DESCRIPTION OF FORT MC KENZIE AND THE ENVIRONS, AND OF THE INDIAN
POPULATION LIVING THERE
Fort Mc Kenzie--The Blackfeet; their Appearance, Head-dress, &c.
Fort Mc Kenzie, which, at the time of its first establishment in 1832,
was called by Mr. Mitchell, its founder, Fort Piekann, is designed for
carrying on the fur trade with the three branches of the Blackfoot
Indians, and several other neighbouring nations, as the Gros Ventres
des Prairies, the Sassis,[77] and the Kutanas, or Kutnehas.[78] As I
have already said, the American Fur Company concluded, in the year
1831, a commercial convention with those tribes, and sent for that
purpose the interpreter, Berger, a Canadian, who was pretty well
acquainted with the language of the Blackfeet, who brought seventy
Indians of those nations to a conference at Fort Union.
At his first meeting with these dangerous people they were going to
kill him, and he was saved by a certain chief, after many disputes.
The convention which Mr. Mc Kenzie concluded with the Indians, after
those negotiations, will be found in the Appendix.[79] As soon as it
was agreed to by both parties, Mr. Kipp was sent with a keel-boat
laden with goods to Maria River, and Fort Piekann, now in ruins, was
founded. The sight of the numerous assemblage of different {243} Indian
nations collected here on that occasion is said to have been highly
interesting. As the situation of the fort was subsequently found to be
unfavourable, Major Mitchell, who succeeded Mr. Kipp, transferred the
trading post to its present situation, where an extensive prairie was
better suited to the meeting of numerous Indians. When the Company's
people landed at this place in 1832, the present fort was erected in
a few days. While the work was going on, they lived in the keel-boat,
and were actually blockaded by at least 4000 or 5000 men; and, on
the whole, by an Indian population of 10,000 or 12,000 persons,
extremely dangerous, in whom no confidence could be placed, and whose
perfidious, sanguinary, and predatory character was sufficiently
known. In fact, some insignificant disputes nearly produced a breach
of the peace, which would have inevitably led to the destruction of
the crew of the boat, and was prevented only by the decision and
resolute conduct of Mr. Mitchell. The Indians had already cut the rope
which held the keel-boat, the only hope of the Americans, to the bank,
whose situation at this time was extremely critical, as the Blood
Indians in particular had always been the declared enemies of the
Whites. As soon as the traders got into the fort, which was quickly
completed, their situation was much changed. They were secure from the
attacks of the Indians, and had sufficient provisions, powder, and
ball, for a considerable time. The Indians were no longer admitted
indiscriminately; suitable precautions were adopted; and the Piekanns,
who were the principal tribe inhabiting the surrounding country, and
some families of whom are found here at all seasons of the year, set up
their tents in the vicinity.
The present fort is 120 paces from the north bank of the Missouri,
which a little below makes a large bend. From this to the highest chain
of the Rocky Mountains is about 100 English miles; but to the beginning
of the mountains, not more than fifteen or twenty miles, and a good
day's journey to the Falls of the Missouri.
The fort itself is built in the same manner as the other trading
posts already described; it forms a quadrangle, the sides of which
are forty-five or forty-seven paces in length, and is defended by two
block-houses, with some pieces of cannon. It is much smaller than Fort
Union, and worse and more slightly built. The dwellings are of one
story, and low; the rooms small, generally without floorings, with a
chimney, a door, a small window with parchment instead of glass, and
a very flat roof covered with green sods, where the inhabitants post
themselves, when, in case of being attacked, they have to fire over the
high pickets. The flagstaff stands in the centre of the court-yard.
The gate is strong, double, and well protected; and, when the trade
with the Indians is going on, the inner gate is closed: the entrance to
the Indian store, between the two gates, is then free, a strong guard
being stationed at the store. We had brought with us the glass windows,
and other necessary materials, for the proposed new fort. Before our
arrival, the inhabitants of the fort were twenty-seven white men, and
several Indian women, married to them, to whom our arrival made an
addition of fifty-three persons. All these people, excepting the {244}
first table for six persons, lived entirely on meat, so that we may
assume that two buffaloes daily were required for their consumption.
When we consider the generally very good appetites of the Canadians,
of whom it is proverbially said that two of them will nearly devour
a whole side of a buffalo, it is evident how necessary it is to have
good hunters, and also to purchase large quantities of meat from the
Indians. They generally receive twenty balls and the necessary powder
for all the flesh of a buffalo cow, or even less when these animals are
numerous; but as many as forty charges for a gun are paid them when the
buffaloes are at a distance.
A level prairie surrounds this fort; and, about 800 paces beyond it,
the chain of hills, about 80 to 100 feet high, runs in the direction
from south to north, and about 2000 paces above the fort reaches the
Missouri, and then runs along its bank. The banks of the river, and the
low islands on it, are here and there bordered with wood and bushes,
and some islands are entirely covered with them. On ascending to the
top of the chain of hills, you look over a level dry prairie, in which,
at a small distance, are the pretty deep beds of two rivers, Maria
River, and Teton River, called, by Lewis and Clarke, Tansy River.[80]
The latter, which is a small river, flows through a beautifully verdant
valley, the bottom of which is covered with tall, shady poplars; there
is good pasture of high grasses, and other plants. It falls into the
Maria not far above its mouth, after having flowed for some distance
almost parallel to the Missouri, to which it approaches so nearly,
at between three and four miles from the fort, that the piece of land
which separates the two rivers, is not more than 500 or 600 paces
broad.[81]
Below the fort, in the first bend of the river, is an island, called
Horse Island, where the horses belonging to the fort are sent to graze
in the winter. They never have any other food than grass in summer;
and in the winter, the bark of poplar trees, which they gnaw off. They
never enter a stable. The south bank of the Missouri consists of high
clay walls, in which there are doubtless strata of sand-stone, because
numbers of beautiful impressions of shells are found immediately at the
edge of the bank. These high walls must be very dangerous to the fort,
in case of an attack by the Indians, because an effective fire may be
made from them into the internal quadrangle of the fort. This dangerous
position was one of the causes which led to the resolution of founding
a new settlement further up the river.[82]
The Missouri itself does not abound in fish in the neighbourhood of
Fort Mc Kenzie, yet soft shell turtles are sometimes caught, as well
as cat-fish, of the two species already mentioned, one of which we
obtained during our stay, and which, as proof of the voracity of these
animals, had in its stomach a stone polished by the action of the
water, five inches long and four and a half broad. A sturgeon, of a
species which, we were told, is not found in the Mississippi, was
caught here, and universally considered as an extraordinary rarity.
