means of giving to your fellow-citizens--say the descendants of the
early settlers of Susquehanna--the following information: and if there
be any now living whose name is Slocum, to them, I hope, the following
may be communicated through the public prints of your place.
"'There is now living near this place, among the Miami tribe of
Indians, an aged white woman, who a few days ago told me, while I
lodged in the camp {41} one night, that she was taken away from her
father's house, on or near the Susquehanna River, when she was very
young--say from five to eight years old, as she thinks--by the Delaware
Indians, who were then hostile toward the whites. She says her
father's name was Slocum; that he was a Quaker, rather small in
stature, and wore a large-brimmed hat; was of sandy hair and light
complexion, and much freckled; that he lived about a half a mile from a
town where there was a fort; that they lived in a wooden house of two
stories high, and had a spring near the house. She says three
Delawares came to the house in the daytime, when all were absent but
herself, and perhaps two other children: her father and brothers were
absent making hay. The Indians carried her off, and she was adopted
into a family of Delawares, who raised her and treated her as their own
child. They died about forty years ago, somewhere in Ohio. She was
then married to a Miami, by whom she had four children; two of them are
now living--they are both daughters--and she lives with them. Her
husband is dead; she is old and feeble, and thinks she will not live
long.
"'These considerations induced her to give the present history of
herself, which she would never do before, fearing that her kindred
would come and force her away. She has lived long and happy as an
Indian, and, but for her colour, would not be suspected of being
anything else but such. She is very respectable and wealthy, sober and
honest. Her name is without reproach. She says her father had a large
family, say eight children in all--six older than herself, one younger,
as well as she can recollect; and she doubts not that there are still
living many of their descendants, but seems to think that all her
brothers and sisters must be dead, as she is very old herself, not far
from {42} the age of eighty. She thinks she was taken prisoner before
the last two wars, which must mean the Revolutionary war, as Wayne's
war and the late war have been since that one. She has entirely lost
her mother tongue, and speaks only in Indian, which I also understand,
and she gave me a full history of herself.
"'Her own Christian name she has forgotten, but says her father's name
was Slocum, and he was a Quaker. She also recollects that it was on
the Susquehanna River that they lived. I have thought that from this
letter you might cause something to be inserted in the newspapers of
your county that might possibly catch the eye of some of the
descendants of the Slocum family, who have knowledge of a girl having
been carried off by the Indians some seventy years ago. This they
might know from family tradition. If so, and they will come here, I
will carry them where they may see the object of my letter alive and
happy, though old and far advanced in life.
"'I can form no idea whereabouts on the Susquehanna River this family
could have lived at that early period, namely, about the time of the
Revolutionary war, but perhaps you can ascertain more about it. If so,
I hope you will interest yourself, and, if possible, let her brothers
and sisters, if any be alive--if not, their children--know where they
may once more see a relative whose fate has been wrapped in mystery for
seventy years, and for whom her bereaved and afflicted parents
doubtless shed many a bitter tear. They have long since found their
graves, though their lost child they never found. I have been much
affected with the disclosure, and hope the surviving friends may
obtain, through your goodness, the information I desire for them. If I
can be of any service to them, they may command me. In the meantime, I
hope you will {43} excuse me for the freedom I have taken with you, a
total stranger, and believe me to be, Sir, with much respect, your
obedient servant,
"'GEO. W. EWING.'
"This letter met the fate of many others of importance--it was flung
away as a wild story.
"The Postmaster died, and had been in his grave time sufficient to
allow his wife an opportunity of straightening his affairs. She was in
the act of overhauling a mass of papers belonging to her husband's
business when she encountered the letter of Colonel Ewing. A woman's
perceptions are keen and quick, and the tender emotions which were
begotten in her mind were but the responses of her better nature. Her
sympathy yearned for one of her own sex, and she could do no more than
proclaim the story to the world. Accordingly she sent the letter to
the editor of the Lancaster _Intelligence_, and therein it was
published.
