We set out with Maskepetoon for the Blackfoot camp--A wife for a
target--Indian scouts--Nearing the Blackfeet--Our Indians don paint
and feathers--A picture of the time and place--We enter the Blackfoot
camp--Three Bulls--Buffalo Indians--Father describes eastern
civilization--The Canadian Government's treatment of the Indians a
revelation--I am taken by a war chief as a hostage--Mine host and his
seven wives--Bloods and Piegans--I witness a great dance--We leave
for home--A sprained ankle--Arrival at the mission.
The year 1865 had barely started on its way when there came a courier
from Maskepetoon to father, requesting him if possible to come out
and go with Maskepetoon to the Blackfoot camp. The old chief desired
to ratify the peace treaty, and to lengthen its days as much as
possible. Father at once sent him word to make ready, and that he
would be out in a few days. He decided to take Peter and me with
him. Mother and the rest of our women folk were naturally very
anxious about this trip into the camp of the dreaded enemy, but this
did not prevent their helping to make us ready for the journey, and
soon we were off, father in his cariole, with Maple and her pups
hitched to it, Peter and I with our dog sleds carrying the provisions
and camp equipment.
Starting early, travelling fast, and keeping at it late, we reached
Maskepetoon's camp the second evening, and father and Peter worked
late that night teaching and preaching. Next morning we were away
with the chief and some forty of his warriors and head men. The
weather was very cold, and the buffalo were now travelling north in
large numbers, making their way into the Beaver Hills, and on to the
Saskatchewan. It looked now as if we would not have to haul our meat
from as long distances as last winter.
Father was the only one in the party with a cariole, and this he
shared ever and anon with Maskepetoon. The rest of us were on foot,
and as the snow was deep, except where the buffalo had trampled it
down, our progress was slow. Other Indians, from camps situated at
different points along the eastern and southern fringe of the Beaver
Hills, joined us. Among these was a Blackfoot who was taking back a
Cree wife. I took occasion to say to her, "Are you not afraid this
peace may not last very long?" She merely laughed at my suggestion;
but later on it came to pass that this same woman fell a victim to
the Blackfoot she had taken as her husband. It is related of them
that a few months after this, he and some others were gambling on a
hill while the camp was moving past, and as this Cree woman came
opposite the gamblers, her husband said to his companions, "See how I
can shoot," and aiming at the woman, shot her dead in her tracks. An
unfeeling laugh from the crowd followed the shocking tragedy.
As we journeyed the hunters of the party provided meat. The "cattle
upon a thousand hills" were our storehouse, the hunters were our
commissariat, and with sublime confidence in these we travelled on.
The third day from Maskepetoon's lodges, we camped within a few miles
of the Blackfeet, and early next morning our scouts were every little
while bringing us news of the numbers and situation of the camp.
Hardy fellows those scouts were. We were moving at a brisk, quiet
walk, but they must run on for miles, and then double on their tracks
back to us. While away they must be invisible; they must see all
that is to be seen, but remain unseen themselves. To do this they
must take the contour of the country, note the condition of the sun
and wind, be on the lookout for buffalo, coyotes, wolves, dogs, and
ravens, crows, and other fowl. They must keep a constant lookout for
contra scouting, and for this the nose and ear and eye and mind must
be always alert. I say, to do this well, as many of these fellows
can, requires the quickening of every sense. Then while doing all
this, at times to make ten miles an hour on foot also requires a
depth of lung and strength of limb and purpose of will which heredity
and constant practice alone can give.
Our scouts that morning were like telegraph bulletins. We knew how
the camp was arranged, and changed our course to suit this
arrangement. We were told of the windings of the coulee, or valley,
down which the Blackfeet lodges were standing. We were told of
hunting parties that had gone out that morning; of the bands of
horses, and how closely these were guarded; of the long strings of
women and ponies, and dogs and _travois_, which were coming and going
in various directions, packing wood to camp; all of which was
literally true, for our scouts had been there and seen it all.
When close we stopped behind a bluff, while our men put on their
visiting paint and dress material, and in a few minutes, with the
small circular mirrors and ochre bags, our company was transfigured
in appearance and colors. Bright colors in garments and on face made
a wonderful change, and to my eye this was exceedingly fitting. The
scene was in accord with itself; it was natural.
How often are we amused and then disgusted by merely made up scenes.