{245} The prairie of which I have already spoken was now animated, in
the vicinity of the fort, by the camp of the Piekanns, which was set up
in four divisions at about 400 paces from the pickets. The grass was
trodden down or fed off by the people and numerous horses, and on every
side were horsemen, groups of pedestrians and dogs, besides the horses
belonging to the fort, which were brought out in the morning, under the
care of four well armed horsemen, and conducted back in the evening at
sunset. As we shall have frequent occasion in the sequel to come in
contact with the Indians of this part of the country, this may be the
best place to speak of the Blackfeet, who are the original population
of the prairies.
The Blackfeet form a numerous nation, which is divided into three
tribes, speaking one and the same language. These tribes are--
1. The Siksekai or Seksekai, the Blackfeet properly so called.[83]
2. The Kahna or Kaënna, the Blood Indians.[84]
3. The Piekanns.
All together they can bring into the field 5000 or 6000 warriors, and,
doubtless, amount to 18,000 or 20,000 souls, which number is assumed
by Dr. Morse, though he thinks it below the truth. Warden estimates the
number of the Blackfeet at only 5000 souls, of whom the half, he says,
are warriors; this is unquestionably far too low an estimate. We shall
have the number of 18,000 or 20,000 souls, if we reckon only three
women, children, and old men, for one warrior, and this is certainly a
very low estimate. The Blackfeet move about in the prairies near the
Rocky Mountains, and partly live among those mountains, but especially
they dwell between the three forks of the Missouri, of which Jefferson
River is the most northerly; the Madison River, the western or central;
and the Gallatin the most southerly or easterly. They live, however,
especially the Piekanns, as far down as Maria River, in the prairies
of which they move about, and where all the three tribes sometimes
meet to trade with the American Fur Company. They likewise trade
with the Hudson's Bay Company, and with the Spaniards of Santa Fe,
as appears from the Spanish blankets, crosses, &c., which they wear.
There is, probably, no reason to doubt that they take most of these
things in war, for the rifles, compasses, &c., which we found in their
possession, were marked with the names of the owners. They are always
dangerous {246} to white men who are hunting singly in the mountains,
especially to the beaver hunters, and kill them whenever they fall into
their hands; hence the armed troops of the traders keep up a continual
war with them. It was said that in the year 1832 they shot fifty-eight
Whites, and a couple of years before that time, above eighty. In the
neighbourhood of the forts they keep the peace, and the Piekanns, in
particular, behave well and amicably to the Whites, whereas the Blood
Indians and the Siksekai can never be trusted. They are all great
adepts in horse stealing, even in the vicinity of the trading posts.
All these Indians are comprehended, by the Whites, under the general
name of Blackfeet, which they themselves do not, however, extend so
far, but know each of the three tribes only by its own proper name. As
they speak only one language, keep together, and differ but little in
their external appearance, they are justly considered as one and the
same nation, and I shall always speak of them as such by this general
name.
We do not, at present, possess any accurate and detailed account of
these people, for the American Fur Company, who trade with them, and
therefore have had the best opportunity of becoming acquainted with
them, seldom take any interest in scientific researches. How little
has hitherto been known of these people is proved by the fact that
Brackenridge declares them to be Sioux, though a comparison of some
words of their language immediately proves the contrary.[85] In their
exterior, the Blackfeet do not much differ from the other Indians of
the Upper Missouri. They are robust, generally well made men, and
some of the women and girls are very pretty. The men are partly broad
shouldered and muscular, partly of middle stature, and thickset. One
of the Blood Indians measured six feet eleven inches English measure.
Several Piekanns were nearly six feet, French measure. The Big Soldier
was five feet ten inches two lines, French measure. Their arms and legs
are more slender than those of the Whites, but this is by no means a
general rule. Their hands and feet are, for the most part, small, of a
blackish-brown colour, with prominent veins, exactly like the Botocudos
and other Brazilians, with whom, as I have already observed, evident
traces of this affinity appear in all the North American Indians. Their
features are in the main the same as those of the other Indians which
have been before described. The nose is often slightly curved or bent
downwards, frequently long and thin, almost like those of the Jews,
and the nostrils not extended, which is more frequently, though not
always seen in the Brazilians. Their eyes are mostly hazel, yet I saw
one Piekann with a light bluish-grey circle round the iris. Their hair
is jet black, and generally stiff, yet often not so shining a black
as that of the Brazilians; their beard is not thin, but is carefully
plucked out, for which purpose they have a twisted wire, or a piece of
tin bent together like a pair of tweezers. Old people often have grey
hair, but some young men are seen whose hair is dyed of a dark brown. A
whole family of Piekanns, near Fort Mc Kenzie, had such hair mixed with
a good deal of grey. I never saw any with bald heads. The colour of
the skin of these Indians is mostly a fine bright reddish-brown, often
really copper colour, and generally darker than in the Brazilians.
{247} Even little children have the dark brown colour, but newly born
infants are rather paler. Children, as in Brazil, have, in general,
prominent bellies and thin limbs, and often the navel large and swollen.
