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PREFACE
PREFACE
In the spring of 1896 I went into northwestern Montana as a member of a Government expedition which was appointed by President Cleveland to recommend a national policy for the United States Forest Reserves and to advise the Secretary of the Interior as to the reserving of certain other forests. Our expedition, which went in advance of the main Commission, was composed of Gifford Pinchot, Chief of the Forest Service (now Governor of Pennsylvania), and Henry S. Graves, later Chief Forester and Dea
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OLD INDIAN TRAILS CHAPTER I MY INDIAN GUIDE
OLD INDIAN TRAILS CHAPTER I MY INDIAN GUIDE
A SMALL LAKE ON THE WESTERN SLOPE OF THE ROCKIES OUR INDIAN TEPEE [ 5 ] He knew woodcraft; that moss generally grows on the north side of trees, more on evergreens than on those which shed their leaves in winter; that pines are more frequently struck by lightning than birch or cottonwood; that the toughest side of a tree is to the north, because the winter winds and cold come from that direction. He knew Indian legends and traditions and stories of war and adventure. He told me about a family of
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CHAPTER II CROSSING THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS
CHAPTER II CROSSING THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS
When the trail was blocked with fallen trees, the scout went ahead and chopped our way through, while I followed driving the pack horses. He had the marvelous instinct of an Indian for direction and keeping his course. On the trail he was cheerful; he never disputed, found fault, or cursed. He rarely said whether he liked or enjoyed anything. He was courteous and had the quiet manners of a gentleman. If I made mistakes, I found it was better to remain silent than to apologize, or try to make exc
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CHAPTER III OUR CAMP NEAR THE SUMMIT
CHAPTER III OUR CAMP NEAR THE SUMMIT
For three days and nights a heavy wind with rain and sleet blew out of the northwest. But our Indian tepee was a snug shelter. We lay by our lodge-fire, cosy and comfortable. In my warm blanket-bed, I liked to listen to the roar of the wind in the spruces, the creaking of the lodge-poles, and the beating of rain and sleet. We had sumptuous meals of trout, and tenderloin and heart of a Rocky Mountain ram, which the scout had killed near the summit. He passed the time telling me about his home and
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CHAPTER IV HOME OF THE SCOUT
CHAPTER IV HOME OF THE SCOUT
Then Yellow Bird came to help in the haying. He was a relative of the scout, a young half-breed of my own age, strong, full of life, and a good worker when he felt like it. But he was wild and could not be depended upon. Like young men of the Blackfoot, he wanted to be gay and craved excitement. He liked to wander, to hunt, to rope cattle and ride wild horses, to see friends and visit new places, to be always on the move; he liked jolly companions and people who gave him a good time; but he love
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CHAPTER V STORIES BY THE SCOUT’S MOTHER-IN-LAW
CHAPTER V STORIES BY THE SCOUT’S MOTHER-IN-LAW
“ ‘You dog-face, I see you there. I asked you to come and eat with me, but you ran away and left me to die. You can’t escape me. I am going to catch you now and kill you.’ “He struck at Arrow Top with his knife and tried to climb the tree. He fell down because of his mangled leg; he got so mad he ran at the tree. He kicked the trunk with the sharp bone of his leg, until it stuck fast in a crack. He wept and raved; he twisted and turned and tried to tear himself loose. “Then Arrow Top jumped from
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CHAPTER VI MY ADOPTION BY MAD WOLF
CHAPTER VI MY ADOPTION BY MAD WOLF
When a white man whom he trusted came to live among his people, Mad Wolf decided to adopt him as his son. He foresaw the doom of his tribe. He wanted a son among the white men upon whom he could depend; one able to help his tribe, who would go to the Great Father at Washington and intercede in their behalf. The old chief was wise; he saw that an Indian could not accomplish his purpose. The following morning, I rode Kutenai across the prairie in search of Mad Wolf’s summer camp. From the summit o
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CHAPTER VII MAD WOLF TELLS THE LEGEND OF THE BEAVER BUNDLE
CHAPTER VII MAD WOLF TELLS THE LEGEND OF THE BEAVER BUNDLE
“No one should ever try to watch the Dwarf People at work. Any one who sees them is sure to die. “We always give a beaver ceremony in the spring, when the tobacco seeds are planted; also because spring is the time when beavers are accustomed to leave their winter dens. For the crop we select a lonely place near a stream or a river, where the land is fertile. And before planting, we cover the ground with the dung of deer, antelope, and mountain sheep. This makes the tobacco grow fast, because the
