on the bank of an old bed of the Sheyenne River, near Lisbon, Ransom
County, N. Dak. This would have been about midway between the Minnesota
River and the village on the Missouri near Porcupine Creek. A plan of
this village made a few years ago is now preserved in the Historical
Society of North Dakota and was reproduced by Dr. Grinnell in the
article cited. It shows a large number--70 or more--earth-lodge sites,
varying in size, but closely grouped, and protected by a ditch except on
the river side. There is a remarkable similarity between this site and
others east of the Mississippi, where structures of a like form
evidently stood in the centuries before the coming of Europeans. The
ditch may have been accompanied by an embankment, in turn surmounted by
palisades. The river served to protect the settlement on the north, the
encircling embankment and ditch reaching the bank of the stream both
above and below the occupied area.
Unfortunately no sketch or picture of any sort of a Cheyenne earth lodge
is known to exist, but the villages just mentioned must necessarily have
resembled in appearance those of the Pawnee of a later generation,
remarkable photographs of which have been preserved and which are shown
in the present work. And as Dr. Grinnell has said in a recent
communication (February 2, 1920) when referring to the places long ago
occupied by the camps of the Cheyenne: "I have walked about on the sites
of these old villages, and the grandmother of a woman of my
acquaintance, and probably the father of that woman, lived in
earth-lodge houses, presumably very similar to those occupied in my time
by the Pawnees and the Mandans. I have never seen one, however, and do
not know anyone who has seen one. Many years ago, I might have procured
from old Elk River a description of such houses, though he was even then
very old and growing feeble. It is too late to lament that now."
The conical skin lodge of the Cheyenne resembled that of other plains
tribes, and they must in earlier times, when buffalo were so numerous
and easily secured, have been rather large and commodious structures.
When Lewis and Clark descended the Missouri, on their return from the
far west, they reached on August 21, 1806, an encampment of the Cheyenne
on the bank of the Missouri, opposite the upper village of the Arikara,
not far below the old Cheyenne village mentioned in the journal of the
expedition on October 15, 1804. To quote from the entry made August 21,
1806: "... arrived opposite to the upper Ricara villages. We saluted
them with the discharge of four guns, which they answered in the same
manner; and on our landing we were met by the greater part of the
inhabitants of each village, and also by a band of Chayennes, who were
encamped on a hill in the neighbourhood...." After conversing with all
concerning the Mandans, "The sun being now very hot, the chief of the
Chayennes invited us to his lodge, which was at no great distance from
the river. We followed him, and found a very large lodge, made of twenty
buffaloe skins, surrounded by eighteen or twenty lodges, nearly equal in
size. The rest of the nation are expected to-morrow, and will make the
number of one hundred and thirty or fifty lodges, containing from three
hundred and fifty to four hundred men, at which the men of the nation
may be computed. These Chayennes are a fine looking people, of a large
stature, straight limbs, high cheek-bones and noses, and of a complexion
similar to that of the Ricaras." (Lewis and Clark, (1), II, pp.
413-414.)
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 77 PLATE 14
[Illustration: CHEYENNE. STUMP HORSE AND FAMILY]
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 77 PLATE 15
[Illustration: "ENCAMPMENT OF THE PIEKANN INDIANS"
Karl Bodmer, 1833]
The photograph reproduced in plate 14 shows a Cheyenne family group, an
interesting example of a travois, and part of a lodge. The latter
differs from all described on the preceding pages and evidently
resembles those erected by the Pawnee in their temporary camps. This
form may have been used in later times in the place of the conical skin
lodge, although the latter was not abandoned, but, as among other
tribes, the Cheyenne appear to have erected several types of shelters or
habitations, governed by the available supply of materials necessary for
their construction.
Large lodges, evidently tipis, set up for special purposes by the
Cheyenne, are mentioned by Grinnell. In the spring of 1853 the main
village of that tribe, so he wrote, stood "at the mouth of Beaver Creek
on the South Platte. There a large lodge was set up as a meeting-place
for each of the soldier bands. To each such place came the relations of
those killed the year before to implore the soldier bands to take pity
on them and to help to revenge their injuries." And at this time many
presents were given the warriors. (Grinnell, (2), p. 80.)
This was before many of the primitive customs of the tribe had been
changed through contact with the whites.
BLACKFOOT CONFEDERACY.
The tribes forming this group are the Siksika, or Blackfeet proper, the
Piegan, and the Kainah, or Bloods. Closely allied and associated with
these were the Atsina, a branch of the Arapaho, but who later became
incorporated with the Assiniboin. These tribes roamed over a wide
territory of mountains, plains, and valleys.