The Blackfeet do not disfigure their bodies; none of the nations of the
Missouri bore the nose and lips, except a tribe in the Rocky Mountains,
who are known by the name of Pierced Nosed Indians, because they bore
a hole through the gristle of the nose. It is only in the ear that the
Blackfeet pierce one or two small holes, in which they wear various
ornaments, such as strings of glass beads, alternating with white
cylinders, which they get from the Dentalium, which they barter from
the nations on the west side of the Rocky Mountains, especially the
Kutanas.[86] Many Blackfeet do not wear anything in their ears, which
are generally concealed by their long thick hair. I have never seen
any tattooing among them. On the other hand, many had, upon their
arms, parallel transverse incisions, which were cicatrized, and most
of them wanted one or two joints of a finger, of which I shall have
occasion to speak by-and-by. They paint their faces red with vermilion;
this colour, which they procure by barter from the traders, is rubbed
in with fat, which gives them a shining appearance. Others colour
only the edge of their eyelids, and some stripes in the face, with
red; others use a certain yellow clay for the face, and red round the
eyes; others, again, paint the face red, and the forehead, a stripe
down the nose, and the chin, blue, with the shining earth from the
mountains which I have before mentioned, and which, being analyzed by
Professor Cordier,[87] at Paris, he found to be mixed with an earthy
peroxide of iron, probably mixed with some clay. Others colour the
whole face black, and only the eyelids and some stripes red. The women
and children paint the face only of a uniform red. The vermilion costs
the Indians very dear, for the Company supply it from their stores at
ten dollars a pound. The Blackfeet do not paint the body--at least,
I have never seen it, and it is generally covered. Their hair hangs
down straight and stiff, often in disorder over the eyes and round
the head. Young people, however, who pay more attention to neatness,
part it regularly over the forehead, and comb it smooth. A small
sea-shell is often fastened to a tuft of hair on each side, close to
the temples; others were on one side, and often on both sides of the
forehead, and a lock of hair with brass and iron wire twisted round
it; lastly, a few adopted the ornament usual among the Manitaries and
Mandans, which forms a long string on each side of the forehead, and
will be particularly described when we are treating of the latter.
Such a one was worn by the son of the old Kutona, Makuie-Poka, and by a
few other Blackfeet, who had had intercourse with the Manitaries. Some
distinguished Blackfeet warriors had a tuft of the feathers of owls,
or birds of prey, hanging at the back of the head; sometimes ermine
skin, with little stripes of red cloth, adorned with bright buttons;
or, on the top of the head, broad black feathers, cut short, like a
brush, as represented in the portrait of the Assiniboin, Noapeh.[88]
Some braid the hair in a long thick queue behind, and many, especially
the {248} medicine men, or jugglers, wear it, like the Mandans and
Manitaries, divided into several thick queues all round, and generally
bind them all together with a leather strap, in a thick knot over the
forehead. Many bind a narrow strip of skin, or a leather strap, round
the head, and stick one or two feathers in it; several fasten large
bears' claws in their hair; most of them, when in full dress, wear
the large necklace of these claws, which is a costly and handsome
ornament; or else one made of certain roots, which smell like _Foenum
Græcum_, which they obtain from the Kutanas.[89] Very often they adorn
themselves with a braided necklace, composed of a sweet-smelling grass,
probably _anthoxanthum_, with others of glass beads, which they buy of
the Company for three or four dollars a pound, and which the women in
particular highly value. Some Piekanns hang round their necks a green
stone,[90] often of various shapes, or the teeth of buffaloes, stags,
elks, horses, &c., or large round flat pieces cut out of shells. On
their fingers they wear rings, mostly of brass, which they purchase,
by dozens, of the Company--often six or eight on each finger, often
only one or two on the whole hand. They generally let their finger
nails grow long, always, at least, the thumb nail, which is often
crooked like a claw.
The dress of the Blackfeet is made of tanned leather, and the
handsomest leather shirts are made of the skin of the bighorn, which,
when new, is of a yellowish-white colour, and looks very well. A narrow
strip of the skin with the hair is generally left at the edge of such
a skin. These shirts have half sleeves, and the seams are trimmed
with tufts of human hair, or of horse-hair dyed of various colours,
hanging down, and with porcupine quills sewn round their roots. These
shirts generally have at the neck a flap hanging down both before and
behind, which we saw usually lined with red cloth, ornamented with
fringe, or with stripes of yellow and coloured porcupine quills, or of
sky-blue glass beads. Some have all these fringes composed of slips
of white ermine; this is a very costly ornament, these little animals
having become scarce. Many of the distinguished chiefs and warriors
wore such dresses, which are really handsome, ornamented with many
strings hanging down, in the fashion of an Hungarian tobacco pouch.
When these leather shirts begin to be dirty, they are often painted
of a reddish-brown colour; but they are much handsomer when they are
new. Some of these Indians wear on the breast and back round rosettes
like the Assiniboins, but this is only a foreign fashion, and the
genuine Blackfoot costume has no such ornament. Their leggins are made
like those of the other Missouri Indians, and ornamented, in the same
manner, with tufts of hair or stripes of porcupine quills; the shoes,
of buffalo or elk leather, are also adorned with porcupine quills,
each having a ground of a different colour for its ornaments; thus,
if one is white, the other is yellow--a fashion which does not exist
lower down the Missouri, where both shoes are of the same colour. The
chief article of their dress, {249} the large buffalo robe, is, for the
most part, painted on the tanned side, but less skilfully than among
the other nations. In general, there are black parallel lines mixed
with a few figures, often with arrow heads, or other bad arabesques;
others, again, are painted with representations of their warlike
exploits, in black, red, green, and yellow. The figures represent the
taking of prisoners, dead or wounded enemies, captured arms and horses,
blood, balls flying about in the air, and such subjects. Such robes
are embroidered with transverse bands of porcupine quills of the most
brilliant colours, divided into two equal parts by a round rosette
of the same. The ground of the skin is often reddish-brown, and the
figures on it black. All the Missouri Indians wear these robes, and it
is well known that those of the Manitaries and the Crows are the most
beautifully worked and painted. In the description of Major Long's
first expedition, there is a representation of such a skin,[91] but
it is the only one of this kind which has come to my knowledge, and
I have, therefore, had a drawing made of such a one.[92] The Company
gives the value of six to ten dollars for such a skin. During the
summer, the fur is worn outside, and in winter inside. The right arm
and shoulder are generally bare. It might be thought that this dress
was too hot in summer, and too cold in winter, but custom reconciles us
to everything, and they dress pretty nearly in the same manner in the
opposite seasons.