Someone who has been just long enough in a new country to be made a
victim of all the designing wags in it--who has just learned enough
about Indians to make himself ridiculous every time he opens his
mouth on the subject--will don the buckskins of a pioneer, or the
costume of the aboriginal Indian, and pose for one or the other; but
the whole thing is forced and unreal. Here we have the genuine
article, and each factor in the picture is complete and natural and
true: the sweep of the valley of the Battle River which slopes from
our feet; the ranges of forest-dotted hills, climbing one above the
other, from the river's brink even to the limit of our vision; the
intersecting fields of snow-clad prairie, reflecting each in its turn
the brilliant sunlight; the buffalo that here and there seem like ink
dots on the vast ground of dazzling white that stretches far and
wide; and the great solitude of primeval nature that broods over all.
Then the curling heavenward of the smoke of our temporary fire, the
athletic and well-proportioned physique of the men, their costumes
and paint--I say all this was to my mind and eye, as I stood there
and watched and waited that winter's day, as something just as it
should be, belonging to the place and time.
But now the last feather is tied on, the last touch of vermilion is
in its place, and we move on for another hour's quick tramp. A
hushed excitement is apparent. This whole thing is yet a very
uncertain quantity. Will success or disaster be the result? The
most thoughtless in our party is somewhat checked by the anxiety of
the moment.
In a few minutes the last scout will be in.
"Here he is!" We are about to come in sight and be within a few
hundred yards of the camp. Maskepetoon and father step to the front
side by side, as the chief would have it. Next come the standard
bearers, and the Union Jack and the Hudson's Bay Company's flag are
unfurled to the breeze; then the head men and chief warriors; then
the young men and scouts. Peter and I bring up the rear with our
dog-trains, which we have difficulty in keeping in their place--old
Draffan has been ahead so often, he cannot understand his having to
stay behind now.
The horse guards and wood carriers, and the children at play, were in
full view of our advancing column, and at first there was a rushing
of stock homewards, and a scrambling for the road by those engaged in
hauling wood, while the children screamed and fled over the hill into
the deep narrow valley in which the lodges were situated. An
inexperienced person would never have thought that hundreds of tents,
filled with warriors and women and children, were only a short
distance from us; but presently up out of the valley came a swarm of
men and boys, all armed and anxious. Then when the older ones
recognized Maskepetoon, they began to shout "Mon-e-guh-ba-now!" and
came to meet us gladly. As they came they fired their guns into the
air, and our men did likewise, and sang as they marched, and in a few
minutes we were on the brow of the hill and the Blackfoot camp lay at
our feet.
Maskepetoon and father, with Peter and myself, were taken to the head
chief's tent, and hospitably entertained in the style and manner
peculiar to this people. Buffalo meat and dried berries constituted
the food. The former was served either fresh or dry, or as pounded
meat and grease, or as pemmican. The latter were either boiled or
eaten dry. The vessels the food was served in were wooden, and the
ladles it was dipped with were made of horn. Neither of these, so
far as I could see, were ever washed. The cooks would cut up the
meat for the guests as is done for small children among the white
people. While in the Blackfoot camp we had no use for a knife,
though we would have infinitely preferred to cut and carve our own
food. Father would quietly say, "Look the other way, John," and I
would as quietly think, "If he can stand it, how much more can I."
Three Bulls, the chief in whose tent we were, was a tall, dignified
old man. His war and hunting days were over, but there was a
prestige in his manner and presence which spoke of a history for this
man, and it was this no doubt which kept him in the commanding
position he occupied. He had three wives living with him in his
tent. These might be described as old, older, oldest. There were
two handsome young men, his sons, evidently the children of different
mothers. Both father and mothers were very proud of these superb
specimens of physical manhood. The work of the camp was done by the
chief's daughters-in-law and granddaughters, who came and went
without noise or fuss in the discharge of their duties, while the
trio of wives sat and sewed moccasins or played the role of hostesses.
These were thoroughly buffalo Indians. Without buffalo they would be
helpless, and yet the whole nation did not own one. To look at them,
and to hear them, one would feel as if they were the most independent
of all men; yet the fact was they were the most dependent among men.
Moccasins, mittens, leggings, shirts and robes--all buffalo. With
the sinews of the buffalo they stitched and sewed these. Their
lariats, bridle lines, stirrup-straps, girths and saddles were
manufactured out of buffalo hide. Their women made scrapers out of
the leg-bone for fleshing hides. The men fashioned knife-handles out
of the bones, and the children made toboggans of the same. The horns
served for spoons and powder flasks. In short, they lived and had
their physical being in the buffalo. The Blackfoot word for buffalo
in the mass in _enewh_. This same word in Cree means _man_. The
Blackfoot word for buffalo bull is _stomach_, which in English means
quite another thing. For the Blackfoot man the buffalo supplied the
sole habiliment and the sole nutriment.