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CHAPTER VIII I AM GIVEN AN INDIAN NAME AND MADE A MEMBER OF THE BLACKFOOT TRIBE
CHAPTER VIII I AM GIVEN AN INDIAN NAME AND MADE A MEMBER OF THE BLACKFOOT TRIBE
In the meantime, Middle Calf mixed the tobacco and filled the pipes; he had charge of the smoking outfit, while Bear Child looked after the incense of sweet grass. The ceremony began by Bear Child taking a forked stick and selecting a live coal from the fire. He laid it on the ground in front of Mad Wolf, who placed upon it dried sweet grass. And the rising smoke soon filled the tepee with incense. Mad Wolf held up his right hand to command attention; then swaying his body to and fro, he chanted
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CHAPTER IX HOME OF MAD WOLF
CHAPTER IX HOME OF MAD WOLF
Little Creek, the son-in-law of Mad Wolf, was of middle age, easy-going and good-natured, skilled in the handling of horses and cattle. He and his father-in-law were on the best of terms; but, in accordance with tribal etiquette, he never had any dealings with his mother-in-law. He always avoided speaking to her and they were never together in the same place. He explained that it was a custom handed down from their ancestors—a woman felt ashamed and humiliated to meet her son-in-law; she had to
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CHAPTER X MARRIAGE CUSTOMS
CHAPTER X MARRIAGE CUSTOMS
But there was a stronger reason for a woman’s chastity. Only a pure woman could make a vow to the Sun for the recovery of any of her family who were ill and give the Sun Dance in their behalf. Death was believed to be the penalty of a woman who vowed falsely. If a mother was not chaste she could not make the vow to save the life of one of her children that was dying. Besides it was a great honor for a woman to give a Sun Dance; she stood for what was best in Indian life; she had the respect and
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CHAPTER XI THE HEAD-CHIEF AND HIS WIFE
CHAPTER XI THE HEAD-CHIEF AND HIS WIFE
Her son Two Guns and his wife, a daughter of Little Dog the war chief, were also at home. She was young and lively; [ 87 ] like her father, she was always smiling. There were also visitors present from the north—a Blood Indian and his wife whom they called Sarcee Face. She was a wit and kept them laughing. She told about a swarm of bees attacking her while in the middle of a river; her face was still swollen from their stings. So I advised her to go to the river bank and cover the wounds with so
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CHAPTER XII LEGEND OF THE SMOKING STAR
CHAPTER XII LEGEND OF THE SMOKING STAR
“A camp of two lodges once stood far out on the prairie. In one of them lived an old man with his wife; and in the other their son-in-law who was married to their three daughters. The young man was a hunter. He provided food for both lodges. One evening a herd of buffalo came near. Early next morning the son-in-law shouted: ‘Get up, old man, we will go together to drive the buffalo.’ So the old father-in-law went with him to help in the hunt. “Now this son-in-law was mean and heartless. He took
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CHAPTER XIII MY NIGHT EXPERIENCE WITH A GRIZZLY BEAR
CHAPTER XIII MY NIGHT EXPERIENCE WITH A GRIZZLY BEAR
At dusk we emerged weary from the forest and came into a basin with a meadow of green grass. A more romantic spot for a camp I have never seen—a narrow valley surrounded by high mountains and sheltered by trees. Through the meadow flowed a stream of clear water. Waterfalls dashed over the cliffs and fell into the stream below. We pitched our lodge on a carpet of green moss, near an ancient fir tree and a grove of spruces which sheltered us from the cold winds that sweep down the valley from the
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CHAPTER XIV INDIAN SUMMER
CHAPTER XIV INDIAN SUMMER
In the northern Rockies the autumn nights come early. The sun was down by the time we had our camp ready, and the horses watered and picketed. Then we built a big camp-fire, for the night air was cold. We roasted meat on sticks over the hot coals, and stalks of wild parsnip to bring out the juice. My companions used neither knives nor forks; and like them I held the meat in my hands and tore it with my teeth; but it had a relish and flavor I never tasted in civilization. In that autumn camp, the
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CHAPTER XV A FRONTIER DANCE
CHAPTER XV A FRONTIER DANCE
The dance at the Lone Wolf Ranch was given by the sisters Katoyísa and Nínake, and was free to all; every one in that region, both Indian and white, was welcome. People came long distances in wagons or on horseback—entire families—mothers with young babies. A log-shack close to the cabin was used by the women, and there they left their babies and young children to sleep on the floor. The ranch cabin was lighted by lamps and candles; all three rooms, including the kitchen, were used for dancing.
