The Indian believes that all things live again; that all were created
by one and the same power; that nothing was created in vain; and that
in the life beyond the grave he will know all things that he knew here.
In that other world he expects to make his living easier, and not
suffer from hunger or cold; therefore, all things that die must go to
his heaven, in order that he may be supplied with the necessities of
life.
The sun is not the Indian's God, but a personification of the Deity;
His greatest manifestation; His light.
The Indian believes that to each of His creations God gave some
peculiar power, and that the possessors of these special favors are His
lieutenants and keepers of the several special attributes; such as
wisdom, cunning, speed, and the knowledge of healing wounds. These
wonderful gifts, he knew, were bestowed as favors by a common God, and
therefore he revered these powers, and, without jealousy, paid tribute
thereto.
The bear was great in war, because before the horse came, he would
sometimes charge the camps and kill or wound many people. Although
many arrows were sent into his huge carcass, he seldom died. Hence the
Indian was sure that the bear could heal his wounds. That the bear
possessed a great knowledge of roots and berries, the Indian knew, for
he often saw him digging the one and stripping the others from the
bushes. The buffalo, the beaver, the wolf, and the eagle--each
possessed strange powers that commanded the Indian's admiration and
respect, as did many other things in creation.
If about to go to war, the Indian did not ask his God for aid--oh, no.
He realized that God made his enemy, too; and that if He desired that
enemy's destruction, it would be accomplished without man's aid. So
the Indian sang his song to the bear, prayed to the bear, and thus
invoked aid from a brute, and not his God, when he sought to destroy
his fellows.
Whenever the Indian addressed the Great God, his prayer was for life,
and life alone. He is the most religious man I have ever known, as
well as the most superstitious; and there are stories dealing with his
religious faith that are startling, indeed.
"It is the wrong time of year to talk about berries," said War Eagle,
that night in the lodge, "but I shall tell you why your mothers whip
the buffalo-berries from the bushes. OLD-man was the one who started
it, and our people have followed his example ever since. Ho! OLD-man
made a fool of himself that day.
"It was the time when buffalo-berries are red and ripe. All of the
bushes along the rivers were loaded with them, and our people were
about to gather what they needed, when OLD-man changed things, as far
as the gathering was concerned.
"He was travelling along a river, and hungry, as he always was.
Standing on the bank of that river, he saw great clusters of red, ripe
buffalo-berries in the water. They were larger than any berries he had
ever seen, and he said:
"'I guess I will get those berries. They look fine, and I need them.
Besides, some of the people will see them and get them, if I don't.'
"He jumped into the water; looked for the berries; but they were not
there. For a time Old-man stood in the river and looked for the
berries, but they were gone.
"After a while he climbed out on the bank again, and when the water got
smooth once more there were the berries--the same berries, in the same
spot in the water.
"'Ho!--that is a funny thing. I wonder where they hid that time. I
must have those berries!' he said to himself.
"In he went again--splashing the water like a Grizzly Bear. He looked
about him and the berries were gone again. The water was rippling
about him, but there were no berries at all. He felt on the bottom of
the river but they were not there.
"'Well,' he said, 'I will climb out and watch to see where they come
from; then I shall grab them when I hit the water next time.'
"He did that; but he couldn't tell where the berries came from. As
soon as the water settled and became smooth--there were the
berries--the same as before. Ho!--OLD-man was wild; he was angry, I
tell you. And in he went flat on his stomach! He made an awful splash
and mussed the water greatly; but there were no berries.
"'I know what I shall do. I will stay right here and wait for those
berries; that is what I shall do'; and he did.
"He thought maybe somebody was looking at him and would laugh, so he
glanced along the bank. And there, right over the water, he saw the
same bunch of berries on some tall bushes. Don't you see? OLD-man
saw the shadow of the berry-bunch; not the berries. He saw the red
shadow-berries on the water; that was all, and he was such a fool he
didn't know they were not real.
"Well, now he was angry in truth. Now he was ready for war. He
climbed out on the bank again and cut a club. Then he went at the
buffalo-berry bushes and pounded them till all of the red berries fell
upon the ground--till the branches were bare of berries.
"'There,' he said, 'that's what you get for making a fool of the man
who made you. You shall be beaten every year as long as you live, to
pay for what you have done; you and your children, too.'
"That is how it all came about, and that is why your mothers whip the
buffalo-berry bushes and then pick the berries from the ground. Ho!"