"Newspapers of limited circulation may not revolutionize matters of
great importance, but they have their sphere in detail, and when the
aggregate is summed they accomplish more than the mighty engines of
larger mediums.
"It was so in this case--the Lancaster paper was about issuing an extra
for temperance purposes, and this letter happened to go into the forme
to help 'fill up,' as poor printers sometimes express it. The
Lancaster office was not poor, but the foreman did 'fill up' with the
Ewing letter. Rev. Samuel Bowman, of Wilkes-Barre, by chance saw a
copy. He knew the Slocums, and the entire history of the valley as it
was given by tradition.
"He was not present in the valley at the time, but {44} his heart
warmed for the scenes and associations of early times in Wyoming. He
mailed one of the papers to a Slocum, a brother of the captive girl,
and the effect produced was as if by magic. Everybody was acquainted
with the history of Frances, and all were interested in her fate.
Sixty years had gone by since she was carried away, an innocent girl,
and now the world had found the lost one.
"There was one mark which could not be mistaken--little Frances when a
child had played with a brother in the blacksmith's shop, and by a
careless blow from the latter a finger was crushed in such a manner
that it never regained its original form.
"Mr. Isaac Slocum, accompanied by a sister and brother, sought an
interview with the tanned woman, through the aid of an interpreter, and
the first question asked, after an examination of the finger, was: 'How
came that finger jambed?' The reply was convincing and conclusive: 'My
brother struck it with a hammer in the shop, a long time ago, before I
was carried away.'
"Here then at last, by this unmistakable token, the lost was found.
Her memory proved to be unerring; the details of events sixty years old
were perfect, and given in such a manner as to awaken in the hearts of
the Slocum family warm emotions for the withered old woman. Her life,
although rude, had been a happy one, and no inducements were strong
enough to persuade her to leave the camp-fires of her adoption.
"By Act of Congress, Ma-con-a-qua, the Indian title of Frances Slocum,
was granted one mile square of the reservation which was appointed to
the Indians of Indiana, west of the Mississippi--to be held by herself
during her life, and to revert to her heirs forever. She died March
9th, 1847, and was given Christian burial {45} in a beautiful spot
where the romantic waters of the Missisinewa and Wabash rivers join
their ripples on the way to the sea.
"The story of the captive girl of Wyoming has been breathed around the
hearths of the entire Christian world as one of the most fruitful in
romance and song."
Dwellings
The habitations of the Indians of North America may be classed as
community houses (using the term 'community' in the sense of comprising
more than one family) and single or family dwellings. "The house
architecture of the northern tribes is of little importance, in itself
considered; but as an outcome of their social condition, and for
comparison with that of the southern village Indians, is highly
important. The typical community houses, as those of the Iroquois
tribes, were 50 to 100 feet long by 16 to 18 wide, with frame of poles,
and with sides and triangular roof covered with bark, usually of the
elm. The interior was divided into compartments, and a smoke-hole was
left in the roof. A Mohican house, similar in form, 14 by 60 feet, had
the sides and roof made of rushes and chestnut bark, with an opening
along the top of the roof from end to end. The Mandan circular
community house was usually about 14 feet in diameter. It was
supported by two series of posts and cross-beams, and the wide roof and
sloping sides were covered with willow or brush matting and earth. The
fireplace was in the centre. Morgan thinks that the oblong, round-roof
houses of the Virginia and North Carolina tribes, seen and described by
Captain John Smith and drawn by John White, were of the community
order. That some of them housed a number of families is distinctly
{46} stated. Morgan includes also in the community class the circular,
dome-shaped earth lodges of Sacramento Valley and the L-form,
tent-shaped, thatched lodges of the higher areas of California; but the
leading examples of community houses are the large, sometimes massive,
many-celled clusters of stone or adobe in New Mexico and Arizona known
as _pueblos_. These dwellings vary in form, some of those built in