The Blackfeet, like the other tribes, carry in their hands the wing
of an eagle or a swan, the tail of an owl or bird of prey, as a fan,
the handle of which is covered with leather, or coloured cloth. The
Company now sends to its trading posts the tails of wild turkeys,
which are much in request. In general, every Blackfoot carries a whip,
as well as his weapons, in his hand; a gun and his bow and arrows on
his shoulder, the latter in a quiver or bag made of skin or leather,
to which a bow case of the same is fastened. On his shoulder he
likewise has his pouch, containing his powder-horn, and a large knife,
in a sheath, is stuck behind in his leathern girdle. In the summer,
and even frequently in the winter, these Indians wear their buffalo
robe without any underclothing. The dress of the women is the same as
among the other Missouri Indians: it is a long leather shirt, coming
down to their feet, bound round the waist with a girdle, and is often
ornamented with many rows of elks' teeth, bright buttons, and glass
beads. The dress wraps over the breast, and has short, wide sleeves,
ornamented with a good deal of fringe, which often hang down nearly
in the same manner as in the national Polish dress, but not below the
elbows. The lower arm is bare. The hem of the dress is likewise trimmed
with fringes and scolloped. The women ornament their best dresses, both
on the hem and sleeves, with dyed porcupine quills and thin leather
strips, with broad diversified stripes of sky-blue and white glass
beads. The Indians do not like beads of other colours, for instance,
red, next the skin; and their taste in the contrast of colours is very
correct, for in their black hair they generally wear red, and on their
brown skins, sky-blue, white, or yellow. The women are very skilful in
making their clothes and tanning the leather; the men only make their
arms and smoking apparatus. The women, {250} who, on the whole, have
not an uncomfortable lot, are obliged, as among the other tribes, to
perform the heavy work. They are likewise very skilful in the art of
dyeing; and, to produce the beautiful yellow colour, they employ a
lemon-coloured moss from the Rocky Mountains, which grows in the fir
trees, my specimens of which are unfortunately lost. A certain root
furnishes a beautiful red dye, and they extract many other bright
colours from the goods procured from the Whites. With them they dye
the porcupine quills and the quills of the feathers, with which they
embroider very neatly. The girls are dressed in the same manner as the
women, and their dresses are generally ornamented with elks' teeth, for
which the Indians pay a high price.
The leather tents of the Blackfeet, their internal arrangement, and
the manner of loading their dogs and horses, agree, in every respect,
with those of the Sioux and Assiniboins, and all the wandering tribes
of hunters of the Upper Missouri. The tents, made of tanned buffalo
skin, last only for one year; they are, at first, neat and white,
afterwards brownish, and at the top, where the smoke issues, black,
and, at last, transparent, like parchment, and very light inside.
Painted tents, adorned with figures, are very seldom seen, and only a
few chiefs possess them. When these tents are taken down, they leave
a circle of sods, exactly as in the dwellings of the Esquimaux. They
are often surrounded by fifteen or twenty dogs, which serve, not for
food, but only for drawing and carrying their baggage. Some Blackfeet,
who have visited the Sioux, have imitated them in eating dogs, but
this is rare. Near the tent they keep their dog sledges, with which
they form conical piles resembling the tents themselves, but differing
from them in not being covered with leather. On these they hang their
shields, travelling bags, saddles and bridles; and at some height,
out of the reach of the hungry dogs, they hang the meat, which is cut
into long strips, their skins, &c. The medicine bag or bundle, the
conjuring apparatus, is often hung and fastened to a separate pole, or
over the door of the tent. Their household goods consist of buffalo
robes and blankets, many kinds of painted parchment bags, some of them
in a semicircular form, with leather strings and fringes;[93] wooden
dishes, large {251} spoons made of the horn of the mountain sheep,
which are very wide and deep;[94] similar drinking vessels made of
horn, kettles, and sometimes tin utensils, which they obtain from the
merchants, clothes, &c. In the centre of the tent there is a small
fire in a circle composed of stones, over which the kettle for cooking
is suspended. Among their household goods we may reckon the harness
of their horses. The horse has, generally, only a long rope, made of
buffalo hair, fastened to the lower jaw, with which it is tied in the
meadow. The saddle consists of two broad flat boards, inclining towards
each other at an angle, which lie along the sides of the horse's
back; it has before and behind an upright piece, which frequently has
a leather fringe hanging to it. It is covered with a skin, and has
another under it, and these skins serve the rider, at night, for a bed.
The Blackfeet are fond of a handsome housing, made of a large panther's
skin, which they generally obtain from the Rocky Mountains. As these
animals have now become more scarce, a high price is often given for
the skin; sometimes a good horse, and even several, and seldom less
than sixty dollars in value. The panther's skin is so laid across the
horse that the long tail hangs down on one side, and has scarlet cloth
laid under it, which forms all round a broad border, as well to the
fore legs as at the head and tail.[95]
[Illustration: A Grosventre dagger]
[Illustration: Horn drinking cup]
[Illustration: Blackfoot parchment bags]
[Illustration: Talc pipes]
One of the most necessary articles to the men is the tobacco-pipe;
those made by themselves are not so handsome as those of the Sioux,
which they highly prize, and readily obtain by barter. The true
Blackfoot pipes are made of the talc, of which I have already spoken,
or of a blackish stone, which is found in the Rocky Mountains. Their
shape is shown in the annexed woodcuts;[96] {252} it is often in
the form of a ball, or a pear, and rests upon a cubical foot. The
tube is made of wood, broad, flat, or round, and sometimes carved in
imitation of a serpent. The handsomest are the large medicine pipes,
the _calumets_ of the French.[97] They are adorned with the red heads
of the woodpecker, bills, and a large fan made of feathers, and are
used in all the solemn treaties and festivals of the North American
tribes, more or less ornamented, but, on the whole, always in the same
manner. When the Blackfeet smoke, they put a piece of dried earth, or a
round mass made of the filaments and pods of certain water plants, on
the ground, to rest the pipe on. Their tobacco consists of the small,
roundish, dried leaves of the sakakomi plant (_Arbutus uva ursi_). When
you visit an Indian in his tent, the pipe is immediately taken up, and
passes round in the company, each person handing it to his left-hand
neighbour. The master of the tent often blows the smoke towards the sun
and the earth; every one takes some puffs and hands it on; the last man
sends the pipe back again, but gives it to the person sitting opposite
to him, in another row, and it circulates as before. The Blackfeet,
like most of the tribes of the Upper Missouri, sow the seeds of the
_Nicotiana quadrivalvis_, having first burnt the place where they
intend it to grow: it is only on solemn occasions that they smoke this
tobacco.
