and held first to one shoulder and then to the other, after which they were again thrust into the ground. Each time the singing began, the principal Grandfather arose, and all the others with him. On the fourth day a fire was kindled in the centre of the lodge, and the Grandfather said, " It is time for the Crazy men to dance in the fire." Thereupon the relatives of the dancers brought in gifts of clothing and robes for the Grandfathers, who took them home and then returned as the members began to dance around the glowing embers of what had been a blazing fire, with each circuit {view image of page 116} ii6 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN approaching closer and closer. Suddenly all leaped upon the coals and stamped upon them until every ember was extinguished; then running outside and standing close together, they discharged arrows straight up into the air and immediately looked at the ground, exhibiting their bravery by standing motionless among the falling shafts. It was observed that as the time for this part of the performance approached, the spectators hurriedly drew back to escape the falling arrows. Three wordless songs followed, the Crazy men dancing the while, after which they were free to play pranks and do all the mischief they could until nightfall. For a time they went about shooting people with blunt arrows. They said the opposite of what they meant and did the reverse of what they were told to do, and in everything they acted as if bereft of reason. The only protection one could have was to seek refuge behind one of the Grandfathers. It is said that if during these antics a Crazy dancer became displeased with anyone, he would chew a root and blow it toward the offender, paralyzing him until the dancer touched him and blew upon him again. The dance of the Fox society was always followed by the removal of the camp to new ground. It was initiated as were the other dances, the man who had promised its performance soliciting the aid of an old man, and each man of the company selecting a Grandfather. The ceremony lasted four days and four nights, the actual dancing taking place during the daytime. Four members of each company having the right to perform the Fox Dance carried each a staff about seven feet long, bent at the end like a shepherd's crook, wound with otter-skin and further decorated with eagle-feathers. The bearers of these staffs were of known bravery, and were supposed never to retreat from where they planted the standards in the ground. In the dance the four staff-bearers were distinguished by the skin and feathers of a crow worn about the neck, while other participants were painted red on the face, with four pipes in black on each cheek, the stems downward and the bowls toward the eyes. Each ordinary dancer wore a girdle of prairie-dog skin, and eagle-down in the hair. A virgin was chosen to represent the Fox Mother, whose children the dancers were supposed to be. The members entered the lodge in the centre of the camp-circle, and seated themselves in two rows, {view image of facing page 116} Atsina fly dance : "Robes outstretched" [photogravure plate] {view image of page 117} THE ATSINA I I 7 one on each side of the lodge, extending from the door to the rear. A staff-bearer sat at each end of each row, while the Fox Mother was seated at the rear beside the dancers who formed the end of the southern row. Between the lines and near the door was erected a small lodge where slept the man who had asked for the dance. The men formed a circle and danced toward the left, while the Fox Mother moved outside the circle in an opposite direction. On the last night the relatives of the members brought gifts for the Grandfathers, who sat at the rear of the lodge. (Other informants say that the members danced before the tipis of four prominent chiefs, who made gifts to them.) Early in the morning the camp moved, and halted about half-way to the chosen camp site, when the dancers carried some distance ahead the gifts which had been received. The warriors then charged upon the heap, each man selecting from it an article similar to something he had captured in battle.1 The dance of the Dog society resembled in its principal features the ceremonies of the other societies. There were two leaders, who wore shirts, the one yellow and the other red, trimmed with crowfeathers. Each of the other members wore, over one shoulder and under the other, a baldric of red cloth, whose end, trailing the ground, was, in conflict, transfixed with a staff thrust into the ground. Thus the warrior was not permitted to retreat until some one not a member of the organization drove him away, speaking as if to a dog. All Dog Dancers carried eagle-bone whistles and small wands from which hung deer-hoof rattles, and all wore eagle-feather head-dresses. This dance lasted four days and took place in the usual enlarged lodge.2 The ceremony of the Drum society was performed by the bravest men, the most experienced warriors, in the tribe. They possessed a drum which, if the dance had been performed a short time before, they might in battle throw toward the enemy. The members then ran to it and stood there fighting, until either the enemy gave way or they themselves were killed. Like the others, this ceremony lasted four days and four nights. Four leaders bore crooked staffs wrapped with sacred white buffalo-skin, and all were painted red with white 1 A song of the Fox Dance is recorded on pages I65-I66. 2 For a typical song of the Dog Dance, see pages 166-167. {view image of page 118} ii8 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN dots representing hail and with zigzag lines for lightning. Their only clothing was a loin-cloth, and their only ornament a plume of eagledown in the hair.' The ceremony of the BenohtyiiiCan, a society of women, was performed when a woman had dreamed of the dance or had pledged it on condition that her child or other relative recover from illness. When under these circumstances the woman desired the ceremony, she went to some old man and asked him to take charge of the dance. He arranged for the erection of a large dance-lodge and selected two old men as singers. Four members were leaders and four younger women assistants, while two girls represented buffalo calves. Each woman wore a buffalo-skin cape to which two feathers were attached to symbolize horns. The ceremony lasted four days, the leaders usually giving the signal to dance by standing up and commencing to sing. The women did not lift their feet from the ground, but simply swayed from side to side. In the centre of the lodge was a pool of water, and during the progress of the ceremony a warrior was called forth and told to drink from the pool like a buffalo. On the fourth day the women, simulating a herd of buffalo, went to the river and drank. At the water's edge a man lay in wait for them with a gun. They pretended to scent him and acted as if suspicious of danger, pawing the ground and sniffing the air. The hunter shot and one of the women fell. The Soldier organization of the Atsina was created anew each spring when the bands assembled after the usual winter's separation, those who had been members during the previous year, or at least such as wished to join again, meeting and electing four leaders. The Soldiers had the usual powers to punish disobedience or offences against tribal laws. The "joined lodge," their meeting place, pitched in the centre of the camp, was the rendezvous of members and the vital point of the community. The two youngest members of the society acted as servants, levying upon the women of the tribe for meat and attending to its cooking in the Soldiers' lodge. Leading members of the organization frequently pitched their individual domiciles in the centre of the encampment near the " joined lodge." A song of the Drum Dance is recorded on pages 167-168. {view image of facing page 118} Atsina crazy dance : A dancer kisses the grandfather [photogravure plate] {view image of page 119} THE ATSINA II9 Religion It is believed that when a man dies he goes northward to Basnabe, the Big Sand, where he joins the spirits of those that have gone before. There the spirits find plenty of game and follow the customs and habits of their former existence. The ghosts of the dead are believed to haunt graves, to travel with the whirlwind, and to have the power of shooting invisible arrows into people. There are three souls, or perhaps it should be said that the soul has three forms: watainbeta-to, black shadow, which goes with one during the day; ni un-watanbetato, light-black shadow, the ghost that goes about doing mischief; na2finnuit-betato, invisible shadow, which is the spirit that goes to the Big Sand over Tsukyunbya, the Milky Way. The three principal deities are Ihityebi-nihaat, Spider Above,1 Itasfha, Last Child, and NitawiFha, First Child. Spider Above, the most potent, is the more often supplicated, but the Indians are vague as to the nature of his power. Last Child is said to have created the earth; later he killed many monsters and wicked people, and taught the buffalo to eat grass instead of people, as had been their habit. He stands second in importance. First Child, the least powerful of the three, is the god of the elements and of growing things, causing the winds to blow and the grasses and trees to flourish. With the Atsina, as with other tribes, fasting should be considered an essential part of their religious practices. A young Atsina was advised by his father to go up in the mountains and fast, that he might come into communication with the spirits and be given visions and supernatural strength to make him a great warrior. Running Fisher's account of two of his fastings is a good illustration. His father told him that he ought to suffer, so that the spirits would pity him and give him power. The young man washed himself and anointed his body with white clay in which was mixed per1 Nihaat, the Spider, is the culture hero of the Atsina, and when the wonder-working white man appeared the name was applied to him. It has become the habit for interpreters to assign the secondary instead of the primary meaning to nihaat, and translate the native name of the deity into " white man above." A similar misconception is found among the northern branch of the Cheyenne. {view image of page 120} I20 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN fume; with only a buffalo-robe around him he climbed the highest peak he could find in the Little Rockies, building there a brush shelter just large enough to enable him to lie down. He cried aloud to the spirits during the day, but at night he slept. He was there four days and four nights, and touched neither food nor drink during that time. Toward the last his voice became very weak. The fourth night he experienced a vision in which he saw a large grizzly bear facing him. His heart beat very fast. " Why do you cry?" asked the bear. " I wish to become a great warrior and a strong man," replied Running Fisher. The bear promised these things, and told him that he would attain great age and become a chief in his tribe. Then the bear went down the mountain, and a little later Running Fisher followed. He looked out from behind some large rocks and saw four bears walking upright like men; they seemed to be playing a game, running up and down a tall tree as fast as they could. The grizzly put his forelegs around the tree and shook it to the top. Running Fisher watched them a long time in the moonlight, then he went back to his shelter. At dawn he came down to the encampment. After his father's death Running Fisher fasted and mourned in great sorrow for many days, and when the camp moved he would not ride horseback but walked barefoot, clad only in a piece of old lodgecover. One day he left the camp and climbed to the summit of a lofty butte. As he sat there with head bowed in sorrow, he heard the rustling of many wings, and looking up saw a flock of buzzards circling about him. He gazed at them, forgetting his grief for a moment, then his sorrow came upon him again and he fell into a trance. In his dreams a little boy came to him, and said, " Come! My father wants you in his lodge." Running Fisher arose and followed. Soon he came to the lodge, and entering, saw sitting there an old man, whom he recognized as a buzzard transformed into human shape. The old man spoke: "My son, why are you fasting and torturing your body?" "I am a poor man," answered Running Fisher, " and my heart is heavy within me. I want some one to pity me, so that I may become a great warrior and a chief." Then the old man said, " It is well! " and pointing to the sides of {view image of facing page 120} Atsina crazy dance : The flight of arrows [photogravure plate] {view image of page 121} THE ATSINA I21 the lodge, he continued: " There are all my possessions. Choose what you will." Running Fisher looked, and saw at the back of the lodge, in the place of honor, many parfleches beautifully adorned and tempting to the eye, and near the door, thrown on the ground in disorder, a pile of old bags and rubbish. Lying across the pile was a thong with a single downy feather at the end of it, and the faster, disregarding the beautiful bags, chose this feather. The old man spoke: " You have chosen wisely, my son; with that feather you shall become great in war and chief of your people." Then he pointed to the back of the lodge, and said, " Look that way," and Running Fisher, turning, saw himself standing there dressed and painted as if for battle, with the single downy feather in his hair. "Look this way," said the old man, pointing to one side, and Running Fisher looked and beheld a scene of battle. In the thick of the fight he saw himself performing valiant deeds. Then he heard singing, and the old man said, " This is the song you shall sing when you are making your battle medicine." On awaking from this trance Running Fisher returned to the camp, and the good fortune promised in that revelation has always been his.1 As with many tribes, certain pipes are sacred and greatly venerated by the Atsina. They originally had ten of these, but, many having been buried with their custodians, there now remain but two, the bundles containing which are opened each spring, when prayers are offered to the spirits. The following legend is related of the pipe now in the possession of Sleeping Bear: " A man and his family dwelt apart from the large circular encampment. Toward night a dark threatening cloud appeared at the horizon, and, fearing a storm, the man told his wife to fasten everything securely. Soon the wind blew fiercely, lightning flashed, and rain fell in torrents. In the morning the people came to the man's lodge and found him sitting there holding a pipe, but all his earthly 1 This vision is the most sacred incident of the old man's life. It was with great reluctance that he related it, saying, " This is my life; I have never told of it before." {view image of page 122} 122 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN possessions had been carried away by Thunderbird, who had brought it." So far as they can be traced, the keepers of this pipe have been Sitting Woman (the first chief of that name), White Bird, Big Beaver, Bull Lodge, Sitting High, and Sleeping Bear. A custodian keeps the pipe four years, or sometimes longer. When he wishes to transfer it to someone else, he calls in a number of men and they decide on some one worthy to become its custodian. Prayers are then offered to Thunderbird, and just at daybreak the party proceed to the lodge of the chosen man, who is called out to receive the pipe. If he smokes it, his acceptance is signified, and the former custodian follows the example of Thunderbird by taking all the property of the new keeper. It is supposed that within a year the latter will be the wealthiest man of the tribe. The second medicine pipe, now kept by Otter Robe, was obtained long ago during a truce with the Canadian Blackfeet; by them it is believed to have been procured in the following manner: " A stranger came and told the people of the beauties of the land to the south, offering to guide them thither and show them the thousands of buffalo that grazed on the plains where the grass grew tall and luxuriant. Many accepted the offer, and the party set out. They were crossing a large body of water in their canoes, and stopped on an island for the night. When they awoke, they discovered that their guide had deserted them, taking with him all the canoes. In their distress they cried aloud, and an otter appeared and asked them why they wept. When they told him, he assured them that someone would come to their assistance, and soon two enormous swans appeared, carrying in their bills a pipe, which they gave to the Blackfeet, commanding them to climb upon their backs. In this manner the swans conveyed them to the mainland and flew away, and the Blackfeet travelled northward until they came to their own country." After this episode, it is said, the pipe was worshipped with prayers, and its possession always assured victory in war, power to acquire wealth, and general good fortune to the people. The keepers of this pipe among the Atsina have been No Teeth, Rabbit Tail, Bird Chief, Spotted Bull, Sitting Woman I, Sitting {view image of facing page 122} Atsina crazy dancers [photogravure plate] {view image of page 123} THE ATSINA I23 Woman II, Deer, Chief Eagle, Fire Elk, Spotted White Cow, War Eagle Bonnet, Bear Walks On The Hillside, Mean Wolf, Lame Bull, Crow Chief, White Bird, High Bird, and Otter Robe. The third custodian of this pipe, Bird Chief, was the great-greatgrandfather of a man now about thirty-five years of age, which would place the time when Bird Chief had it at least as early as the middle of the eighteenth century. Medicine-men received their supernatural powers from the spirits, which appeared in visions to fasters in the hills. Each had his own particular herbs and roots for treating the sick, and retained all knowledge of them as a personal secret. Medicine-men, as healers, were called natfinheya, literally, " doctor." As magicians, they were betauhua, " doers of mystery," and those who made prophesies were kajngtyi, "dreamers." The healers could teach anyone their secrets for pay, and they sometimes conferred with each other and exchanged roots and herbs and the secrets relative to their use. In treating the sick the medicine-man sang over them, shook rattles, and performed the usual incantations, in addition to administering infusions of herbs. They examined the patient from head to foot, sometimes putting the ear close to the body as if to listen, and continually striking the subject with their hands. Finally they would tap a selected part of the body, and say, " Here is the sickness." Then perhaps they would scoop their hands together on the skin, pretending to fill them with the disease and throw it aside, or they might put the mouth to the spot and pretend to suck out some animal or object, claiming that to be the cause of the trouble. The mystery-workers sometimes displayed their powers in the form of jugglery and legerdemain, performing feats common to all parts of the world, such as swallowing large knives, or perhaps a long stick cut from a thorn bush. Myths and Tales Gray Hawk Plume There was once a chief who had three children, the handsomest in the tribe. Two were daughters, one a little girl and the other a young woman; the son was the eldest by a year or two, and was called {view image of page 124} 124 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN Gray Hawk Plume. This youth had within the lodge of his father a smaller one which he called his own. One night as he sat in this inner lodge a young woman entered. She kept her face covered with her robe and would not reveal her identity, but the whole night through she sat and talked with him, and her voice was like the ripple of a mountain stream. Night after night she came and conversed with the young man, but never for an instant would she drop the robe from her face, and all that Gray Hawk Plume could see was her dusky eyes. In the daytime his mind went constantly to his strange visitor, and he wondered who she could be. The attraction of the unknown held him as in a spell, and finally he determined to learn the identity of his lover. That night as the woman turned to leave, he leaned over and put a streak of red paint on the back of her robe. The next morning he asked his father to announce a dance, for he knew that this would bring everyone out, and that he thus would have an opportunity to solve the mystery. Three times he walked around the dance-circle without seeing the mark of red on the robe of a woman, but the fourth time he caught sight of it, and his heart leaped, for now at last he would see her face. Eagerly he stepped in front of her and looked into the face of - his own sister! Gray Hawk Plume felt his heart turning to stone, and drawing his robe over his head, he walked slowly out of the village across the prairie to a solitary butte, where he sat all day, his eyes fastened on the distant horizon, yet seeing nothing. Finally he resolved to leave his home, for he could not bear to face his sister, knowing that she had deceived and disgraced him. His father made a canoe for him and painted it red, and Gray Hawk Plume piled his belongings into it and was about to push off, when his sister came and begged him to take her. " I shall have nothing more to do with you! " he replied. She called after him: " When you return, you will not find our people! " Gray Hawk Plume had floated many sleeps down the river in his red canoe, when he came to a country much unlike his own. He tied his boat and climbed to the top of the bank. There were few trees, and the prairie rolled in front of him as far as the eye could see. He {view image of facing page 124} Singing in the crazy dance - Atsina [photogravure plate] {view image of page 125} THE ATSINA I25 walked until the sun disappeared over the edge, when he approached a lodge in which lived an old woman. She asked him whence he had come and what he sought. " I am looking for a man with red hair," he answered Said she: " I fear you will never find him, my son, but I shall help you all I can," and she gave him a root which had the power of putting people to sleep. The next day Gray Hawk Plume went on until he reached a stream. Beside it stood a tall pole with a wild swan resting on the top, which screamed a warning as soon as it saw him. Gray Hawk Plume instantly transformed himself into a young woman, just as another young woman came out of a lodge that stood in the thicket. She smiled at Gray Hawk Plume, and taking him by the hand led him into the lodge, where he saw several people, among them a young man with hair that glowed like the setting sun. " This is to be my sisterin-law," said the young woman. Red Hair was nothing loath, and said, "In four days I shall marry her." The family of Red Hair were compelled to watch him closely, for the fame of his beautiful locks had spread throughout the land, and many enemies desired to see his scalp dangling from their lodgepoles. So the family was pleased that he was to have a wife, and they said to one another, "Now she can look after him." On the third day Gray Hawk Plume and Red Hair walked to the top of a high hill and sat looking over the country. Red Hair lay down in the grass, and Gray Hawk Plume held under his companion's nose the root the old woman had given him. Soon Red Hair slept. Gray Hawk Plume shook him, and cried, " It is time to go back!" but the other did not stir. Then quickly he took his knife and cut the throat of the sleeper and scalped him. Gray Hawk Plume then resumed his natural form and started back to the river, and on his way, passing the lodge of the old woman, he gave back the root and with it a wisp of the beautiful red hair. The father of Red Hair knew his son was dead the instant it happened, and with his relatives followed the trail of Gray Hawk Plume. They were almost upon him when he was still some distance from the river, but he called to the red canoe, which came {view image of page 126} I26 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN flying through the air, and in it Gray Hawk Plume paddled away to the north as if it had been in the water. When he reached the old camping-place, it was deserted. At one side stood a mean little lodge, from which the smoke was rising, and nearby were two small boys playing the wheel game. He asked them what had become of all the people, and they replied, " We will not tell you unless you give us some of that red hair." So Gray Hawk Plume gave a little to each of the boys, and they told him, " Your sister turned into a bear, and ate everyone but your father, mother, little sister, and us. We hid in a cave and escaped. No one could kill her, for no arrows would penetrate her flesh." Just then out of the lodge came Gray Hawk Plume's younger sister, who exclaimed with joy when she caught sight of him. " Our sister is very cruel to us," she said. " She burns us with fire-sticks and does not give us enough to eat," and she showed him where her sister had burned her. The young man shot a rabbit, which he gave to the little girl, and as she reentered the lodge he heard the elder sister ask, " Where did you get that rabbit?" and the other reply, "While I was dipping up water at the spring, the rabbit ran out of the bushes and I threw the horn cup at it and killed it." It seemed that the woman believed, for she said, " Cook it, and I will eat it." After she had eaten, she said suddenly, "You must have seen Gray Hawk Plume. I smell him!" and grasping a flaming brand she burned the younger sister's arm, but could wring no confession from her. Then she burned her father and mother, saying, "Tell me, are you hiding Gray Hawk Plume? " But they of course denied all knowledge of him. The next day the younger sister went again for water, and Gray Hawk Plume said to her, " Try to find out from your sister how it would be possible to kill her." So the little girl asked her sister, who said, " By shooting my little finger." Then she placed her hand over her mouth when she realized what she had unthinkingly said, and seizing the little girl, she burned her severely because her secret had been discovered. When Gray Hawk Plume was told about this, he said, "Now she shall die," and transforming himself into a down-feather he let {view image of facing page 126} Incense - Atsina [photogravure plate] {view image of page 127} THE ATSINA I27 the wind blow him near the lodge. Soon the wicked sister looked out, and seeing no one she stepped outside. Instantly Gray Hawk Plume became a man, and as his arrow pierced the end of her little finger she fell to the earth. He piled up many logs and laid her body