prehistoric times being semicircular, others oblong, around or
enclosing a court or _plaza_. These buildings were constructed usually
in terrace form, the lower having a one-story tier of apartments, the
next two stories, and so on to the uppermost tier, which sometimes
constituted a seventh story. The masonry consisted usually of small
flat stones laid in adobe mortar and chinked with spalls; but sometimes
large balls of adobe were used as building stones, or a double row of
wattling was erected and filled in with grout, solidly tamped. By the
latter method, known as _pisé_ construction, walls 5 to 7 feet thick
were sometimes built. The outer walls of the lowest story were pierced
only by small openings, access to the interior being gained by means of
ladders, which could be drawn up if necessary, and of a hatchway in the
roof. It is possible that some of the elaborate structures of Mexico
were developed from such hive-like buildings as those of the typical
_pueblos_, the cells increasing in size toward the south, as suggested
by Bandelier. Chimneys appear to have been unknown in North America
until after contact of the natives with Europeans, the hatchway in the
roof serving the double purpose of entrance and flue. Other forms,
some 'community' and others not, are the following: The Tlingit, Haida,
and some other tribes build substantial rectangular houses, with sides
and ends formed of planks, and with the fronts elaborately carved and
{47} painted with symbolic figures. Directly in front of the house a
totem pole is placed, and near by a memorial pole is erected. These
houses are sometimes 40 by 100 feet in the Nootka and Salish regions,
and are occupied by a number of families. Formerly some of the Haida
houses are said to have been built on platforms supported by posts.
Some of these seen by such early navigators as Vancouver were 25 or 30
feet above ground, access being had by notched logs serving as ladders.
Among the north-western Indian tribes, as the Nez Percés, the dwelling
was a frame of poles covered with rush matting or with buffalo or elk
skins. The houses of the Californian tribes were rectangular or
circular; of the latter, some were conical, others dome-shaped. There
was also formerly in use in various parts of California, and to some
extent on the interior plateaus, a semi-subterranean earth-covered
lodge known amongst the Maidu as _kum_. The most primitive abodes were
those of the Paiute and the Cocopa, consisting simply of brush shelters
for summer, and for winter of a framework of poles bent together at the
top and covered with brush, bark, and earth. Somewhat similar
structures are erected by the Pueblos as farm shelters, and more
elaborate houses of the same general type are built by the Apache of
Arizona. As indicated by archæological researches, the circular
wigwam, with sides of bark or mats, built over a shallow excavation in
the soil, and with earth thrown against the base, appears to have been
the usual form of dwelling in the Ohio valley and the immediate valley
of the Mississippi in prehistoric and early historic times. Another
kind of dwelling, in use in Arkansas before the Discovery, was a
rectangular structure with two rooms in front and one in the rear; the
walls were of upright posts thickly plastered with clay on a sort of
{48} wattle. With the exception of the _pueblo_ structures, buildings
of stone or adobe were unknown until recent times. The dwellings of
some of the tribes of the plains, such as the Sioux, Arapaho, Comanche,
and Kiowa, were generally portable skin tents or _tipis_, but those of
the Omaha, Osage, and some others were more substantial. The dwellings
of the Omaha, according to Miss Fletcher, 'are built by setting
carefully selected and prepared posts together in a circle, and binding
firmly with willows, then backing them with dried grass, and covering
the entire structure with closely packed sods. The roof is made in the
same manner, having an additional support of an inner circle of posts,
with crochets to hold the cross-logs which act as beams to the
dome-shaped roof. A circular opening in the centre serves as a
chimney, and also to give light to the interior of the dwelling; a sort
of sail is rigged and fastened outside of this opening to guide the
smoke and prevent it from annoying the occupants of the lodge. The
entrance passage-way, which usually faces eastward, is from 6 to 10
feet long, and is built in the same manner as the lodge.' An important
type is the Wichita grass hut, circular dome-shaped with conical top.