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CHAPTER XVI HUNTING ROCKY MOUNTAIN GOATS
CHAPTER XVI HUNTING ROCKY MOUNTAIN GOATS
It was then so late I had given up hope of getting any game that day. Suddenly I caught sight of moving objects on a snowfield at the head of a valley. Through my glasses I saw a herd of five goats led by a large billy. They were the whitest things I have ever seen. It was only because of their jet-black horns that I could see them on the snow. Never shall I forget my feeling of exhilaration to see those wild animals in their native haunts, and my eagerness to get one for a hunter’s trophy. They
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CHAPTER XVII THE BLIZZARD
CHAPTER XVII THE BLIZZARD
I had strange sensations, as though I could not breathe; I felt suffocated, as if smothered by the snow. It blew down my neck and sifted through my clothes; it filled my eyes and mouth. A dense white pall was about me. There was nothing to see—not a patch of grass, nor a stone, only [ 132 ] a dense whiteness. I thought I was going blind; my head swam. So I began to shout, just to hear the sound of my own voice. Suddenly I felt tired and lost hope. I thought how good it would be to lie down in th
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CHAPTER XVIII SNOW-BOUND
CHAPTER XVIII SNOW-BOUND
Outside it was hard to move about, because of the deep snow; but I made my way to a ridge near the pasture. I saw no tracks, no animals, nor birds; not even wolves nor ravens had yet ventured forth. Not a tree could be seen, nor the [ 141 ] smallest bush, nothing to break the monotony of that dreary wind-swept waste. Sometimes Yellow Bird and I did not speak for hours at a stretch; we only talked when we felt like it. On those long days of storm he was restless and morose. He loved excitement an
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CHAPTER XIX THE MAD INDIAN
CHAPTER XIX THE MAD INDIAN
Then came another blow that shook the cabin. I sat up to listen; Yellow Bird made no sound; he did not move in his bed. After the mysterious beating had died away, I was no longer afraid; even a mad Indian would not wait so long in the snow and bitter cold. So I put on my heavy socks and coat and, taking my rifle, went cautiously to the door and waited. When the sound came again, I opened the door and ran to the back of the cabin. An animal, the size of a large cat, bounded away in the dark. It
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CHAPTER XX COMING OF THE CHINOOK
CHAPTER XX COMING OF THE CHINOOK
At last came a day with signs of better weather. At dawn the sky was vivid green with clouds of pink and gold; and at midday water was dripping from the roof and the thick frost melted from the windows. Then on Kutenai I went forth to hunt, following the tops [ 151 ] of the ridges. I saw tracks of a wolf pack, and the large round footprints of a pair of Rocky Mountain lions, with marks where their long tails dragged in the snow. But I had no luck. The traveling was bad; the low places and gullie
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CHAPTER XXI BEGINNING OF SPRING
CHAPTER XXI BEGINNING OF SPRING
[ 155 ] We made camp in a meadow; and then I went with Little Creek to explore the valley. On a rocky cliff, surrounded by sharp pinnacles, the place where an eagle would build its nest, we found the graves of two women, one a young wife who died in childbirth, the other killed by a jealous lover. Their graves were placed on the other side of the valley from their former home, in the belief that ghosts would not cross a river to bother the living. We saw the grave of an aged medicine woman in a
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CHAPTER XXII OUR CAMP IN THE MOUNTAINS
CHAPTER XXII OUR CAMP IN THE MOUNTAINS
For vegetables they gathered wild onions, wild potatoes, cow parsnip, bitterroot and prairie turnip. But the camas was their favorite vegetable. It had a root like a small potato and had a sweet flavor. They roasted the stalks of the cow parsnip, when they were tender and juicy in the spring; and dried the leaves of bearberry for tobacco, also pipsissewa or princess pine. They used a lichen that grows on pine trees as yellow dye, a pore fungus for cleaning buckskin, and yellow orthocarpus for dy
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CHAPTER XXIII OUR NORTH EXPEDITION
CHAPTER XXIII OUR NORTH EXPEDITION