The food and clothing of these people are chiefly derived from the
herds of buffaloes, which they pursue, and for which they make, in
the winter season, large parks, into which they are driven. The
antelopes and the mountain sheep, especially the latter, furnish them
with leather for their finer articles of dress; but the skins of the
buffalo cow are indispensable for their large robes, tents, and for
barter with the Whites. They feed on almost every kind of animal except
the grizzly bear; the black bear is not found in their prairies, and
they have an aversion to amphibious animals. The Blood Indians hunt
wolves for the sake of their skins, which they sell. All these Indians
are very expert in the use of the bow, and this weapon is dangerous
in their hands; with the gun, on the contrary, they are said to be
indifferent marksmen, their pieces being by no means good. From the
vegetable kingdom they obtain many roots; the pomme blanche, or white
turnip, is very common in their prairies. The women and children dig
them up with a particular kind of wooden instrument, and bring them in
strings to the Whites for sale.
Another root is bitter; it is boiled in broth, and is then very
nutritious. It is said that when you are accustomed to the taste, it is
not disagreeable. Another turnip-like root, called, by the Canadians,
_racine à tabac_, is buried in the earth with hot stones, and is said
to become black, like tobacco, as soon as it is fit to eat; it has a
sweetish taste, like parsnips. The other wild fruits of the prairies
are gathered by the women and children. Little children are obliged
very early, even as soon as they have cut their teeth, to chew meat,
or more properly speaking, to suck it; while older children are seen
at the mother's breast. The Blackfeet are very fond of their {253}
children, and, at their birth, give them names after animals, and other
things, remarkable events, and all kinds of occurrences.
Brandy is the greatest luxury of these Indians, as of all the other
North Americans, for which they will willingly part with everything
they possess, and have about them. They will even offer their wives
and children for sale in order to obtain it. It is said that, when
intoxicated, they are often less dangerous than other people. Many of
the men have often six or eight wives, whom they are very ready to
give up to the Whites: even very young little girls are offered. On
the other hand, they generally punish infidelity in their wives very
severely, cutting off their noses in such cases; and we saw, about Fort
Mc Kenzie, a great many of these poor creatures horribly disfigured.
When ten or twelve tents were together, we were sure to see six or
seven women mutilated in this manner.
The husband also cuts off the hair by way of punishment, and they then
avoid showing their heads, which they seek to cover. During our stay,
the Whites had punished their Indian wives in the same way. The woman
whose nose is cut off, is immediately repudiated by her husband; nobody
will take her as his wife; and such women generally work for wages,
or for their subsistence, in other tents; attend on the children,
tan hides, or perform other household work. There have been frequent
instances of a husband immediately killing his wife, when she has had
intercourse with others; often he avenges himself on the paramour,
takes away his horse or other valuable property, to which he must
submit quietly.
There is no particular marriage ceremony among the Blackfeet; the
man pays for the wife, and takes her to him; the purchase-price is
announced to the father of the girl by a friend or some other man. If
he accepts it, the girl is given up, and the marriage is concluded. If
the wife behaves ill, or if her husband is tired of her, he sends her
home without any ceremony, which does not give occasion to any dispute.
She takes her property and retires: the children remain the property
of the husband. These Indians often have many children, who generally
run and play about quite naked, and swim in the river like ducks. The
boys go naked till they are thirteen or fourteen years old, but the
girls have a leather dress at an early age. In their domestic life,
the Blackfeet, like all the North Americans, are quiet and peaceable;
they are said, however, to be more passionate than other nations. Duels
sometimes take place, and vengeance is executed in most cases. If an
Indian is killed, his relations avenge themselves, if possible, on
the murderer; but, if they have no opportunity to do this, they take
revenge on the first member of his family that they meet with; often,
however, their vengeance is bought off with some articles of value.
In their camp and tents, these Indians, even the dangerous Blood
Indians, are hospitable. White men, who visited them in the cold month
of October, were immediately lodged in the tent {254} of a chief,
while the owner, with his whole family, slept in the open air: nobody
dared to molest the guests. The horses were well taken care of, and
there was no need to look after them, for, under these circumstances,
they were perfectly safe, as well as all the effects of the strangers,
which, in other cases, would certainly have been stolen. It is not
difficult for the Indians to feed a few Whites; on the other hand, it
is impossible for the latter to do the same for their Indian visitors,
and yet they expect it. These Indian visits are so numerous, and of
such long continuance, that it is absolutely impossible to procure the
necessary victuals for them. This is, doubtless, a chief cause of the
animosity of the Indians to the Whites; and, though the disproportion
in the numbers on both sides is shown them ever so clearly, they never
understand it. Mr. Mitchell once received a severe lesson on this
subject among the Sioux on the Mississippi. He was invited to a tent,
and, though he was very hungry, did not get a morsel to eat. On the
following morning, the Sioux came to him and said that, "though he
had made him suffer hunger, he had not done so from any ill-will; but
that the same thing had lately happened to him in the house of Mr.
Mitchell, and, therefore, he meant only to give him a hint, not to be
wanting in this respect for the future." The Blackfeet are inveterate
beggars, that is, they are frequently troublesome by their constant
importunities, but they are inferior in this respect to the Gros
Ventres des Prairies. Horse stealing is an eminent art among them,
and a dexterous horse stealer is a person of distinction. They have
invented many games for their amusement. At one of them they sit in a
circle, and several little heaps of beads, or other things, are piled
up, for which they play. One takes some pebbles in his hand, moving it
backwards and forwards in measured time, and singing; while another
endeavours to guess the number of pebbles. In this manner considerable
sums are lost and won.
The Blackfeet have various dances; for instance,--1. The mosquito
dance. 2. The dog dance. 3. The dance of the buffalo, with thin horns.