The frame is built somewhat in panels formed by ribs and cross-bars;
these are covered with grass tied on shingle fashion. These grass
lodges vary in diameter from 40 to 50 feet. The early Florida houses,
according to Le Moyne's illustrations published by De Bry, were either
circular with dome-like roof, or oblong with rounded roof, like those
of Secotan in North Carolina, as shown in John White's figures. The
frame was of poles covered with bark, or the latter was sometimes
thatched. The Chippeway usually constructed a conical or hemispherical
framework of poles, covered with bark. Formerly caves and
rock-shelters {49} were used in some sections as abodes, and in the
Pueblo region houses were formerly constructed in natural recesses or
shelters in the cliffs, whence the designation cliff-dwellings.
Similar habitations are still in use to some extent by the Tarahumare
of Chihuahua, Mexico. Cavate houses with several rooms were also hewn
in the sides of soft volcanic cliffs; so numerous are these in Verde
Valley, Arizona, and the Jemez plateau, New Mexico, that for miles the
cliff-face is honeycombed with them. As a rule the women were the
builders of the houses where wood was the structural material, but the
men assisted with the heavier work. In the southern states it was a
common custom to erect mounds as foundations for council-houses, for
the chief's dwelling, or for structures designed for other official
uses. The erection of houses, especially those of a permanent
character, was usually attended with great ceremony, particularly when
the time for dedication came. The construction of the Navaho _hogan_,
for example, was done in accordance with fixed rules, as was the
cutting and sewing of the _tipi_ among the Plains tribes, while the new
houses erected during the year were usually dedicated with ceremony and
feasting. Although the better types of houses were symmetrical and
well-proportioned, their builders had not learned the use of the square
or the plumb-line. The unit of measure was also apparently unknown,
and even in the best types of ancient _pueblo_ masonry the joints of
the stonework were not 'broken.' The Indian names for some of their
structures, as _tipi, wigwam, wickiup, hogan_, have come into use to a
great extent by English-speaking people."[12]
[12] _Bulletin 30_, Bureau of American Ethnology.
[Illustration: An Earth Lodge. By permission of the Bureau of American
Ethnology]
{50}
Tribal Law and Custom
There is but little exact data available respecting the social polity
of the Red Race of North America. Kinship appears to have been the
basis of government among most of the tribes, and descent was traced
both through the male and female line, according to locality. In most
tribes military and civil functions were carefully distinguished from
each other, the civil government being lodged in the hands of chiefs of
varying grades. These chiefs were elected by a tribal council, and
were not by virtue of their office military leaders. Every village or
group was represented in the general council by a head-man, who was
sometimes chosen by the priests. Secret societies exercised a powerful
sway.
Hunting
Hunting was almost the sole occupation of the males of the Indian
tribes. So much were they dependent on the produce of the chase for
their livelihood that they developed the pursuit of game into an art.
In commerce they confined themselves to trading in skins and furs; but
they disposed of these only when their personal or tribal requirements
had been fully satisfied. When the tribe had returned from its summer
hunting expedition, and after the spoils of the chase had been
faithfully distributed among its members--a tribal custom which was
rigorously adhered to--ceremonial rites were engaged in and certain
sacred formulæ were observed. In hunting game the Indians usually
erected pens or enclosures, into which the beasts were driven and
slaughtered. Early writers believed that they fired the prairie grass
and pressed in upon the panic-stricken herd; but this is contradicted
by the Indians {51} themselves, who assert that fire would be injurious
to the fur of the animals hunted. Indeed, such an act, causing a herd
to scatter, was punishable by death. In exceptional cases, however,
the practice might be resorted to in order to drive the animals into
the woods. In pursuing their prey it was customary for the tribe to
form a circle, and thus prevent escape. The most favourable months for
hunting were June, July, and August, when the animals were fat and the
fur of rich quality. To the hunter who had slain the animal the tribe
awarded the skin and part of the carcass. The other portions were
usually divided among the inhabitants of the village. As a result of
this method of sharing there was very little waste. The flesh, which
was cut into thin slices, was hung up to dry in the sun on long poles,
and rolled up and stored for winter use. The pelts were used in the
making of clothing, shields, and bags. Ropes, tents, and other
articles were also prepared from the skins. Bowstrings and
sewing-thread were made from the sinews, and drinking-cups were shaped
out of the larger bones.