“How happy we used to be at this time of year, the beginning of summer, when our hunters came home with plenty of meat. Then I said to my husband: ‘Invite now our friends; this night we shall have a feast.’ “Then he would ask some of the old people in for a smoke. Near the time of the first big snow in the autumn, we hastened to move away from the mountains and camp on the prairie. We went down a river, stopping to camp at our favorite camp-grounds and waiting for buffalo to come near. We were c
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CHAPTER XXIV ONESTA AND HIS SACRED BEAR SPEAR
CHAPTER XXIV ONESTA AND HIS SACRED BEAR SPEAR
Then he brought forth a minkskin and had another ceremony. He prayed over it and burned dried seeds for incense, which he got from the tops of the narrow-leaved puccoon. They painted their faces, and Onesta said to me: “Brother, you had better let me paint your face too, that the Bloods may know you have become an Indian; the paint will also so protect your white skin from the hot sun.” Nitana decorated my moccasins with paint, the way they did their own; it made them look better, she said. She
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CHAPTER XXV CAMP OF THE BLOOD INDIANS
CHAPTER XXV CAMP OF THE BLOOD INDIANS
That night was sultry and warm. Lying in my blanket-bed on the ground, I watched the heavy clouds rolling up in the north and west in lofty thunderheads, giving forth brilliant flashes of silver lightning over the entire sky and deep rumbling peals of thunder. But not a drop of rain fell. Sometime in the night I was wakened by groans, which came at regular intervals from a thicket near my bed. I straightway thought of my saddle horse, Kutenai, being strangled by his picket rope. Black clouds cov
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CHAPTER XXVI COUNTRY OF THE NORTH PIEGANS
CHAPTER XXVI COUNTRY OF THE NORTH PIEGANS
“Their wings have no color until they fly into the sunlight; it makes them red, yellow, and black.” He taught me a song by which he made some sandpipers dance on the shore of the lake. He clapped his hands and sang: “Ik-sis-a-kuyi! Ik-sis-a-kuyi!” (Meat! Meat!) He showed me a wild rose bush that was covered with the [ 186 ] webs of tent caterpillars; and made them dance by beating time with his hands and singing: “Ko-me-os-cha! Ko-me-os-cha!” (Worms! Worms!) At first the caterpillars lay perfect
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CHAPTER XXVII CAMP OF BRINGS-DOWN-THE-SUN
CHAPTER XXVII CAMP OF BRINGS-DOWN-THE-SUN
So they talked until darkness settled over valley and Indian camp. I saw the pale light of the rising moon shining on the tepee walls. And, while I sat watching this venerable medicine man, I thought: “How strange that he, of a savage race, an untaught son of the wilderness, should have the wisdom and foresight of a statesman in trying to husband their natural resources of big trees and berry bushes; and, although he had just cause for hating the white race, yet he treated me with kindness and g
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CHAPTER XXVIII ONESTA GIVES HIS CROW WATER CEREMONY
CHAPTER XXVIII ONESTA GIVES HIS CROW WATER CEREMONY
ONESTA ENTERING THE THUNDER TEPEE WITH HIS SACRED BUNDLES THE CROW WATER CEREMONY OF ONESTA IN THE THUNDER TEPEE The day Onesta gave his Crow Water Ceremony, he asked me to help him in the singing. He began his drumming before sunrise to waken the people of the North Piegan camp; and made our women get up early to prepare the feast, which they cooked in a large kettle over an outside fire. Then they pitched a large lodge, which was loaned for the occasion by Brings-Down-the-Sun. It was decorated
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CHAPTER XXIX THE RIVAL MEDICINE MEN
CHAPTER XXIX THE RIVAL MEDICINE MEN
I assured him I wanted to see his records, but again made excuses for that day, because our horses were feeding on the hills and there was no way for me to cross the river to his tepee. Then Bull Plume was angry. He arose and drawing his blanket around him, stalked from our camp. That was the last I ever saw of him. He took down his tepee and left the country. As soon as Brings-Down-the-Sun heard of the visit of Bull Plume, he came to our camp for the first time. He seated himself by our fire. A
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CHAPTER XXX BRINGS-DOWN-THE-SUN TELLS ABOUT HIS FATHER
CHAPTER XXX BRINGS-DOWN-THE-SUN TELLS ABOUT HIS FATHER
“I never heard of a wolf that did not wander. They raise their young in one place and then move on to another. They like to run all over the country. “My father’s first name was Running Wolf. His father, Little Mountain, gave him that name, because a wolf appeared in a dream and advised him, saying: “ ‘I am the head-chief of all the wolves and my name is [ 211 ] Running Wolf. You often hear my voice; my tracks are everywhere and I shall always continue to wander. Name one of your sons after me;
