MATTHEW BRAYTON'S NARRATIVE CONTINUED.
Government of Snake and Copper Head Tribes -- Women worked
hard -- Marriage Laws -- Children taught the use of weapons
early -- Funeral ceremonies of the Copper Heads -- Their
Religion.
The Snakes and Copper Heads are ruled over by one General Chief,
or _Inkupudia_, who remains in power for life unless deposed by the
vote of all the tribes. Since the union of the tribes there has been
but one General Chief, now (in 1860) eighty years of age, named
_O-wash-kah-ke-naw_. He reigns supreme to a certain extent and
appoints sub-chiefs to govern the different tribes. These sub-chiefs
are appointed for a period of time and not for life. The General Chief
makes known his laws or decrees for the government of the tribes in
various matters, and it is the duty of the sub-chiefs to communicate
these decrees to the tribes under their charge. The laws in relation
to stealing are very strict. Any one proved to have stolen from a
person belonging to the associated tribes is condemned to death, and
is generally burned at the stake. It is looked upon as very
disgraceful for an Indian to tell a lie to his fellows.
The men dress with leggins fastened to their moccasins. The leggins
extend up to the knees. A tunic of furs is worn about the waist, and
the bare place between the tunic and the leggins is daubed with oil
and paint. From the waist upwards the body is daubed with oil and
paint, and the hair is worn long, extending down over the breast and
back. The women are dressed in a somewhat similar manner.
The men do nothing but hunt and fight, leaving the women and captives
to do the drudgery. The women are very hard worked, having to collect
wood for fires, cut up the game, carry the heavy burdens and do the
other work which the warrior considers beneath his dignity to perform.
They are very hardy and can perform with ease labors which many white
men would shrink from.
The marriage laws vary among different tribes. Among the Copper Heads
the marriage is for life. The Utahs marry for twelve moons, and if at
the end of that time they separate they cannot re-marry at any
subsequent time. If there is a boy born of the marriage, it goes with
the father, and if a girl the mother takes it. The Snakes marry for
three years, and if after that time they choose to live together they
are married for life.
The birth of a child is accomplished without any trouble or assistance
from either doctor, midwife or nurse. The mother retires to her lodge,
or if on the march, steps aside and spreads her blanket, and in the
course of two or three hours she is up and about her accustomed work,
or on the march, as if nothing had happened.
The child, when young, is wrapped around with bandages, strapped to a
board and carried on the mother's back. When in the lodge, or at any
other time that she wishes to take the child down, the board with the
infant on it is set to lean against the wall or is hung to a peg.
As soon as a boy is able to run about his education for the chase and
the war path is commenced. A bow three and a half feet long, strung
with the sinews of the deer or elk, is placed in his hand, and a
bundle of two feet arrows, with flint heads and feathered shafts, is
given him. With these he practices at a mark until he is proficient. A
board is then set up and a circle about six inches in diameter is
described on it. The young Indian takes his position at a short
distance from the board and commences throwing his knife at it with
the endeavor to strike the center of the circle. When he succeeds in
doing this frequently, he increases his distance from the board, and
keeps on retreating until he can strike the circle with unerring aim
from as great a distance as his strength will permit.
The tomahawk practice comes next. A mark is described on the bark of a
tree, and the young Indian throws his tomahawk at it with great force,
endeavoring to make it whirl three times in the air, and then to
strike with the sharp pick at the back of the axe head so that it
shall remain sticking in the mark. As in the knife practice, success
at one distance is immediately followed by a retreat of a few paces
until the feat can be accomplished at a considerable distance. The
same routine is gone through with the axe part so that it shall cleave
the bark in the very center of the mark. At about ten years of age, a
long bow with arrows of proportionate length, is put into the hands of
the boy, and when he becomes of sufficient age to manage it properly
he is instructed in the use of the rifle.
The boys are incited to begin hunting and trapping early, and their
first success in trapping a beaver, shooting a martin or spearing a
muskrat is celebrated with as much triumph as is the first scalp taken
in battle by a young warrior. When about twelve years old the boys
join the hunting parties, and are very expert in the use of the bow.
Many widows are supported entirely by their sons who have just passed
their twelfth year.
The small children and the very old people are allowed the use of
cooked meat, but all others eat their food raw. No salt is used but
pepper is frequently obtained from the Russian and Hudson Bay trading
posts, and is eaten with the food as a great addition. Besides the
privilege of eating cooked meat the very old people are well cared for
by the tribe, and are allowed to remain in their lodges without being
called out to hunt or work. Everything is done for them and they enjoy
perfect rest until their death.
The Copper Heads do not, in general, bury their dead in the same
manner with many of the tribes in the United States territory. In some
cases, when a warrior dies, the dead body is placed in a birch bark
canoe in which are also laid the dead warrior's rifle, tomahawk, pipe,
knife and all the other articles belonging to him when alive. Two
blankets and provisions to last six months are also placed in the
canoe. A poor miserable dog is next procured and hung up by the hind
legs to a tree or pole stuck in the ground. The throat of the dog is
cut and the animal suffered to bleed to death. The object of this
ceremony is to provide a dog to hunt with in the spirit land and the
bad blood is let out so as to fit the animal for its new sphere of
existence. A poor dog is as serviceable as a good one for the happy
hunting grounds if the bad blood is taken out. Some powdered roots are
then sprinkled over the body, and the canoe with its contents is
launched on the river, if there is one in the neighborhood, and the
deceased warrior goes on his way to the happy hunting grounds. If
there is no river near, the canoe with its contents is placed on the
branches of a tree, or on a temporary scaffold, and left there.
Sometimes in conformity with the wishes of the deceased the body is
buried under the roots of a tree or placed in a hollow log to wait
until there is some good company to join in the journey to the happy
hunting grounds.
The religion of these tribes is very simple. They worship the Great
Spirit by standing and praying with arms uplifted to the sky. At times
when they see a dark storm-cloud rising up the sky they address it,
believing the Great Spirit to be hid within it. After a prayer, on
some particular occasions, they drink "snakyeye" or whiskey, and dance
with whooping and yelling. They do not believe in a place of
punishment hereafter. Those who have committed crimes in this world
will be punished here by their tribe, or else the Great Spirit will
visit them with sickness or trouble. After this life is over, the
spirits all go to the happy hunting grounds, where there is plenty of
game and where no enemies will come to disturb them.