Among the methods employed in capturing game was the setting of traps,
into which the animal was decoyed. A more primitive method of taking
animals by the hand was largely in use. The hunter would steal upon
his prey in the dead of night, using the utmost cunning and agility,
and seize upon the unwary bird or sleeping animal. The Indians were
skilled in climbing and diving, and, employing the art of mimicry, in
which they attained great proficiency, they would surround a herd of
animals and drive them into a narrow gorge out of which they could not
escape. Their edged weapons, fashioned from stone, bones, and reeds,
and used with great skill, assisted them {52} effectually when brought
to close quarters with their prey. Dogs, although not regularly
trained, they found of much value in the hunt, especially for tracking
down the more swift and savage beasts. With the assistance of fire the
hunter's conquest over the animal became assured. His prey would be
driven out of its hiding-place by smoke, or the torch would dazzle it.
Drugging animals with poisonous roots and polluting streams to capture
fish were largely practised. The use of nets and scoops for taking
animals from the water and the fashioning of rakes for securing worms
from the earth were other methods employed to obtain food. The use of
the canoe gave rise to the invention of the harpoon.
The wandering habits of their game and the construction of fences were
obstacles which strengthened their perception and gave excellent
training for the hunt. The variety of circumstances with which they
had to meet caused them to prepare or devise the many weapons and
snares to which they resorted. Certain periods or seasons of the year
were observed for the hunting of particular animals, each of which
figured as a token or heraldic symbol of a tribe or _gens_.
Schoolcraft, in an accurate and entertaining account of Indian hunting
in his _Historical and Statistical Information respecting the Indian
Tribes_, says:
"The simplest of all species of hunting is perhaps the art of hunting
the deer. This animal, it is known, is endowed with the fatal
curiosity of stopping in its flight to turn round and look at the
object that disturbed it; and as this is generally done within
rifle-range, the habit is indulged at the cost of its life; whereas, if
it trusted unwaveringly to its heels, it would escape.
"One of the most ingenious modes of hunting the {53} deer is that of
_fire-hunting_, which is done by descending a stream in a canoe at
night with a flambeau. In the latter part of spring and summer the
Indian hunters on the small interior rivers take the bark of the elm or
cedar, peeling it off whole, for five or six feet in length, and,
turning it inside out, paint the outer surface black with charcoal. It
is then pierced with an orifice to fit it on the bow of the canoe, so
as to hide the sitter; then a light or torch is made by small rolls,
two or three feet long, of twisted birch bark (which is very
inflammable), and this is placed on the extreme bow of the boat, a
little in front of the bark screen, in which position it throws its
rays strongly forward, leaving all behind in darkness. The deer, whose
eyes are fixed on the light as it floats down, is thus brought within
range of the gun. Swans are hunted in the same way.
"The mazes of the forest are, however, the Indian hunter's peculiar
field of action. No footprint can be impressed there with which he is
not familiar. In his temporary journeys in the search after game he
generally encamps early, and sallies out at the first peep of day on
his hunting tour. If he is in a forest country he chooses his ambush
in valleys, for the plain reason that all animals, as night approaches,
come into the valleys. In ascending these he is very careful to take
that side of a stream which throws a shadow from it, so that he may
have a clear view of all that passes on the opposite side, while he is
himself screened by the shadow. But he is particularly on the alert to
take this precaution if he is apprehensive of lurking foes. The tracks
of an animal are the subject of the minutest observation; they tell him
at a glance the species of animal that has passed, the time that has
elapsed, and the course it has pursued. If the surface of the earth be
moist, the indications are {54} plain; if it be hard or rocky, they are
drawn from less palpable but scarcely less unmistakable signs.