Early accounts of the manners and ways of life of the Blackfeet are to
be found in the journals kept by traders belonging to the Hudson's Bay
Company, who penetrated the vast, unknown wilderness southwestward from
York Factory during the eighteenth century. Although the records are all
too brief and leave much to be desired, nevertheless they are of the
greatest interest, referring as they do to the people while yet in a
primitive state, with no knowledge of the customs of Europeans.
The first of the journals to be mentioned is that of Anthony Hendry, who
left York Factory June 26, 1754. He ascended Hayes River many miles,
thence, after crossing numerous lakes and streams and traversing forests
and plains, arrived on Monday, October 14, 1754, at a point not far
northeastward from the present city of Calgary, Alberta. This was in the
country of the Blackfeet, mentioned in the journal as the Archithinue
Natives. That same day, so the narrative continues: "Came to 200 tents
of Archithinue Natives, pitched in two rows, and an opening in the
middle; where we were conducted to the Leader's tent; which was at one
end, large enough to contain fifty persons; where he received us seated
on a clear [white] Buffalo skin, attended by 20 elderly men. He made
signs for me to sit down on his right hand: which I did. Our Leader set
on several grand-pipes, and smoked all round, according to their usual
custom: not a word was yet spoke on either side. Smoking being over,
Buffalo flesh boiled was served round in baskets of a species of bent,
and I was presented with 10 Buffalo tongues." The following day he again
visited the lodge of the chief, where he received as a gift "a handsome
Bow & Arrows," and the journal continues: "I departed and took a view of
the camp. Their tents were pitched close to one another in two regular
lines, which formed a broad street open at both ends. Their horses are
turned out to grass, their legs being fettered: and when wanted, are
fastened to lines cut of Buffalo skin, that stretches along & is
fastened to stakes drove in the ground. They have hair halters, Buffalo
skin pads, & stirrups of the same."
Although Hendry mentioned the encampment to consist of 200 lodges it is
quite evident others were in the vicinity, or came soon after his
arrival, for three days later, on October 17, he noted in his journal
"322 tents of Archithinue Natives unpitched and moved Westward."
(Hendry, (1), pp. 337-340.) They did not have permanent villages, and
"never wanted food, as they followed the Buffalo & killed them with the
Bows and Arrows. They were unacquainted with the canoe, would not eat
fish, and their garments were finely painted with red paint." Such were
the Blackfeet about the middle of the eighteenth century.
On June 27, 1772, Matthew Cocking, second factor at York Factory,
started on a journey quite similar to that performed by Hendry just
eighteen years earlier. He ascended Hayes River, passed north of Lake
Winnipeg, and continued in a southwestwardly direction to some point not
far north of the South Saskatchewan River in the extreme western part of
the present Province of Saskatchewan. When near this position on
December 1, 1772, they encamped not far from a "Beast pound," which had
probably stood from year to year. That day, so he entered in his
journal, "our Archithinue friends came to us and pitched a small
distance from us; on one side the pound 21 tents of them, the other
seven are pitched another way." And the following day, "the Archithinue
Natives repairing the pound, the repair we gave it on our arrival not
being sufficient." Two days later "the Archithinue Natives drove into
the pound 3 male & one female Buffalo, & brought several considerable
droves very near. They set off in the Evening; & drive the Cattle all
night. Indeed not only at this Game, but in all their actions they far
excell the other Natives. They are all well mounted.... Their Weapons,
Bows & Arrows. Several have on Jackets of Moose leather six fold,
quilted, & without sleeves." Cocking evidently visited many of the
tents, and on December 5 wrote: "Our Archithinue Friends are very
Hospitable, continually inviting us to partake of their best fare;
generally berries infused in water with fat, very agreeable eating.
Their manner of showing respect to strangers is, in holding the pipe
while they smoke: this is done three times. Afterwards every person
smokes in common; the Women excepted.... The tobacco they use is of
their own planting.... These people are much more cleanly in their
cloathing, & food, than my companions: Their Victuals are dressed in
earthen pots, of their own Manufacturing; much in the same form as
Newcastle pots, but without feet: their fire tackling a black stone used
as flint, & a kind of Ore as a steel, using tuss balls as tinder, (i.
e.) a kind of moss." December 6, 1772: "No success in pounding: the
Strangers say the season is past." On December 21 "we were joined by ten
tents of Asinepoet Indians," and the following day "by five tents of
Nehetheway Indians." The former were Assiniboin and the latter Cree.
(Cocking, (1), pp. 110-112.)