on them, " For," said he, " it is best to destroy completely such an evil one." As her body burned, the sparks arose and became beautiful red rain, and as the drops fell they turned into bright-colored pebbles, which the little sister gathered with shouts of glee and placed in the bosom of her dress. But as the stones turned to fire and began to burn her, she ran to her brother, who blew out the flames. Then Gray Hawk Plume said to his father, " In four days you shall see your tribe again." During the first night groans were heard all around the old camp-circle. The second night there were voices and the sound of people moving about. Then came laughter and shouting, and on the fourth night the air was filled with singing and the beating of drums. In the morning there stood a great thronging camp. Gray Hawk Plume gave his father the red scalp and told him that if he used it as his medicine it would always bring good fortune. Then he disappeared and took the form of a bright star in the sky. Cherry-bush Man A number of children, one boy and many girls, returning from their games, found only smouldering camp-fires where the village had been. Deserted, they followed the trail of the people. Now and again they would find a lodge-pole dropped by their parents ahead of them, and each time they would cry, " Mother, here is one of your lodge-poles! " But the parents had left the children purposely, not caring for them, and from afar would come the faint answer, " I do not care for my lodge-pole!" The sister of the boy lagged behind the others to help her little brother, who was too young to keep up, and the two were soon left far behind. She led him to a thicket, and making him a bed of boughs, left him there to rest while she cut brush and built a small shelter, in which they lived, eating berries and roots gathered by the child-mother. {view image of page 128} 128 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN One day as the girl was looking out of the lodge, she saw a herd of elk going by, and she exclaimed: " Brother, look at the elk! There are many passing." The boy was sitting with head bowed and eyes cast downward, because he was growing old enough to feel ashamed of living alone with his sister, and without looking up he replied: " Sister, it will do us no good if I look at them." She, however, insisted, so the boy raised his head and looked at the elk, and they all fell dead in their tracks. The girl went out, skinned and butchered the elk, and carried the flesh and hides into the lodge. Looking at the pile of meat, she said, "I wish that meat were dried," and no sooner were the words out of her mouth than it was all perfectly dried. Lifting a hide and shaking it, she said, " I wish these hides were tanned," and so they were. She spread a number of them on the ground, and murmured to herself, " I wish these were sewn into a lodge-cover," and behold! there was a fine large one lying where the unsewn skins had been. The same day she saw a herd of buffalo passing, and again addressed her brother: " Look at the buffalo, brother! " " Sister, why do you want me to look at those buffalo? " he protested peevishly; but as she insisted, he raised his head, and they too fell dead. Then she skinned them, bringing the hides into the brush lodge, where she spread out a few, and said, "I wish these hides were tanned into fine robes." They at once became what she desired. Then to the others she addressed the magic words, and they became soft robes decorated with paintings. Now having everything necessary, she built and arranged her lodge. Going then into the thicket she cut a switch from a cherry-bush, which she hung in a swing near the entrance. " I wish a child," she said; " this is going to be my boy." As she moved the hammock, the stick became a baby. Then she transferred the swing to a pole a quarter of the way around the lodge, and as it swayed, the baby became large enough to crawl. Once more it was moved, and the baby talked; and when the hammock was swung at the other side of the entrance, a handsome youth leaped out. " My son shall be called {view image of facing page 128} The pipe-bearer - Atsina [photogravure plate] {view image of page 129} THE ATSINA I29 Cherry-bush Man," exclaimed the girl, as she went out of the lodge toward the thicket. " White Bear, come here! Silvertip Bear, come here! " she called, and when the two came running out of the undergrowth to her, she said, " I want you to stay here and watch over us." One day the girl saw a Raven flying by, and she called out," Raven, take this piece of buffalo-fat and go to the camp of my tribe, and when you fly over, drop it in the centre of the circle, and say, ' There is plenty to eat at the old camp site!'" Raven took the fat and flew to the far-away camp. There he saw all the young men playing the wheel game, and dropping his burden, he croaked, " There is plenty to eat at the old camp site! " It happened that at this time there was a famine in the village, and when the words of the Raven were heard, the head-chief ordered some young men to the old camp to see what they could find. The scouts set forth, and where the former camp had been they saw a fine elk-skin lodge with racks of meat swinging in the wind, and buffalo grazing on the surrounding hills. When the chief heard their report, he immediately ordered his herald to bid the people prepare to journey. When the camp was made near the elk-skin lodge, the father and the mother of the girl quickly discovered that it belonged to their daughter, and they went to her, calling, " My daughter! My daughter! " But she answered, " Keep back! You are not my father, and you are not my mother, for when I found the lodge-poles and cried out to you not to forsake me, you went on, saying that I was no daughter of yours! " After a while, however, she seemed to relent, and calling all the people around her she divided among them the contents of a large vessel of boiling buffalo-tongues. Her parents she bade sit by her side. Meantime her brother had been sitting with bowed head. "Brother, look at these people!" the girl commanded him. "They are the ones that deserted us! " She repeated her words twice, but the boy would not look up. At the fourth command he raised his head slowly, and as he looked around, the people fell lifeless. Said the girl: "Let a few of the men and women return to life, that the tribe may grow again, but let their characters be changed, vOL. V 9 {view image of page 130} 130 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN that the people may be better than they were." Immediately some of them came to life, and the tribe increased, and their hearts were good. One day while the girl, her brother, and Cherry-bush Man were seated in the lodge, the brother said: "Nephew, you had better go on a journey for a while." Cherry-bush Man turned to his mother. "I am a man now, I am going to travel," he said; so taking a few pairs of moccasins and a lance, he started on his journey. Soon he came upon a low lodge nearly hidden in the timber, and entering he found an ugly little man sitting there, and all around the walls many hearts hanging from thongs. He went up to the nearest one, and said, "Whose heart is this?" and the man answered, "That is my father's heart." Cherrybush Man furtively transfixed it with his lance. Then he went around the lodge, asking about the different hearts, and finding that they all were those of relatives of the ugly little man, he pierced each with his lance. When he reached the last one, the man said, "That is my heart." When Cherry-bush Man openly pretended to thrust his spear into it, the other screamed in terror, "Do not do that!" The youth made three feints, and at the fourth motion pierced it through, crying at the same instant, "Your people will exist no more!" The dwarf lay dead at his feet. This was the lodge of those evil ones who, invulnerable because they always left their hearts at home in the care of the dwarf, roamed the earth murdering men and eating their flesh. Having thus slain the cannibals, Cherry-bush Man returned to his home and told the people that there was now nothing for them to fear, for the earth was rid of the scourge that for so long had oppressed them. Blood-clot Long ago when men killed buffalo in corrals, into which, they say, the animals, attracted by the scent, followed a man carrying a burning buffalo-chip, there lived close to the village a Bear who 1 For the Lakota legend of Blood-clot Boy, see Volume III, page III. {view image of facing page 130} Travaux - Atsina [photogravure plate] {view image of page 131} THE ATSINA I3I married one of the women. Through his strength and ferocity he became chief, and it grew to be his habit to take for himself the greater portion of each kill, which soon drove the people almost to starvation. One day while they were butchering in the corral, the Bear appeared, as was his custom, and forced them to give up the meat. One old man, rendered desperate by hunger, concealed a lump of clotted blood, which he took home to make into soup. Entering his lodge, he closed the flap securely and dropped his prize into the rawhide cooking-pot. Heated stones were thrown in, and as the water began to boil the clot of blood turned into a child, who cried, "Grandfather, take me out! " Startled and mystified, the old man lifted him out. " Swing me in the air!" said the child, and when the command was obeyed he became at once a well-grown boy, whose first request was for bow and arrows. The next time buffalo were drawn into the corral, the tyrant came, growling, " All this meat belongs to me! No one shall touch it!" But the boy, hidden under the old man's robe, whispered, " Grandfather, take a bite out of a paunch, and let the Bear see you." Furious at the old man's open disregard of his command, the beast, with bloodshot eyes and jaws dripping foam, rushed at him; but the boy stepped quickly from his concealment and discharged one of his little arrows into its red, open mouth, piercing its heart. Then he pursued and killed the other Bears, all of them except one pair, which he ordered to go far into the mountains and live apart from men. Hearing one day of a fierce Buffalo Bull with long sharp horns, ruler of a neighboring village, the youth decided to kill this monster; so he set out, though his grandfather, fearing he would come to grief, begged him not to go. After long wandering, he approached the outskirts of the strange camp and entered a solitary lodge. An old woman sat there alone. " I am sorry to see such a handsome youth come to this place; you will surely be killed!" she said. Even as she spoke, someone kicked at the lodge-poles, and cried: {view image of page 132} I32 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN " You are here, stranger! Come with me; the chief wishes to see you! " Blood-clot accompanied the messenger to the middle of the village, where on the smooth-trodden ground the Bull and others were playing the wheel game. The chief invited the visitor to play against him, and the young man assented. With his mystery-power Blood-clot won at every cast, which so angered the monster that, glowering fiercely, he rushed at the youth with threatening horns. Transforming himself into a feather, the wonderful boy drifted to one side and settled to the ground, then resuming his natural form he shot the creature as it thundered past. Knowing that other evils infested the world, he travelled on, following a trail that led through a dense forest, until he came upon a number of human skeletons. As he stood there looking down at them and pondering what had been their fate, one of the trees, as if in answer to his question, toppled toward him, but instantly he became a feather and again escaped harm. Then retransforming himself, he built a fire under the fallen tree, which was soon destroyed. Piling the remains of the unfortunate men together, Blood-clot built a sweat-lodge over them, calling four times to the dry bleached bones. At the fourth command they came out of the lodge, living beings once more. They begged him not to go farther, telling him that there were many mysterious and dreadful things ahead of him, and prophesying misfortune. Undaunted by their dire forebodings, he proceeded on his way. To his ear was borne the murmur of water rippling over a rocky bed. Pushing his way through the shrubbery, he came upon a brook, and there beside the stream sat a beautiful maiden, idly toying with the pebbles. In a voice as soft as the whisper of the trees, she told him of her father's cruelty, which had driven her to haunt the brookside to escape his wrath. " Marry me," said the youth, " and I will care for you." Her eye was pleased with the handsome stranger, and she led him to her father's lodge. From the first Blood-clot was feared by his father-in-law, who determined to destroy him, and with that in his mind he sent the young man to cut arrow-shafts. When Blood-clot reached the cherry {view image of facing page 132} Beside the stream [photogravure plate] {view image of page 133} THE ATSINA I33 thicket a huge Bear sprang out at him, but his ability to become a feather once more saved him, and the animal was killed as had been the other monsters. With the Bear's claws and a bundle of cherryshoots the wonder-worker returned to the lodge. Disappointed by the failure of his plot, the evil father sent him to obtain feathers for the arrows, telling him of a tall tree in which there was an eagle's nest. As he climbed the tree, it grew higher and higher, until it seemed to touch the sky, and despairing of ever reaching the top, Blood-clot cried, " Let the tree remain as it is! " Thus he was able to reach the nest, and finding it to be that of Thunderbird, he asked the young birds, " How does your father come?" "In a white cloud of hail," they replied. Soon the white cloud appeared, lightning flashed, and Thunderbird settled on the nest. Perceiving the stranger, he challenged him to perform some wonder. The young man drew forth an arrow and shot it into a rock clear to the feathers, and said, " If you can pull the arrow out and not break it, it shall be yours; if you cannot, I will kill you!" Thunderbird grasped the end of the arrow in his beak and started to fly out with it; but it was elastic, and stretching to the highest point of tension it suddenly snapped back and crushed the bird's skull against the rock. Blood-clot took the feathers and gave them to the man in the lodge, who ill concealed his surprise and displeasure. The next day he sent the young man after sinew for the arrows, telling him of a Bull that lived near a certain spring. Blood-clot found the place and saw a monster Buffalo pawing the ground and throwing great lumps of earth into the air. This animal destroyed its victims by sucking them irresistibly within reach of his horns; but when Blood-clot felt himself drawn toward the monster's mouth, he became a feather, at which the creature lunged in vain. Then turning into a man, he shot the Bull and took the sinew back to his father-in-law. This attempt having failed, the evil plotter told Blood-clot to go out and look for game. As he journeyed along the shore of a lake, a wave of water rushed toward him, and as it enveloped him a Watermonster swallowed the daring youth. Quickly he drew his knife {view image of page 134} 134 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN and thrust it into the heart of the creature, which in its death struggles disgorged him and threw him far up on the land. The carcass soon floated to the shore, and, slashing it open, the destroyer first liberated the men imprisoned in its belly, then cutting the body into small bits, he threw them into the water, where they immediately became fish. Returning to the lodge the wonder-worker sought his father-inlaw. " You have tried in many ways to kill me," he said. " Now I shall destroy you! " and he sent an arrow through his heart. The Adventures of Spider Spider, being a restless fellow, could never stay in one place very long, but was continually making little excursions about the country. One day as he was walking down the river-bank, he saw a Bear on the opposite side, and wishing to have some fun with him, shouted across, " Ho, Bear! " The Bear raised himself and looked all around. " How ridiculous you are!" called Spider. "Your eyes are small and squinty, and the hair is dark around them! " At this, Bear became very angry, and splashing into the river he swam across to punish his tormentor; but the latter, fearing his wrath, ran away quickly. The infuriated animal pursued, and Spider, seeing him come on with bristling hair and open mouth, was much alarmed, and tried as he ran to think of a way to escape. As he was speeding along he came to a large pile of Stones, and stopping, said to them, " Brothers, let us make a sweat-lodge here." The lodge appeared as he spoke, and some of the Stones piled themselves around the edge of the cover, while a few went inside. The jester entered, and soon the Bear came up looking very angry. Spider put his head out, and called to him: " Brother, what is wrong? Whom are you chasing? I saw that imp Spider running by and tried to stop him, but he seemed to be in a hurry, and went on. No doubt he has been up to some mischief! Anyway, there is no use running yourself to death, and you had better take a sweat, for you might get sick, being so overheated. You go in first, while I stay outside and open the lodge for you when you have finished." {view image of facing page 134} The halt - Atsina [photogravure plate] {view image of page 135} THE ATSINA I35 The Bear agreed, and went in. Spider pulled the flap down, whispering to the Stones, " Brothers, sit on this flap and do not let him get out!" In the meantime the Bear had been pouring water on the heated stones inside, and the steam was getting very hot, so that he soon had enough, and cried, " Brother, open the door! " But Spider's only heed was to whisper to the Stones, " Hold fast, brothers! Don't let him out! " Swinging a club in his hand, Spider walked watchfully around the lodge, and every time the sweater's head showed against the cover he dealt him a blow, until at length the Bear was dead. " Now I shall have a feast," chuckled Spider, and he began to skin his victim. As he busily cut and slashed, Coyote joined him, and said, "Brother, give the entrails to me; I am very hungry!" But the other answered impatiently, "Leave me alone! You are always interfering! " The beggar persisted until at last he was told to take a portion of the entrails to the river and wash them, and for doing that he was to have something for himself. Coyote went to the river, but instead of washing the entrails, he ate them, and came back with a doleful story of how the Fish had snatched them from his paws. Spider gave him the rest, admonishing him to use more care, and as soon as Coyote was out of sight, he followed, for he suspected that he was being deceived. Creeping up to the bank he saw the thief devouring the tripe, and without a word he ran back to the camp, where he awaited the deceiver. Soon Coyote appeared, whining, "The Fish robbed me again!" But Spider, with a large stone in his hand, exclaimed, " Robbed you again, did they? " and knocked him down. After a while Coyote regained his senses, and his assailant, feeling remorseful, fed him and told him to go to their grandmother and borrow her cooking-pot. Coyote went out to a patch of brush, and shouted: "Grandmother, we want to use your cooking-pot!" Soon the vessel came rolling down out of the bushes, and Spider commanded it to fill itself with water and sit on the fire, all of which the magic {view image of page 136} I36 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN utensil did. Spider now finished cutting up the Bear, and placing the flesh in the receptacle, stirred up a hot fire. When the meat was cooked, he spread it out on the grass, and shouted: " Spider is inviting everything that lives to come and eat with him!" and all the creatures came and swarmed around him. He told them to sit in rows, and seated himself on a nearby Stone with Coyote beside him. " I am going to eat first, and after that I shall feed all of you," the feast-giver explained. He started to get up to reach for the food, but he was stuck to his seat and could not move. "Brother," he said to the Stone, "don't do that; don't hold me;" but it only answered, " No, I always stay in one place four years. Not knowing that Coyote had told the Stone to play the trick, Spider appealed to him to move the meat closer, but when the other knew that Spider could not rise, he cried: " All you animals seize the meat and eat it quickly! Our brother is stuck to his seat and cannot get away! " The animals fell upon the food and soon it had disappeared, notwithstanding Spider's piteous pleading that a little should be left for him. Then mocking and laughing at him, they left him alone, and the Stone released him. Here and there at the edge of the fire he gathered up the little fragments they had over ooked, intending to make a meal from them, when a spark flew out and struck his bare belly, burning him so badly that he jumped back, spilling the scraps in the fire. This aggravated his ill-temper, and remembering the trick played upon him by the Stone, he called to the dry Sticks scattered around: " Brothers, come into the fire! " They all came and threw themselves on it. The Stone viewed the preparations with alarm. " Let me go!" he begged; but Spider only answered, " Let us see if you always remain in one place four years!" He placed it in the fire, sitting on it to hold it securely, and the Stone soon crumbled into pieces; Spider himself was somewhat scorched, but he did not mind that, having had his revenge. " Brother," he said, " hereafter when any one puts you into fire, you will break." And this is the reason stones break in the fire. {view image of facing page 136} Moving camp - Atsina [photogravure plate] {view image of page 137} THE ATSINA I37 On his travels Spider encountered a lake on whose surface swam a large flock of Ducks. He was hungry, and tried to devise a plan to catch them. Stripping off his clothes he painted his body with white clay and cut his hair short, as if he were in mourning, and walked round and round the water's edge, crying. Whenever he came close to the waterfowl they would swim away, warning each other: " Look out for Spider! He is very wise; don't be deceived!" Wailing and tearing his hair, he walked about until the Ducks began to feel sorry for him, and swam up to the shore to inquire what was the matter. " Alas! my brothers," said the trickster, " a war-party came and killed my wife and children. Join me in an expedition against the enemy." They agreed, and he told them to sit in rows that he might choose the bravest. Then passing along, Spider ran his hands over their bodies, and whenever he found one whose breast was fat, he would say, " Here is a brave man! Step over there, my friend," and the foolish fowl, flattered at being called brave, would obey. When he had selected all the fattest and sent the thin ones away, Spider said: " Now we will dance before starting on the war-path. Keep your eyes shut while we are dancing, for anyone opening his eyes will be killed by the enemy. Stand in a circle and I will sing." Then passing behind them as he danced, he wrung their necks one by one, until Hell-diver, who had been watching, cried out: " Ducks, look out! Spider is killing you!" Squawking in terror, the survivors flew away. Spider paused in gathering up the dead fowl to turn to the Diver, who had stopped a short distance out in the lake. "For this," he said, "you shall hatch your young last of all the waterfowl and your home shall be the water." Coyote, thin and lame, now appeared and stood watching the trickster as he picked and cleaned the birds. " Brother, won't you give me the refuse? " he asked. " Bring me a pot," answered Spider, " and you may have it all." The beggar went away and returned, and very soon the vessel rolled to the spot and was told to take its place on the fire. Then Spider made a proposal: {view image of page 138} 138 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN " Brother, while the food is cooking I will race you around the lake and the winner shall have it all." "You see that I am lame and cannot run," answered the other; " you ought to give me something anyway." The jester insisted that he race with him, and Coyote finally consented, saying that he did it only to be agreeable. They started out and ran for some distance, when Spider, far in the lead, called back, "Why don't you run? I thought you were racing with me!" Coyote rolled on the ground and stood up as well as ever, then swiftly passing the other he was back at the fire eating the fowl before Spider had run half-way around the lake. " Brother, brother! " shouted Spider. "Leave some for me! " But pretending not to hear, the winner of the race devoured the last morsel and was quickly out of sight. Spider came up to the fire and sat there pondering, saying to himself: " I wonder why it is that I always get something good to eat and then never have a chance to eat it?" And shaking his head sadly, he walked homeward. On one of his expeditions down the river Spider came to a fine pool in which were a number of pretty girls bathing. "Come, and we will comb your hair," they called, and he, not unwilling, accepted the invitation, for he was very tired. They gathered about him, and under the soothing touch of their soft fingers in his hair, Spider began to doze; but as soon as he was sleeping soundly the maidens all became burdock burrs. The sleeper awoke shortly, and finding his hair matted and tangled with burrs he was in a quandary what to do. As it was impossible to pull them out, he was compelled in the end to cut his hair short. In this condition he started home, wondering what he would say to his wife in explanation of his plight. At last a good plan occurred to him, and as soon as he arrived in sight of the lodge he began to wail and weep loudly. The noise attracted the attention of the Spider woman, who came out to see what was the matter with her husband. When she saw him she was angry at the change in his looks, and exclaimed sharply: "Fool, what are you crying about? Why have you cut your {view image of facing page 138} Atsina burial [photogravure plate] {view image of page 139} THE ATSINA I39 hair? What mischief have you been up to now?" Not a whit abashed, Spider answered: "Is it you, my wife? I thought you were dead, because a little while ago I passed some men who told me that you had died in my absence. That is why I was mourning, and that is why I cut my hair!" Deceived and flattered at this evidence of her husband's affection, she took him into