"One of the largest and most varied days' hunt of which we are apprised
was by a noted Chippeway hunter, named Nokay, on the upper Mississippi,
who, tradition asserts, in one day, near the mouth of the Crow Wing
River, killed sixteen elk, four buffaloes, five deer, three bears, one
lynx, and a porcupine. This feat has doubtless been exceeded in the
buffalo ranges of the south-west, where the bow and arrow is known to
have been so dexterously and rapidly applied in respect to that animal;
but it is seldom that the chase in forest districts is as successful as
in this instance.
"On one occasion the celebrated chief Wabojeeg went out early in the
morning, near the banks of Lake Superior, to set martin-traps. He had
set about forty, and was returning to his wigwam, armed with his
hatchet and knife only, when he encountered a buck moose. He sheltered
himself behind trees, retreating; but as the animal pursued, he picked
up a pole, and, unfastening his moccasin-strings, tied the knife firmly
to the pole. He then took a favourable position behind a tree and
stabbed the animal several times in the throat and breast. At length
it fell, and he cut out and carried home the tongue as a trophy of his
prowess.
"In 1808, Gitshe Iawba, of Kewywenon, Lake Superior, killed a
three-year-old moose of three hundred pounds weight. It was in the
month of February, and the snow was so soft, from a partial thaw, that
the _agim_, or snow-shoes, sank deep at every step. After cutting up
the animal and drawing out the blood, he wrapped the flesh in the skin,
and, putting himself under it, rose up erect. Finding he could bear
the weight, he then took a litter of nine pups in a blanket upon his
right {55} arm, threw his wallet on top of his head, and, putting his
gun over his left shoulder, walked six miles to his wigwam. This was
the strongest man that has appeared in the Chippeway nation in modern
times.
"In 1827, Annimikens, of Red River of the North, was one day quite
engrossed in looking out a path for his camp to pass, when he was
startled by the sharp snorting of a grizzly bear. He immediately
presented his gun and attempted to fire; but, the priming not igniting,
he was knocked by the animal, the next instant, several steps backward,
and his gun driven full fifteen feet through the air. The bear then
struck him on one cheek and tore away a part of it. The little
consciousness he had left told him to be passive, and manifest no signs
of life. Fortunately, the beast had satiated his appetite on the
carcass of a buffalo near by. Having clawed his victim at pleasure, he
then took him by the neck, dragged him into the bushes, and there left
him. Yet from such a wound the Indian recovered, though a disfigured
man, and lived to tell me the story with his own lips.
"Relations of such hunting exploits and adventures are vividly repeated
in the Indian country, and constitute a species of renown which is
eagerly sought by the young."
Costume
The picturesque costume of the Red Man is so original in character as
to deserve more than passing mention. An authority on Indian costume,
writing in _Bulletin 30_ of the Bureau of American Ethnology, says:
"The tribes of Northern America belong in general to the wholly clothed
peoples, the exceptions being those inhabiting the warmer regions of
the southern {56} United States and the Pacific coast, who were
semi-clothed. Tanned skin of the deer family was generally the
material for clothing throughout the greater part of the country. The
hide of the buffalo was worn for robes by tribes of the plains, and
even for dresses and leggings by older people, but the leather was too
harsh for clothing generally, while elk- or moose-skin, although soft,
was too thick. Fabrics of bark, hair, fur, mountain-sheep wool, and
feathers were made in the North Pacific, Pueblo, and southern regions,
and cotton has been woven by the Hopi from ancient times. Climate,
environment, elevation, and oceanic currents determined the materials
used for clothing as well as the demand for clothing. Sinew from the
tendons of the larger animals was the usual sewing material, but fibres
of plants, especially the agave, were also employed. Bone awls were
used in sewing; bone needles were rarely employed and were too large
for fine work. The older needlework is of exceptionally good character
and shows great skill with the awl. Unlike many other arts, sewing was
practised by both sexes, and each sex usually made its own clothing.