4. The dance of the prairie dogs. 5. The dance of those who carry the
raven. 6. The soldiers' dance. 7. The old bulls' dance. 8. The dance of
the imprudent. 9. The medicine dance. 10. The scalp dance. The first
seven are all danced in the same manner, the only difference is in the
singing. This is usually sometimes loud, sometimes soft, now high,
now low, always consisting of short, frequently repeated tones, and
extremely monotonous, often interrupted by loud exclamations of "re,
ri," or "hey, hey, hey," repeated three times, nearly the same among
all the Missouri tribes, and interrupted by the war cry. The medicine
dance of the women does not occur every year. It is a medicine feast
for the latter, at which, however, some men likewise appear. A large
wooden hut is erected, the women dress themselves as handsomely as they
can, and all wear a large feather cap. Some of the women take no part
in the dance, and these, with the men, are spectators. Men beat the
drum, and shake the schischikué, the last day of the feast; when the
dance is finished, the buffalo {255} park is imitated; the men, the
children, and the remaining women form two diverging lines, _b_ and
_c_,[98] which proceed from the medicine lodge, out of which the women
creep, crawling on all-fours, and endeavour to imitate the manners of
the buffalo cows. Several men represent buffalo bulls, and are at first
driven back by the women; but then, as is the practice in this kind
of hunting, a fire is kindled to windward, and the women, or buffalo
cows, as soon as they smell the smoke, retreat into the medicine lodge,
which concludes the festival. They sometimes perform this dance in the
summer, when the fancy takes them.
[Illustration: Plan of women's medicine dance]
[Illustration: Badge of Prairie-dog band]
[Illustration: Badge of Raven band]
[Illustration: Pipe-lighting stick]
The scalp dance, or, properly speaking, to dance the scalp, is
performed when they have killed their enemies. The women then dress
like the men, and likewise carry their arms. If women have taken part
in the warlike expedition in which enemies have been slain, they paint
their faces black. A woman sometimes carries the scalp, or several,
according to the number they may have; sometimes it is carried by an
old woman, who then remains aside and dances alone, and drums and
schischikué, played by men, accompany the dance. There is likewise
a dance of the brave, or warriors, who form a circle, within which
several dance, imitating all the movements of a battle, and firing
their guns, on which occasion their faces are painted so as to give
them a fierce expression.
The bands, unions, or associations, mentioned when we were speaking
of the Assiniboins, are found among the Blackfeet, as well as all
the other American tribes. They have a certain name, fixed rules and
laws, as well as their peculiar songs and dances, and serve in part
to preserve order in the camp, on the march, in the hunting parties,
&c. Seven such bands, or unions, among the Blackfeet, were mentioned
to me, and to which the first seven dances above-mentioned belong.
They are the following:--1. The band of the mosquitoes. This union
has no police business to do, but consists of young people, many of
whom are only eight or ten years of age; there are also some young men
among them, and sometimes even a couple of old men, in order to see to
the observance of the laws and regulations. This union performs wild,
youthful pranks; they run about the camp whenever they please; pinch,
nip, and scratch men, women, and children, in order to give annoyance
like the mosquitoes. They do not even spare old, distinguished men. If
any man offends one of them, he has to do with all of them, for they
hold closely together. The young people begin with this union, and then
gradually rise higher, through the others. As the badge of their band,
they wear an eagle's claw, fastened round the wrist with a leather
strap. They have also a particular mode of painting themselves, like
every other band, and their peculiar songs and dance. 2. The dogs. Its
badge is not known to me: it consists of young married men, and {256}
the number is not limited. 3. The prairie dogs. This is a police union,
which receives married men: its badge is a long hooked stick, wound
round with otter skin, with knots of white skin at intervals, and a
couple of eagle's feathers hanging from each of them.[99] 4. Those who
carry the raven. Its badge is a long staff, covered with red cloth,
to which black ravens' feathers, in a long thick row, are fastened
from one end to the other.[100] They contribute to the preservation
of order, and the police. 5. The buffalo, with thin horns. When they
dance, they wear horns on their caps. In camp, the tents of the unions
are in the middle of the circle, which has a free space in the centre.
If disorders take place, they must help the soldiers, who mark out the
camp, and then take the first place.
6. The soldiers. They are the most distinguished warriors, who
exercise the police, especially in the camp and on the march; in public
deliberations they have the casting vote, whether, for instance, they
shall hunt, change their abode, make war, or conclude peace, &c. They
carry, as their badge, a wooden club, the breadth of a hand, with hoofs
of the buffalo cow hanging to the handle. They are sometimes forty or
fifty men in number. Their wives, when they dance the medicine dance,
are painted in the same manner as the men. 7. The buffalo bulls. They
form the first, that is, the most distinguished of all the unions, and
are the highest in rank. They carry in their hand a medicine badge,
hung with buffalo hoofs, which they rattle when they dance, to their
peculiar song. They are too old to attend to the police, having passed
through all the unions, and are considered as having retired from
office. In a certain degree they have descended from the union of
active and distinguished soldiers. In their medicine dance they wear
on their head a cap, made of the long forelock and mane of the buffalo
bull, which hangs down to a considerable length. New members are chosen
into all these unions, who are obliged to pay entrance; medicine men,
and the most distinguished men, have to pay more than other people. If
a woman, whose husband is in one of the unions, has had any intercourse
with another, the union meets in one of the tents, where they smoke,
and, in the evening, when all around are buried in sleep, they
penetrate into the woman's tent, drag her out, ill-treat her as they
please, and cut off her nose. {257} These Indians are often very cruel.
The man cannot make any opposition; he must repudiate such a woman. He
is then told why she has been treated in this manner, and he may have
his revenge on the seducer, from whom he generally takes some horses.
We saw the Blackfeet ride to battle half naked, but some, too, in
their finest dresses, with the beautifully ornamented shield obtained
from the Crows, and their splendid crowns of feathers,[101] and, on
these occasions, they all have their medicines, or amulets, open
and hung about them. The battle, of which we were witnesses, and of
which I shall give an account in the next chapter, enabled us to
form a pretty correct notion of their mode of fighting, which does
not differ from that of the other North Americans. Small parties,
almost naked, approach the enemy by stealth, and endeavour to gain the
advantage of him by stratagem, ambuscade, or surprise; and the attack
is generally made at daybreak. They formed long lines, and fired from
a great distance; but they are indifferent marksmen. The women and
children were very attentive to the wounded, over whom they cried
and lamented, as we shall see in the next chapter. The enemy, with
guns, arrows, spears, and knives, killed and wounded men, women, and
children indiscriminately, and scalped even the women, who are often
taken prisoners, and carried off as slaves, but afterwards not usually
ill-treated. I shall have occasion to speak also, in the next chapter,
of the fury with which they mutilate the dead, every one, as he passes,
venting his rage by firing his gun, or throwing stones at them, or by
blows. No trace is now to be found, at least among the Blackfeet, of
the tortures inflicted on the prisoners, as formerly practised by the
American Indians.