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CHAPTER XXXI BRINGS-DOWN-THE-SUN TELLS ABOUT MEN’S SOCIETIES
CHAPTER XXXI BRINGS-DOWN-THE-SUN TELLS ABOUT MEN’S SOCIETIES
“The bears only danced when they felt like it. They lay in their den and did as they pleased. Sometimes the spectators threw things at them to make them dance. When they [ 221 ] were ready they got up slowly, holding their hands the way bears do their paws. They danced leaning over, hopping along in short jumps with their feet together, as bears are accustomed to do. They aimed with bows and arrows, and drove the other dancers back to their seats. “When we wanted to bring our dance to a close, t
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CHAPTER XXXII BRINGS-DOWN-THE-SUN TELLS ABOUT THE BIRDS AND THE STARS
CHAPTER XXXII BRINGS-DOWN-THE-SUN TELLS ABOUT THE BIRDS AND THE STARS
“We call the bird that chatters among the bushes, when women are gathering berries, ‘stingy-with-their-berries’ (kingbird). A bird with long legs and black breast (spotted sandpiper) we call ‘shadow-in-the-water,’ because it stands in shallow water and looks at its own shadow. “My father taught me how to read the future, by watching the flights of birds and the habits of wild animals. Of all the birds, we look upon the raven as the wisest. When I see one soaring over our camp, I know a messenger
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CHAPTER XXXIII LEGENDS OF STAR BOY AND SCARFACE
CHAPTER XXXIII LEGENDS OF STAR BOY AND SCARFACE
“It was daytime and the Sun was away on his long journey, but the Moon was at home. Morning Star said to his mother: ‘I saw this girl asleep on the prairie; I loved her and she is now my wife.’ “Then the Moon was glad and took the girl into their lodge. She gave her a dress of soft-tanned deerskin, trimmed [ 234 ] with elk teeth, wristlets of elk teeth, and an elkskin robe, and said: ‘I give you these because you married our son.’ “So Feather Woman lived with Morning Star in the home of the Sun.
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CHAPTER XXXIV BEGINNING OF THE SUN DANCE
CHAPTER XXXIV BEGINNING OF THE SUN DANCE
“I am glad in my heart that you have come to our Sun Dance. Ever since you went away, I have prayed to the Sun for your safe return. Now you can see our ceremony. I shall tell you everything and you can explain it to the white men; for I believe you are straight and will tell them the truth.” I asked Mad Wolf how it happened they were giving a Sun Dance, and he replied: “Last winter, at the time of the second big blizzard, Small Otter, our youngest grandchild, was ill. Snow lay deep over the pra
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CHAPTER XXXV FORMING THE GREAT CIRCLE CAMP
CHAPTER XXXV FORMING THE GREAT CIRCLE CAMP
The plain we crossed stretched many miles in every direction and swept upwards towards the mountains, with snow-capped peaks in the distance. Then we climbed to a broad table-land, which was covered with tussocks of tough wiry grass, and here and there the skulls and bleaching bones of buffalo. When we came to a range of grass-covered hills, I left my place and rode ahead to the summit of a butte to see the line pass. That was many years ago, but in memory, I can still see clearly that primitive
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CHAPTER XXXVI LIFE IN THE CIRCLE CAMP
CHAPTER XXXVI LIFE IN THE CIRCLE CAMP
“Last winter I was very ill; the doctors said I was going to die. But I made a vow to the Sun; if I recovered I would attend the next Sun Dance, wherever it might be. In the spring I heard that Mad Wolf and his wife were giving the ceremony, so I came from the north to fulfill my vow and eat one of the sacred tongues.” I saw two women tanning a deerhide stretched on the ground, hair-side down, and held in place by wooden stakes. They raked it with large tools of bone sharpened at one end. Then t
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CHAPTER XXXVII PAINTED TEPEES AND PICTURE WRITING
CHAPTER XXXVII PAINTED TEPEES AND PICTURE WRITING
The owner had a large otter-skin, which he sometimes took from his sacred bundle and hung from a pole over the tepee, to float in the wind like a flag, also a drum and a number of bird and animal skins. These he kept in a rawhide case, which hung from a tripod outside the tepee in good weather, but were always brought inside at night, or during a storm. For the ceremony, he held the sacred bundle in the smoke of burning sweet grass, then laid it on the grass. When he opened his bundle and took o