the lodge, where for many days he enjoyed the unusual sensation of a respite of her scolding. Again in his wanderings Spider happened upon a fine pair of moccasins covered with porcupine-quill embroidery. " I wish I could marry the woman who made those pretty moccasins," he said to himself. Regretfully he left them lying there, and went on. Soon he met a most beautiful maiden, who stopped him and inquired what he had said to the moccasins. Spider, for a time, denied having said anything, but she insisted that he had spoken, and he told her how he had expressed a wish to marry the woman who had made them. "I made them," she said. "Come to my lodge." Nothing loath, Spider accompanied her to a dwelling beautifully decorated with quills, and he congratulated himself on having a wife who could do such work. In the morning his new wife explained to him, " I never remain in one place more than a day." As she spoke, the lodge disappeared, and Spider found himself enveloped in a whirlwind, by which all that day he was buffeted and tumbled about. As the sun sank, the wind subsided, and there again stood the lodge with the beautiful woman inside. Dizzy and wretched, his clothing in tatters, he had no desire to dwell longer with the woman of the whirlwind, and he sought his own far-away home. {view image of page 140} {view image of facing page 140} Travelling - Atsina [photogravure plate] {view image of page 141} Appendix {view image of page 142} {view image of facing page 142} Rattles of Arikara bear medicine-men [photogravure plate] {view image of page 143} APPENDIX Tribal Summary The Mandan LANGUAGE Siouan. POPULATION - Fort Berthold reservation, North Dakota, 263. DRESS - Men wore the usual shirt of deerskin or mountain-sheep skin ornamented with porcupine-quills, and leggings and moccasins of buffalo-skin from an old tipi-covering. For gala or ceremonial occasions leggings were of deerskin, fringed and embroidered. Loin-cloths also were of deerskin, but their use was not general as late as the beginning of the eighteenth century. La Verendrye (1738) says that the men were naked, save for a carelessly worn robe, while the women wore aprons a handbreath wide and a foot long, but sometimes they were clothed in gowns of deerskin. For winter they had fur gloves and caps, and moccasins with the hairy side in. The hair was parted from crown to temples, the forelock thus created being cut to hang to the level of the nose, and curled upward by being rolled on a heated stick. At the sides the hair was cut shoulder-length, and in the back twisted into several strands, which were gummed at intervals with a bit of mixed clay and glue, or tied with deerskin cords. Perfumes of grasses and herbs were rubbed on the face, and strings of dentalium shells dangled from the hair at the temples and frequently from the ears. Face paints were of red ochre, yellow ochre, white clay, white clay made pink with grape juice, and for certain dances charcoal. The women's dress consisted of two mountain-sheep skins sewn together down the sides and over the shoulders, one of the stubby tails hanging down from the breast, the other from the back. The hair was left on the tails, and at other places as a trimming along the under and upper sides of the sleeves and around the collar, and the bottom was fringed and hung with small pieces of sheep-hoof. No embroidery ornamented the garment, which reached the ankles. Sleeves extended nearly to the wrists, and the upper part between the lines of fur was painted. Openings were left at the armpits. Moccasins reaching to the ankle were supplemented with deerskin leggings extending above the knee and fringed near the bottom. Married women painted stripes on their leggings to indicate their husbands' honors in war. Women parted the hair in the middle from forehead to nape, and it hung in two braids in front of the shoulders, the ends being wrapped with deerskin cords. From each swung a string of two cylindrical bones. Women used paint and perfume even more than the men. Tattooing, done by means of porcupine-quills and charcoal, was frequently seen on the right breast and arm of the men and the lower part of the face of women. This was always done by certain men to the accompaniment of songs, the words of which were Assiniboin. DWELLINGS- The Mandan built an earth-covered lodge exactly like that of the Hidatsa. For full description, see Volume IV, pages 137-138. The skin tipi was used by hunting parties. {view image of page 144} 144 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN PRIMITIVE FOODS - Staple foods were corn, beans, squash, sunflower seeds, and meat, principally that of the buffalo. All the larger animals and many of the smaller ones were used when obtainable. Choke-cherries, buffalo-berries, service-berries, turnips (pomme blanche), and wild tubers were gathered in quantity. For a more complete list, see the Vocabulary, page 172. ARTS AND INDUSTRIES - A burden basket was made by weaving, over a framework of willow ribs, strips of the inner bark of the box-elder, some white, and some colored black by immersion in a bed of blue clay. A stronger receptacle was made by stretching hide over the basket, and smaller bark baskets were used in the houses to contain food. Mortar and pestle were made of ash, spoons and bowls of box-elder or horn of mountain-sheep and buffalo, pots of clay mixed with powdered stone, beads and pendants of pulverized glass beads obtained from traders, knives and arrows of stone or bone. A coracle-like boat was constructed by stretching a fresh buffalo-hide over a nearly hemispherical frame of willow hoops. Before horses were acquired the people moved overland with dog-travaux. The principal industry was agriculture, and the implements were a hoe made by binding to a crooked stick either a buffalo-scapula or a piece of the skull worked smooth and thin, and a dibble in the form of a stick about three feet long with a sharp bevel at the end about three inches wide. Mats were made by stringing rushes together. GAMES - The favorite sport was inihtiaia, a form of the wheel-and-pole game, in which were used a stone disc three or four inches in diameter with a small hole in the centre, and two poles terminating in a knob of rawhide. One of the two players rolled the stone (skop) swiftly in any direction, curving it if he chose, and the two then ran after it and cast their poles, the object of each being to cause the skop to stop as near as possible to his pole. The number of counters won depended on the position of the stone with respect to the thongs that marked the poles at intervals. The moccasin game, called hunp6-pahike ("drop in moccasin"), was played by two opposing sides. With many motions intended to deceive his adversaries, one player dropped a small piece of wood into one of two moccasins, when the " striker " of the other party guessed where it was after many attempts to startle the other into unconsciously revealing its whereabouts. The game idhupa-kadh6tkika ("strike bow") was played by setting a strung bow at an angle against a post, placing the upper end under a notch in the post. The challenger struck one of his arrows sharply on the taut bowstring, and if he let go at the right instant it flew upward and descended into a small heap of brush nearby. The other did likewise, and if his arrow touched the first one, he gained both. The game continued in this manner, a player taking all the discharged arrows when his missile touched any one of them. The women had games of their own, the favorite one, common to many tribes, being that in which they gambled by throwing into a small shallow basket six variously marked plum seeds. POLITICAL ORGANIZATION - Each village had its head-chief, who held his position by reason of his surpassing all others as a warrior and a peacemaker. The office was therefore not hereditary. In the council, to which a man was admitted when he had sufficiently distinguished himself in battle, discussion was free, but the decision in the question at issue lay with the chief. He secured obedience to his commands through the military organization known as Black Mouths. Each clan had its own head-man. The organizations were: Oh-ohhit, Fox Society Minis-ohka, Foolish Dog Mfnis-ohhilt, Dog Society Kakihf-ohhtt, Half-sheared Society Medh6k-ohhtt, Buffalo Bull Society th6-psi-hcdhe, Make Mouth Black Shupsi-ohhit, Black-tail Deer Society Youths of eighteen to twenty years, banding together, bought the songs and dance of the Fox society, from which they later passed by purchase into the Foolish Dog society, and so on until, {view image of facing page 144} Dancing into the medicine-lodge - Arikara [photogravure plate] {view image of page 145} APPENDIX I45 at an advanced age, they belonged to the Black-tail Deer. The purpose of these orders was to inspire their members with the military spirit. There were several women's societies, in which membership was bought exactly as in the men's. These were: Shhinht-ohhitt, Skunk Society, composed of young girls Pasamih-ohhtit, Creek Woman Society, consisting mostly of young unmarried women Mih-ohhtit, Goose Society, for married women Tituk-ohhut, White Buffalo Society, for old women CLANS - Descent was in the female line. Marriage of clan-relations was deemed improper, but there was no provision for punishment of offenders, except by public scorn and ridicule. The father, father's brothers, and all other male members of the father's clan are addressed by the same name. When necessary to distinguish, the natural father is called " my own father," the uncles, " next father," or " younger father," then " second father," and so on in the order of their age. One's father's sisters and all other clanswomen of his have a name of their own corresponding to our word " aunt." All females of whatever age in one's own clan are called " mother," the same distinction applying here as in the case of one's fathers, and all male clansmen are " brothers," elder or younger as the case may be. A complete authoritative list of Mandan clans cannot be given. The following lists were obtained from W6pinte and Lance respectively: Tamisik Tamisik Mahikina Mahikina Sipuns1hka-numakaki Sipuns4hka-numakaki, Prairie-chicken People Htahta-numakaki Htahti-numakaki, Spotted-eagle People Masekghuk-numakaki Mast-numakaki, Red Butte People Tamikehik Tamikehik, Bad Pack-strap Ho6hehaka-numakaki Ho6hehaka-numakaki, Crow People Madhakashtfk-numakaki, Clump Of Mattk-numakaki, Badger People Woods People Mafdhadhaghu-numakaki, Charcoal People One names nine, the other eight; yet the Mandan as a rule say the clans were in two divisions, or phratries, of three and four respectively, the Tamisik and the Sipunghka. This may be due to Hidatsa influence. W6pinte says that the creator made his people in nine clans, and told seven to move up the river, but the Tamisik and Mahikina were to remain where they were. It is possible then that these two were clans, or possibly phratries, of the Nuptadhi, those that lived originally on the left side of the Missouri. Corroborating this view is the statement of Lance that while " the seven clans " were represented in both Knife River villages, Tamisik and Mahikina were confined to the village of the Nuptafdhi. Further evidence is that the Tamisik and Mahikina occupied the western side of the Okipg lodge, and the others, now usually referred to collectively as Sipunshka, the eastern side, possibly the survival of a time when the latter dwelt in Mitutahank, the East Village, and the former in Nuptatamitis, farther to the west, yet on the left bank of the river. And again, the origin myth relates that Nuimakmaihana, the creator, became a Mandan and lived among the Mahikina, and before he left he gave them the sacred Turtles to be used in Okip~; while Lance states that at Knife river these Turtles were kept in Nuptatamitis, the village on the left side of the Missouri. In discussing this subject the expression 6dhg-kupa, Seven Clans, is frequently heard, and it seems quite likely that the divisions thus vaguely referred to composed the population of the villages that coalesced into Mitutahank. VOL. V - IO {view image of page 146} I46 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN MARRIAGE - Courtship was carried on in the manner common among the Indians of the plains, the suitor meeting his sweetheart on every possible occasion and endeavoring to persuade her to elope with him. If she refused to elope but was willing to marry him in the regular way, presents were exchanged between the two families after the consent of the girl's relatives had been procured, and the young man took up his abode in her father's lodge. Plural marriages were common, the husband of the eldest daughter usually taking her sisters as they reached maturity. Divorce required no preliminaries, and might follow upon causes so trivial as a domestic quarrel. GENESIS - The earth was soft and yielding, like quicksand. Numak-mahiana, One Man, ran about over it searching for a clue to his origin, and for others of his kind. He met Kz-numakAhi, He Becomes Chief, who seems to have been a humanized coyote, and the two disputed as to which was the older. A contest was proposed, and Ki-numakshi won, whence his name. They agreed to improve the world, and Nimak-mahana with his staff created a large river, which flowed down into the great water. One on each side of the stream, they made what changes seemed good, and created animals. Then they separated, Nimak-mihana going down to where the great water bordered the sand, and there from two of his own ribs he made a man and a woman. These he caused to mature at once and mate. Their two offspring were born almost immediately, and so the process was continued until there were four pairs. These were the nucleus of the Mandan. They multiplied rapidly, and their creator, deciding to be one of them, was born of a virgin made pregnant by eating of the fat of a buffalo that floated down the river. He grew to manhood, saved the people from the evil designs of another medicine-man, gave them the ceremony of Okipe, and departed to the south. He is still present in the south breeze. CULTURE HERO - The common character of a poor young man acting as a transformer is much in evidence in Mandan myths. He appears under various names. Ki-numakshi, who plays an important part in the origin myth, is the hero of many folk-tales, in which he is represented as a coyote and has the misadventures usual to that animal in the stories of many other tribes. CEREMONIES - The principal ceremony was Okipi, a four-days rite with the torture features particularly prominent and striking. Prayers were offered to all spirits, but especially to the sun, and the purpose of the dance, besides the usual one of supplication for tribal prosperity, was to enable the dancers to commune with some spirit while in an unconscious state. The Buffalo Dance, given in order to call the buffalo to the villages, was entirely different from that Buffalo Dance which was an important part of Okip~. Next in prominence was the Corn Dance, in which offerings were made to the corn spirit, Old Woman Who Never Dies. Although many features of this ceremony were identical with those of a similar rite of the Arikara, it is likely that the Mandan performance was only influenced by the other tribe, not originated by it. They acknowledge that their ceremony of adoption, which is similar to the Lakota Hunka-lowanpi, was borrowed from the Arikara, and words of the Arikara language accompany the music of the songs used in it. MEDICINE-MEN - The ability to cure sickness or to foretell events was obtained in visions from the spirit of any animal or object that might appear to the faster. Power over disease might also be obtained by such an act as vanquishing an animal by strength of arm, when the mysterious power of the animal passed into its victor. Medicine, whether for healing or for fighting, was called tanihkad~, and it could be purchased. Thus the right to sing the songs or to perform as a myth character in a ceremony was obtained by purchase and then became the buyer's tanIthkade. Healing was attempted usually by incantation, but herbs, some of them of medicinal value, were used, though always with the employment of conjuration. Thus, {view image of facing page 146} Keeper of a medicine bundle - Arikara [photogravure plate] {view image of page 147} APPENDIX I47 while they were familiar with an herb that successfully stopped bleeding at the nose, they always boiled it with the legs of certain kinds of birds. WAR-HONORS - The man who first touched with something held in the hand one of the enemy, whether dead or living, achieved a first honor, which was called tho"tihtkth ("strike dead"), while the next three won coups known respectively as "strike dead second," "strike dead third," "strike dead fourth." The "strike dead" was represented by a black spiral stripe around the whole length of one legging and a single unmarked eagle-feather in the hair; the secondary honor by the same stripe and a feather with a red line about its middle; an honor of the third grade by a red stripe about the legging and a feather with two lines; of the fourth by a red stripe on the legging and a feather with three lines. Then for each additional honor won a stripe of the proper color and a feather properly marked were added. But three first coups were shown by the three black spirals around the right legging, and the left lower legging solid yellow, with, of course, the three unmarked feathers. Four first honors were shown by solid red on the lower left, in addition to the black stripes and feathers, while five called for the red on the left and solid black on the right legging. If only one man was killed in a fight - which was called maiana-kt4 ("one kill") - those who counted the four honors painted also two stripes on the left legging, running in opposite directions, with certain spots in the ankles to show whether the coup was of the first, second, third, or fourth grade. The taker of the scalp in a "one kill" was most highly honored, and even if he possessed no honors of the "strike dead" order he could not be ridiculed by any man, no matter how many coups were to the credit of the latter. More than one might cut hair from the head of a slain enemy, and those following the first scalp-taker in a "one kill" were also able to compel silence on the part of chaffing friends. Coups of the "strike dead" order could be counted only on the first enemy touched in the fight. If others were gained, the honors so counted were called "those in the middle " and " last kill," and each kind had its own method of marking. Honors were not counted for killing an enemy, capturing horses, or taking a gun, though of course due credit was given for such deeds in public esteem. MORTUARY - The bodies of men of prominence were placed on scaffolds, while others, unless such had been earnestly requested, were interred. Occasionally the body of a man was disposed of by seating it on a hilltop and building a stone cell around it, leaving only the face showing. Food never, and weapons seldom, were placed beside the body, nor was it the rule to kill a horse. Mourning was attended by mutilation of the legs on the part of women, and by cutting off finger-tips and the ends of the hair-braids on the part of men, while both sexes wailed much and fasted. AFTER-WORLD - Spirit House, Manutiyk-ti, is somewhere in the east, under the earth, and is reached by a path the course of which is indicated by plucked bunches of sage with which the departed have wiped their faces as they journeyed thither. NAMES FOR INDIAN TRIBESApsaroke Hedhedhoka Arikara Adhikadha (an adopted term) Assiniboin Hd-sika (Yellow Bone) Atsina Han-oti (Grass Lodge) 1 Blackfeet Shi-psi (Black Foot) Cheyenne Tamahidhu9shki1p (His Arrow-point Adheres) Chippewa Shahi No reason is assigned for the application of this inappropriate name to the Atsina. {view image of page 148} 148 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN Cree Shahi Flatheads Pa-pinpi (Flat [lit. thin] Head) Hidatsa Mini-tadhi (Cross Water) Mandan Niinta (cf. ntn-on-ta, we) Nez Perces Pihu-h6p (Pierced Nose) Omaha Omaha (an adopted term) Pawnee Haidhate-numak (Wolf Man) Shoshoni Wakidohka-numak (Snake Man) Sioux Hafn-numak (Grass Man [abundant as the grass]) The Arikara LANGUAGE -Caddoan. POPULATION - Fort Berthold reservation, North Dakota, 389. DRESS - Men wore deerskin leggings and moccasins, but a buffalo-robe thrown over the shoulders served the purpose of a shirt. The loin-cloth was of the thin buffalo-skin taken in the summer, smoked to render it soft and pliable, and not depilated. He Hawk says that when he was eleven years old, that is, about I850, the loin-cloth was not universally used. The hair of the men hung in front of the shoulders in two braids wrapped with strips of buffalo-fur, or with otter-skin if that could be procured. The lock hanging in the front was cut rather short, and sometimes the hair at the sides was trimmed to shoulder-length, and here, as well as in front, it might be curled upward by means of a heated stick. A small plaited lock depended from the crown. Tradition knows of no period when the hair was arranged in the well-known Pawnee fashion. Large clamshells were frequently worn in the ears. Tattooing was not practised. Women were clad in a one-piece garment reaching to the ankles, and made of two deerskins, one for the front and one for the back. Each sleeve required the use of half a hide, and was unsewn along the under side. The bottom of the skirt was fringed and scalloped, and at the shoulders were hung rattles of mountain-sheep hoof. Moccasins were of deerskin or buffalo-skin, a single piece doubled over and sewed along one side, while the leggings extended to the knees. The hair of females, parted in the middle, hung down behind in two braids, which were wrapped with deerskin thongs, these being sometimes ornamented with porcupinequills. As with the men, the favorite ear-pendant was the blue clamshell. DWELLINGS - The Arikara built houses of the roughly hemispherical, earth-covered type exactly like those used by their neighbors, which are fully described in Volume IV, pages 137-138. On hunting excursions the skin tipi was used. PRIMITIVE FOODS - Besides the usual game animals and indigenous berries and roots, the Arikara ate, as occasion permitted or demanded, such animals as coyotes, wolves, wildcats, and dogs, and other smaller quadrupeds not ordinarily considered fit for food. Their main dependence was, of course, corn, beans, squash, and sunflower seeds. For a list of their primitive foods, see the Vocabulary, page 172. ARTS AND INDUSTRIES -Agriculture was the principal industry and was the work of the women. The crops of corn, beans, squash, sunflower seeds, and tobacco were cultivated in small patches by means of a hoe consisting of a buffalo-scapula bound to a crooked stick, a rake consisting of five pieces of ash bent in the fire and fastened to a handle, and a dibble made of ash. Spherical cellars were constructed for granaries. Baskets exactly like those of the Mandan were made of bark woven over a framework. According to He Hawk their neighbors constructed only a basket of hide stretched over a frame, until they learned the art of weaving bark from the Arikara. Cooking utensils and water-jars made of clay mixed with ground sand {view image of facing page 148} Arikara woman [photogravure plate] {view image of page 149} APPENDIX I49 stone were all of the same shape, the former with two perforations at the lip to facilitate lifting them off the fire by means of two sticks, the latter with a pack-string made fast around the upper part. Babies were not strapped to a board, but, wrapped securely and tied in a calf-skin, then in a heavier piece of buffalo-skin, they were stood upright in a deep, narrow sack, which was suspended from a roof-timber. Corn was crushed by means of mortar and pestle of ash wood. Bowls were hollowed out of pieces of box-elder. The bull-boat, a hide stretched over a hemispherical frame, is claimed by them as an Arikara invention, but there is no proof of the truth of this assertion. Like the Mandan they knew and practised the art of making glass beads of material obtained by pulverizing small beads procured in barter. GAMES - Hanu (" plum seeds ") was played by six men, three on each side. Six plum seeds were white on one side, but three were solid black on the other, while three were marked on the reverse with black spots. The six were placed in a flat basket, kaisch, which was struck on the ground so that the dice flew upward, and the combinations made by the exposed faces as they lay on the ground determined the count. Winnings were represented by a certain number of sticks, and at the end of the game the players holding the larger number of counters received the wagers. Tawidho6s (" rolling "), the wheel-and-pole game, was played by two, each of whom used a lance about four feet long, with two crosspieces for finger-holds, one at a distance of a third of the length from each end. The hoop was of rawhide wrapped with deerskin. The highest count was registered when the pole passed through the hoop, the latter remaining between the crosspieces or over the upper end. Hkaipinhu (pinAu, to point) was the common moccasin game for men. Nakuwinhu was a ball game for women, usually with four, sometimes five, on a side. Two balls the size of the fist, made of buffalo-skin or deerskin and connected by a thong, were thrown into the air in the middle of the playground, which was marked off with single sticks for goals about forty or fifty yards apart. 