When the warriors come near their camp, after a battle, they sing;
and one rides or runs before, often in serpentine lines, backwards
and forwards about the tents, holding up and shaking the scalp, and
displaying it at a distance. If any one has taken a weapon, he displays
it in the same manner, loudly proclaiming his name as having taken
it. After a successful engagement, the men sing the song which they
call _aninay_, that is, "they are painted black." On these occasions,
they assemble in the open air about their tents, with their faces
painted black, their leggins and robes spotted with black, and then
sing, without the accompaniment of any instrument, nor are the scalps
displayed. There are no words to this song, which consists only of the
usual notes.
The weapons of the Blackfeet do not much differ from those of the
other Indians on the Missouri; but they are not so handsome and well
made as those of the Crows, Manitaries and Mandans. They do not
themselves make bows of the horn of the elk, or of the mountain sheep,
which are consequently not common among them. Their country does not
produce any wood suitable for bows; and they endeavour to obtain, by
barter, the bow wood, or yellow wood (_Maclura aurantiaca_), from
the River Arkansas. For their quivers, they prefer the skin of the
cougar (_Felis concolor_, Linn.), for which they give a horse. The
tail hangs down from the quiver, is trimmed with red cloth on the
inner side, embroidered with white beads, and ornamented {258} at the
end or elsewhere, with strips of skin, like tassels. I saw few lances
among the Blackfeet, but many war clubs, most of which they had taken
from the Flatheads. Many have thick leather shields, which are usually
painted green and red, and hung with feathers and other things, to
which some superstitious belief is attached. When they are going to
battle, they twist the leather case of their gun round their head, like
a turban. Wolf skins are then useful to them, especially when they want
to observe the enemy. They wear them across their shoulders, and, when
they wish to approach the enemy unperceived, they throw them over their
head, and lie down behind an elevation, or rising of the ground, in
such a manner as to have the appearance of a white wolf.
The medicine men or physicians of the Blackfeet are very unskilful.
We always saw them take water in their mouths, which they spit out
over the wounded. They never wash or cleanse the wounds, and the
coagulated blood was still on them on the second day. The recovery of
all the severely wounded, without any proper care, shows the vigorous
constitutions of these men, of which, indeed, there are many other
proofs. Drums and rattles (schischikué) were daily used in their
attendance on the sick, in the closed tent. Children mortally wounded
lay on the ground without covering, and without any kind of attention,
exposed to the burning sun, and they all died in a short time. These
Indians are said to have successfully healed some severe wounds; but,
as far as my observation goes, those cures were chiefly to be ascribed
to the good constitutions of the patients. Among almost all the tribes
of the Missouri there were individuals who had been scalped, and cured,
and who wore caps; and we were told that there were some such among the
Blackfeet. These Indians have some efficacious remedies derived from
the vegetable kingdom, one of which is a whitish root from the Rocky
Mountains, which is called, by the Canadians, rhubarb, which is said to
resemble our rhubarb in its effect and taste, and likewise to act as an
emetic. Another root is esteemed to be a powerful remedy against the
bite of serpents. In all cases they have recourse to the drum and the
rattle, and have great confidence in the intolerable noise caused by
those instruments. The Blackfeet make their rattles of leather, wood,
or bladder, because they do not grow any calabashes. It is well known
that this remarkable instrument is in use among most of the different
tribes or nations of the American race, as well in the northern as the
southern half of this vast continent. They have great confidence in
the medicines of the Whites, and often apply for them; but many were
in such a desperate state from diseases of long standing, that a cure
was quite out of the question. If Indians are cured by their doctors
(which sometimes happens), they make them considerable presents, or the
medicine man makes a heavy charge. Last spring several Blackfeet died
very suddenly from colic, accompanied with vomiting, and the disease
appears very closely to have resembled the cholera.
When a Blackfoot dies, they do not bury him in the ground if they
can avoid it, but sew him up in a buffalo robe, dressed in his best
clothes, his face painted red, but without his {259} weapons, and lay
him in some retired place, in ravines, rocks, forests, or on a high,
steep bank, and often cover the body with wood or stones, that the
wolves may not get at it. Frequently, when they cannot find a solitary
spot, the corpse remains above ground in a kind of wooden shed, and
they were often obliged to bury it, or to give it to the Whites as
a desirable present, which cannot be refused. The relations cut off
their long hair, smear it, as well as their faces and clothes, with
whitish-grey clay, and, during the time of mourning, wear their worst
clothing. Often, too, they cut off a joint of a finger. They believe
the dead go into another country, where they will have lack of nothing;
and that they have often been heard when they were summoned to smoke
a pipe together. At the funeral of rich Indians, several horses are
often killed upon the spot; and we were told of instances when twelve
or fifteen horses were killed in this manner at the funeral of a
celebrated chief. On the death of Sachkomapoh (the child), a rich and
distinguished chief, who is said to have possessed between 4000 and
5000 horses, 150 were killed with arrows.[102] The relations assemble
at the residence of the deceased, and even the men lament and wail.
The corpse is generally buried on the first day, and in case of death
during the night, it is removed on the following morning.
The Blackfeet, like all the other American Indians, are superstitious,
and it is rare to see a man who has not some strange custom or habit
which he adopts as a charm, and on which he imagines that the success
of his plans and undertakings depends. Many rattle with bells before
they smoke; others spit in different directions before they drink;
others, again, mutter a certain phrase, or a kind of prayer, &c. &c.
We saw one man who never lighted his pipe at the fire, but made use
of a stick about two feet long, and twice as thick as the ramrod of a
gun, which was ornamented with feathers and bells, and painted red and
black.[103] It was hollow at the end to receive another thinner stick,
which he always kindled when he wanted to light his pipe. On inquiring
the cause of this strange custom, he answered that he was afraid of
iron, and must, therefore, light his pipe with this stick. Most of
these people have such singular customs, but, unfortunately, they do
not like to communicate to others their notions on such subjects, and
it is, consequently, very difficult to get at the bottom of them.