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CHAPTER XXXVIII A NATIVE DOCTOR AND HIS PATIENT
CHAPTER XXXVIII A NATIVE DOCTOR AND HIS PATIENT
From different lodges came the sound of drumming, where dances and ceremonies were taking place. In one tepee the Brave Dog Society was giving a dance, shaking their rattles and singing; in another, a band of young men were singing and beating drums as a prayer for their Grass Dance on the morrow. And from Mad Wolf’s lodge I heard the sound of solemn chanting by many voices in unison, both men and women, accompanied by rhythmical beating of rattles on the ground. After dark I went down from the
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CHAPTER XXXIX DANCE OF THE HAIR-PARTERS (GRASS DANCE)
CHAPTER XXXIX DANCE OF THE HAIR-PARTERS (GRASS DANCE)
There was a special dance for those who had been wounded in battle. Wolf Eagle, a warrior with only one arm, danced with spirit and abandon, carrying in his single hand the decorated bone of his missing arm. Another dancer, “Behind-the-Ears” by name, held his rifle ready to shoot. In battle he had once made a good shot and hit an enemy behind the ear; in this dance, he went through similar motions to recall that deed. The leader of the Hair-Parters was Black Weasel. His seat in the dance circle
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CHAPTER XL SOCIETY OF BRAVE DOGS
CHAPTER XL SOCIETY OF BRAVE DOGS
CHARACTERISTIC COSTUMES OF BRAVE DOGS In the center is Lone Chief as a grizzly bear. The four others—Blood, Flat Tail, Mountain Chief, and Drags-His-Robe —were known as Old Men Comrades Next in rank to Short Robe were two mounted men, Big Moon and Elk Horn. They were the assistant leaders, and [ 285 ] wore war bonnets of selected eagle feathers. Their horses were painted with war pictures, representing the brave deeds of their riders. Two members, Lone Chief and Cream Antelope, represented grizz
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CHAPTER XLI A MEDICINE-PIPE CEREMONY
CHAPTER XLI A MEDICINE-PIPE CEREMONY
Some medicine-pipe men were assembled in the lodge of Lone Chief. They had opened his Pipe Bundle and were singing and drinking. They kept on with the ceremony, waiting for their scouts to report favorably. Then they would go forth together. In their actions they imitated the grizzly bear, stealing quietly upon their victim, to take him by surprise in the night, the way a bear does; because the power of the Pipe came from the grizzly bear. They sang bear songs and imitated the sound the grizzly
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CHAPTER XLII A SACRED CEREMONY IN MAD WOLF’S TEPEE
CHAPTER XLII A SACRED CEREMONY IN MAD WOLF’S TEPEE
He sprayed water on the hot stones; as the steam rose, he sang: “May our lives be straight. May we live to be old and always have water to drink.” Throughout the ceremony, Mad Wolf and his associates prayed to the Sun, Moon, and Morning Star. Then the procession returned to Mad Wolf’s tepee, walking slowly and in single file, with heads bowed and eyes fixed on the ground, carefully avoiding the trail by which they came out. On this same day the tribe had a parade, in which men, women, and childr
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CHAPTER XLIII THE TRIBAL DANCING-LODGE
CHAPTER XLIII THE TRIBAL DANCING-LODGE
In the meantime the entire tribe had assembled about the unfinished sun lodge, seating themselves in long rows on the prairie, waiting for the feast. When they heard the women singing the Elk Song in Mad Wolf’s tepee—the last song in clothing the fasting woman, they knew it was time for the medicine woman to come out. When she finally appeared, the throng was so great prominent men stood on both sides of the doorway to hold the people back. First in the line came White Calf, the head-chief, foll
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CHAPTER XLIV END OF THE SUN DANCE AND FAREWELL OF MY INDIAN FATHER
CHAPTER XLIV END OF THE SUN DANCE AND FAREWELL OF MY INDIAN FATHER
Mountain Chief, a warrior of renown, stood before the people with his weapons—a shield and bow and arrows. He gave his war cry; and, drawing his bow, aimed it in different directions, telling how he killed an enemy and took his scalp. After his story, Mountain Chief sat down, amid the beating of drums and shrill war cries from the spectators. Then Bear Chief, a famous war leader, his horse painted with war pictures, rode into the dancing-lodge with a band of warriors and acted out a sham battle.