One of the reasons which inspired Cocking to undertake the long journey
into the wilderness was the desire to win the Blackfeet away from the
French interests, and to persuade them to carry their furs to the posts
of the Hudson's Bay Company. Soon the English were successful in their
endeavors, and for several generations secured the furs and robes
collected by the people of the ever-shifting camps, who followed the
buffalo as the vast herds moved from place to place with the changing
seasons of the year. Later, traders from another people penetrated the
country to the upper waters of the Missouri, and certain of the
Blackfeet began trading at the posts erected by these newcomers. The
various tribes wandered over a wide region, and 60 years ago it was
said:
"The Blood Indians range through the district along Maria, Teton, and
Belly Rivers, inclining west and northwest far into the interior. In
this section, wood is more abundant, pasturage excellent, and,
consequently, buffalo almost always abound there. The Blackfeet inhabit
a portion of country farther north than the Bloods, extending to the
banks of the Saskatchewan, along which they often reside. They have
never altogether abandoned their English friends, and more frequently
dispose of their furs to them than to the American traders on the head
branches of the Missouri. The Piegans roam through the Rocky Mountains
on the south side of Maria River, on both banks of the Missouri.... They
also hunt as far down the Missouri as the Mussel-shell River, and up
that stream to the borders of the Crow country. The three divisions ...
constitute the Blackfoot nation proper, whose name has become notorious
for their fierce and deadly struggles with all the neighboring tribes,
and in former times struck terror to all white men who travelled in any
district from the Saskatchewan to the Yellowstone, and from the
Yellowstone to the Columbia.... These bands all live in skin tents, like
the rest of the prairie tribes, follow the chase for a subsistence, and
in former years were famous for their war excursions against neighboring
tribes." (Hayden, (1), pp. 249-250.)
The region mentioned would have included the central portion of the
present State of Montana and northward. Marias River flows into the
Missouri just below Fort Benton.
Maximilian, who visited the Blackfeet during the summer of 1833, has
left a very concise and interesting account of the appearance of their
camps:
"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 tents 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; wooden dishes, large spoons made of the
horn of the mountain sheep, which are very wide and deep.... In the
center of the tent there is a small fire in a circle composed of stones,
over which the kettle for cooking is suspended." (Maximilian, (1), pp.
250-251.)
A painting of a Piegan camp was made at that time by Bodmer, who
accompanied Maximilian, and served as an illustration in the latter's
work. It is here reproduced as plate 15. It shows clearly the many skin
lodges forming the encampment, the numerous dogs and horses, with some
of the Indians wrapped in highly decorated buffalo robes. Some of the
lodges are decorated, but the great majority are plain, thus conforming
with the description.
Maximilian again wrote while at Fort McKenzie, in August, 1833:
"Having made our arrangements on the first day of our arrival, and
viewed the Indian camp, with its many dogs, and old dirty leather tents,
we were invited, on the following day, together with Mr Mitchell, to a
feast, given by the Blackfoot chief, Mehkskehme-Sukahs (the iron shirt).
We proceeded to a large circle in the middle of the camp, enclosed with
a kind of fence of boughs of trees, which contained part of the tents,
and was designed to confine the horses during the night, for the Indians
are so addicted to horse stealing that they do not trust each other. The
hut of the chief was spacious; we had never before seen so handsome a
one; it was full fifteen paces in diameter, and was very clean and
tastefully decorated. We took our seats, without ceremony, on buffalo
skins, spread out on the left hand of the chief, round the fire, in the
centre of the tent, which was enclosed in a circle of stones, and a dead
silence prevailed. Our host was a tall, robust man, who at this time had
no other clothes than his breechcloth; neither women nor children were
visible. A tin dish was set before us, which contained dry grated meat,
mixed with sweet berries, which we ate with our fingers, and found very
palatable. After we had finished, the chief ate what was left in the
dish, and took out of a bag a chief's scarlet uniform, with blue facings
and yellow lace, which he had received from the English, six red and
black plumes of feathers, a dagger with its sheath, a coloured
pocket-handkerchief, and two beaver skins, all of which he laid before
Mr Mitchell as a present, who was obliged to accept these things whether
he liked or not, thereby laying himself under the obligation of making
presents in return, and especially a new uniform. When the chief began
to fill his pipe, made of green talc, we rose and retired (quite in
Indian fashion) in silence, and without making any salutations." (Op.
cit., pp. 261-262.)
As Maximilian had already visited and seen many skin lodges as he
ascended the Missouri, his remarks concerning this one which belonged to
the Blackfeet chief are most interesting. It was between 40 and 50 feet
in diameter, very clean and well decorated, probably a remarkable
example.