'The players were armed with sticks, and each endeavored to force the ball over the goal of the opposing side. It sometimes developed into a rather rough amusement. In Ahwiwo6, two women standing about twenty yards apart, each beside a buffalo foot-bone and holding a round stone, in turn threw their missiles, endeavoring to strike the bones. POLITICAL ORGANIZATION- The Arikara were composed of ten bands, which may have been, but probably were not, gentes: Awahu, Abandoned Chinhnitiku, Ash On Hilltop Hukawidhat, East (a modification of nhukawidhdt, east) Itukstinu, Turf Village Nhukat, River-bank Itukataku, Village At Foot Of Hill Shitinishipisht, Their Arrows Broken Wadhilika Htadhahe, Concave Foot (aihu and tadhahe) Wahikhi, Hill In Water Each band had its head-man and three subordinate chiefs, and the tribal leader was always a member of the Awahu band. Successors to this position were elected by public acclaim, the nominations being proposed only by head-chiefs of the bands. The council met for discussion of important questions, but the decision of a majority was not binding on the tribe. Commands of the chief were executed by and under the eye of the Black Mouth society, which in its organization and purpose was much like similar Soldier organizations of other tribes of the northern plains. Other Arikara societies were: {view image of page 150} I 50 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN Chtht-kaka, Shin Raven, a society for youths, so named because they danced with ravenfeathers hanging from slits in the skin of their shins Hosakhunu, Foolish Dog Suhkaitlt, Black Mouth Nansh-hukus, Buffalo Bull Society Nansh-pahtehat, Straight-head Society Hachi-pidhinu, Young Dog Nan-shahiya, Chippewa Society Tadh6hpa, so named because they trimmed their hair in the shape of a half-moon Nangh-kaka, Raven Society Kahkawis, so named because they danced by beating the ground with one foot Tawidhlsht, Speckled, so called because they painted with many different colors Nafshaka, so named because they danced with feet apart Pansihuik, Cut-throats, a society adapted from one of the Yanktonai organizations Stansahntni, Creek Society Stanshk6, Goose Society Stanshchitapat, Otter Society The last three named were women's societies. Tadhohpa and the Chippewa society seem to be the only ones besides the Black Mouths whose function was military. A man might join any of the men's societies, and he could leave one organization for another, but he could not belong to more than one at the same time. MARRIAGE - Marriage was regularly consummated only after satisfactory arrangements had been made between the families concerned and the stipulated price had been paid. Elopement, however, was not uncommon. The newly wed husband lived permanently in the lodge of his father-in-law unless he built a lodge of his own. GENESIS- The myth recounts that the people, who had been changed into grains of corn and placed under the earth for safety while other evil blasphemers were destroyed by a flood, were led out upon the surface by Atna', Mother, acting under instructions from the creator, Neahdnu, Chief. Mother, who is the corn, led them westward through many vicissitudes, being always aided by birds and animals of mysterious power. On the way she was given the secrets of the medicine-lodge ceremony, and a little later the people met Neshanu himself, who gave them much advice as to how they should live. Finally the woman who was with him, whom he described as She Who Causes Things To Grow, gave them tobacco, and Chief himself taught them how to make pipes. CULTURE HERO - The young man who, aided by the spirits, accomplishes many remarkable victories over the malign forces of nature and over the monsters that inhabited the earth, is much in evidence in Arikara myth. Most frequently he is named Lucky Man. Coyote also appears as transformer as well as trickster. CEREMONIES - The distinctive rite of the Arikara was that of the medicine fraternity, Shunu'wanuti, Magic Performance. This lasted from midsummer into the fall, with singing and dancing and performance of legerdemain in the lodge every afternoon and night. The Sun Dance, AkachfAhhwnahu, House Of Whistling, was similar in purpose and procedure to the Sun rite of the surrounding tribes. Pidh&-Thkinni (pidho6 signifies child, but the remainder of the word is not clear) was a ceremony of adoption, a lineal descendant, no doubt, of the Pawnee Ha'ko, which it very closely resembled. It seems probable that from this ceremony the Lakota Hunka-lowanpi was adapted; and it is known that Pidhr-Ahkinni spread to the Mandan and the Hidatsa, and through the latter tribe to the Assiniboin and Apsaroke. A song of the ceremony is recorded on page I63. {view image of facing page 150} Arikara summer home [photogravure plate] {view image of page 151} APPENDIX I5I MEDICINE-MEN - As a rule medicine-men belonged to the medicine fraternity, of which there were nine orders, each having for its medicine a spirit of its own. There was no rite of initiation, the novitiate being gradually taught the secrets of his order in return for payment. The members of the fraternity had their individual healing medicines. A considerable number of herbs and roots were used in treating illness. Cedar leaves and berries, dried and pulverized, were made into a tea and administered to women just before childbirth. A mixture of a pungent root, dry wood, tobacco, and an unidentified root was given as a snuff to restore the unconscious by causing sneezing. Congestion of the lungs was treated by placing the patient under a robe with a vessel of steaming water, dusting a certain powder over him, then seating him above a heap of red coals and re-covering with the robe. There were herbs and roots for hemorrhage at the mouth or nose, for earache, for bleeding wounds, for snake-bites, for melancholia, for stimulating the action of the kidneys in horses. All these were used in connection with smoking and praying by the medicine-man. Sickness in children was usually regarded as due to the father's having killed some animal, which was taking its revenge. BURIAL - The dead, dressed and painted, were deposited in the earth, the head being always placed toward the east. On the fourth day following, food and water were deposited beside the grave, in the belief that the spirit needed refreshment for its journey. Females scarified their legs in mourning, and men placed the tips of their braids of hair in the wrapping of the corpse. Weapons were never exposed with the body, nor were horses killed. AFTER-WORLD- It is said that formerly there was no name for the future world, but it was described as a "happy place where everything is good." Following the custom of their neighbors they now apply to it the name of " spirit home." RELIGION - Deity is called Neshlnu, the word applied to tribal chiefs. The name is seldom or never heard without the addition of the word Tinachitackuhi, Above, but it is quite likely that this usage grew out of a feeling that the god should not be addressed or spoken of in the same terms as a tribal leader. Neshainu created the people, and through Atnea, Mother, he led them through the perils that beset them on their long mythic westward migration and gave them the rites of the medicine-lodge ceremony. Atnaf is the Corn, and frequently she is spoken of as Mother Corn. Next to the Chief Above she is the most important personage in Arikara mythology, being represented symbolically by the sacred cedar, Wonderful Grandmother, that stands before the medicine-lodge, just as Neshfinu is represented by the stone, Wonderful Grandfather, that lies beside the tree. All creatures and objects are regarded as having, either actually or potentially, a spirit, which, when it chooses, appears to a faster and becomes his guardian through the remainder of his life. These all are said to be wadhzthti, wonderful, a word applied not only to the sacred spirits but to anything passing understanding. NAMES FOR INDIAN TRIBES - Apsaroke Tukafka Arikara Safhnlgh (People) Assiniboin Psiya (Cold) Blackfeet Hu-kaftit (Black Foot) Cheyenne Shahe Chippewa Shahiya Flatheads Pflhi-niuqsh (Flat Head) Hidatsa Witia-fhanu (Proudly Dressed Men) Mandan Kaniht Nez Perces Sinh-chts-katadhiuqsqh (Bone Across Nose) {view image of page 152} I52 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN Pawnee Schidhi (Wolf) Sioux Sananat Wichita Chidhi-kunuh (Bear Eyes) The Atsina LANGUAGE - Algonquian. POPULATION - Fort Belknap reservation, Montana, 553. Dress - Men wore shirts and leggings of deerskin or antelope-skin, moccasins of buffaloskin, and loin-cloth of old soft lodge-cover. The shirt was not sewn along the sides and under the arms, but only tied at intervals with cords. Like the leggings, it was frequently ornamented with dyed porcupine-quills. The hair was roached in front, and a braid hung at each temple. The single long braid at the back was usually spotted with orange paint. Warriors entering battle tied the hair in a mass on the top of the head. Women used the one-piece dress reaching nearly to the ankles, the full sleeves falling to the elbow. Their moccasins were like those of the men, and the leggings extended to the knee. Gala dresses were ornamented with elkteeth and with paint. The hair of women was parted in the middle, and combed out with a porcupine-tail brush, but it was never braided. Both sexes wore shell pendants in the ears. DWELLINGS- The skin tipis of the Atsina consisted, in later times, of twenty buffaloskins and twenty-four poles, the latter about thirty feet in length. From entrance to smokehole the covering was held together with forty wooden pins about eighteen inches long. The flap covering the entrance was a piece of rawhide, which as a rule was painted symbolically; but chiefs and medicine-men were permitted to use a bear-skin for that purpose. Four buffaloskins formed the inner curtain, which extended upward from the ground to the height of six or seven feet. PRIMITIVE FOODS- The flesh of the buffalo, deer, antelope, and elk, fruits such as buffalo-berries, choke-cherries, and service-berries, and roots of several species, chief of which was the turnip (pomme blanche), formed the principal diet of the Atsina. For a list of the foods, see the Vocabulary, page 172. ARTS AND INDUSTRIES - Most prominent in their handicraft was the making and ornamentation of articles from tanned skin and from rawhide. Clothing and bags of the former were gorgeously decorated with bright quills, and bags (the so-called parfleches) of the latter were covered with colored designs in paint. Spoons were manufactured from horn of the buffalo or mountain-sheep, and bowls from box-elder or scrub-oak gnarls. The paunch or the pericardium of the buffalo, suspended about a hoop, served for a water-vessel. Meat was roasted by placing it in a shallow excavation, stretching over it a piece of rawhide, covering the latter with fresh earth, and building the fire on that. Boiling was accomplished in a rawhide with the aid of heated stones dropped into the water. Tipis were ornamented with paintings showing the owners' war records and thus serving as an index of their rank. As a means of communication pictographs were scratched on shoulder-blades of buffalo, which were left on a heap of stones to guide absent members of the tribe. GAMES - Anawatyita was a form of the wheel-and-pole game. Instead of gambling for stakes, it was a frequent custom for the players to agree that the winner of each cast should place the hoop on his head and give chase to the loser, whom he had the privilege of beating with the wheel if he caught him before it fell to the ground. Played in the same way, except that wagers of property were made, and that the hoop was crossed by four strings passing through colored beads instead of being completely netted with rawhide cords as was the wheel used in anawatyita, was the game called atyibtyibbetyita. The hand-game, kafhotyit, was the {view image of facing page 152} Camp gossips - Arikara [photogravure plate] {view image of page 153} APPENDIX I53 usual guessing contest between opposite lines of players, the purpose of each side being to deceive the other as to which hand of their leader held a bit of wood or of elk-horn. Arrow games were many. Sometimes a small rod thrust into the ground was shot at from a distance of about twenty yards; again a braid of grass tossed into the air might be the target. Shooting for distance was practised. Tofhe'fan ("throw down") was a play of dice in which were used four variously marked pieces of buffalo-bone. A game of shinny, kdkahuwatyi ("strike ball") was an amusement for both men and women. Tsftkuityan ("try to throw in") was played with a device consisting of seven small hollow cylindrical bones strung lengthwise on a deerskin thong, each having four holes drilled in either end. At one end of the thong was a small triangular piece of deerskin with a hole in the middle surrounded by several smaller holes, and at the other end a thin rounded splinter about four inches in length. The player, holding the splinter, swung the string of bones forward and upward, attempting to thrust the point into any of the holes in bones or deerskin, each of which had its value in counting. In winter children coasted on sleds made of buffalo-ribs fastened to two transverse pieces of wood, behind which dragged a buffalo-tail. Tops of horn or of wood were lashed either on ice or on the ground. POLITICAL ORGANIZATION - The tribe was, and is, divided into ten bands: Ityiittana, Round Neck Fascia Ninityifs, Gray Ones Tyefhiabenhafhibyefs, Water Their Horses Once Ityffhana, Forequarters Niaftfs, Frozen (Meat) Wat/nnintibafs, Black Horn Baafiinen, Blood Men Tseflhoua, Night Hawk Wafhafihoinates, Slippery Travois Wanasetaslfs, Queer Crowd These bands may have been gentes. Some informants say that descent was paternal, and that relatives, whether in the paternal or the maternal line, were not permitted to marry; while others deny that there was ever any prohibition of such unions. Each division had its chief, and the ten leaders composed the council, which discussed with the head-chief matters of tribal concern. Voting was resorted to when a unanimous agreement could not be reached. The tribal chief made treaties, selected camp-sites, and in general directed the affairs of the people. CEREMONIES - There were several fraternities, each of which performed a ceremony said to have been instituted by a man who received it, through vision, from an animal. These organizations were: N6bahw, Fly Society; Ahityaha, Crazy Society; Nohahw, Fox (kit-fox) Society; Hatebydhw, Dog Society; Biitahw, Drum Society. Men of a certain age, banding together, performed the Fly Dance, later in life the Crazy Dance, and so on through the series. There existed side by side several companies of the age appropriate to, for example, the Fly Dance. Outside of the regular succession of ceremonies was Atte1ihrinahawatyi, Star Dance. A society, Benohtyiifhln, composed of women, performed a ceremony in which they personated buffalo. Atfhehawu, the Sun Dance, was the most important of the Atsina ceremonies. Ordeal formed its principal feature, the performers fasting and dancing in a lodge around a sacred tree erected for the occasion. This pole bore the carved likeness of Thunderbird, from which zigzag lightning lines descended to within three feet of the ground. In the crotch near the top of the pole was a bundle of sticks representing the nest of the sacred bird. Prayers were offered by the dancers to Sun, Moon, Nihaat (Spider), and Thunderbird, as well as to their individual medicine-spirits. I2finahwatyi was a ceremony of adoption, which in its main features was very like the Hiu"ka-lowa'pi of the Lakota and the Pid-hf-shkfinni of the Arikara. The dances of the six fraternities were religious in their function, but afforded occasion for amusement and sociability. MEDICINE-MEN - Healers were called natginheya (literally " healers "), magicians betiu {view image of page 154} I54 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN hua ("doers of mystery"), and those who prophesied kanactyi ("dreamers"). Medicine-men of all kinds received their powers from spirits appearing to them in fasting, or by purchase from other medicine-men. Healers used incantation, roots, herbs, and trickery in their treatment of disease. The mystery-workers performed feats of jugglery such as swallowing a wooden sword or dancing with a burning brand held in the mouth. BURIAL - According to his ante-mortem request a man was buried, as soon as practicable after death, in the ground, or deposited in a tree or on a platform, and occasionally the body was left in the tipi, which stood until the elements destroyed it. Mourners gashed their arms and legs, cut off their hair, and refrained from wearing gay clothing. MARRIAGE - In courting, young men went about in the evening wrapped completely in buffalo-robes. In asking his sweetheart to marry him, the suitor endeavored to persuade her to go with him secretly. If she refused, negotiations were opened between the two families, that of the man taking the initiative. The value of the gifts offered, and the ability of the young man as a hunter and warrior, were desiderata. Men under thirty years seldom took wives, for they were first required to prove their worth in fighting. GENESIS- A man stood on the water looking for land, but none was visible. Calling various animals to him, he sent them diving below to obtain mud, but all failed, until Turtle (some say Muskrat) tried. He brought up a bit of mud under the edge of his shell, and from that the man created earth, and placed streams and vegetation upon it. From earth he fashioned images, which became living people. CULTURE HERO - Nihaat, the most important of the Atsina deities, travels about in the form of a spider (his name means " spider ") and meets with adventures of a ludicrous nature. An almost endless number of folk-tales tell of his escapades. NAMES FOR INDIAN TRIBES - Apsaroke (u-nen (Raven Men) Arapaho Inanan (Shakes His Head) Assiniboin Natyinehin Niniwi-nityinehtn (Northern Natyinehin) Atsina Aaninen 1 Blackfeet Waotanihtafs (Black Feet) Bloods Kawinnh en Cheyenne Itisen (Scars) Cree Nafiha (Rabbits) Flatheads Kakaifs (Flat Head) Hidatsa Wuhnokayln Nez Perces Tanibaft (Pierced Nose) Piegan Ts'at Shoshoni Sisizih-nfn (Rattlesnake Men) Sioux Nawinatyine (Down-river Assiniboin) Ute Waatenlhfi (Blacks) Some of the Atsina say that the meaning of their name is White Clay People, others that it refers to " the mounds of earth used to turn buffalo when driving them into a corral." {view image of facing page 154} Atsina burial-ground [photogravure plate] {view image of page 155} APPENDIX 155 Songs of Arikara Medicine Orders GHOST Going on the war-path and looking for the enemy. Moderato fA w 4 4 - f e — ^ --- -- _ _-_ _ I _ _. 11 --! -— ^ - I * -Es-~-i — o i -pF- ~, \I _ -I I. I, — 4. -- i meno mosso > orBn^- orr.~ ~- - ^ -- J piu mosso -t/- -— a- - ---— _. -' —+ a temnpo [ > > > > i, — I I x I' r;._ t. r 11> I 31 -'W^~-. - ~-. ^ \meno mosso rit. a temipo i#^.t zob mMt> > > > > t/ — 4. — -at 4- 4-. 4-. 4-L-4-.-~ ~ -4. BLACK-TAIL DEER Coming in the night, and it was Elk. Allegro moderato f _r —r"; — ~ '! —+-P!! _ — ^ ^> n 1 r....Im^. II,, 1 f/ I —:> >I. >. > > > > 5~~~~~~~~~~~''-n- t" I — ~ ~ — {view image of page 156} 156 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN r - 2 I> > > > > -r-~ F~tint. a tempo -w- "^ ^ -t1 -t- -41- t7 - t - -- --- -- ---- g- ~.1. — *-~.,,*'.... -I i> > > ^-^^t ~14 -iV- 4- - ~ BUFFALO Starts alone; nobody eats it, and he was wounded. A egro > > > > > > > A [ I i [ II i ~ [____.___L__ >,.I.- ', 2,, l!.I I _ i [ iH ~ ^: I r r ^> l r {view image of page 157} APPENDIX > > > I57 > > > > _>,> > > > > > > il-4 I - I 'I,, I I~?I' II > '__ V -~-O -4 -~ -1-4 -9-. I N — P —a BEAVER (OF THE PRINCIPAL MEDICINE) All living creatures in the water and on the water - Beaver is among them, and Mother, too. I mean the one that is painted, Beaver. Moderato FT1 /a nrn ~> >> 1n 2 —] > > meno mosso l >~8 — 1u < > > > > ____ \-t — - - -! r ~ > > > 4 > > 7U1 I7 @ S ' 1 -t 't -t IF,-,,, I I I I - 7 4 -OTTER (OF THE PRINCIPAL MEDICINE) That one is going, is going the other way-the black one, Otter. Moderato rit. andante rit. a tempo _~92 Xm lk M.t8; llH rl m ll2,n, r "-"1-.,......,,,- ' -~,~ Jp ~,i [ —I' —I ----I ---3-~ I ~__/ j-_ LL i...,"B — LIsfi3L_~ — ~i- f-~ ~~dEII0IJY i I! ~L_[. l-^l tj - -4 - {view image of page 158} i58 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN MUSKRAT (OF THE PRINCIPAL MEDICINE) I am speaking to that lodge in the slough, where Mother Badger is. Moderato rit. a tempo >> >>> __ ~ ~ ~ > > > >__________ __nozno AO no {view image of page 159} APPENDIX I59 SWAMP-OWL (OF THE PRINCIPAL MEDICINE) I hear a sound in the slough - it is the Night. Allegro moderato rit. a tempo > > > _ _ ~ -- 7, + ---.. --- — - ~-~', — e — meno mosso rit. a tempo >1 /> > > >> > tempo I>~ I 2 > /'n,, ~ > > ' 3, > > > m I- - - _ _ l J I^ * * —d ' — ~ — tnrit. a tempo DUCK I am going, I am going, to where the noise [of battle] is. Allegro moderato > > > > > > > > > > > ]t - ' L II: -' ----_ {view image of page 160} i6o I= THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN > > > > > > > I ~:_- + ---1T --- — ~ 1; __^ X^^ > *> >_ The Moon is going toward the Night; it follows the Night. Allegro moderat.ae. > J,~-'. _ ~- > -, - > > > ~ I - l,-, > > > > ^> > Te Mon is g g t d te; it f s the Ni /A t> > > > > > - > > ta o > > > ED W-1!? W ~i~~~~ os so {view image of page 161} APPENDIX i6i > ____ _?rf. - -:." V- -. - - —. a — j- - -I 9 I.._ _ I_ _-/ I I \ NIGHT Night is coming, and we see it plainly. It has passed over us, and has heard itself talking.' A egro moderate 8 8 > 8 > 3 > > > > > > > > > rit. >a tempo > 8 > 8 8 8 > > > > 8 > 8 3 > > > > > > 3 >8 > 8 > > > >8 > > _ 8 8 > > > > > > 8 > > 1W W _111L — ~ - 4 -BEAR He wishes to be like a bear; he wishes to be like a man. 1MA 8J > 8 8> > > _ - - It I:_ a r - -~>;=il:l~- L|; -H-.~. -J 1 The meaning is, that Night, passing over the lodge, has heard the Night medicine-men singing. VOL. V - II {view image of page 162} I62 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN u _~j. 1+-e-~ - -W_ _ _ _ _ ___ - 'a --- -t __ _O Two Songs of Arikara Corn Ceremony They have taken the earth apart [to plant the corn ].1 Moderato _ n > > meno mosso tempo 1~ meno mosso tempo Io meno mosso >, > > > ^*=-=^-j1 9 m 1 n, -,-^^l n i i~^E^E^^^= N. >.' I1 -~S — > > > > - - Sg d g te d e wth te w s ad h, a d o p 1 Sung during the dance with the weapons and hoes, as described on page 72. {view image of page 163} APPENDIX I63 Mother said, " I take the lead; I wish to go through everything without trouble." 1 Allegro moderato > > pii4 lento tempo I~,~- ~ ~ ==:1~ =4 i 1zii: z_- ' -_*.1. —. - 5/hi lento a temmpo I 4>> > > > > >_ -ie. - -__a- f-r -- - _- d r) L > > > > > > > > - n - | - - - A Song of Pidhe-shkunni Allegro moderato > tit. __ J > > > _>__ '~__-____ _-_ '_ > -> > > > FIJ_ 1 > > > The reference is to the part played by Mother in leading the people during their mythic migrations. See GENESIS MYTH, page 80. {view image of page 164} I64 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN Atsina Songs ATSINA SONGS SUN DANCE Allegro > > row 10-1-1 ll::._ > I-_ -- D f DRUM. tj > > > > > u _I. _- 1- _ N-11- > > ^z '^g^gltyMed j^^^ e^ Onn> > > > > > > > > > > > - sf,-U _ - p-iw-i VW - ml~~ ~~ ll!_ > > > {view image of page 165} APPENDIX 165,> > > > ~. ~ ~~ >_ > vi — 7 >n e _ > sf > > tJ _ _ __ _ A_ _~~~11 - _ --, > > > > > > > > > I L_ V — ~ - -- -- - -- n 4 - ~ - _~- I,_ 1- s FOX SOCIETY Allegro n Itt >"m > > > ~~> > > DRUM. > > > > >- > > > > > > > > > / > > > {view image of page 166} i66 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN n I t >, _m 4 - e > > > > > > >> /I ~ J, V > > > n it >I >> V( > > > J e > > > > > > > > > DOG SOCIETY Allegro moderato f -. >,>,> _,> A> *_ _ I DRUM. > > p {view image of page 167} APPENDIX I67 > > > I t/ w n > 7-e — - a ---l — do0 - - a A- W * * O a * * U_~ ~ _~ _ x V ~ /" _ > > >_ > _ >_ >_ tv WJJ W_ — ----- - -1- -4 -.- -0-a I-P- — *P- - 9-P >_ > > L > > > 1U _ v - -, /, ',. n >___ It I w w w w w w ww 1- -- - 1 11-11 1 1-1I-I 1-111 1 DRUM SOCIETY. Allegro > >.n^ J>^ ^ ^....>^ >>_ ' >^ '> '^' I.