{260} Mr. Berger, the interpreter, who was otherwise well acquainted
with the Blackfoot Indians, could not give me any information
respecting their religious ideas, further than that they worship the
sun (Natohs or Nantohs); and it is probable that, like the Mandans,
they look upon it either as the lord of life, or his dwelling-place.
We did not observe, in their camps, either offerings for the heavenly
powers, hung upon poles, as among the Mandans and Manitaries, or any
other indications of the exercise of some kind of worship.[104]
FOOTNOTES:
[77] The Sassis, or Sarcis (_Sarcees_), are a branch of the Chippewans,
who live further to the north, and must not be confounded with the
Ojibbeways (Chippeways). (See A. Mc Kenzie, pages lxxi. and cxvi.)
Tanner speaks of their language; and Captain Franklin, in his first
journey (page 109), says that this tribe had 150 tents. Dr. Morse,
in his Report (page 34), calls the Indians mentioned here, Sursees.
According to Captain Bonneville, they are usually included under the
name of Blackfeet; which, however, is by no means the case in the part
of the country through which I travelled.--MAXIMILIAN.
_Comment by Ed._ The Sarcee are a small but brave and mischievous tribe
belonging to the Athabascan family--the Tinneh stock, related either
to the Chepewyan or Beaver Indians. Early in the nineteenth century
they migrated southward, and joined the Blackfoot confederacy. They
have always roamed in British territory, and are now upon a reserve in
Alberta, a short distance south of Calgary. In 1901 they numbered 205,
and were employed in farming and cattle-herding.
[78] The Kutanas, or Kutnehas, live beyond the sources of Maria River,
on the other side of the Rocky Mountains, and form a tribe, few in
number, of which we shall have occasion to speak in the sequel. Dr.
Morse (Loc. cit. page 34) calls them Coutouns. Several other tribes of
Indian nations--for instance, the Ripids (_ibid._ page 34), have never
been mentioned to me.--MAXIMILIAN.
[79] See our volume xxiv. For different accounts of this embassy and
the subsequent treaty, see James Stuart, "Adventure on the Upper
Missouri," in Montana Historical Society _Contributions_, i, pp. 80-85;
Bradley, "Affairs at Fort Benton (Culbertson's Journal)," _ibid._, iii,
pp. 201-203; also _Larpenteur's Journal_, i, pp. 109-115.--ED.
[80] I must here observe that Lewis and Clarke's large special map is
very correct for the country about Fort Mc Kenzie.--MAXIMILIAN.
[81] Teton River--not named for the Sioux tribe of that designation,
but from the French word signifying "breast," so called from three
neighboring mountain peaks--was designated by Lewis and Clark first
Rose then Tansy River. It is the largest affluent of Maria's, rising
in the main range of the Rockies in two branches, flowing due east
until very near the Missouri; then turning abruptly north-east, and
discharging into Maria's. The narrows where the Teton approaches so
near the Missouri was known to the voyageurs as "Cracon du Nez."--ED.
[82] This new fort was not built until after the abandonment of Fort
Mc Kenzie (see note 75, _ante_, p. 87), when Culbertson founded Fort
Lewis, which was in turn soon deserted for Fort Benton.--ED.
[83] The Siksekai signifies, in their language, Blackfoot,
and all the other nations have translated the name into their
languages.--MAXIMILIAN.
[84] The name of Blood Indians is said to have the following origin.
Before the Blackfeet divided into separate bands, they were encamped in
the neighbourhood of five or six tents of the Kutonas or the Sarcees,
I believe of the former. The Siksekai and the Kahna desired to kill
the Kutonas; and though the Piekanns declared against it, a part of
those Indians attacked the few huts during the night, killed all the
inmates, took the scalps, stained their faces and hands with the blood,
and then returned. Disputes ensued in consequence of this cruel action;
the Indians separated from each other, and the murderers received the
name which they have ever since retained. They have always manifested
a more sanguinary and predatory character than the others, of whom the
Piekanns have always been remarked as the most moderate and humane of
their nation.--MAXIMILIAN.
[85] Referring probably to the Blackfoot band of Sioux. See our volume
xxii, p. 326, note 287.--ED.
[86] For the Nez Percés see Franchère's _Narrative_, in our volume vi,
p. 340, note 145; for the Kutenai, our volume vii, p. 211, note 73.--ED.
[87] Pierre Louis Antoine Cordier, a French geologist of repute. In
1819 he was called to the professorship of that science in the museum
of natural history at Paris. Under Louis Philippe, Professor Cordier
was a councillor and peer of France.--ED.
[88] See Plate 45, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED.
[89] These roots, which are cut into short cylinders, and strung
together, are bought at high prices from other nations; for example,
the Crees and the Ojibbeways. They are likewise used as an ingredient
in the bait for beavers.--MAXIMILIAN.
[90] This green stone is a compact talc or steatite, which is found in
the Rocky Mountains.--MAXIMILIAN.
[91] This is represented in our volume xiv, p. 202.--ED.
[92] See Plate 54, figure 1, in the accompanying atlas, our volume
xxv.--ED.
[93] See p. 105 for illustration of Blackfoot parchment bags.--ED.
[94] See p. 105 for illustration of horn drinking cup.--ED.
[95] See the portrait of the Piegan on horseback, in Plate 19, in the
accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED.
[96] See p. 105 for illustration of talc pipes.--ED.
[97] See Plate 81, figure 13, in the accompanying atlas, our volume
xxv.--ED.
[98] See plan of women's medicine dance, p. 113.--ED.
[99] See p. 113 for badge of Prairie-dog band.--ED.
[100] See p. 113 for badge of Raven band.--ED.
[101] See Plate 81, figures 5, 6, in the accompanying atlas, our volume
xxv.--ED.
[102] Among the Araucanians, Patagonians, Puelches, and Charruas, the
domestic animals belonging to the deceased are killed upon his grave
(see D'Orbigny Voy. Introd., p. 112), and the women cut off joints of
their fingers.--MAXIMILIAN.
[103] See p. 113 for illustration of pipe-lighting stick.--ED.
[104] In Dr. Morse's Report (page 354), there are many incorrect
statements respecting the religion of the Indians to the east of the
Rocky Mountains.--MAXIMILIAN.