During our stay in the camp the women and children were frequently
sent out of the chief's tent, and then the lodge would be packed with
minor chiefs and headmen and warriors, who would listen to
Maskepetoon and father. Lively discussions there took place on the
benefits of peace among men. Father's descriptions of eastern
civilization and Christianity were as strange revelations to these
men. They listened, and wondered if these things could be true, so
different were their experiences of white men from what father had to
tell them of the conduct of our Government and of Christian men to
the Indians in general. He told them of the many villages and tribes
of Indians who were living in harmony and peace right in the midst of
the white people, in the country he came from. One could see that
most of these men were glad of the present respite, and yet there
were some who chafed under the necessity of even a short intermission
from their business of horse-stealing and scalp-taking.
There was one young war chief in camp who kept aloof from us, and as
he had considerable influence and a large following, some anxiety was
felt, both by our party and by the Blackfeet friendly to us.
However, during the second evening of our stay, he came to the
chief's tent, and it was announced that he was waiting outside. Our
host gathered his robe around him and went out, and presently the
proud young chieftain stepped in and took a seat beside us. Later on
the old chief returned, and I enquired of Maskepetoon, "Why this
unusual ceremony?" He told me that this young warrior chief was the
son-in-law of the old man, and it was a rule of etiquette that the
son-in-law should not come into a tent while his father-in-law was in
it. So the old man had gone out until his son-in-law came in. Even
here, as elsewhere, high-toned society must conform to rule.
This war chief said that he was not very anxious for peace, that war
to him was like eating good fruit--he loved it; but as the others
were favorable, he would join them for a while. Then turning to
father, he said, "You must, if you are in earnest, let your son come
to my tent and live with me while in our camp." Father asked me if I
was willing, and I said, "Yes." So it was arranged that I should go;
and presently the young chief signed to me to follow him, and we
started for his tent.
It was dark as we wended our way in and out among the lodges in the
windings of the valley, and it seemed to me that the dogs were
without number; but a quiet, sharp word from my leader made them
shrink away from us, and on we went for quite a distance. Presently
we came to a large lodge, and entering this I found we were at home.
The chief motioned me to a reclining couch of buffalo skins, and then
began to speak to his wives and to a number of young men who seemed
to be his dependents, and who were very obedient to his word. In the
matter of wives he was four ahead of his father-in-law, having seven
to own him lord, the last and youngest being the old chief's daughter.
Mine host--for I would rather consider him as such than my
captor--was a tall, athletic fellow, about thirty-five years of age.
He had a wild, wicked look about him, was quick and nervous in
movement, and was, from appearance at any rate, a man not to be
trifled with. His wives' ages, I should judge, ranged all the way
from eighteen to thirty years, and there were several children. The
lodge was the largest I had ever been in, necessitating at times the
making of two distinct fires in it to keep us warm; for all this time
the cold was severe, and our northern January weather was in full
sway over this land. Some of the women untied a bundle of newly
dressed robes, and made up for me a couch next to the chief's. They
handed me some dried meat and berries, and eating a late supper, I
turned in for the night. The isolation from the rest of our party
was complete, and I could not repress a feeling of loneliness; but as
father had arranged the affair of my being thus alone in this man's
camp, I felt it was all right, and went to sleep.
Before daylight the camp was astir, and huge fires were burning in
the centre of the lodge, but the keen cold was very apparent a few
feet from these. As soon as I sat up in my couch one of the women
brought me water in a wooden bowl for my morning ablutions, and I had
my pocket-handkerchief to serve as a towel. Then they gave me for my
breakfast boiled meat cut into small pieces. I longed for salt, but
there was none.
All day strangers kept coming and going in our tent. It seemed to me
I was on exhibition. Once during the day my host signed to me to
follow him, and we went out to the summit of a hill, where his band
of horses were driven up by some young men who had them in charge,
and I admired the number and quality of his stock. There must have
been a hundred or more in the bunch, most of them, no doubt, the
result of his stealings. Then we went back to the tent, and the day
passed quietly away. In the evening a crowd of men occupied the
space in our lodge, and much smoking and speech-making went on; but
as I could catch a word only here and there, I did not understand
what they said. As they talked and smoked I studied their faces and
costumes, many of which were peculiar, inspiring me alternately with
the feeling of dread and of curiosity. Everyone carried his
weapons--bow and arrows, flint-lock gun, or war-club.