-. ^ ^,. >. --- DRUM. {view image of page 168} i68 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN > > 6 ' ~~~-1 t - -t > > > > > > > LULLABY Allegro moderato:>.:>- > > I'):=~ f~dj i i j ' - i - '!t It A tL ' -!l- -I I~~-~,, mo -7~lULLABY ~" {view image of page 169} APPENDIX16 I i6q 4::4 -> 7UI A -he Vocabularies ANATOMICAL TERMS English anklic-joint arm blood bone chest chin ear elbow Mandan iha'-so-k6-ni-d& i-d& ma-hii ta-ha-dha'-h ih-ku na-k6-hM a-k~hi4ha-na'-d A4rkara h-ch'i-tit-ta'-u wi-nu p~i-tu chi4hu wa-ku-k6 sa-na-nu hi-ti-ka-ha'-nu ta-dha-chil-gu (twin bone) AItsina 1 wa-nu ba-chich bfi-af& lth-a bit-ka-ha wa-na-tain b6-tyi-tha-a I I, I - eye i-stat-mi chi-dhi-ku be-silth-i face i-sti-fl sk6 wa-ti-thi-vya' finger-nail on -ka'-h6 4hwi-tu wi-16is-a fingers 6 k-he-d- fi~e-hi-O-tanh foot ihi-i a-hd' wi-af6 hair pan-hin1 u-hUi bi-&t-a hand on-k-e 'I-hu had-tylch head pai-i1 paI heart nait-ka wi-su b6-t~h knee sd'-pa-1he a-ubi y& t-y leg do-k'e ka-hd' wa'-af lip i-hi-wa-ka'-h bith-th'is lungs ka-p6-ka pa-k~u-n'i-tu 'i-kanh 1In the Atsina vocabulary ty represents a sound approximating ch, but much softer, almost exactly that of ti in French moitite. Ah as used here is very much softer than z in azure. {view image of page 170} I70 170 ~~THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN English mouth neck nose nostril toe-nail toes tongue tooth Mandan 'I-h6 pi-hu pi-ho-su ghi'-h6 d6-si-k6 hi (teeth) A4rkara ha-k6 na-ti-nu sni-tu sni-ta —kohwi-tu h'i-tu a-nu Atsina b6-tyi-i width-thiln b6-is wi-ils-a wath-thi-a bi-ni-tudn-a ANIMALS'1 antelope badger k~ok* ma-tyk* bat ha"-hu-da bear beaver bluebird buffalo buffalo bull buffalo cow buzzard chipmunk coyote crow deer deer, blacktail deer, whitetail dog duck eagle elk fish fox fox, kitfox, red goose gopher hawk horse ma-t6* mi-dhap* ma-d&k-su-kto6 pti* m6-dlh6k mih-ka clhd-ha ma-paisha 9h6-htk h6-he-ha-ka ma-ma-nah-ku* ma-nis-wtcdhut* ma-si 6fn~pa* 0* O-ha* hil-dhu-t6* Si-so ma-nis su-nu-ka'-toh (flat porcupine)* waht kii-niih* chi-tu* niqs-ta-wfih ta-ni-ha* hu-k6s wa-ti-I~h shwa-w6 chi~h-ka-dha-nii (spotted bone) p-kich* chi-dhi-pisch ta-pa-hat* hach* ne-ta-kils wa* chi-waihch* chi-wa'-ku (barker)* l'a-wa-chlhh-ti (wonderful dog) na-st-tya bi-ha-u-a* wa-tan-ti-ni (wings of tipi-cover) wis-a* d-be-sl-a* 1-td-nan* e-nd-tyl-l byih ka-ah-wd' at-ti a-te-bya-ne-nil na-ka-ti-zhe'hi bi-tht-LI na-ni ba-thi-t na-ui marten mink The names of animals used as food are indicated by stars. {view image of facing page 170} Singing to the cedar - Arikara [photogravure plate] {view image of page 171} APPENDIX '7' English mole moose mountain-lion mountain-sheep muskrat otter owl porcupine prairie-chicken prairie-dog rabbit rabbit, jackraccoon rattlesnake raven sage-hen skunk spider squirrel turtle, mudturtle, snapping weasel wildcat Mandan Arnkara pa-hu-stu-st~k (soft we-su-wa-clhut (softnose)* lipped elk)* 9ih n-ta n_4hfka (long wha-tcis tail) as-lit (big horn)* a-dhi-ka'-toh (flat horn)* ih-kfl w-hii-clhu Sui-nu sI-pulgka* iho-pk6* ahks* ma-i-lhtik-6k-ghuk nls* (small jack-rabbit)* ma-a-htik* wa'dh-hu* is-,a1t* k&ka ka'-ka 9`hun-ht6 (large tail) niti-hw mi-hti-kni-ka sigh he-nii'-tk ta-wa'-dhut ki'-PsPf* ni-w6t* pke* AItsina i-n~n-hi* be-tha'-ty6 a-te-i* 1-th u's* ne-i tyin-nl* b -ath iln* na-kifg* si-si-zihi 6-u th6-u ni-ha-at thi ty6 ky~l-kyi-thl* ma-t6-ka; pu-skai* wah* wolf ha'-dhfa-t6* schi-dh'ihch* CARDINAL POINTS north east u-ta-ha'kt a-ka-ha'kt ko-hihk (flat prairie) nhu-ka-wi-dhait (river moves on) ho-na-ni-psfi-ni ska-we'dh5 (goes up) south west thait-fi' tyin-hd' (downhill) nab-a na-ha-hu-u (on the slope); l~is-g~-u (over the hills) ih-ky'ip-a (above) i-ta'-wa-w6'-a zenith nadir a-ki-ta (above) ma-ha'-kta (towards earth) black blue brown psi to; to-hd MI-d& COLORS ti-ka-ti-iht (it is black) wa-i'-te-zha ti-ta-Jhe-Cih (it is blue) zhen-naft-tin-i na-ku-dhins-ta-ka-tika-tit (yellowish black) {view image of page 172} 172 '72 ~~THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN English gray green pink red white yellow Mandan Arnkara hot ta-dha-wffh ha'-t6-h6 (grass blue) an-hka-ta'-nu gb&~-ihka S6 ~~~~nap-hi-tu S1 ku-dha-ka-ti-nu Atsina nit-ch'i be-'i na-fi~si ni-ha'-ni PRIMITIVE FOODS 1 beans buffalo-berries carrots cedar-berries choke-cherries corn gooseberries grapes onions pemmican plums raspberries red-haws sand-cherries service-berries squash strawberries succotash turnips (pomme blanche) 6-m~nik ha'-s6 ha-na o-hti-6-dho (cedar food) ka-ttk k6-ha-t6 ha'gh ka-gh&Adh i-ka-t6-h&J-h6 (made mixed) wi-kta mi' -tok w~i-na-pa-4hak k.o ma-pi-ksok (kidney thing) ma-di-si-h6-dh6 mah a-tit ni-ni-Ts ksfg-ha-n6 t6-ksa-ni-chil-9hu (cedar corn) na-ki-n us ni-chi-slhu hu-cffi-dhiht chuss k6-hu ta-p~ih-qu ni-wa-ha-ffhtt a-pi-dhii ska-chit qa-p~i-nu na-ku-rni-nu wa-hdh ni-chighi-kaihghf (hard corn) hwi-sdi-ka ty&tyi-thA-b~n (wolf berries) bl-si-by~n 1-tyl (turnip) arrow arrow-point arrow-shaft basket boat (bull-boat) bow cap deerskin HANDICRAFT maah ni-9hu mi-hi-pTk ka-wi-u mi-hot chi-pi-~hu hai-ha'k sa-tu ml-ni-ki na-ku-hu'-nu ma-dbi-i-Jhu-pa' n-rnich (wood shooter) wa -kup chiihf-ko-kui wa-pi'-pi (something nd-nach-a-dhui-tu thin) wi-thagi bit bi-ih-a-a 1 See also under the head of Animals. {view image of facing page 172} Atsina maiden [photogravure plate] {view image of page 173} APPENDIX '73 English dress fire-drill house house (earthen) house (skin tipi) leggings loin-cloth moccasins mortar pestle pottery quiver shield shirt sweat-lodge water-vessel (paunch) Mandan Anrkara mf-hi-ma-4hut (wo- u-ka-wlch man'ps shirt) ma-rna-pilp-tilk (rolling sticks) b ti ma-an k-o-ti (earth dwelling) ti-9ho (peaked dwelling) nak i-pik f-nak mai-ank-w&dd-1-h (earth pot) ih-tik wa-kil i-ma-ghut in-kap-hM mTni-in-hi a-ka'-nu a-k~a-na'-na-ta'-u (dwelling heaped up) a-k-pa'-tun u-k6-kuch ku-ka-nfI-u-ka-w'i-u I huhchv chi-td-tu ghko'q-sa'-kuh kos'-ka-tit na-hwi-sd' na-tai-su a u-ka-wich b chin-st-su (. na-ku-ch'i-dhls-sa-ku- n tainh (carry water on back) tltsmna ~i-thot-a u- in-4 Pvo-i-ta-a Na-an-na I-tyi-hi )i-tho-ta-a Ei-bd-tyi ii-tha-a water-vessel (pericardium) NATURAL PHENOMENA ashes charcoal cloud darkness day earth fire hill ice lake light lightning Milky Way mist moon wa-dha-ihu't b~h ha hi-p~-he-dMh-ihka hasp ma-asnk ho mrnfn-ht~ (large water) f'-d~h wa-dfha-9bunt-6-pa-tik (ashes thrown) mfi-a'k-fI-nu-h~k (earth ghost) (night sun) sa-iih-tu ska-clha-kat-ha'-nu nai-ku-ka-ti-sta-ta't iha-kfi-dhi-chf~h-kt (sun stands clear) hu-na-chl-tu che-k~6 w6 na-hfi-tu chiu-hwa-ha'-nu na-ki-hik-t3'-hw na-ki-skfidh-w6' (flowing cloud) pyu ni-65-tyi-t&a wa-a-th6 i-na-na'-&tyi Iss bfl-ta-6'hw-a i-sft-t6-a wa-a-wu-a no-ii-si-ya (it is light) i-sa-a pa bil-ko-i-stls {view image of page 174} '74 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN English night Pleiades rain rainbow river rock sky smoke snow star sun thunder water wind Mandan i-ghtd, htk-ka-sai-nak (star bunch) h6-ku' mi-tgl mi ha pi-i wa ht~k mi-na-ki hg-ni-y6 (rain maker) min'i Anrikara hin-milh si-ka-nfidh-sa-chi-clhdh (stars together) fi-w'i-nu hu-na-chi-ps hu-ka-ha'-nu ska-ta-dhtl-h'i-dh~ih ska-cdha-kat-ha'-nu na-wi-!fhu hu-na'-u si-ka ~h a wa-ffhdh-ti (wonderful) fi~-t6-hu hu-td-nu; hu-ta-w'iu Atsina tet-tye bd-na-fil&f (many together) na-ihit-a zihd-td i-f8 I -~ i-SIS ba-ha-ai nigi-I ti-e-thln-Is NUMERALS one two three four five six seven eight nine mi-hana, na-mini top ki-h6" ki-ma kd-pa til-to-ki rni-hp6 pi-di'k a-ka-mi'-hana one) a-ka-ni-mini aik-top i-ki-ho' a-ki-ma i-ku-pa i'k-til-to-ki i'h-ku kyl-the'ya t~hi-PIS ne-tya-taS (three-six less) to-hw-t~hi-pis (three-six) nal-tha-tas no-hi1-nii-wain (less ten) An-hA-b6-ta-tf~s (less ten) no-hi-ni b&ta-ttls (above no-hi1-ni-na-ail-ku (ten ky6-th&in and one) no-hi-ni-na-pil-ti-kuh n'i-sIn no-hi-ni-na-t6-hw nd-siftn PIS-wain ten eleven twelve thirteen fourteen fifteen sixteen seventeen eighteen nineteen twenty twenty-one PIS a-ka-ma-hp6 no-hf-ni-na-no-hi-nil-wan An-hl-ni-tho, nunup-hi-pi-dtik (twice wi-t6 nil-tho ten) ma-hana (twenty and one) {view image of facing page 174} Curly Head - Atsina [photogravure plate] {view image of page 175} APPENDIX '75 English th irty forty fifty sixty seventy eighty ninety Mandan t6p-ha-pi-drik hin-suk-ma'-ha A4rkara n-sa-wi-u ni-th6 pi-ti-ku~h-nai-nu (two -) yl-n6 (forty and ten) t6-hw-k u-nfi-nu (three - t6-hw-ku-na'-nu-no-hi-ni (sixty and ten) chi-ti'-Th-tfi-nu (four - chi-ti'4h-ta'-nu-no-hi-ni (eighty and ten) Itsina hundred PERSONAL TERMS aunt (father's clans- F woman) aunt (father's sister) baby boy brother, elderr (of a man) brother, younger (of a man) brother, elder my your his or herbrother, younger my your his or herbrother (masculine pronouns) my your his (feminine pronouns) my na-he'i (my aunt) te-ya-n6 suk-ha-ma' (small child) suk-nii-mak (man child) pi-d~h6 wi-na'hch a-na-hia-hi hu'n -kas nd-hiib-yi Aa-hilb-yi an an i-na-ni at-n u-s; an a-nus i-na's-ti ne-~hi-nu your herchief child clan nu-mak-ih'i (good man) suk (people together) pi-dhakh~ te-ya-n~ {view image of page 176} 176 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN English enemy Mandan wi-dhi-ta' An4ikara pa-tu Atsina ni-fga-te-bi-nan (his enemy) i-ni-the-nan (his father) father wa-tt father my your his or her - girl herald man medicine-man mother mother my your his or her people people (Indians) people (strangers) people (white) sister, elder (of a man) sister, younger (of a man) sister (masculine pronouns) my your his (feminine pronouns) my your her - uncle (mother's brother) my a-ti-th ' hi-h hi-ya-hti sd-nach suk-mi-h6 (woman child) ka-pt'-ka (shouts around) nu-mak nd-mak-ho-pi-ni (mysterious man) i-thi hwt-i-kih-hd (he calls) wit wit-a-wa-dh6h-ti (wonderful man) i-ne'n-i na-ti'n-he-ya (doctor) bi-ti-u-hua (mystery worker) 1a-ni-tyi (dreamer) i-nan-a (his mother) na-ts at-na hah ghih-ti nd-ma-ka-ki a-k i-nuu-mi~-k a-kii (people above) nii-ma-ka-ki-ti-he-na (different people) ma-shi; ma-9hi-na pto-mis san-sa-hnigh san~h-o-pi-nu (different people) si-hnIfh-ti-ki (white people) i-nf-tin i-ni-tin a-n ~s-i-nf -t ~n ni-ha-at ib-ya-ha-a 1-na-hil-wu pt6-wan'hkas a-ti-tat a-tat i-ti-hni an an i-na-ni hi-dhigh; tiuk-si-dfhig I This word is used also in addressing deity when smoking. {view image of facing page 176} Three White Cows - Atsina [photogravure plate] {view image of page 177} APPENDIX '77 English your his or herwoman Mandan mih Arnkara 5'k-si-d~hL i-wai-nfi-clhgh sa-pat Atsmna f-sa-a (his uncle) i-thl-a TREES ash box-elder cedar choke-cherry cottonwood elm oak pine willow ta-psa chin-hna'-ku mih-ka-ti"-ma-na-ka w-hi'-ku O-hti' t6-hw-s I-ku ka-ttk-hu na-kan-stai-tu mah hna-nain-ght-hu ma-ciha-wi na-kils i-ti-hu ski-nuh ma-dha-h6'-pi-ni na-ch'i-shu (sacred wood) ski-ski-ka chi-ta-paich i-ne'nu-u-bis-a a-wu th&ffg-a nif -sas MISCELLANEOUS autumn food pta' m6-clhut hu-na'-n~s-kd'ch na-ka-nii-nu; ha-ki'wa-st-ghu na-qa-ten-hyuin bi&t-fiu-wa blth-hai-tyi forest kinnikinnick large small spirit (disembodied) spirit (ghost) spirit (soul) spirit-creature spirit-land spring summer tobacco winter ma-dha-Wt (large wood) ma-niub-ot (goes with tobacco) ht6 ha-mi' ma-nii-hik nu-hi-k6 mna-h6'-pl-ni ma-nii-hlk-ti (spirit lodge) w&hi-nu na-skU ma-nii~h ma-na u-ba-pa'-hilt ka-kil-dhi-hyii it-s'i ne-ksa'-nu a-wi-ka-dhii-hu n'I-thun-wa-t~n-be-tA-to (light-black shadow) (shadow) (invisible shadow) a-wi-ka-hii (mysterious) ne-ks-kil a-wi-dhi-ti-k@l no-hw-ghkai-nu fii-tha-wa ps' kkat VOL. V -12 {view image of page 178} 178 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN Biographical Sketches Arikara BEAR'S BELLY, Kunurh-kananu Born in 1847 at Fort Clark, in the present North Dakota. He had had no experience in war when at the age of nineteen he joined Custer's scouts at Fort Abraham Lincoln, having been told by old men of the tribe that such a course was the surest way to gain honors. Shortly after his arrival Custer led a force into the Black Hills country, and on the other side of the divide there was a slight encounter with five tipis of the Sioux, in the course of which the young Arikara counted two first coups and one second. Bear's Belly fasted once. Going to an old man for advice, he was taken to the outskirts of the village to an old buffalo-skull, commanded to strip, smear his body with white clay, and sit in front of the skull. When he had taken the assigned position, the old man held up a large knife and an awl while he addressed the buffaloskull: " This young man sits in front of you, and is going to endure great suffering. Look upon him with favor, you and Nehfinu, and give him a long and prosperous life." With that he cut pieces of skin from the faster's breast and held them out to the buffalo-skull. Bear's Belly married at the age of nineteen, soon after counting his coups. He became a member of the Bears in the medicine fraternity, and relates the following story of an occurrence connected with that event: " Needing a bear-skin in my medicine-making, I went, at the season when the leaves were turning brown, into the White Clay hills. All the thought of my heart that day was to see a bear and kill him. I passed an eagle-trap, but did not stop: it was a bear I wanted, not an eagle. Coming suddenly to the brink of a cliff I saw below me three bears. My heart wished to go two ways: I wanted a bear, but to fight three was hard. I decided to try it, and, descending, crept up to within forty yards of them, where I stopped to look around for a way of escape if they charged me. The only way out was by the cliff, and as I could not climb well in moccasins I removed them. One bear was standing with his side toward me, another was walking slowly toward him on the other side. I waited until the second one was close to the first, and pulled the trigger. The farther one fell; the bullet had passed through the body of one and into the brain of the other. The wounded one charged, and I ran, loading my rifle, then turned and shot again, breaking his backbone. He lay there on the ground only ten paces from me, and I could see his face twitching. A noise caused me to remember the third bear, which I saw rushing upon me only six or seven paces away. I was yelling to keep up my courage, and the bear was growling in his anger. He rose on his hindlegs, and I shot, with my gun nearly touching his chest. He gave a howl and ran off. The bear with the broken back was dragging himself about with his forelegs, and I went to him and said, 'I came looking for you to be my friend, to be with me always.' Then I reloaded my gun and shot him through the head. His skin I kept, but the other two I sold." Portrait, folio plate 150. BULL NECK, Hukos-tatinu Born in I836. His first experience in war was gained at the age of sixteen, when with a party of six others he floated down the Missouri into what is now South Dakota. They succeeded in running off some horses from a Sioux encampment, and Bull Neck, the youngest of the seven, was charged with the duty of driving them home, while the others returned afoot on the other side of the river. His second war experience came while on another expedition down the Missouri. Four Sioux horses were captured, and three of the party turned back {view image of facing page 178} Red Star - Arikara [photogravure plate] {view image of page 179} APPENDIX I79 with the spoils; but the remaining four, of whom Bull Neck was one, went on southward into a region of heavy timber, where more Sioux horses were taken. On another down-river raid, about twenty-five Arikara, camping one night among the trees, heard the neighing of a horse. They prepared to fight, believing the Sioux were upon them. Bull Neck went out to make a reconnoissance and found a stray horse. The party proceeded on its way and came to a camp of wood-cutters providing fuel for the river steamboats. One of the white men, speaking in Arikara, told them of a nearby camp of Sioux, and the war-party, having found the enemy, made an attack. One Sioux and two Arikara were killed. Bull Neck participated in numerous encounters with the same enemy, some of them being engagements of his own seeking, others the result of attacks upon the Fort Berthold village. He counted a first coup in a winter campaign. Bull Neck was a Buffalo medicine-man in the medicine fraternity. Portrait, folio plate I56. CROW GHOST, Kaka-neksa'nu Born in I843 near the present Washburn, North Dakota. At the age of seventeen he accompanied a war-party, and himself killed a Sioux. This gave him the right to assume his father's name, Crow Ghost, and in the following year, having proved himself a man, he took a wife. He counted two first coups and several secondary ones. In the Sun Dance he fasted four days and four nights, and on the last night an old man appeared to him in a vision and said that in order to gain his desires he must sacrifice his flesh to the sun. Awaking, Crow Ghost had one of the older men cut a piece of flesh from his shoulder, and offered it to the sun. Portrait facing page I8o. FOUR HORNS, Adhhiku-chitf'sh Born in 1847 near Fort Berthold. At the age of fourteen he accompanied a war-party against the Sioux. Two years later he enlisted as scout at Fort Buford; he served also at Fort Phil. Kearny, where in a skirmish with Sioux he had a horse shot under him. Returning that summer to the village at Fort Berthold he led a party in pursuit of some Chippewa who had murdered a Hidatsa, and succeeded in killing two of them. Twice he joined in successful pursuit of Sioux horse-raiders. He fasted several times. On the third morning of his first fast three horse-skulls and a buffalo-skull were fastened with rawhide ropes to the muscles of his back. He dragged them a mile to the Hidatsa village, encircled it, and returned to the starting-point, but no vision was experienced. The following summer the Sun Dance was observed, and his father, determined that Four Horns should receive a vision, took him to the burial-ground and fastened him to a post by slits through his back-muscles. From sunset to sunrise he walked around the post, constantly pulling on the rope. The next year his father led him to the same place and had another man tie four horse-skulls and a buffalo-skull to his back, and these he dragged some three miles; but the task occupied fully six hours, as the skulls became entangled in the roots of a stump and he had to free them without using his hands. During the Sun Dance of the succeeding year he was fastened, again by his father, to a resilient ash pole, which, springing back when he pulled on the ropes, greatly increased the torture. Thus he remained from mid-afternoon until well after sunset - about six hours - but no vision was vouchsafed him. Four Horns married at the age of fifteen, being eligible by reason of his experience in war gained during the previous year. Portrait, folio plate 151. {view image of page 180} i8o THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN RED STAR, Saka-atip'ha Born in I858 near Fort Clark, in present North Dakota. At seventeen years of age he was one of a war-party of about thirty that descended the Missouri in bull-boats. In the vicinity of the present Standing Rock agency they landed, and after traversing a stretch of timber came suddenly on a small Sioux camp at the edge of the woods. The leader, Sitting Bear (see the following), sent four men to stampede the horses. Two animals were thus captured, and the Sioux (there were five men, besides the women and children) escaped into the woods. Since he had participated in a successful foray, the youth was permitted to choose a new name, and he selected that of Red Star. The preceding year he had gone to Bull Neck (see page I78) and asked that his flesh be cut so that he might experience a vision. So Bull Neck set up a post on the outskirts of the village, pierced Red Star's chest muscles, and fastened him with two ropes to the post. A spirit-hawk came and assured the youth that he should live long and be successful. After about six hours he was released. Red Star was a scout with Custer's command in the campaign of I876. See Volume III, page 45. Portrait facing page I78. SITTING BEAR, Kuinui-tiwit Born in I844 on the west side of the Missouri, opposite present Washburn, North Dakota. He was eighteen years of age before making his first trial at war, and even then he took no part in the actual conflict with the Assiniboin whom his party encountered. The following year he engaged in the fight when a hunting party near the Fort Berthold village was surrounded by Sioux, and he even acquired some distinction by being first to strike one of the horses of the enemy. In all he was participant in twelve battles, himself being the leader six times, but only twice did he conduct his warriors into the enemy's country. On the other occasions the encounters were brought on by Sioux attacking the village. The first expedition of which he was chief was made down the Missouri in bull-boats. After travelling for nine nights, concealing themselves by day, they killed a woman that came to the river for water, and then made their escape after a minor engagement with the men of the hostile camp. Sitting Bear was the leader of the Arikara in a combined party of Hidatsa, Mandan, and Arikara into the Sioux country. A camp was raided and Sitting Bear captured five horses. The retreat to Fort Berthold consumed six days. Sitting Bear counted a first coup in a fight near Fort Berthold, being the first Arikara to strike one of the enemy, although a Hidatsa had already counted coup on him. He married at nineteen, and like his father and grandfather he became the tribal chief. Portrait, folio plate 153. Atsina AsSINIBOIN BOY, Natyinehitha Born in i86i in western Montana. He first went on the war-path at the age of eighteen, but gained no honors. During a fight against the Piegan he counted a second coup. He participated in the battle in which the twenty-one Piegan were killed (page I09), and slew one in the pits with the knife of the enemy. On another expedition he killed two horses of the Piegan, and shot a man through both legs. He married at the age of twenty-two. Portrait, folio plate 171. {view image of facing page 180} Crow Ghost - Arikara [photogravure plate] {view image of page 181} APPENDIX i8i CURLY HEAD, Babadtyi Born in I86I near Chinook, Montana. His first war experience was had when he was in his twenty-first year, but he accomplished nothing on this expedition. On his next raid, the Atsina met six Bloods, who intrenched themselves on a high butte. Four of the Bloods were killed, and the remaining two ran, pursued by Curly Head, who killed one and counted second coup. His medicine, that of pine-marten, was given to him by his father. He fasted on a peak, and had a vision in which it seemed to him that he was inside the mountain, where he saw an old man, who told him he would achieve many honors and capture five guns. Curly Head married at the age of thirty. Portrait facing page I74. CUTS TETHER, Kiufhain Born in I846 at Belt creek, Montana. He went out on the war-path at seventeen against the Apsaroke on the Yellowstone, where the Atsina met a party of the enemy and smoked the pipe, consummating a treaty that has never been broken. On an expedition against the Piegan he killed one with his lance and scalped him, counting second coup, and on his next raid he counted second coup on a Flathead. The Atsina once met some Piegan at Beaver creek, and Cuts Tether scalped one and saved a comrade whose horse had been killed. In a fight with the Sioux at Black Butte he counted a second coup, and in an engagement with the Piegan he struck a first honor and killed the second man that fell. He was in the great battle in which the twenty-one Piegan were killed (page I09), and captured a bow and a powder-horn. In an encounter at Belt creek he took a scalp, counted third coup, and captured a powder-horn. Portrait facing page i82. EAGLE CHILD, Behifha Born in 1862 east of the Little Rockies. He first followed the war-path when twenty years of age, but gained no honors on this occasion. His next experience was in an expedition against the Piegan. Three of the enemy charged a small party of the Atsina, and one, singling him out, came so close that when the Piegan shot, the powder burned Eagle Child. Another Atsina shot the Piegan, and Eagle Child counted second coup and took the scalp. Portrait, folio plate I68. HEAD-DRESS, Kaatfa Born about 1855, near Marias river, Montana. He first took the war-path when twenty years of age, going against the Assiniboin. One woman was killed by his party, but Head-dress gained no honors. A war-party composed of a few Atsina, Apsaroke, and Assiniboin, went westward and found a Flathead camp, which they charged, killing one man; Head-dress was with them, but accomplished nothing. While he and another were scouting in the Piegan country, they found two of the enemy, who took refuge behind a bank. The two Atsina charged and captured both, counting coups on them. While hunting buffalo, the Atsina met a party of Sioux with a band of stolen horses, and, charging them, forced them to abandon their booty. Head-dress captured two horses himself, each with a saddle. He counted a first coup against the Piegan, and while fighting the Sioux he and another struck first coup at the same time. Head-dress has had no visions, nor has he ever fasted, but has the medicine of an eagle downfeather, which was given to him. He married at the age of thirty. Portrait, folio plate 177. {view image of page 182} I82 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN HORSE CAPTURE, faaatyanafh Born near Milk river in 1858. When about fifteen years of age he went with a war-party against the Piegan, but achieved no honor. From their camp at Beaver creek the Atsina sent out a war-party which came upon two Sioux. Remaining hidden in a coulee, the warriors sent an old man out as a decoy. When the Sioux charged him, the rest of the Atsina rushed out and killed them both. During the fight, Horse Capture ran up to one of the enemy, who was wounded, in order to count coup, when one of his companions dashed in ahead of him and was killed by the wounded Sioux. Horse Capture then counted first coup on the enemy and killed him. He married at the age of twenty-five. Portrait, folio plate I70. LONE FLAG, Nisahu Born in I854 in northwestern Montana. His first experience in war was gained in the great battle with the Piegan (page o09), on which occasion he killed one and captured his medicine bundle. In an engagement with the Sioux near what is now St. Paul's Mission, in the Little Rockies, he saved a comrade in the thick of the fight. Lone Flag married at the age of thirty-four. Portrait, folio plate i80. No BEAR, Tseniwasin Born in I841 near the mouth of Marias river. He counted a third coup when, at the age of fifteen, he first accompanied a war-party. On another raid a solitary Indian was seen. The Atsina charged, and No Bear was the first to reach him. The enemy fired but missed, and No Bear then shot him, tomahawked him, took his scalp, medicine bundle, and gun, and counted coup before the rest of the warriors reached the spot. On another occasion, while fighting some Cree who were in the timber, No Bear ran up to one who was pointing an arrow at him and counted first coup. Later another charged him, but he rushed to meet the Cree, who fired and missed, and No Bear then attacked him with his tomahawk, missing the first time, but burying the blade in his opponent's skull at the next stroke. No Bear tomahawked an enemy during a fight with the Bloods, and counted a second coup. He was in the battle in which the twenty-one Piegan were killed (page 109), and captured a bow and a quiver. In another battle he went back and rescued an unhorsed friend. He married at the age of thirty. Portrait, folio plate I67. OTTER ROBE, NeytinituwYch Born in I85i near Fort Benton. When sixteen years of age he joined a war-party against the Piegan, but on this first expedition he gained no honors. On another raid against the same people he counted a first coup. A party of Atsina, of which he was a member, camped one night near a war-party of Sioux, not knowing of their presence. At dawn the enemy charged, but were driven back, and during the skirmish he counted another first coup. A party of Piegan stole some horses; the Atsina followed, overtaking the enemy and forcing them to abandon their booty; during the fight he killed one Piegan. On another expedition against the same tribe, Otter Robe killed one with the stock of his gun and counted a first coup. In another battle with the Piegan, he rushed in, pulled a warrior from his horse, and killed him with his knife. When a young man he fasted two days and two nights by a river, and had a vision in which a tree became transformed to a warrior who told him he was to obtain many honors. The faster was instructed to paint as was the spirit - yellow on the temples, with a streak of red across the forehead - and to wear a strip of otter-fur around his scalp-lock. Otter Robe married at the age of thirty. Portrait, folio plate I 83. {view image of facing page 182} Cuts Tether - Atsina [photogravure plate] {view image of page 183} APPENDIX S83 RED WHIP, Beineskdnach Born in 1858 near Fort McGinnis, Montana. At the age of seventeen he went out on his first war expedition, going against the Sioux. The enemy was camped at Lodgepole creek, and the Atsina attacked them at dawn, capturing several horses. Red Whip was in the lead of the charge and took a few of the animals single-handed. During a battle with the Piegan, he rushed into the enemy's line and captured a gun, counting first coup on the owner. On another expedition the Atsina met a Sioux scout whom Red Whip charged and killed, then counted first coup and took his scalp. Later, the main body of the Sioux charged the Atsina; one singled out Red Whip and fired at him, but missed, and the young warrior shot him down. Red Whip was scouting on Tongue river with General Miles, when the Sioux charged a small body of soldiers, routing them. Red Whip says he stood firm and stopped the onrushing enemy until the troops escaped. His medicine, given to him by an uncle, is a strip of otter-fur. Portrait, folio plate I74. RUNNING FISHER, Itantyiwaatyi The present chief of the tribe, born in I846 in southwestern Montana. At the age of sixteen he went during the winter on his first war raid against the Flatheads. One woman was killed and he scalped her. When about eighteen years of age he and a party of Atsina found three Piegan, upon whom they charged. One ran into a washout hole, and