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1. Materia Medica of the Blackfoot
1. Materia Medica of the Blackfoot
Apos-ipoco. Tastes Dry. Alumn-Root. Heuchera parvifolia. It was pounded up and used wet as an application for sores and swellings. It grows on gravel bottoms and alkali flats. Matoa-koa-ksi. Yellow-Root, or Swamp-Root. Willow-leaved Dock. Rumex salicifolius. It was boiled and used for many complaints but generally for swellings. It grows in swamps. Mais-to-nata. Crow-Root. Dotted Blazing-Star. Lacinaria punctata. Named because of the scarlet brilliancy of its flowers. It was called Crow-Root by
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2. Plants for Ceremonials
2. Plants for Ceremonials
Ok-kun-okin. Berry. Sarvis-Berry, June-Berry, Service-Berry, Shadbush, May Cherry. Amelanchier oblongifolia. A tall shrub or small tree growing on the prairies along side-hills and in river bottoms. The berries ripen in midsummer generally about the middle of July. The Blackfoot used them in great quantities with stews, soups, and meat. They also dried them for winter use. Violent pains often followed the eating of raw Sarvis-Berries. [ 324 ] Pukkeep. Chokecherry. Western Wild Cherry. Prunus dem
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3. Berries and wild vegetables used for eating
3. Berries and wild vegetables used for eating
Pach-op-it-skinni. Lumpy-Head. Wild Potato, Spring-Beauty. Claytonia lanceolata. The Wild Potato grew on the prairies and in the foothills of the mountains. The Blackfoot dug them in spring for eating, preparing them for eating by boiling. Ek-sik-a-pato-api. Looks Back. Smartweed. Polygonum bistortoides. The root was used in soups and stews. Pesat-se-nekim. Funny Vine. Wild Onion. Allium recurvatum. Eaten raw and also used for flavoring. Kach-a-tan. Tender-Root. Carolina Milk Vetch. Astragalus c
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4. Perfumes
4. Perfumes
Sik-a-pis-chis. White Flower. Aster commutatus. Ota-kap-is-chis-kit-sima. Yellow Flower. Clasping-leaved Arnica. Arnica amplexifolia. A-pis-is-kit-sa-wa. Tomato-Flower. Red Rose. Rosa Sayi. Ot-ska-a-pis-is-kit-sa. Blue Flower. Oblong-leaved Gentian. Gentiana affinis. A-sa-po-pin-ats. Looks-like-a-plume. Round-Fruited Anemone. Anemone globosa. Its name was derived from the appearance of the flower when it turns into cotton and resembles a soft, downy feather. [ 326 ] A-po-no-kau-ki. Paper-Leaves.
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Blackfoot names for flowers
Blackfoot names for flowers
A-po-no-kau-ki. Paper-Leaves. Arrow-leaved Balsam-Root. Balsamorrhiza sagittata . In the hot weather its large leaves become very dry and resemble paper. Sto-o-kat-sis. Ghost’s Lariat. Columbian Virgin’s-Bower. Atragene columbiana . A vine, with a beautiful light blue flower, that trails along the ground and also climbs trees. The Blackfoot have named it Ghost’s Lariat because it catches people and trips them up unexpectedly. [ 327 ] [ 329 ] 1 Published in Zeitschrift für Ethnologie , Berlin , H
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