The circles of earth which indicated the former positions of lodges were
noticed by Maximilian, and he again mentioned them while at Fort Union,
at the mouth of the Yellowstone, October 16, 1833. He said (p. 305):
"The little prairie fox was so hungry, and, therefore so tame, that it
often visited the environs of the fort, and we found these pretty little
animals among the circles of turf which were left on the removal of the
Indian tents."
Another visit to the Piegan, in the same region, was made just 20 years
later, during the month of September, 1853. J. M. Stanley, who
accompanied Gov. Stevens as the artist of the expedition, left camp on
the banks of Marias River and three days later, September 14, 1853,
reached the divide between Milk and Bow Rivers: "From this divide I had
a view of the Bull's Head, forming the base of Cypress mountain.... At 1
o'clock I descended to a deep valley, in which flows an affluent of
Beaver river. Here was the Piegan camp, of ninety lodges, under their
chief Low Horn, one hundred and sixty-three miles north, 20 deg. west, of
Fort Benton.
"Little Dog conducted me, with my party, to his lodge, and immediately
the chief and braves collected in the 'council Lodge,' to receive my
message...." This was conducted with customary formality, and the next
day, September 15, "At an early hour a town crier announced the
intention of the chief to move camp. The horses were immediately brought
in and secured around their respective lodges, and in less than one hour
the whole encampment was drawn out in two parallel lines on the plains,
forming one of the most picturesque scenes I have ever witnessed.
"Preparation for their transportation is made in the following manner:
The poles of the lodges, which are from twenty to thirty-five feet in
length, are divided, the small ends being lashed together and secured to
the shoulders of the horse, allowing the butt-ends to drag upon the
ground on either side; just behind the horse are secured to
cross-pieces, to keep the poles in their respective places, and upon
which are placed the lodge and domestic furniture. This also serves for
the safe transportation of the children and infirm unable to ride on
horseback--the lodge being folded so as to allow two or more to ride
securely. The horses dragging this burden--often of three hundred pounds
are also ridden by the squaws, with a child astride behind, and one in
her arms, embracing a favorite young pup.
"Their dogs (of which they have a large number) are also used in
transporting their effects in the same manner as the horses, making,
with ease, twenty miles a day, dragging forty pounds. In this way this
heterogeneous caravan, comprising of a thousand souls, fell into line
and trotted quietly until night, while the chiefs and braves rode in
front, flank, or rear, ever ready for the chase or defence against a
foe.... Like other tribes in this region, the Piegans retain all their
primitive customs, adhering with faithful pertinacity to the ceremonies
of their forefathers." (Stanley, (1), pp. 448-449.) At that time the
Piegan were estimated to have had 430 lodges, the average number of
persons occupying each being 10.
During this brief but interesting journey Stanley made many sketches of
the Indians with whom he came in contact, but not one of the drawings is
known to exist at the present time. His beautiful painting of a buffalo
hunt, shown in plate 2, is one of his five pictures now in the National
Museum at Washington.
The Blackfeet allies often moved in great numbers from place to place
when searching for the herds of buffalo or tracking some enemy tribe.
Such a war party was encountered on the banks of the River Saskatchewan,
two days' journey below Fort Pitt, about the present town of Battleford,
Saskatchewan, on June 1, 1848. Among the party then going from Fort Pitt
to Norway House, the Hudson's Bay Company's post on the northeast shore
of Lake Winnipeg, was the Canadian artist Kane, who entered in his
journal: "We saw a large party of mounted Indians, riding furiously
towards us. On their nearer approach they proved to be a large war
party, consisting of Blackfoot Indians, Blood Indians, Sur-cees, Gros
Ventres, and Paygans.... We instantly put ashore to meet them.... They
told us they were a party of 1,500 warriors, from 1,200 lodges, who were
then 'pitching on' towards Fort Edmonton; that is, they were making
short journeys, and pitching their tents on towards Edmonton, leaving
few behind capable of bearing arms. They were in pursuit of the Crees
and Assiniboines, whom they threatened totally to annihilate, boasting
that they themselves were as numerous as the grass on the plains. They
were the best mounted, the best looking, the most warlike in appearance,
and the best accoutred of any tribe I had ever seen on the continent
during my route.... After our smoke several of the young Braves engaged
in a horse race, to which sport they are very partial, and at which they
bet heavily; they generally ride on those occasions stark naked, without
a saddle, and with only a lasso fastened to the lower jaw of the horse
as represented in Sketch No. 16." (Kane, (1), pp. 417-420.) The "sketch
No. 16" is here reproduced in plate 16, _a_. It shows, in addition to
the horses, several conical skin-covered lodges, the one on the right
being highly decorated.