Running Fisher rushed to him and counted first coup. Shortly afterward the Atsina encountered another party of Piegan, and Running Fisher again won a first coup. During another battle with the Piegan, his ammunition becoming exhausted, he killed an enemy by striking him on the head with the butt of his gun, and later in the same fight he killed one with his knife. Immediately after the close of the fight, a scout came in with the news of more enemies, and Running Fisher with a few others found three Piegan in a coulee. The others were afraid to charge, but he went in alone and killed all of them. His account of a war-party for which he was a scout when about nineteen years of age is as follows: " We went out on the war-path to the Judith mountains, and I was sent ahead with some others to scout. The chief told us to start that evening and travel all night, so that we would reach the mountains at daybreak and have a chance to look over the country. The rest of the party was to follow slowly. We reached the foot of the mountains at dawn. Tracks were seen in the snow, leading up into the mountains, and shortly afterward a deer broke from cover far up, evidently frightened by the enemy ahead of us. We fixed our priming and waited, but nothing came. We went on farther and saw a lone buffalo. One of the men said, ' I will kill the buffalo and we will take the meat back to our party.' So he shot it and we butchered it. While the rest of the party were arranging their meat-packs, I was sitting down eating some of the tripe and marrow, when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something. Turning my head quickly, I observed a party of warriors standing there with their guns pointing at us. They were not more than ten paces away. They shouted, 'Who are you? ' and at once opened fire on us. I reached for my gun, but before I could get both hands on it, a bullet broke my left arm at the elbow, and I dropped the weapon. I picked it up with my right hand and jumped to my feet, but they shot me through the shoulder, and as I fell they rushed toward me to count coup. I raised myself on one knee, drew my knife, and held them off. Then I got up and made for the woods. They were all around me trying to gain their honors, but were afraid to come close because of my knife, so I escaped into the brush before I fainted.1 They must have thought me still dangerous, for they did not follow 1 It should be remembered that the ardent desire of plains warriors was to win honor by striking an enemy with bow or coup-stick before killing him. {view image of page 184} 184 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN into the thicket. The rest of the scouts had escaped while the enemy were engaging me, and they took back the news that I was killed. When I recovered my senses, I saw a large pool of blood on the ground near my face, and, thinking I had been scalped, I was afraid for a while to touch my head. Soon my strength began to return and I started to overtake the main party. They had come on, and I did not have to go far. When I came up to them, one said, ' Here comes the dead man!' and they rushed to meet me." Running Fisher, being now a warrior, married, although he was only nineteen years of age. He has a fine war-record, having counted seven first and seven secondary coups, captured four guns and one bow, taken one tethered horse, - which he captured in broad daylight with the whole Sioux camp shooting at him, - and taken three scalps. He has killed twelve men with a gun, two with a knife in hand-tohand conflicts, and two with a bow - sixteen men in all. He has led fourteen successful war-parties, and on one occasion his warriors brought back three hundred horses. His medicine is the down-feather of an eagle, and he has experienced several visions in his frequent fastings (see pages 119-I2I). Portrait facing this page. THREE WHITE Cows, Naflhunasubi Born in 1854 near Milk river, Montana. His first war experience was had at the age of eighteen. He participated in the battle in which the twenty-one Piegan were killed (page IO9), and won a second coup. His friend was killed in the thick of a battle with the Sioux, and the dead boy's father told Three White Cows to get his horse from the enemy, which he did, charging into the middle of the Piegan and leading the horse out. Later in this fight he went back and rescued an old man whose horse had become unmanageable. Portrait facing page I76. WHITE AND YELLOW Cow, Nasubinihani Born in 1846 in what is now Fergus county, Montana. When he was eighteen years of age he accompanied his first war-party and counted a first coup. In the pursuit of a number of Piegan who had stolen some of their horses, two of the enemy were killed and White And Yellow Cow won a secondary coup. Once when he and a party were lying in ambush near a camp of Piegan, one of his men disappeared for a time. Soon he saw some one coming, and went out to meet him, but on nearer approach, finding him to be an enemy, he shot him down and counted a first coup. A small owl is his medicine, as he had a vision of a warrior who wore an owl in his hair, with yellow and black dots over his eyebrows, and lightning streaks - zigzag lines - down each cheek. He wears the same paint in battle. White And Yellow Cow took a wife when he was thirty years of age. Portrait facing page I86. {view image of facing page 184} Running Fisher - Atsina [photogravure plate] {view image of page 185} Index {view image of page 186} {view image of facing page 186} White and Yellow Cow - Atsina [photogravure plate] {view image of page 187} INDEX Aaninen, native name of Atsina, 103, I54 Adhik-adhcanu. See BRANCHED HORN Adhiku-chitf'fh. See FOUR HORNS Adoption ceremony of Arikara, 150 of Atsina, 153 of Mandan, I46 See Pi'DHE-SHKUNNI Adultery, punishment for, 15, 63 After-world of the Arikara, 151 of the Atsina, 119 of the Mandan, 20, 147 Agriculture not practised by Atsina, III of the Arikara, 61, 148 of the Mandan, 7, 9, 144 See CORN Ahatyaha. See CRAZY SOCIETY Air Quivering With Heat, a Turtle-drum keeper, 20 Akachsfhhwndhu, Arikara Sun Dance, 150 See SUN DANCE Altar in Arikara ceremony, 68 (pl.), 71-75 in mythical lodge, 84 Amulets of Okipe singers, 28 Anatomical terms, 169 Animals in Arikara genesis, 80, 150 in Mandan myth, 44-46, 146 mysterious power of, 19 personated in Arikara ceremony, 68, 74 personated in Okipe, 32-35 spirits of, in Arikara belief, 64 terms for, 170 See SPIRIT-ANIMALS Ankit-mahu'dh7. See SHOULDER BONE Anklets, buffalo-hair, of Buffalo Dancers, 31 rabbit-skin, in myth, 39, 44 rabbit-skin, with sacred Turtles, 22 rabbit-skin, worn by Numak-mihana, 30 Antelopes personated in dance, 32-34 Antelope-skin apron in Okipe, 29 clothing of Atsina, 152 in Arikara medicine bundle, 71 Apron of antelope-skin in Okipe, 29 of sage in Okipe, 34 Apsaroke, adoption ceremony of, I50 and Atsina peace, o18, IO9, I8I and Atsina warfare, 106, i8I and Blood warfare, Io8 and Fort Laramie treaty, 7 and Hidatsa separation, 3, 103 Arikara name for, 151 Atsina name for, 154 enemies of Arikara, 60 in battle with Blackfeet, 1IO Mandan name for, 147 medicine acquired by, 64 medicine-power imparted by, 17 opinion of Atsina, 111 treaty with, 6 trouble of 1887, 6 Arapaho, Atsina a branch of, 103 Atsina name for, 154 Atsina visit to, 103, 105 habitat in 1820, 105, io6 Arikara, account of the, 59-1Io allies of Mitutahank, 5 and Mandan quarrel, 6 and Mandan rite compared, 146 biographies of, 178-180 ceremony borrowed from, 146 glass-work of the, 11 Mandan and Hidatsa with, 6, 7 Mandan name for, 147 medicine ceremony reproduced, xii medicine-order songs of, 155-162 plunder Mandan houses, 6 pottery of the, 11 songs of Corn Ceremony, 162, 163 tribal summary of the, 148-152 vocabulary of, 169-177 Arrow games of Atsina, 153 of Mandan, I44 Arrows in Arikara ceremony, 71, 72 in Arikara tale, 92, 93 in Atsina ceremony, 120, pi. in Atsina tale, 126, 127, 133, 134 in Mandan myth, 49 in Sun Dance rite, 76 {view image of page 188} I88 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN Arrows of the Mandan, 144 shot by ghosts, II9 shot in CRAZY Dance, 16 See Bow AND ARROWS Arrow-shafts in Atsina tale, 132 Arts of the Arikara, I48 of the Atsina, I52 of the Mandan, II, 144 See HANDICRAFT; IMPLEMENTS; UTENSILS Ash, implements made of, 12, 144, 148, 149 sacred club of, 22, 30 sword in Arikara ceremony, 66 Askaw river, Atsina on, 104 Assiniboin, adoption ceremony of, 150 and Arikara warfare, i80 and Atsina warfare, Io8, I8I and Mandan trade, 5 and Piegan fight, 107, Io8 Arikara name for, 151 Atsina name for, I54 Mandan name for, I47 mythic origin of, 83 name for Atsina, 103 songs sung by Mandan, 143 Assiniboin Boy, sketch of, I8o Atefihunahawatyi. See STAR DANCE Afhehawu, Atsina Sun Dance, 153 Atika-wadhuhiti, a mythic personage, 83 Atip-wadhuhiti, a mythic personage, 83 Atna, a mythic character, 150, 15I Atna-hnuttik'hanu. See MOTHER NIGHT Atsina, account of the, 103-I39 biographies of, I80-I84 Mandan name for, I47 songs of the, I64-I69 status of the, xii tribal summary of, 152-I54 vocabulary of, 169-177 Awdhu, an Arikara band, 6I, 149 Axe in Sun Dance rite, 78 Axes traded with Mandan, 5 Babaatyi. See CURLY HEAD Babies, how cared for, 42, 43, 51, I49 See CHILDREN Badger in Arikara myth, 8i in Mandan myth, 46 Badger People, a Mandan clan, 145 Bad Lands in Arikara folk-tale, 87 Bad Pack-strap, a Mandan clan, 145 Bad river, Atsina on, 104 Bags of the Atsina, 152 See PARFLECHES Ball-game in Mandan legend, 50 of Arikara women, 149 Bands of the Arikara, 149 of the Atsina, 153 Baptism and Arikara consecration, 73, 74 Bark, baskets woven of, 144, 148 used in pottery making, II willow, pottery ring of, 12 Basket-dish in Arikara ceremony, 72 Baskets of the Arikara, 6I, I48 of the Mandan, 144 used in gaming, 144, 149 Bisnabe, the Atsina after-world, 119 Bathing before fasting, II9 by Mandan, 12, pi. by Okipe participants, 35, 37 See SWEAT-BATH Beads, glass, made by Arikara, 149 glass, made by Mandan, II, 144 on gaming hoop, 152 Beans in Mandan myth, 44 See FOOD; FOUR-MIXTURE Bear, an Arikara medicine order, 65, 68, 69, 72 as tutelary spirit, 33, 120, 178 emergence of, in ceremony, 90, pl. hunt by Arikara, 178 in Atsina tale, 129-I31, 133-135 personated in ceremony, 32, 34, 68, 74 transformation into, in Atsina tale, 126 Bear Child, Atsina chief, II2 Bear-claws, necklace of, in Arikara tale, 88 Bear-medicine in Arikara tale, 90, 91 of Arikara, 98, pi. Bear medicine-men of Arikara, 74 (pl.), 78 (pl.), 178 of Mandan, 17 Bearpaw mountains, fight near, 104, 107 Bear people in Arikara myth, 84 Bear's Belly, sketch of, 178 Bear-skin for tipi-flap, I52 in Arikara medicine rite, 73, 75 in medicine-making, 178 Bear society of Arikara, 73-75 song of, 161, 162 Bear Walks On The Hillside, Atsina pipekeeper, 123 Beaver in Arikara myth, 84 in Mandan myth, 46 Beaver creek, Montana, 70, 109, I8I, I82 Beaver-medicine of the Arikara, 65, 66, 74 {view image of page 189} INDEX 189 Beaver society, song of, 157 Bed in Mandan legend, 53 of sage in Okipt, 27 of the Mandan, 10 Behi(ha. See EAGLE CHILD Beineskanach. See RED WHIP Belly People, designation of Atsina, 103 Belt creek, Montana, 181 Benohtyiifhan society of Atsina, 118, 153 Berries. See FOOD Big Beaver, Atsina pipe-keeper, 122 Big Foot, an Arikara medicine order, 64, 65, 67 Big Sand, the Atsina after-world, II9 Big Shirt, feat of, in fasting, I6 Biitahw. See DRUM SOCIETY Biographies of Arikara, 178-180 of Atsina, 180-184 Bird Chief, Atsina pipe-keeper, 122, 123 Birds in Arikara genesis, I50 mysterious power of, 19 Bird-skins in Arikara medicine bundle, 71 Bird Woman. See SACAJAWEA Black Butte, fight at, I8I Black Eagle, Mandan legend of, 50-55 Blackfeet and Arikara hostility, IO9, Iio and Atsina truce, III, 122 Arikara name for, 151 arrive in Montana, 104 Atsina name for, 154 Mandan name for, 147 name of Atsina, 103 Black Hills, campaign in, 178 Black Mouth society of Arikara, 149, I50 of Mandan, 144 Black Raven, Atsina chief, 112 Black-tail Deer people in Arikara myth, 84 Black-tail Deer society of Arikara, 64, 66 of Mandan, 144, 145 song of, I55-156 Blood, pipe of, in Mandan belief, 28 Blood Clot, Atsina tale of, 130-134 Bloods allied with Atsina, i08 Atsina hostility toward, o09, I I, I8I, 182 Atsina name for, 154 attacked by Sioux, 107 Bloody Knife, a Turtle-drum keeper, 20 Blowing in Mandan medicine, 17 Blowpipe used by Mandan, 12 Boat, mythic, of the Mandan, 24 See BULL-BOATS; CANOE Bone hair-ornaments of the Mandan, 143 implements of the Mandan, 144 Bone, marrow, in Mandan myth, 44 used in game, 149, I53 Bow and arrows given to recreant wife, 15 in Arikara ceremony, 71, 72 in Arikara tale, 87 in Atsina tale, 131 of Crazy Dancers, 115 Bowls of the Arikara, 149 of the Atsina, 152 of the Mandan, I44 See UTENSILS Box-elder, baskets of bark of, 144 utensils made of, 144, I49, 152 Boys, play of, in Mandan myth, 43 Mandan, urged to fast, I6 See CHILDREN Branched Horn, an Arikara medicine order, 64 Bravery inspired by chiefs, 62 of Atsina warriors, 105, IO6, II, I 6, 117 of Mandan warriors, 14 See WAR Broken Axe, Mandan medicine-man, 17 Brothers-in-law, relations between, 62 Brushes of porcupine-tails, 152 Brush-gatherers in Arikara ceremony, 94, pl. See WILLOW Buck Deer. See BRANCHED HORN Buckskin. See DEERSKIN Buffalo, an Arikara medicine order, 64, 66, 75 Atsina dependence on, I I I Atsina quarrel over, IO3 ceremony for abundance of, 26 controlled by Turtle-drums, 47 eat people in Atsina myth, 119 imitated in Okipe, 33 in Atsina tale, 128, 133 in Mandan myth, 41-44, 51 killed in corrals, 130, 131, 154 legend of the Mandan, 50-55 Lucky Man and the, 93-100 masks in Mandan myth, 46 mythic origin of, 85 personated by women, II8 personated in Atsina ceremony, I53 song of medicine order of, 156, I57 spirit, in sacred Turtles, 23, 30 See FOOD; SHEDDING BUFFALO Buffalo-beard for switching body, 54 presented by Okipe Maker, 26 Buffalo-berries, gathering of, 14, pi. See FOOD {view image of page 190} I9o THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN Buffalo-bones used in game, I49, I53 See BUFFALO-RIBS; BUFFALO-SCAPULA Buffalo Boy in Arikara tale, 96-99 Buffalo Bull society of Arikara, 150 of Mandan, 13, I44 Buffalo Calf Boy in Mandan legend, 51-54 Buffalo-chip burned in buffalo hunt, 130 in Mandan myth, 41 Buffalo Dance, a Mandan ceremony, I46 a part of Okipe, 23, 24, 30-37, I46 Buffalo Dancer, costume of, 30 (pl.), 36 (pl.) Buffalo-entrails tabooed by Okipe Maker, 26 Buffalo-fat in Atsina tale, 129 in Mandan myth, 42, 146 used for food, 9 See FOUR-MIXTURE Buffalo-hair anklets of Buffalo Dancers, 31 ball of Foolish Doer, 34 cap in Mandan myth, 49 garments of Ndmak-mahana, 30 in Mandan myth, 41 mask in Okipe, 29, 32 mythically transformed, IOO white, with sacred Turtles, 22 Buffalo-hoofs hung at door, IO Buffalo-horn on Buffalo Dancer's costume, 23, 32, 36 utensils of, 144, 152 Buffalo hunt of Atsina, III, 130, I31, I54 of Mandan, 7 preliminary to Sun Dance, 76 See HUNTING Buffalo hunters attacked by Sioux, 9 Buffalo-medicine of Arikara, 96, pl. Buffalo medicine-men of Arikara, 78 (pl.), 80 (pl.), 92 (pl.) Buffalo-paunch as water-vessel, 54, 152 in Mandan myth, 41 See UTENSILS Buffalo people in Arikara myth, 84 Buffalo-ribs, sled made of, I53 Buffalo-robes, corpses placed on, 63 hung from fasters in Okipe, 36 in Arikara ceremony, 72 of Crazy Dancers, 15 of fasters in Okip6, 29 of Fly Dance leader, 114 use of, by medicine-man, 48 worn by Arikara, I48 worn by Atsina, III, 112 worn by Buffalo Dancer, 32 worn by faster, 120 Buffalo-robes worn by H6oitahe, 45 worn in medicine-making, IIo worn in mourning, 154 See BUFFALO-SKIN; CLOTHING Buffalo-scapula, hoe made of, 9, 71, 144, 148 pictographs on, 152 Buffalo-skin, Atsina tipis of, I I attached to Sun Dancers, 79 babies wrapped in, 42, 43, 51, I49 balls made of, 149 cap of Foolish Doer, 33 clothing of Arikara, I48 clothing of Atsina, 112, 152 clothing of Mandan, 143 costumes of Buffalo Dancers, 23, 36 drum in Okipe, 28 effigy of, 35 girdle with sacred Turtles, 22 in Sun Dance, 76, 77, 79 kilt of Buffalo Dancers, 31, 32 medicine bundles of, 65 sacred Turtles made of, 23, 47 tipi curtains of, 152 tipis made of, 152 white, in Mandan myth, 43, 44 white, staffs wrapped with, 117 white, used by medicine-man, 48 See BUFFALO-ROBES Buffalo-skull as pillow in Okipe, 27 attached to faster, 36, I79 in Arikara legerdemain, 66, 75 in Okipe, 29, 32 offering of, I6, pi. offerings to, 178 used by Mandan faster, I6 Buffalo-tail in Arikara legend, 96 on Atsina sled, 153 used in Sun Dance, 80 with sacred Turtle, 22 worn by Nuimak-mahana, 30 Buffalo-teeth with sacred Turtles, 22 Buffalo-wallow in Mandan myth, 41 Buffalo Woman in Arikara tale, 96-99 in Mandan myth, 51-53 Bull-boats in Mandan myth, 43 of the Arikara, I49, i8o of the Mandan, IO (pl.), I44 Bull Lodge, Atsina pipe-keeper, I22 Bull Lying On Top, Turtle-drum keeper, 20 Bull Neck plays part in torture, i8o sketch of, 178 {view image of page 191} INDEX I9I Bull society. See BUFFALO BULL SOCIETY Bundle of Ndmak-mahana, 22, pl. See MEDICINE BUNDLE Burdock burrs in Atsina tale, 138 Burial. See MORTUARY CUSTOMS; SCAFFOLDBURIAL Burial-ground of the Atsina, 138 (pl.), I54 (pi.) Burned Boughs Village of the Mandan, 4 Butterflies in Mandan myth, 41 Buzzard seen in vision, 120 Caches of the Arikara, 148 Cactus in Mandan myth, 44, 52 thorns on gads in dance, 114 Caddoan stock of Indians, 59 type of basketry, 6I Cairn as guide to travellers, 152 burial by Mandan, I8, 147 Calf Boy. See BUFFALO CALF BOY Calf Pipe, sacred, of the Lakota, 20 See PIPES Camp, Atsina, illustrated, 104, pl. Camp-moving by the Atsina, II7, 136 (pl.) followed by ceremony, 116 Camps selected by Atsina chief, 112 Canadian Fur Company, 3 Cannibals in Atsina tale, 130 Cannonball river, Arikara settled near, 60 Mandan settle near, 3, 21, 47 Canoe, magic, in Atsina tale, 125 See BOAT; BULL-BOATS Cap, buffalo-hair, in Mandan myth, 49 of Foolish Doer in Okipe, 33, 35 See CLOTHING Captive, how treated by Sioux, Io6 Sun Dance tree notched by, 78 Cardinal points, names of, 171 See ORIENTATION Catlin, George, among Arikara, 60 errors in drawings of, 21-23 on the Mandan, 7, II, 24, 25 theories of, xi Cedar, bringing of, in ceremony, 82, pl. leaves burned as incense, 80 leaves used in medicine, 151 Mandan belief respecting, 24, 25 post in Mandan myth, 46 post in Okipe rite, 34, 36 post planted by Numak-mahana, 24, 25 prayer to, in ceremony, IOO, pi. sacred, of Arikara, 65, 66, 69, 73-75, 85 Cedar, singing to, in ceremony, I70, pl. the symbol of Corn Mother, 151 See GROUND-CEDAR Cedar Plume, a Turtle-drum keeper, 20 Cedars, a Turtle-drum keeper, 20 Ceremonies of the Arikara, 64-80, I50 of the Atsina, 113-118, 153 of the Mandan, I9-38, 146 See DANCE; RELIGION Charbonneau, T., among Hidatsa, 6 Charcoal, lodge-posts marked with, 27 used for face paint, 143 Charcoal People, a Mandan clan, I45 Chastity. See WOMEN Cherries In The Mouth, feat of, 16 Cherry-bush Man, Atsina tale of, 127-I30 Cheyenne, Arikara name for, I51 Atsina name for, I54 enemies of Arikara, 60 habitat in 1820, I05, io6 Mandan name for, I47 medicine acquired by, 64 Cheyenne river, Arikara settled near, 59 Chief Above. See NE-HANU Chief Eagle, Atsina pipe-keeper, 123 Chiefs, Atsina, tipis of, I52 mythic origin of, 84, 85 of the Arikara, 6I, 62, I49, 151 of the Atsina, 112, 153 of the Mandan, 12, 13, I44 Childbirth among Arikara, I51 Children, Atsina, play of, 153 blessed in ceremony, 73, 84 (pl.) cause of illness in, 151 ceremony in behalf of, 26 disposal of, on father's death, 62 how buried by Mandan, 18 See BABIES; BOYS; GIRLS Chinhnataku, an Arikara band, 149 Chinook, Montana, 181 Chippewa and Arikara hostility, I79 Arikara name for, 151 Mandan name for, I47 mythic origin of, 83 Chippewa society of Arikara, I50 Chiwiku. See SHEDDING BUFFALO Choke-cherries. See FOOD Choke-cherry sticks in Sun Dance, 78 Clamshells worn by Arikara, 148 See SHELL Clans absent among Arikara, 61 of the Mandan, I45 {view image of page 192} 192 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN Claws on Crazy Dancers' staffs, II5 See BEAR-CLAWS Clay, bodies of dancers painted with, 75 bodies smeared with, 27, 72, I37 Buffalo Dancers painted with, 31 buffalo-skin coated with, 77 Crazy Dancers daubed with, 115 faster's body painted with, 119, 178 how prepared for pottery, I Mandan hair dressed with, 143 used as face paint, 143 used as stain, I44 used in hollowing mortars, 12 See EARTH; POTTERY Clothing of Arikara dead, 63 of Atsina mourners, I54 of Mandan dead, I8 of the Arikara, I48 of the Atsina, III, 112, 152 of the Mandan, I43 presented in Crazy Dance, 115 See COSTUME Clown in Indian ceremonies, 49 See FOOLISH DOER Club, ash, of Numak-mahana, 30 with sacred Turtles, 22 Clump Of Woods People, a Mandan clan, 145 Collar, rabbit-skin, of Numak-mahana, 30 Colors, names of, 171 Comanche enemies of Arikara, 60 Comes In Sight Yellow, Atsina warrior, 107 Conjuration in Mandan healing, 146, I47 Consecration of Arikara infants, 73 of cedar, 74 Contest in Arikara myth, 82, 83 in Arikara tale, 98-IOO in Atsina tale, 132, 138 See GAMES Cooking by the Atsina, I52 Cooking Pot, a Turtle-drum keeper, 20 Cooking-pot in Atsina tale, I3I, 135 See UTENSILS Corn, how prepared by Mandan, 12 in Arikara ceremony, 6I, 71-73 in Arikara myth, 80, 85, 86, 150 in Mandan myth, 44, 46, 5I native variety of, 6i on Arikara altar, 71 raised by Arikara, 6I, 148 raised by Mandan, 9, I44 symbolism of, 71 Corn. See AGRICULTURE; FOOD; FOUR-MIXTURE; GRAIN Corn Ceremony of Arikara, 70-73 (pl.) songs of, 162, 163 Corn Dance of the Mandan, 146 Corn-husks worn in Okipe, 33-35 Corn Mother, Arikara, 70-74, 80-86, I50, 151 Corn-scaffolds in Mandan myth, 43 Corn-scum used in pottery making, 12 Corn Woman in Mandan myth, 51-54 See SCATTERED CORN WOMAN Corrals in buffalo hunting, I30, 131, I54 Costume of Buffalo Dancers, 23, 30 (pl.), 31-33 of Dog Dancers, 117 of Ndmak-maihana personator, 30 See CLOTHING Cottonwood, sacred slabs fastened with, 24 Council of Mandan villages, 13, 144 of the Arikara, 62, I49 of the Atsina, 112, 153 See POLITICAL ORGANIZATION Coups counted by Arikara, I78-I80 counted by Atsina, I80-I84 painting of, on leggings, I43, I47 See WAR-HONORS Courtship among the Atsina, 154 among the Mandan, 14, 15 in Mandan legend, 48, 49 See MARRIAGE Coyote, a Turtle-drum keeper, 20 Coyote eaten by Arikara, 148, I70 in Arikara myth, 150 in Atsina tale, 135-I38 in Mandan myth, 40, 146 Crane in Mandan myth, 44 Crane-feathers with sacred Turtles, 22 worn by Ndmak-maiana, 30, 44 Crazy Dance of Atsina, I I4-I 6, I 8-I24 (pl.) Crazy society of Atsina, I 2, 153 Creation. See GENESIS MYTH Cree and Atsina warfare, I82 Atsina name for, 154 Mandan name for, I48 Creek society of Arikara, 150 Creek Woman society of Mandan, I45 Crops, ceremony for abundant, 26 Cross Water, Mandan name of Hidatsa, 4, 148 Crow Chief, Atsina pipe-keeper, 123 Crow-feathers used by Crazy Dancers, 115 worn by Dog society, I 17 worn by Fox society, I 6 {view image of page 193} INDEX '93 Crow Ghost, portrait of, I80, pl. sketch of, 179 Crow People, a Mandan clan, 145 Crow's Heart, portrait of, 6, pl. Crow-skin in Arikara medicine bundle, 71 Culbertson, Alexander, trader, 107 Culture hero of the Arikara, 150 of the Atsina, 119, 154 of the Mandan, 146 Curly Head, portrait of, I74, pl. sketch of, 181 Curtains in Atsina tipis, 152 See SCREENS Custer, Gen. G. A., Arikara scouts with, 178, I8o Custodians of Turtle-drums, 20, 21 (pl.), 26 Cuts Tether, portrait of, 182, pl. sketch of, 181 Cut-throats, an Arikara society, 150 Cypress mountains, Atsina near, Io9 Dalby, E. J., acknowledgments to, xii Dance about Mandan sacred enclosure, 29, 30 by Arikara medicine-men, 65, 68 fire, in Arikara ceremony, 75, 76 how performed by Arikara societies, 150 in Arikara ceremony, 72, 74, 144 (pl.) in Okip6 rite, 32, 34, 35 in women's ceremony, II8 of Atsina societies, 153 of Mandan societies, 14 of Night medicine-men, 86, pl. purchase of, 144 See BUFFALO DANCE; CRAZY DANCE; DOG DANCE; FLY DANCE; Fox DANCE; SAGE DANCE; SCALP DANCE; SUN DANCE Dance-lodge in Mandan myth, 46 of women's society, 18 Darkness in Mandan myth, 43 Death, mythic origin of, 84 See MORTUARY CUSTOMS Decoy lodges of the Blackfeet, IO Deer, Atsina pipe-keeper, 123 See BLACK-TAIL DEER Deer-hoofs used by Dog Dancers, 117 Deerskin, balls made of, 34, 149 clothing of Arikara, 148 clothing of Atsina, 112, 152 clothing of Mandan, 143 costumes in Sun Dance, 79 hoop used in game, 149 VOL. V.