I could readily see that the idea of placing confidence in anyone had
not as yet entered the minds of these men. Sometimes they became
greatly excited, and as they frequently nodded or pointed to me, I
could not but imagine all manner of trouble. Finally the crowd
dispersed, and I was still alive and quite ready for the second
supper mine hostesses served me with. I found that I was by heredity
and practice a confirmed salt eater, and to be without it for a few
meals was a hardship. There had been no communication since last
night with any of our party. So far as I was concerned they might as
well have been back at the Cree camp or our mission. However, when
all was quiet I settled down into a sound sleep, undisturbed by even
the dream of being scalped by dusky Blackfoot braves.
Long before daylight the big fires were blazing and crackling,
faintly forcing back the fearful cold which had taken possession of
the thin-walled and unfloored lodge during the few hours which the
camp slept. I was up with the dawn trying to thaw myself out, but
did not fully succeed until I had breakfasted. Another long day
passed, much in the same way as the last, without any word from my
party.
In the evening a number of Blood Indians arrived, and a dance was
organized in our tent. This was my first meeting with any of these
people. So far as I could see, they were the same as the Blackfeet,
only of a more pronounced type--that is, the difference between them
and the northern Indians was more marked. Proud arrogance and
intense self-sufficiency seemed to speak out in their every word and
action. One would think they were the aristocracy of the plains.
The meeting was more than a dance that night--it was an experience
meeting; for each one recited his deeds of daring, and acted in
pantomime the approach, the ambush, the charge, and the shooting,
stabbing, scalping, and horse taking of his past.
With frantic energy these men told of their various deeds of valor,
and every now and then a comrade, a living witness, would shout, "It
is true! I was there!" At this the crowd applauded, and the drums
beat, while the next man sprang to his feet, and leaped, danced,
whooped and sang; then when the drums ceased, he too would vaunt his
feats of valor. All this was at first quite interesting to me, but
as the hours went by, and it grew past midnight, I lost my interest,
and wished the ball would break up. There seeming no immediate
prospect of this, I stepped out, and running the risk of dogs and
men, wended my way up the valley until I came to the old chief's
tent, which I quietly entered, and raking the coals together made up
a fire, as the night was bitterly cold. I saw that father and Peter
were asleep, and Maskepetoon was stretched in his blanket between
father and the fire; so I got down in front of Maskepetoon, and
gradually crept under his blanket, until he gave it to me, after
which he got up, made on more fire, and sat and smoked for the rest
of the night, while I slept with a profound sense of rest and
security beside my friends once more. Many a time in after days
Maskepetoon would joke me about taking his blanket from him when in
the Blackfoot camp.
From the time of our arrival here I had taken particular notice to a
fine, manly young Blackfoot, who seemed to me to have an unusual
interest in Maskepetoon. He would get as near to him as he could,
and occasionally lay his hand on the chief's arm or shoulder, and
name him "Mon-e-guh-ba-now," "the great chief," "the strong man,"
"the brave man," and Maskepetoon would laughingly turn him aside with
a wave of his hand, but always in a kindly way. I wondered what
could be the bond between these two, and at last I asked Maskepetoon
who that young man was. "Why," said he, "he was the leader of the
crowd that rushed at me and my grandchild a few weeks since. He and
I are great friends now." The old man's brave act had won the
enemy's heart.
The next day we started for home. We might have peace for three
months or less. This was the impression on our minds. The people on
both sides were too widely scattered and too independent of each
other, and the range of country too big, to hope for any permanent
peace under present conditions. In the meantime, even a short
respite was something to be grateful for. Our route home was more
direct, and we travelled much faster than in coming. The buffalo had
been moving north, and in their progress trampled the snow for miles
in many places, which helped us on our way. About the middle of the
first afternoon I slipped on a lump of frozen snow and sprained my
ankle, which made travelling for the rest of the evening a very
painful matter, so that I was glad when we camped in the lee of a
bluff of timber for the night. We had come a long distance, and it
was pleasant to be in the open camp again.
After the work was done and our dogs fed, I took off my moccasin and
found my ankle blue and much swollen. Through the long winter
evening I sat there applying snow to the inflamed parts. This took
down the swelling and assuaged the pain considerably; but I did not
sleep much that night, and limped along with difficulty the next day.
In spite of this, however, we reached our camp before night, and
found that Muddy Bull had several animals staged ready for us. So
father piled the camp equipment and our provisions into his cariole,
while Peter and I took loads of meat, and with them reached the
mission the second evening from Maskepetoon's camp, finding all well,
and everybody wonderfully pleased to see us back. Peter resumed his
work of lumber making, and I that of bringing in provisions.