-13 Deerskin used in game, 153 wrapping of babe in myth, 42 Deities of the Atsina, 119 of the Mandan, 19 See CEREMONIES; RELIGION Descent among the Atsina, 153 among the Mandan, I45 Dibbles of the Arikara, I48 of the Mandan, 9, 144 Dice games of Atsina, 153 See PLUM-SEED GAME Dirty-eyed Bird, Atsina warrior, I05 Disease, Atsina reduced by, 103 ceremony to avoid, 26, 75, 76 effect of, on Arikara, 60 prevented with amulets, 28 produced by buffalo-entrails, 26 See MEDICINE; MEDICINE-MEN; SICKNESS; SMALLPOX Divorce among Arikara, 63 among Mandan, 15 See MARRIAGE Dog. See YOUNG DOG Dogs eaten by Arikara, I48, 170 eaten in siege, I05 in Arikara myth, 85, 86 used by Atsina, I I I used by Mandan, 144 See TRAVAUX Dog society of Atsina, 112, 113, 117, 153 of Atsina, song of, 166, 167 of Mandan, 144 Dreamers, medicine-lodge posts painted by, 27 See MEDICINE-MEN Dreams, ceremony inspired by, 26, II8 Dress. See CLOTHING; COSTUME Drum in Arikara ceremony, 67, 68, 75 in Atsina tale, 127 in Okipe, 28, 29, 32 sacred, origin of, 46, 47 See TURTLE-DRUMS Drum society of Atsina, 113, 117, II8, 153 of Atsina, song of, 167, i68 Drumsticks in Mandan myth, 47 Duck. See BIG FOOT Duck-bills, necklaces of, in ceremony, 67 Duck people in Arikara myth, 84 Ducks in Atsina tale, 137 Duck society, song of, 159, I6o Dust-cloud in Arikara myth, 83, 84 in Arikara tale, 99 Dwarf in Atsina tale, I30 {view image of page 194} I94 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN Dwarf in Mandan myth, 49 Dwellings of the Arikara, 6I, 148, I50 (pl.) of the Mandan, 4 (pl.), 143 See EARTH LODGE; LODGES; TIPIS Eagle as tutelary spirit,, IO9, 8i, 18, 84 in Mandan myth, 43, 44 personated in dance, 32, 34, 79 See BLACK EAGLE Eagle-bone whistles in Sun Dance, 76, 79 of Crazy Dancers, 115 of Dog Dancers, 117 See WHISTLE Eagle Child, sketch of, 18I Eagle-feathers, a mark of honor, 147 Dog Dancers' head-dresses of, 117 employed by medicine-men, 17 in Arikara myth, 83 in Arikara tale, 91, 92, 96, 98, 99 on Fox society staffs, II6 on sacred cedar, 74 on sacred Turtles, 22, 26 (pl.), 30, 47, 48 worn by Drum Dancers, II8 worn by Numak-mahana, 39, 44, 45 Eagle's nest in Arikara sun-lodge, 78 in Atsina sun-lodge, I53 Eagle-tail worn by Foolish Doer, 34 worn in Mandan myth, 49 Eagle-trapping in Arikara tale, 88 Earache, how treated by Arikara, 151 Ear-ornaments of Arikara, 148 of Atsina, 152 Earth created by Last Child, 119 people created from, 154 See CLAY Earth lodge of the Arikara, 6I, 148, I50 (pl.) of the Mandan, 4 (pl.), 143 See LODGES Earthquake in Mandan myth, 41 East Village of the Mandan, 4 Effigy made in Okip6 rite, 35 See IMAGE; SYMBOL Elk in Atsina tale, 128 Elk medicine-man, tale of, 86-93 Elk-skin in Mandan myth, 5I Elk-teeth on women's dresses, 152 Elk-toes, necklace of, in Arikara tale, 89 Elopement among Arikara, I50 among Atsina, 105, 154 among Mandan, I5, i6, 146 See MARRIAGE Enclosure, sacred, of the Mandan, 24, 25, 29, 32, 34-36, 46 Enemy symbolized in Arikara ceremony, 73 Enemy Head, a Turtle-drum keeper, 20 Face-painting. See PAINTING Fall Indians, Atsina so called, 103, IIO Fasting by Arikara, 178, 179 by Atsina, 119-I2I, 181, 182, I84 by Mandan, 12, I6 during mourning, 147 during Sun Dance rite, 78 enjoined in Mandan myth, 47 for success, 26 for visions by Mandan, 27, 28 in Atsina Sun Dance, 153 in Okip6 rite, 27, 35, 37 period of, by Mandan, 16 power obtained by, 12, 123, 146, I5I, I54 See MEDICINE-POWER; SPIRIT-POWER; SPIRITS; SUPPLICATION; VISIONS Feast after Fly Dance, I14 at lodge-building, IO in Atsina tale, 135, 136 mortuary, of Arikara, 6i wedding, of Mandan, 15 Feathers seen in visions, 121 traded by Mandan, 5 transformation into, 126, 132 See CRANE-FEATHERS; EAGLE-FEATHERS; RAVEN-FEATHERS Field-mouse in Mandan myth, 44 See MOUSE Fire in Arikara Sage Dance, 75, 76 in magical performance, 67, 68 in Mandan myth, 45 in Okipe ceremony, 30 magic, in Atsina tale, 127 mythic origin of, 41, 85 used in legerdemain, 154 used in making mortars, 12 Firearms among Mandan, 5 See GUNS Fire Dance of Crazy Dancers, 115, II6 Fire Elk, Atsina pipe-keeper, 123 Fireflies in Mandan myth, 45 Fireplace in Arikara medicine-lodge, 71-74 Fire-sticks in Atsina tale, 126 First Child, an Atsina deity, 119 Fish in Arikara myth, 71, 81 in Atsina tale, 135 {view image of page 195} INDEX I95 Fish magically caught in ceremony, 66 Flatheads, Arikara name for, 151 Atsina hostility toward, I8I, 183 Atsina name for, I54 Mandan name for, 148 Flies 7his Way, Atsina warrior, 107 Flood in Arikara myth, 80, I50 Fly society of the Atsina, II2-I114 (pl.), II6 (pl.), 153 Fog in Arikara tale, 9I in Mandan myth, 49 Foggy Hilltop, a mythic locality, 86 Folk-tales, Arikara, 86-IOO See LEGENDS; MYTHOLOGY Food given Arikara dead, 63, I51 names of, 172 not deposited on Mandan grave, I8, 147 offered in Okipe, 34 of the Arikara, 148, 172 of the Atsina, 152, I72 of the Mandan, 44, 144, 172 See BUFFALO; CORN; FOUR-MIXTURE Foolish Doer in Okipe rite, 32-35 story of son of, 48-50 a Turtle-drum keeper, 20 Foolish Dog society of the Arikara, I50 of the Mandan, 14, I44 Fort Abraham Lincoln, 178 Belknap reservation, 152 Benton, 105, 107, 109, 182 Berthold, 6, 7, I80 Berthold reservation, I43, I48 Berthold village, I79, I80 Buford, I79 Clark, 178, I80 F. A. C., 107 Laramie treaty, 6, 7, 60 Lewis, I07 McGinnis, 183 McKenzie, I07 Phil. Kearny, 179 Four Bears, Mandan chief, 17 Four Horns, sketch of, 179 Four-mixture described, 9, 43 in Mandan legend, 50 in Okipe rite, 31 Fox in Mandan myth, 45 Fox Mother in Atsina ceremony, II6, 117 Fox society of Atsina, II2, II6, 117, 153 of Atsina, song of, I65, i66 of Mandan, 13, 144 French among Mandan, 4, 6 Fungus used by Crazy Dancers, 115 Fur-traders, effect of, on Arikara, 60, 6I Gads used in Fly Dance, I14 Games of the Arikara, I49 of the Atsina, 152, 153 of the Mandan, I44 See WHEEL-AND-POLE GAME Gardens of the Mandan, 9 See AGRICULTURE Garden Tree, a Turtle-drum keeper, 20 Garpike in Arikara myth, 71, 8I Genesis myth of the Arikara, 65, 80-86, I50 of the Atsina, 154 of the Mandan, 39-48, I45, I46 Gens des Rapides, Atsina so called, 103 Ghosts, Atsina belief regarding, I 9 in Arikara myth, 83 Ghost society of Arikara, 64, 66, 69 song of, I55 Gifts by Okipe Maker, 26 during courtship, 14 in Atsina ceremony, II5, I17 in Mandan legend, 50, 51 marriage, of Arikara, 62, 92 marriage, of Atsina, I54 marriage, of Mandan, 15 to Ndmak-mihana, 31 to white buffalo-skin, 77 See OFFERING Girdle, buffalo-skin, with sacred Turtles, 22 See KILT Girl, Arikara, illustrated, 60, pl. Atsina, illustrated, I72, pl. captive, notches Sun Dance tree, 78 Mandan, illustrated, 40, pi. Girls, Mandan, hair ornaments of, I1 Mandan, society of, 145 See CHILDREN Glass ornaments made by Arikara, 149 made by Mandan, II, 144 Gloves worn by Mandan, 143 Glue, Mandan hair dressed with, 143 Good Child, a Mandan chief, 5 Good Gourd Rattle, a Turtle-drum keeper, 20 Goose society of Arikara, I50 of Mandan, I45 Gourd rattles of medicine-men, 65, 66 Government of the Arikara, 62 of the Mandan, 12, 13 See CHIEFS; POLITICAL ORGANIZATION {view image of page 196} I96 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN Grain traded by Mandan, 5 See CORN Granaries. See CACHES Grandfathers, ceremonial, of Atsina, 114-II7 See WONDERFUL GRANDPARENTS Grand river, Arikara on, 60 Grasshopper in Mandan myth, 39 Graves haunted by ghosts, 119 See MORTUARY CUSTOMS; SCAFFOLDBURIAL Gray Hawk Plume, tale of, 123-127 Gray Nose, a Turtle-drum keeper, 20 Gros Ventres of the Missouri, the Hidatsa, IO3 Gros Ventres of the Prairie, the Atsina, 103 Ground-cedar, incense of, I I Sun Dance booth of, 79 See CEDAR Growth, Arikara goddess of, 84, 85, 150 Atsina deity of, I19 See CORN; CORN MOTHER; CORN WOMAN Guardian spirits. See TUTELARY SPIRIT Gulf of Mexico, Siouan tribes in region of, 3 Guns acquired by Dakota, 105 capture of, by Mandan, 147 given at marriage, 62 of the Atsina, 105 use of, in Arikara legerdemain, 68 Habitat of the Arikara, 59, 60 See MIGRATION Hachi-pidhinu. See YOUNG DOG Hail represented on staffs, 118 Hair cut in mourning, 63, 138, I39, 147, 154 deposited with corpse, 151 See BUFFALO-HAIR; PORCUPINE-HAIR Hairdressing in Arikara tale, 88, 89 of Arikara, 148 of Arikara society, I5o of Atsina, 152 of Mandan, I43 of Mandan dead, 18 of Nimak-mahana, 22 of Okip6 singers, 28 of recreant wife, 15 Hair-ornament of Mandan girls, II See ORNAMENTS Hako ceremony of Pawnee, 150 Hdkohg. See SCABBY Half-sheared society of Mandan, 14, 144 Hammock in Atsina tale, 128 Hand-game of Atsina, I52 Handicraft, terms for, 172 See ARTS; INDUSTRIES Hatebyahw. See DOG SOCIETY Hawk as tutelary spirit, I80 personated in dance, 32 Hawk-skin in Arikara medicine bundle, 71 Head Bones, a Turtle-drum keeper, 20 Head-dress, sketch of, 181 Head-dress of Dog Dancers, I17 of Foolish Doer in Okip6, 33 of Nimak-mihana, 30, 39 of stuffed eagle, I I with sacred Turtles, 22 Head Rattle, a Turtle-drum keeper, 20 Healers. See MEDICINE-MEN Health, ceremony to promote, 26 See DISEASE Heart river, Mandan on, 3-5, 7 He Becomes Chief, a Mandan deity, I9, 39, 40 He Hawk, an Arikara, I48 Hell-diver in Atsina tale, 137 Hemorrhage, how treated by Arikara, 151 Heralds, announcements by, 13, 26, 27, 76 in Arikara ceremony, 71-73 Herbs employed in healing, 64, I23, I46, 147, I51, I54 in Arikara ceremony, 68 rubbed on dancers, 114 Hidatsa, adoption ceremony of, 150 allies of Nuptadhi, 5 and Apsaroke separation, 103 and Arikara relations, 7, 59, 6o, 93 and Mandan culture blended, 8 and Mandan warriors compared, 9 Arikara name for, 151 Atsina name for, 154 genesis myth of, 24 in Mandan tradition, 4 killed by Chippewa, I79 Mandan name for, 4, 148 medicine acquired by, 64 medicine practices of, 17 neighbors of Mandan, 3, 7 pottery of the, I I reservation for, established, 6o, 6I settle at Fort Berthold, 6 treaty with, 6 High Bird, Atsina pipe-keeper, I23 History of the Atsina, 103-112 of the Mandan, 3-8 Hoes of buffalo-scapulae, 9, 144, 148 on Arikara altar, 71, 72 {view image of page 197} INDEX I97 Ho6iehaka-numakaki. See CROW PEOPLE HotitekE, a name for Numak-mihana, 20 Ho6itaha, a Mandan deity, 19 a Turtle-drum keeper, 20 in Mandan myth, 43-46 in Okipe rite, 28, 37 Honor-place, medicine objects kept in, 17 of Mandan lodge, I I of Okipe lodge, 27 Honors. See WAR-HONORS Hoofs, mountain-sheep, worn on dress, I48 on Crazy Dancers' staffs, I15 Hoop-and-pole. See WHEEL-AND-POLE GAME Hopini defined, 13, 16, 19 Horn, tops made of, 153 utensils made of, 54, 126, 144, 152 See BUFFALO-HORN; MOUNTAIN-SHEEP HORN Horse, famous, of the Atsina, o16, 107 of paramour shot, 63 presented to recreant wife, 15 Horse Capture, sketch of, I82 Horses acquired by Atsina, 105, III acquired by Mandan, 144 as marriage gift, 62 captured by Arikara, 178-I80 captured by Atsina, 181, I83, 184 captured by Mandan, 147 captured from Atsina, 182, 184 confiscated in Sun Dance, 77 not sacrificed with dead, 63, 151 sacrificed with dead, I8, 147 stabled in Mandan lodges, 10 taboo restriction removed with, 62 treatment of, 151 Horse-skulls attached to faster, 179 Hospitality enjoined in Arikara myth, 85 of Arikara chiefs, 6I, 62 House Of Whistling, Arikara Sun Dance, 76, I50 Houses. See DWELLINGS; EARTH LODGE; LODGES; TIPIS Htadhahe, an Arikara band, 149 Htahitd-numakaki. See SPOTTED - EAGLE PEOPLE Htate, the Thunder deity, 19 Hud-he-so ke. See STRONG LEG-BONES Hukawidihdt, an Arikara band, 149 Huk6s-tatinu. See BULL NECK Hunkda-lowa'pi ceremony of Lakota, I46, 150, I53 Hunting bands of the Atsina, 112 Hunting ordered by Arikara chiefs, 6I, 62 See BUFFALO HUNT Hwat-ktsu. See BIG FOOT Idehe, a Mandan mythic boat, 24 1he-pse-hfdhe. See BLACK MOUTH SOCIETY lityebl-nihaat. See SPIDER ABOVE Images in Atsina genesis, 154 See EFFIGY; SYMBOL Implements of the Arikara, 148 of the Atsina, 152 of the Mandan, 9, 144 traded with Mandan, 5 Incantation employed in healing, I23, 146, 154 Incense before exposing Turtle-drums, 22 in Arikara tale, 93 in Atsina ceremony, 126, pi. made by warrior, IO9, IIO used in Sun Dance, 80 Industries of the Arikara, 148 of the Atsina, 152 of the Mandan, 144 Infants, consecration of, by Arikara, 73 Initiation into Arikara fraternity, 69 Inlaid pipe of Numak-mihana, 30 with sacred Turtles, 22 Intermarriage of Hidatsa and Mandan, 8 Inuhike defined, 19 Invocation by Mandan fasters, 16 to spirits in Okip6, 29, 31 See PRAYER Iron Robe, an Atsina warrior, IO6 IAhtt'-minaki, the Moon deity, 19 Ita'tyiwaatyi. See RUNNING FISHER Itasfha. See LAST CHILD Ifidnahwatyi, Atsina adoption ceremony, 153 Itukdtaku, an Arikara band, I49 Itukstanu, an Arikara band, I49 Jack-rabbit in Mandan myth, 44, 45 Jack-rabbit skin, articles of, worn by Numakmahana, 30 mythic moccasins and anklets of, 39, 44 objects with sacred Turtles, 22 Jews. See LOST TRIBES OF ISRAEL Judith mountains, fight in, 183 Judith river, Montana, IO6, I07 Jugglery. See LEGERDEMAIN Ka'afa. See HEAD-DRESS Kaikawis society of Arikara, I50 Kadhone. See WAVING CORN {view image of page 198} I98 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN Kaka-neksa'nu. See CROW GHOST Kakefh-olihut. See HALF-SHEARED SOCIETY Keka-hiamahe. See LITTLE RAVEN Kika-kfhuke. See SLIM RAVEN Kilt of Buffalo Dancers, 31 of Ndmak-mfihana, 30 See GIRDLE Kingfisher in Arikara myth, 71, 82 Ki-numakAhi, Mandan deity, I9, 146 See HE BECOMES CHIEF Kiowa enemies of Arikara, 60 Kipp, James, Catlin's interpreter, 24, 25 Kissing in Atsina ceremony, 118, pl. Knife river, Mandan villages on, 6, I I, 60, 145 Knives of the Mandan, I44 Kohnit, an Arikara medicine order, 64, 66 Kohnit people in Arikara myth, 84 K6-fhi-nade. See GOOD GOURD RATTLE Kutnuth. See BEAR Kutnuh-kandnu. See BEAR'S BELLY Ktunuh-tiwit. See SITTING BEAR Kufhan. See CUTS TETHER Laid In A Row, a Turtle-drum keeper, 20 Lakota and Arikara rite compared, 150 and Mandan ceremony compared, 146 See SIOUX Lame Bull, Atsina pipe-keeper, 123 Piegan chief, I07 Lance, a Mandan informant, 24, 25, I45 Lands allotted, 6, 6I Language confused in Arikara myth, 83 See VOCABULARIES Last Child, an Atsina deity, II9 La Verendrye. See VEIRENDRYE Leaves, masticated, rubbed on bodies, 37 Left-hand Bull, a Turtle-drum keeper, 20 Legends of Mandan and Hidatsa, 8 See FOLK-TALES; MYTHOLOGY Legerdemain in Arikara ceremony, xii, 65-70, 76, I50 of Atsina medicine-men, 123 Leggings, war-honors painted on, 143, I47 See CLOTHING Lewis and Clark among Arikara, 59-6I among Mandan, 6-8 on Atsina habitat, 104 on Atsina population, IIO on Mandan glass-work, II on Mandan population, 4 on transfer of medicine, 114 Lightning, symbol of, II8, 153, 184 Little Raven, a Mandan chief, 5 Little Rockies, III, I20, I8I, 182 Lodge, miniature, in Arikara ceremony, 67 miniature, in Atsina tale, 124 miniature, of Crazy Dancers, I15 miniature, of Fox society, 117 of Atsina Crazy Dancers, 115 of Soldier society, II8 Lodge-cover. See BUFFALO-SKIN; TIPI-COVER Lodgegrass creek, fight on, Io8 Lodgepole creek, fight on, 183 Lodges, Mandan, capacity of, 4, 7, Io, II of Mandan medicine-men, 17 used as decoys, IIO See DWELLINGS; EARTH LODGE; MEDICINE-LODGE; TIPIS Loin-cloth of Drum Dancers, II8 of Mandan suppliant, 16 of the Arikara, 148 See CLOTHING Lone Flag, sketch of, 182 Lone Tree, Apsaroke warrior, Io9, 10o Looking Down, Mandan legend of, 50-55 Looks For Enemy, a Turtle-drum keeper, 20 Loon in Arikara myth, 71, 81 Lost Tribes of Israel, theories of Indian descent from, xi Love, prayer for success in, 26 profane, in Atsina tale, 124 profane, in Mandan myth, 50 See COURTSHIP Lucky Man of Arikara myth, I50 tale of, 93-IOO Lullaby of the Atsina, I68, I69 See SONGS Madhadhashu-numakaki. See CHARCOAL PEOPLE Madhakafhtuk-numakaki. See CLUMP OF WOODS PEOPLE Madhukidhi-hedhe. See LAID IN A Row MadhukidhikO. See AIR QUIVERING WITH HEAT Madoc, myth concerning, 3 Magic. See LEGERDEMAIN Magicians. See MEDICINE-MEN Magic Performance of Arikara, 65-69, I50 Magnanimity shown by Mandan, 15, I6 Magpie in Mandan myth, 55 Maha'p-mintki, the Sun deity, 19 Mahi hu. See SICKNESS {view image of page 199} INDEX I99 Mahikina clan in Mandan myth, 42, 44, 46 of Mandan, 25, I45 Mahi-miti, a Mandan village, 4 Mahin-kEd7z. See BLOODY KNIFE Maho6pni defined, 12, 16, 19 prayers addressed to, 26 Make Mouth Black. See BLACK MOUTH SOCIETY Mandan, account of the, 3-55 adoption ceremony of, I50 and Arikara relations, 60, 93 Arikara name for, 151 ceremonial organization of, 113 contact with Arikara, 59 medicine acquired by, 64 reservation for, established, 60, 6I status of the, xi tribal summary of the, 143-148 vocabulary of, I69-I77 Mankind, creation of, 42, 146 Marias river, Montana, 105, IO7, I8I, 182 Marriage customs of Arikara, 61-63, 150 of Atsina, I53, I54 of Mandan, 5, II, 15, I45, I46 Marten as tutelary spirit, I8I in Mandan myth, 45 MaskfAhuk-numakaki. See RED BUTTE PEOPLE Masks in Mandan myth, 46 of buffalo-hair in Okip6, 29, 32 of Mandan societies, 14 Massage employed in Arikara healing, 64 Mat-k-numakaki. See BADGER PEOPLE Mats of the Mandan, 144 Matthews, W., on Mandan glass-work, II Maximilian on the Mandan, 7 witnesses Atsina fight, 107 Mean Wolf, Atsina pipe-keeper, 123 Medh6k-akiha-make. See BULL LYING ON ToP Medh6k-nasuska. See LEFT-HAND BULL Medhok-ohhat. See BUFFALO BULL SOCIETY Medicine, how acquired by Arikara, 64 personal, in Okip6 rite, 27, 28 practices of the Mandan, 17 purchased by Arikara, 69, 151 purchased by Atsina, I23, 154 purchased by Mandan, 146 transferred through women, 64, 114, 115 See BEAR-MEDICINE; BUFFALO-MEDICINE Medicine-bags of the Mandan, 17 Medicine bundle captured in battle, I82 Medicine bundle of Mandan faster, 16 of Ndmak-mahana, 22 Medicine bundles hung from fasters, 36 of Arikara, 65, 70 (pl.), 71, 72, 76 (pl.), 85, 86, 146 (pl.) of Atsina, 121 of Okip6 votaries, 27, 29 Medicine ceremony in Arikara myth, 150, 151 of Arikara, xii, 70-73, 74 (pl.), 75, 76, 78 (pl.), 80 (pl.), 84, 86 (pl.), 92 (pl.) of Mandan, 17, I8 Medicine fraternity of Arikara, 64-70, 150, 151 Medicine-lodge of Arikara, 60 (pl.), 64 (pl.), 65, 66 (pl.), 70-73, 144 (pl.) of Sun Dance, 77-80 renewed for Okip6, 27 See MEDICINE CEREMONY Medicine-making by Arikara, 178 by warriors, IO9 in Mandan myth, 45 Medicine-man causes return of Numakmahana, 48 See BEAR MEDICINE-MEN; BUFFALO MEDICINE-MEN; ELK MEDICINE-MAN Medicine-men, Arikara, rattle of, I42, pl. hair ornament tied by, II of the Arikara, 64, 151 of the Atsina, 123, 153, 154 of the Mandan, 17, I8, 146 tipis of, 152 Medicine-power, how obtained, 13, 16, 17 in Mandan myth, 45, 46 necessary to chiefship, 12 See FASTING; SPIRIT-POWER; SPIRITS; VISIONS Medicine-songs. See SONGS Medicine-spirits. See SPIRITS; TUTELARY SPIRIT Melancholia, how treated by Arikara, 151 Midhokaf, Hidatsa ancestors, 21 Migration of the Arikara, 59-6I, 82-8:, 151 of the Atsina, I03, I04 of the Mandan, 3-8, 25 Miles, Gen. N. A., in Sioux campaign, 183 Military societies of the Arikara, 150 of the Mandan, 14, 144 Milk river, Montana, 104, 182, 184 Milky WYay, Atsina belief regarding, I 9 Minimi'tathe, discussion of term, 24, 25 in Okipe rite, 29, 32, 34-36, 46 Mrnis-ohhait. See DOG SOCIETY {view image of page 200} 200 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN Mnnis-otika. See FOOLISH DOG SOCIETY Myni-tadhi in Mandan tradition, 4 Mississippi river, Mandan tradition of, 3, 8 Missouri river, Arikara settled on, 59, 60 Hidatsa on, 21 Mandan near, 145 Mandan on, 3-8, i80 Mitutahank and Nuptidhi hostility, 5 Mandan villages, 4, 5, 145 treaty near, 6 Mixed-bloods among Mandan, 7 Moccasin game of Arikara, 149 of Mandan, 144 Moccasins in Atsina tale, 139 in Mandan legend, 50 of Mandan suppliant, 16 of rabbit-skin in myth, 39 See CLOTHING Mole in Arikara myth, 71, 8I Monsters in Arikara myth, 150 in Atsina belief, 119 in Atsina tale, 130-134 See CANNIBALS; DWARF; OGRESS Montana, arrival of Atsina in, IO4 Moon, a Mandan deity, 19 Atsina prayers to, 153 symbolized in Okipe, 33 symbol on sacred club, 22, 30 Moon people in Arikara myth, 84 Moon society of Arikara, 65, 67, 74 song of, i60, 161 Morality taught in Okipe, 35 Morning Star symbol on club, 22, 30 See STARS Mortars of the Hidatsa, 12 of the Mandan, 144 Mortuary customs of Arikara, 61-63, I49, I5I of Atsina, 138 (pl.), 154 of Mandan, 18, 147 See SCAFFOLD-BURIAL Mother-in-law, taboo of, 62 Mother Night, Arikara medicine order, 65, 68 See NIGHT PEOPLE Mountain Crows, Atsina fight with, Io8 See APSAROKE Mountain-sheep hoofs worn on dress, 148 horn, utensils of, 144, 152 skin clothing of the Mandan, 143 Mourning by Arikara, 63 by Atsina, 154 by Mandan, I8, 19, 147 for favorite horse, 107 Mourning in Arikara ceremony, 73, 75 in Atsina tale, I37, 139 Mouse in Arikara myth, 80 See FIELD-MOUSE Moves Slowly, a Turtle-drum keeper, 20, 21 Muhr, A. F., acknowledgments to, xii Muskrat in Atsina myth, 154 medicine of the Arikara, 65 Muskrat society, song of, 158 Musselshell river, io6, Io8 Musta-mahe. See GARDEN TREE Mutilation by Arikara mourners, 151 by Atsina mourners, 154 by Mandan mourners, I8, 147 by Sun Dancers, 80 Myers, W. E., acknowledgments to, xii Mythology of the Arikara, 80-86 of the Atsina, I23-139 of the Mandan, 8, 39-55 Names changed by Arikara, 179, I80 See VOCABULARIES Nasubinihdni. See WHITE AND YELLOW Cow Nafhunasubi. See THREE WHITE Cows Nafthakd, an Arikara society, I50 Natural phenomena, mysterious power of, 19 terms for, 173 Natyinehifha. See ASSINIBOIN BoY Nawakachi-tadhych, an Arikara locality, 83 Nawfn-chitawiu. See PRINCIPAL MEDICINE Necklace of bear-claws in Arikara tale, 88 of duck-bills in ceremony, 67 of eagle-feathers on sacred Turtles, 22, 30 of elk-toes in Arikara tale, 89 Neksdnu. See GHOST Nefhadnu, an Arikara deity, 65, 71-74, 80-86, 150, 151, 178 NeyinituwYch. See OTTER ROBE Nez Perces, Arikara name for, 151 Atsina name for, 154 Mandan name for, 148 Nhukdt, an Arikara band, 149 Night, offerings to, enjoined, 85 See MOTHER NIGHT Night medicine-men, Arikara, 78 (pl.), 86 (pl.) song of, I6I Night people in Arikara myth, 84 Nihaat. See SPIDER Nisahu. See LONE FLAG Nitawifha. See FIRST CHILD Nobahw. See FLY SOCIETY No Bear, sketch of, 182 {view image of page 201} INDEX 201 Nohahw. See Fox SOCIETY No Teeth, Atsina pipe-keeper, 122 Not Liked By His Parents, Atsina warrior, 107 Nutmak-mahana addressed in Okipe, 28 3I departure of, 47, 48 illustrated, 28 (pi.), 34 (pl.) Mandan creator, 8, 19, 22, 39-49, 145 146 paraphernalia of, in Okipe, 28, 30 represented in Okipe, 29-33 sacred enclosure ascribed to, 24, 25 teachings of, 2I Numerals of Arikara, Atsina, Mandan, 174 Nuptad-hi, Mandan villagers, 4, 5, I45 Nuptatamitis, a Mandan village, 4, I45 destruction of, 5 reestablished, 6 sacred Turtles kept at, 145 Oak, bowls made from gnarls of, 152 in Mandan myth, 46, 47 Ochre used for face paint, 143 See PAINTING Offering enjoined in Arikara myth, 85, 86 in Arikara ceremony, 71, 73 of buffalo-skull, I6, pi. of feathers in Arikara myth, 83 smoke, in Arikara ceremony, 73 to Foolish Doer, 34 to Mandan corn spirit, 146 to Nimak-mahana, 31 to sacred post, 25 to Turtle-drums, 22 See GIFTS; MUTILATION; ORDEAL; PRAYER; TORTURE Ogress in Arikara tale, 93-I100 (iki"hedh-, etymology of, 49 See FOOLISH DOER hti-oihhut. See Fox SOCIETY Ohitandh. See CEDARS Ohta-o6kidh. See CEDAR PLUME 6kahinhka. See COOKING POT Okip? ceremony of Mandan, 21-32 (pl.), 33-38, 46, 145, I46 Old Bald Eagle, Atsina chief, I05 Old Woman Who Never Dies in Mandan myth, 19, 146 Omaha, Mandan name for, 148 One Man, the Mandan creator, 19 See NUMAK-MAHANA Ordeal by fire in Arikara rite, 75, 78 of Atsina faster, 120 Ordeal. See MUTILATION; TORTURE Orientation in Arikara tale, 96 of Arikara graves, 63, 151 of Arikara spirits, 85 of Mandan graves, I8 of medicine-lodge, 27, 65, 113 of mythic lodge, 83 of objects in Arikara ceremony, 72 of participants in Okipe, 34, 36 of Sun Dance shelter, 79 See CARDINAL POINTS Ornamentation of Mandan pottery, 12 Ornaments of the Arikara, 148, I49 of the Atsina, 152 of the Mandan, II, II4, 143 Osiers in Arikara ceremony, 71, 72 (pl.) See WILLOW Otter-medicine of the Arikara, 65 Otter Robe, Atsina pipe-keeper, 122, 123 sketch of, 182 Otter-skin hair wrapping, I48 in Arikara tale, 96 on Fox society staffs, I16 worn by warrior, 182, 183 Otter society of Arikara, 150 song of, I57, I58 Owl, an Arikara medicine order, 65 as tutelary spirit, 184 in Arikara myth, 71, 82 parts of, worn by Crazy Dancers, 115 stuffed, with sacred Turtles, 22 See SWAMP-OWL SOCIETY Owl Hill butte, fight near, Io8 Pa. See MOON Pack-string attached to water-jar, 12, 149 Packs Wolf as Numak-mihana, 34, pl. keeper of Turtle-drums, 22, 23 Padiu-iote. See GRAY NOSE Pa-inna'no. See HEAD RATTLE Painted feathers traded by Mandan, 5 Painting, body, in Okipe, 27, 28 by Fox society, I 16 by Speckled society of Arikara, I50 of Arikara medicine-men, 65, 67, 68, 74 of arrow in Sun rite, 76 of Atsina dancers, I 14 of Atsina dress, 152 of Atsina parfleches, 152 of Atsina tipis, I I I, 152 of Atsina warrior, I84 of Buffalo Dancers, 31, 32, 36 {view image of page 202} 202 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN Painting of Crazy Dancers, 114, 115 of dead by Arikara, 63 of dead by Mandan, I8 of Drum society staffs, 1I7, I 8 of face by faster, I82 of face by Mandan, 143 of face in Mandan legend, 50 of fasters in Okipe, 34 of Foolish Doer in Okipe, 33 of hair by Atsina, 152 of Mandan women's dress, 143 of medicine-lodge posts, 27 of novitiate in Arikara ceremony, 69 of Ndmak-mahana personator, 30 of sacred cedar, 24, 25, 46, 74 of tipi flap, 152 of Turtle-drums, 30 of vessel in Arikara ceremony, 68 removed from dancers, 35 Pd-mahudhe. See HEAD BONES Pantomime in Arikara ceremony, 72 Parfleches of the Atsina, 112 (pl.), 152 seen in vision, 121 Pawnee, Arikara an offshoot of, 59, 60 Arikara name for, 152 Hiko ceremony of, 150 joined by Arikara, 60 Mandan name for, I48 Peace between Apsaroke and Atsina, I8i promoted by Mandan, 12 Peacemaker, Mandan chief's function as, I44 Pemmican in Mandan legend, 50 in Okip6 rite, 27-29, 32 rubbed on bodies, 37 See FOOD; FOUR-MIXTURE Pendants, glass, made by Mandan, II, 114 See ORNAMENTS Perfume used by Atsina faster, 119, 120 used by Mandan, 15, i6, 143 Personal terms, 175 Pestles of the Arikara, I49 of the Mandan, 12, I44 Phratries of the Mandan, 145 place of, in Okipe, 27, 30 Pictographs of the Arikara, 152 of Turtle-drum keepers, 20, 21 (pl.) Pidh-sThkfinni, an Arikara adoption rite, 150 and Atsina ceremony compared, 153 song of, 163 See ADOPTION CEREMONY Piegan and Assiniboin fight, 107, Io8 and Atsina hostility, o09, I o, I80-I84 Piegan, Atsina name for, 154 Pillow, buffalo-skull as, in Okipe, 27 of Arikara corpse, 63 Pipe borne by Mandan faster, I6 carried by Nimak-mihana, 30, 32, 33, 39, 41, 44, 46 inlaid, with sacred Turtles, 22 in purchase of society rights, 14 offered in Arikara ceremony, 69 offered in Sun Dance rite, 76 offered to medicine-man, 17, I8 peace sealed with, 181 presented in Crazy Dance, 114 used in Arikara ceremony, 74 Pipe-bearer of the Atsina, 128, pl. Pipes in Arikara genesis, 150 in Okip6 ceremony, 26-29, 32 of red stone, mythic origin of, 85 painted on dancers' cheeks, II6 sacred, of the Atsina, 121-123 See CALF PIPE; SMOKING; TOBACCO Piuchitadhyit. See FOGGY HILLTOP Pke-myni-t6kydts, a Mandan village, 3 Plant life, Mandan spirit of, 19 See CORN; GROWTH Plants, how used in medicine, 17 Platte river, Arapaho on, IO5, Io6 Arikara settle near, 59 Plum-seed game in Arikara myth, 82 of Arikara, I49 of Mandan, I44 See DICE GAMES Pole. See CEDAR; TREE Political organization of Arikara, 149 of Atsina, 112, 153 of Mandan, 7, I44 See CHIEFS; GOVERNMENT Polygyny among Arikara, 63 among Mandan, 15, 146 See MARRIAGE CUSTOMS Pomme blanche. See FOOD Population of the Arikara, 6o, 148 of the Atsina, IIO, 152 of the Mandan, 4, 6, 7, I43 Porcupine-hair on sacred head-dress, 22 Porcupine-quills on Atsina clothing, 112 used in tattooing, I43 See QUILLWORK Porcupine-tail, brush of, 152 Pottery of the Arikara, 148, I49 of the Mandan, II, 12, 144 once made by Atsina, III {view image of page 203} INDEX 203 Pottery vessel in Arikara ceremony, 68 See UTENSILS Power. See MEDICINE-POWER; SPIRIT-POWER Prairie-chicken People, a Mandan clan, 145 Prairie-dog skin, girdle made of, 116 Prayer before exposing Turtle-drums, 22 for crops by Arikara, 71-73 for success in war, 26, 77, 78 in Arikara healing, 64, 151 in Okipe, 146 of the Atsina, I53 to pipe, I22 to sacred Turtle-drums, 47 to Thunderbird, 122 See INVOCATION; SUPPLICATION Prickly-pear. See CACTUS Principal Medicine, an Arikara medicine order, 64-66, 71, 73 songs of, 157-I59 Property, Arikara customs regarding, 62 Prophecy in Mandan myth, 43 of medicine-men, 123 power of, how obtained, I6, 146 Prophets of the Atsina, I54 See MEDICINE-MEN Punishment among the Mandan, 13 by Atsina soldiers, I18 for adultery, 15, 63 Purification of arrows in ceremony, 76 of Mandan suppliant, I6 See INCENSE; SWEAT-BATH Quillwork in Atsina tale, 139 in Mandan legend, 50 of Arikara women, I48 of the Atsina, 112, 152 on Mandan clothing, 143 Rabbit-skin. See JACK-RABBIT SKIN Rabbit Tail, Atsina pipe-keeper, 122 Racing in Atsina Fly Dance, 114 in Mandan myth, 54, 55 See CONTEST Rain brought by Thunderbird, 43 produced by medicine-man, 17 symbolized in Arikara ceremony, 72 Rakes of the Arikara, 148 Rattles, deer-hoof, II7, I48 employed by medicine-men, 17 gourd, of medicine fraternity, 65, 66 rawhide, in Okipe, 28, 29, 31 used in Arikara ceremony, 73, 142 (pl.) Rattles used in healing rite, I23 used in Sun Dance, 79 Raven in Arikara tale, 95 in Atsina tale, I29 in Mandan myth, 44, 55 stuffed, with sacred Turtles, 22 stuffed, worn by Nimak-mahana, 30 Raven-feathers attached to dancers, 150 with sacred Turtles, 22 worn by Numak-mahana, 30 Raven society of Arikara, 150 Raven-wings worn by Ndmak-mahana, 39, 44 Rawhide drum in Arikara ceremony, 75 hoop used in game, 149 objects of, made by Atsina, 152 rattles in Okipe, 28 ropes, 35, I79 used as door-covering, 10, 152 used in cooking, I32, I52 used in making screens, 10 See BUFFALO-SKIN Red Beetle People, a Mandan clan, I45 Red Feather At The Temple, 6 Red Hair in Atsina tale, I25 Red Star, portrait of, 178, pl. sketch of, I8o Red Whip, sketch of, 183 Red Wolf, tale of, 86-93 Rees, Arikara so called, 59 Relationship among Arikara, 62 terms, 145, 175 Religion of the Arikara, 15 of the Atsina, 119-123 of the Mandan, 7, 19-38 See CEREMONIES Reservation for Arikara, Mandan, and Hidatsa, 60, 6i River Crows make peace with Atsina, io8 See APSAROKE Rivers created in Mandan myth, 40, 146 Roadmaker, Hidatsa chief, 16 Root decoction drunk by novitiate, 68, 69 employed in healing, 123, 151, I54 magic, in Atsina tale, 125 paralysis caused by, II6 Ropes, rawhide, 35, 179 Rosebud river, Montana, Io6 Running Fisher, Atsina warrior, Io8-Ixo, 112 fasting by, II9-I2I on Atsina migration, 103, 104 {view image of page 204} 204 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN Running Fisher, portrait of, I84, pl. sketch of, 183 Rushes used by medicine orders, 67 used in mat-making, I44 Sacajawea, wife of Charbonneau, 6 Sacred bundle. See BUNDLE; MEDICINE BUNDLE Sacred Plume, Atsina warrior, 107 Sacrifice in Arikara myth, 85, 86 in Okipe ceremony, 26 See FASTING; MUTILATION; OFFERING; ORDEAL; TORTURE Sage, aprons of, in Okipe, 34 evil dispelled with, 73 for bed in Okipe, 27 in hair of Okipe singers, 28 used as handkerchiefs, 28 used by spirits, I47 Sage Dance of the Arikara, 75 Saint Paul's Mission, 182 Saka-atip'ha. See RED STAR Sarsi in battle with Atsina, IIO Saskatchewan river, Atsina on, 103, I04 Scabby, a Turtle-drum keeper, 20 Scaffold-burial by Atsina, 138 (pl.), I54 by Mandan, I8, 147 See MORTUARY CUSTOMS Scalp of Sioux in Arikara ceremony, 72 taboo restriction removed with, 62 worn by captive girl, 78 Scalp Dance of Atsina, io6, pl. Scalping by Atsina, I8I-I84 by Mandan, 9, 147 in Atsina tale, 125-127 Scalp-shirt a badge of honor, 84 Scarification. See MUTILATION; ORDEAL; TORTURE Scattered Corn Woman, keeper of Turtledrum, i8 (pl.), 20, 21 Scouts, Arikara, customs of, 77, 78 Arikara, with troops, 178, I79 Atsina, exploits of, I83 Atsina, with Gen. Miles, 183 Screens in Mandan lodges, IO See CURTAINS Service-berries. See FOOD Seven Clans of the Mandan, I45 Shadows, Arikara belief regarding, 64 Atsina belief regarding, I9 Mandan belief regarding, 19 See SOUL; SPIRITS Shedding Buffalo, an Arikara medicine order, 64, 74, 75 Sheep-hoofs as dress pendants, 143 ShOhLk. See COYOTE Shell in Mandan legend, 24 ornaments of the Mandan, 143 Shells in Arikara tale, 96, 99 worn by Atsina, 152 See CLAMSHELLS She Who Causes Things To Grow, 84, 85, I50 See CORN MOTHER; CORN WOMAN; GROWTH Shields confiscated in Sun Dance, 77 hung from fasters in Okipe, 36 in Okipe rite, 27 Shinny played by Atsina, 153 See GAMES Shin Raven, an Arikara society, I5o Shirts, when worn by Atsina, III See CLOTHING; SCALP-SHIRT ShitYnishaipYfht, an Arikara band, I49 Shoshoni abandon former home, I05 and Atsina warfare, 104, 105 Atsina name for, 154 captive among Hidatsa, 6 Mandan name for, I48 name for Atsina, 103 Shoulder Bone, a Turtle-drum keeper, 20 Shrine of the Mandan, 24, 25 See ALTAR Shunuwanuhi. See MAGIC PERFORMANCE Shupsi-ohhut. See BLACK-TAIL DEER Sickness, a mythic creature, 83, 84, 86 See DISEASE Siksika. See BLACKFEET Singing by Mandan creator, 42 heard in vision, 121 in Atsina tale, 127, 133 in Crazy Dance, 115, ii6, 124 (pl.) in healing rite, 123 in Mandan myth, 45 in Sun Dance, 79 in sweat-bath, 78 to cedar in Arikara ceremony, I70, pl. to Turtle-drums, 47 See SONGS Sioux and Arikara warfare, 60, I78-I80 and Atsina warfare, 105-107, I8I-I84 and Mandan warriors compared, 9 Arikara name for, 152 Atsina name for, 154 campaign against, 178 {view image of page 205} INDEX 205 Sioux, guns acquired by, 105 hostility toward Mandan, 8, 9 Mandan name for, 148 with expedition against Arikara, 60 See LAKOTA; YANKTONAI Sipunhka-numakaki. See PRAIRIE-CHICKEN PEOPLE Sipunfhka phratry of Mandan, 27, 37, I45 Sitting Bear, sketch of, I80 Sitting High, Atsina pipe-keeper, I22 Sitting Woman I, Atsina chief, IO6, II2 Atsina pipe-keeper, I22 Sitting Woman II, Atsina chief, 109, IIo, 112 Atsina pipe-keeper, 122, I23 Skeletons, human, in Atsina tale, 132 See SKULL Skidi, Arikara an offshoot of, 59 Skin of animal in medicine, 17 Skins, Mandan dead wrapped in, I8 traded by Mandan, 5 See ANTELOPE-SKIN; BEAR-SKIN; BIRDSKINS; BUFFALO-SKIN; DEERSKIN; ELK-SKIN; HAWK-SKIN; JACKRABBIT SKIN; MOUNTAIN-LION SKIN; OTTER-SKIN; RAWHIDE; PRAIRIEDOG SKIN; WOLF-SKIN Skin-working by Atsina, I52 Skull, human, used in legerdemain, 66 See BUFFALO-SKULL; HORSE-SKULLS Skunk personated in dance, 32 Skunk society of Mandan women, 145 Sleds of Atsina children, 153 Sleeping Bear, Atsina pipe-keeper, 121, 122 Sleeps Above, a name of Running Fisher, II2 Slim Raven, a Turtle-drum keeper, 20 Smallpox among Mandan, 6, 8, 20, 60 Smoke offering in Arikara ceremony, 73 Smoking a token of acceptance, 14, I8, 76, I22 in Arikara ceremony, 69 in Arikara healing, 64, 151 in Arikara tale, 95 in Mandan myth, 41 in Okipe rite, 28, 33 See PIPE; TOBACCO Snake personated in dance, 32 Snake-bite, how treated by Arikara, 151 Sneezing to restore consciousness, 151 Snipes in Mandan myth, 54 Snow mountain, fight near, 1O8 Societies of the Arikara, I50 of the Atsina, 153 of the Mandan, 13, 14, I44, I45 Societies. See MEDICINE FRATERNITY; MILITARY SOCIETIES Soldier, Mandan, killed, 6 Soldiers of the Arikara, I49 of the Atsina, I 8 of the Mandan, 13, 14 Song of Pidhe-shkunni, 163 of Turtle-drum keeper, 20 taught by Numak-mihana, 21, 22 Songs an accompaniment of medicine, 17 Arikara, sung by Mandan, 146 for dispelling disease, 75 in Arikara medicine ceremony, 72 in Mandan legend, 50 in Mandan medicine, 17 medicine, bought by Mandan, 144, 146 medicine, of warriors, I09 medicine, origin of, 86 of Arikara Corn Ceremony, 162, 163 of Arikara medicine fraternity, 64-66, 68, 155-162 of Mandan societies, 13, 14 of Okipe ceremony, 26, 28, 29, 32, 33, 36-38 of the Atsina, I64-169 tattooing accompanied with, 143 See SINGING Soul, Arikara beliefs regarding, 63, 64 Atsina belief regarding, 119 Mandan belief regarding, 19, 20 See SHADOWS; SPIRITS Speckled, an Arikara society, 150 Spider, adventures of, I34-I39 Atsina culture hero, 119 Atsina prayers to, 153 in Atsina myth, I54 in Mandan myth, 45, 54 Spider Above, an Atsina deity, 119 Spirit, buffalo, in sacred Turtles, 47 of dead addressed, I8 of Numak-maihana, revelation of, 43 Spirit-animals painted on tipis, III power obtained from, I46 See ANIMALS Spirit House, the after-world, I47, 151 Spirit-power, ceremony for gaining, 76 in Mandan myth, 53, 54 of horses, 107 See MEDICINE-POWER Spirits, Arikara belief regarding, 151 Arikara, orientation of, 85 Atsina beliefs regarding, 119 {view image of page 206} 206 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN Spirits in Mandan belief, 19 invoked by fasting, 12, I6, 27, II9-I2I invoked in Okip6, 29, 31, 146 medicine-power derived from, I23, I54 smoke offering to, 73 See FASTING; MAO6PINI; SHADOWS; SOUL; TUTELARY SPIRITS; VISIONS Spirit-world. See AFTER-WORLD Spoons of the Mandan, 144 See IMPLEMENTS; UTENSILS Spotted Bull, Atsina pipe-keeper, 122 Spotted-eagle People, a Mandan clan, 145 Spotted White Cow, Atsina pipe-keeper, 123 Spraying of dancer in ceremony, 68 Squashes in Mandan myth, 44, 51, 52 season marked by ripening of, 25, 65 See AGRICULTURE; FOOD; FOUR-MIXTURE Staff carried by Foolish Doer, 34, 35 magic, in Mandan myth, 55 of Mandan creator, 39-41, 44, 45, 47, 48, 50, 146 Staffs of Buffalo Dancers, 31 of Crazy Dancers, 115 of Drum society, I 17 of Fox society, 16 of Mandan societies, 14 See WAND Standing Rock agency, I80 Star Dance of the Atsina, II3, I53 Stars personated in dance, 32, 35 See MORNING STAR Steaming, healing by, 151 See SWEAT-BATH Sticks personified in Atsina tale, 136 Stockades about Mandan villages, 3, 5, 9, II Stone implements of the Mandan, 144 personified in Atsina tale, 134-136 pipe represents blood, 28 red, mythic origin of, 85 sacred, of Arikara, 65, 83 sacred, symbol of Negihnu, 74, 75, 151 Straight Head society of Arikara, 150 Strong Leg-bones, a Turtle-drum keeper, 20 Sucking employed by medicine-men, 123 Suk-Shi. See GOOD CHILD Sun, a Mandan deity, 19 as tutelary spirit, IO9, IIO Atsina prayers to, 153 in Arikara myth, 84 in Mandan myth, 9, Io, 43 offerings to, enjoined, 85 prayers addressed to, I6, 26, I46 Sun, sacrifice of flesh to, I79 symbol in Okip6 rite, 33 symbol on sacred club, 22, 30 Sun Dance of Arikara, 76-80, I50, 179 of Atsina, 153 of plains tribes, 74 song of Atsina, 164, 165 See OKIPE Sunflower seeds raised for food, 9, 144, 148 See FOOD; FOUR-MIXTURE Sunflower stalks in Okipe rite, 36 Supplication by the Mandan, 19 enjoined in Arikara myth, 85 Sun Dance a rite of, 76 to dispel disease, 75 See FASTING; INVOCATION; PRAYER; SACRIFICE; SPIRITS; TORTURE; VISIONS Swamp-owl society of the Arikara, 65 song of, I59 See OWL Swans, heads of, in medicine bundle, 71 in Blackfoot myth, 122 Sweat-bath by Sun Dancers, 78 in Mandan legend, 54 to promote tribal health, 26, 27 See PURIFICATION; STEAMING Sweat-lodge in Atsina tale, I32, I34, I35 of the Mandan, 16 Sweet-grass used as perfume, I6 Sword, ash, of Arikara medicine-men, 72 Sword-swallowing in legerdemain, 154 Symbol of Corn Mother, 151 of enemy in Arikara ceremony, 73 of lightning, 153, 184 of moon in Okipe, 33 of sun in Okipe, 33 Symbolism of Turtles in Okipe, 28 Symbols in Arikara medicine bundles, 7I of Wonderful Grandparents, 65 on medicine-lodge, 27 on sacred club, 22, 30 on tipi-flap, I52 Taboo of buffalo-entrails by Okipe Maker, 26 of mother-in-law, 62 Tadho6ipa society of Arikara, I50 Takatft. See BLACK-TAIL DEER Taku-wakac and mah6pIni compared, 19 Tally-sticks of Arikara game, 149 of the Atsina, I2 {view image of page 207} INDEX 207 Tamiketiik. See BAD PACK-STRAP Tamisik phratry of Mandan, 27, 37, 145 Tattooing among the Mandan, 143 not practised by Arikara, 148 Thanksgiving, ceremony performed as, 113 Three White Cows, portrait of, 176, pl. sketch of, 184 Thunder, a Mandan deity, 19 in Arikara myth, 84 offerings to, enjoined, 85 Thunderbird, Atsina prayers to, 153 image on sacred club, 22, 30 image on sacred pole, 153 in Atsina belief, I22 in Atsina tale, 133 in Mandan myth, 43 Tipi-cover, Mandan clothing made of, 143 See BUFFALO-SKIN Tipis, mortuary, of the Atsina, 154 of the Atsina, III, 152 used by Arikara hunters, 148 used by Mandan hunters, 143 war-honors painted on, 152 See DWELLINGS; LODGES Tobacco, mythic origin of, 41, 85, 150 traded by Mandan, 5 used in healing, I51 See PIPE; SMOKING Tongue river, Montana, 183 Tops of the Atsina, 153 Torture by Arikara fasters, 178-180 in Arikara Sun Dance, 79, 80 in Atsina Sun Dance, 153 in Okip6 rite, 35-37, 146 See MUTILATION; ORDEAL Trade of Assiniboin and Mandan, 5 of the Mandan, 7 Traders among the Mandan, 6, 1I Traditions of the Atsina, 103 of the Mandan, 3, 4, 8, 20, 21 Transformer in Arikara myth, 150 in Mandan myth, 146 See COYOTE Transportation by the Atsina, I by the Mandan, 144 of buffalo-meat, 76 See BULL-BOATS; HORSES; TRAVAUX Travaux of the Atsina, io8 (pl.), III, 130 (pl.) of the Mandan, 144 Travelling by the Atsina, 140, pl. Treaties, how conducted by the Atsina, 112 Treaty of Fort Laramie, 6, 7 Treaty of Knife river, 6 with the Arikara, 60 Tree, sacred, in Sun Dance, 77, 78, I53 See CEDAR Tree-burial. See MORTUARY CUSTOMS; SCAFFOLD-BURIAL Trees, native names of, 177 Tsakaka-wia, proper spelling of Sacajawea, 6 Tsenmwasin. See No BEAR Tsakyanbya. See MILKY WAY Turnips. See FOOD Turtle in Atsina myth, 154 Turtle-drums beaten in Okipe, 33 custodians of, 20, 21 (pl.), 26 mythic origin of, 47 of the Mandan, 3, 5, 20-23 Turtle Goes Home Into Water, Mandan village, 3 Turtles, sacred, in Okipe rite, 26, 37 sacred, of Mandan, 21, 24 (pl.), 26 (pl.), 30-34, 46, 47, I45 Tutelary spirit, bear as, 33, 120, 178 eagle as, Io9, I I, I81, I84 hawk as, I80 marten as, 18I owl as, 184 sun as, 1O9, I 1 Tutelary spirits, Atsina prayers to 153 invoked for success, 26 obtained by fasters, 151 See FASTING; SPIRITS; VISIONS Tuwas. See GHOST Twists His Tail, Apsaroke chief, o09, I I Ugly Dogs, Atsina ceremonial company, 113 Under-world of the Arikara, 71, 80 of the Mandan, 147 See GENESIS MYTH Upshaw, A. B., acknowledgments to, xii Ute, Atsina name for, I54 Utensils in Arikara tale, 87 of the Arikara, 148 of the Atsina, 152 of the Mandan, II, 12, I44 See BowLS; BUFFALO-PAUNCH; COOKINGPOT; POTTERY Fegetation controlled by First Child, II9 See GROWTH Ferendrye, Sieur de la, among Mandan, 3, 4 on Arikara-Pawnee separation, 59 on Mandan clothing, 143 {view image of page 208} 208 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN Verendrye, Sieur de la, on Mandan villages, I I Villages of the Arikara, 59 of the Mandan, 3-7, II, 42 Virgin, Fox Mother represented by, 116 See WOMEN Visions, ceremonies influenced by, 153 experienced by Atsina, 181, 182, 184 experienced by Sun Dancers, 80 experienced in Okipe, 35 gained by fasting, 27, II9-121 of the Mandan, 16, 17, 26 power gained in, 12, I6, 123, 146, 154, I79 warriors guided by, Io6 See FASTING; SPIRITS; TORTURE Vocabularies, Arikara, Atsina, Mandan, 169 -'77 Waatyanafh. See HORSE CAPTURE Wadhihkd, an Arikara band, I49 Wadhutti defined, 151 Wahukha, an Arikara band, I49 Wak'a and hopini compared, 19 Wakanwiu, an Arikara medicine order, 65 Wand carried by Dog Dancers, I17 carried by Fly Dance leader, 114 See STAFF War, effect of, on Arikara, 60 exploits of Arikara, I78-180 exploits of Atsina, IO4, Iio, I80-I84 exploits of Mandan, 5, 9 mythic origin of, 84 prayer for success in, 26, 77, 78 success in, due to pipe, 122 War Eagle Bonnet, Atsina pipe-keeper, I23 War-honors gained by scouts, 178 indicated on leggings, 143, 147 necessary to chiefship, 12, 144 of the Mandan, 147 painted on tipis, 152 See COUPS Warriors, Atsina, hairdress of, 152 Atsina, illustrated, I02 (pl.), Io (pl.) fasting by, 119-121 marriage of, 154, I78-184 sacred tree selected by, 77 See CHIEFS Washburn, N. Dakota, 5, I79, I8o Water-monster in Atsina tale, 133 See MONSTER Waving Corn, myth of, 9, 10 Wealth acquired by pipe-keeper, 122 Weapons confiscated in Sun Dance, 77 Weapons deposited with dead, I8, 147 not deposited with dead, 63, 151 Weaving, basket, of Arikara, 148 basket, of Mandan, 144 See BASKETS; MATS Welsh, reputed Mandan descent from, xi Wheel-and-pole game in Arikara myth, 82 in Atsina tale, 126, 132 of Arikara, 149 of Atsina, I52 of Mandan, 51, 144 Where They Stood Shouting On Hilltops, a mythic locality, 83 Whirlwind and ghosts, 119 in Arikara myth, 86 in Atsina tale, 139 in Mandan myth, 43 See WIND Whistle, magic, in Arikara tale, 89-92 See EAGLE-BONE WHISTLES White And Yellow Cow, Atsina warrior, I09 portrait of, I86, pi. sketch of, 184 White Bird, Atsina pipe-keeper, 122, 123 White Buffalo society of Mandan, 145 White Clay hills, 178 White Clay People, the Atsina, 154 White men, Atsina conception of, II9 effect of, on Arikara, 60 Mandan contact with, 4 White Noses, an Atsina ceremonial company, I13 White Owl, a Piegan-Atsina leader, 105 Whuzdhu. See OWL Wichita, Arikara name for, 152 enemies of Arikara, 60 Widhata"-kitadhe-. See LOOKS FOR ENEMY Widhhdtan-pa. See ENEMY HEAD Wildcat eaten by Arikara, 148, I7I in Mandan myth, 45 Willow, basket ribs of, 144 boughs in Arikara medicine rite, 73, 75, 94 (pl.) Buffalo Dancers dressed with, 30, 32, 33, 36 dancing with, in Sun Dance, 79 gathered for Sun Dance, 78 hoops and rods in Okipe, 36, 37 used for bull-boat frame, 144 whistle of, in Arikara tale, 89 See OSIERS Willow-root decoction in ceremony, 68 {view image of page 209} INDEX 209 Wind as hunter's omen, 88 created by First Child, II9 offerings to, enjoined, 85, 86 the spirit of Nimak-mihana, 48, I46 See WHIRLWIND Wind being in Arikara myth, 84 Winning of the Buffalo, a Mandan myth, 50-55 cited, 93 Witakahwhan. See LUCKY MAN Wolf in Mandan myth, 44 Wolf creek, battle on, Io6 Wolf-skin worn by Nimak-mahana, 30, 39, 44 Wolves eaten by Arikara, I48, I71 Women, agriculture conducted by, 9 aid in sweat-lodge, 78 Arikara, clothing of, 148 Arikara, games of, I49 Arikara, illustrated, I48, pl. Arikara, societies of, I50 Atsina, captured by Sioux, Io6 Atsina, ceremony of, 118 Atsina, clothing of, III, 112, I52 Atsina, society among, 153 creation of, in Mandan myth, 42, 146 division of property among, 62 food offered by, in Okipe, 34 Mandan, clothing of, 143 Mandan, during hostilities, 9 Mandan, games of, I44 Mandan, societies of, I45 medicine procured through, 64, 114, 115 mutilation by, in mourning, 147, 151 origin of, in Arikara myth, 80 Women participate in Arikara ceremony, 68, 72, 73, 75 participate in mortuary rites, 63 participate in Sun Dance preliminaries, 77, 79 personated in dance, 32, 34 prohibited from medicine-lodge, 27, 47, 1og provide fuel in Okipe, 30 supply food to Soldiers, II8 virtue in, exhorted, 62, 76 virtue of, challenged in ceremony, 78, 79 Wonderful Grandparents in Arikara myth, 65, 83, I51 Woodpecker in Arikara tale, 95 W6pito, a Mandan informant, 145 See SCATTERED CORN WOMAN Yankton, mythic origin of, 83 ranktonai, Assiniboin an offshoot of, 83 destroy Mandan village, 5 society adapted by Arikara, 150 See LAKOTA; Sioux Yellowhammer in Arikara tale, 95 Yellowstone river, I05, IO8, 181 Young Dog society of Arikara, 65, I50 Young Grasshopper, grandfather of Lance, 24 Young Sheep, an Atsina ceremonial company, II3 rouths, Atsina, fasting by, II9-12I participate in Okipe as antelopes, 33 Zigzag lines, symbol of lightning, I I8, I53, I84 running, signal of enemy seen, 33, 77 THE END OF VOLUME V {view image of page List of Large Plates} The North American Indian List of Large Plates Supplementing Volume Five 148 Yellow Owl – Mandan A face approaching the type of pure Mandan. The neck ornament consists of beads and cylindrical bones, and from the eagle-feather war-bonnet hang numerous weasel-tails. 149 Spotted Bull – Mandan Not a true Mandan type. The face shows evidence of alien blood, possibly Dakota. 150 Bear's Belly – Arikara A member of the medicine fraternity, wrapped in his sacred bear-skin. A biographical sketch of this subject is given in Volume V, page 178. 151 Four Horns – Arikara A biographical sketch of this subject appears in Volume V, page 179. 152 White Shield – Arikara A mixed-blood member of the medicine fraternity. 153 Sitting Bear – Arikara A biographical sketch of this subject will be found in Volume V, page 180. 154 Bear's Teeth – Arikara A member of the Night order of the medicine fraternity. 155 Little Sioux – Arikara 156 Bull Neck – Arikara A member of the Buffalo order of the medicine fraternity. Bull Neck is portrayed wearing his head-dress of buffalo horns and hide. A biographical sketch is given in Volume V, page 178. 157 Arikara medicine fraternity In this group are shown the principal participants in the reenactment of the Arikara medicine ceremony, which was given for the author's observation and study in July, 1908. 158 Arikara medicine ceremony - Dance of the fraternity After each order has performed its dance about the sacred cedar, the entire fraternity, group by group, emerges from the lodge and dances. 159 Announcement – Arikara Among the Missouri River Indians of the earthen lodges - the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara - the chiefs and priests made their announcements from the housetops. This picture is of Bear's Teeth standing on the roof of the ceremonial lodge in which occurred the medicine ceremony described in Volume V, pages 70-76. 160 Rush gatherer – Arikara The Arikaras, as well as their close neighbors, the Mandan and Hidatsa, made many mats of rushes. These were used largely as floor coverings. 161 Arikara medicine ceremony - The Bears After dancing around the sacred cedar, the members of the Bear order halt and complete their songs before reentering the medicine-lodge. 162 Arikara medicine ceremony - Dance of the black-tail deer The two dark figures are painted in a manner suggesting the elk, the others the antelope. 163 Arikara medicine ceremony - The Ducks Three members of the medicine fraternity, painted to represent ducks and holding the rushes among which waterfowl rest, in their dance around the sacred cedar. 164 Arikara medicine fraternity - The prayer This impressive picture from the Arikara medicine ceremony shows the priests in a semi-circle about the sacred cedar. 165 Arikara girl A type produced by several generations of tribal and racial intermarriage. The subject is considered by her tribesmen to be a pure Arikara, but her features point unmistakably to a white ancestor, and there is little doubt that the blood of other tribes than the one which claims her flows in her veins. 166 Arikara chief The tribal chief, Sitting Bear, is portrayed in full costume of scalp-shirt, leggings, and moccasins, all of deerskin, and eagle-feather war-bonnet and coup-stick. 167 No Bear – Atsina A biographical sketch of this subject is given in Volume V, page 182. 168 Eagle Child – Atsina A biographical sketch of this subject will be found in Volume V, page 181. 169 Land of the Atsina 170 Horse Capture – Atsina A biographical sketch of this subject will be found in Volume V, page 182. 171 Assiniboin boy – Atsina The head-band, so commonly used by many tribes of the Southwest, notably the Apache and Navaho, is often worn in the Northwest. A biographical sketch of Assiniboin Boy appears in Volume V, page 180. 172 Atsina chiefs 173 On the war-path – Atsina These grim-visaged old warriors made a thrilling picture as they rode along, breaking out now and then into a wild song of the chase or the raid. 174 Red Whip – Atsina A biographical sketch of this subject is given in Volume V, page 183. 175 Atsina camp 176 Scout – Atsina The scouts of many tribes, among which were the Atsina, carried a wolf-skin which they used in waving signals to their chief. That which is apparently hair-ornamentation, standing high above the head of the subject, is in reality coarse stalks of grass, indicating that the wearer is a scout. The origin of the custom was in the practice of scouts to wear on their head thick masses of grass, which enabled them to peer over hilltops without being discovered by the enemy. 177 Head-dress – Atsina A biographical sketch of this subject appears in Volume V, page 181. 178 War-party's farewell – Atsina 179 Atsina warriors 180 Lone Flag – Atsina An eagle-wing fan is held in the hand. A biographical sketch of this subject will be found in Volume V, page 182. 181 Awaiting the scouts' return – Atsina The war-party sent scouts in advance, who kept a constant lookout for the enemy. From time to time they returned to the main party to report, and when they weresighted the warriors formed in line and chanted a song of welcome. 182 Scout's report – Atsina The Chief of the scouts, returning to the main party, tells in the vigorous and picturesque language so natural to the Indians what he has seen and experienced. While he speaks, the war-leader stands slightly in advance of his men, and carefully listening to the words of the scout, quickly forms his plan of action. 183 Otter Robe – Atsina A biographical sketch of this subject is given in Volume V, page 182. {view image of plate no. 148} Yellow Owl – Mandan [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 149} Spotted Bull – Mandan [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 150} Bear's Belly – Arikara [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 151} Four Horns – Arikara [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 152} White Shield – Arikara [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 153} Sitting Bear – Arikara [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 154} Bear's Teeth – Arikara [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 155} Little Sioux – Arikara [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 156} Bull Neck – Arikara [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 157} Arikara medicine fraternity [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 158} Arikara medicine ceremony - Dance of the fraternity [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 159} Announcement – Arikara [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 160} Rush gatherer – Arikara [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 161} Arikara medicine ceremony - The Bears [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 162} Arikara medicine ceremony - Dance of the black-tail deer [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 163} Arikara medicine ceremony - The Ducks [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 164} Arikara medicine fraternity - The prayer [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 165} Arikara gir [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 166} Arikara chief [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 167} No Bear – Atsina [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 168} Eagle Child – Atsina [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 169} Land of the Atsina [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 170} Horse Capture – Atsina [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 171} Assiniboin boy – Atsina [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 172} Assiniboin boy – Atsina [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 173} On the war-path – Atsina [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 174} Red Whip – Atsina [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 175} Atsina camp [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 176} Scout – Atsina [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 177} Head-dress – Atsina [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 178} War-party's farewell – Atsina [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 179} Atsina warriors [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 180} Lone Flag – Atsina [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 181} Awaiting the scouts' return – Atsina [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 182} Scout's report – Atsina [photogravure plate] {view image of plate no. 183} Otter Robe – Atsina [photogravure plate] |
About the Site | About the Project | About the Work
Last updated April 9th, 2004
 |