The typical and more familiar costume of the Indian man was of tanned
buckskin, and consisted of a shirt, a breech-cloth, leggings tied to a
belt or waist-strap, and low moccasins. The shirt, which hung free
over the hips, was provided with sleeves and was designed to be drawn
over the head. The woman's costume differed from that of the man in
the length of the shirt, which had short sleeves hanging loosely over
the upper arm, and in the absence of the breech-cloth. Women also wore
the belt to confine the garment at the waist. Robes of skin, woven
fabrics, or of feathers were also worn, but blankets were substituted
for these later. The costume presented tribal differences in cut,
colour, and ornamentation. The free edges were {57} generally fringed,
and quill embroidery and beadwork, painting, scalp-locks, tails of
animals, feathers, claws, hoofs, shells, etc., were applied as
ornaments or charms. The typical dress of the Pueblo Indians is
generally similar to that of the Plains tribes, except that it is made
largely of woven fabrics.
"Among the Pacific coast tribes, and those along the Mexican border,
the Gulf, and the Atlantic coast, the customary garment of women was a
fringe-like skirt of bark, cord, strung seeds, or peltry, worn around
the loins. In certain seasons or during special occupations only the
loin-band was worn. For occasional use in cooler weather a skin robe
or cape was thrown about the shoulders, or, under exceptional
conditions, a large robe woven of strips of rabbit-skin. Ceremonial
costume was much more elaborate than that for ordinary wear. Moccasins
and leggings were worn throughout much of this area, but in the warmer
parts and in California their use was unusual. Some tribes near the
Mexican boundary wear sandals, and sandal-wearing tribes once ranged
widely in the south-west. These have also been found in Kentucky
caverns. Hats, usually of basketry, were worn by many Pacific coast
tribes. Mittens were used by the Eskimo and other tribes of the far
north. Belts of various materials and ornamentation not only confined
the clothing, but supported pouches, trinket-bags, paint-bags, etc.
Larger pouches and pipe-bags of fur or deer-skin, beaded or ornamented
with quill-work, and of plain skin, netting, or woven stuff, were slung
from the shoulder. Necklaces, earrings, charms, and bracelets in
infinite variety formed a part of the clothing, and the wrist-guard to
protect the arm from the recoil of the bowstring was general.
"Shortly after the advent of whites Indian costume {58} was profoundly
modified over a vast area of America by the copying of European dress
and the use of traders' stuffs. Knowledge of prehistoric and early
historic primitive textile fabrics has been derived from impressions of
fabrics on pottery, and from fabrics themselves that have been
preserved by charring in fire, contact with copper, or protection from
the elements in caves.
[Illustration: Omaha Woman's Costume. By permission of the Bureau of
American Ethnology]
"A synopsis of the costumes worn by tribes living in the several
geographical regions of northern America follows. The list is
necessarily incomplete, for on account of the abandonment of tribal
costumes the data are chiefly historical.
"ATHAPASCAN. _Mackenzie and Yukon_--Men: Shirt-coat,
legging-moccasins, breech-cloth, hat and hood. Women: Long shirt-coat,
legging-moccasins, belt.
"ALGONQUIAN-IROQUOIS. _Northern_--Men: Robe, shirt-coat, long-coat,
trousers, leggings, moccasins, breech-cloth, turban. _Virginia_--Men
and women: Cloak, waist-garment, moccasins, sandals (?), breech-cloth
(?). _Western_--Men: Robe, long dress-shirt, long leggings, moccasins,
bandolier-bag. Women: Long dress-shirt, short leggings, moccasins,
belt. _Arctic_--Men: Long coat, open in front, short breeches,
leggings, moccasins, gloves or mittens, cap or headdress. Women: Robe,
shirt-dress, leggings, moccasins, belt, cap, and sometimes a
shoulder-mantle.
"SOUTHERN or MUSKHOGEAN. _Seminole_--Men: Shirt, over-shirt, leggings,
moccasins, breech-cloth, belt, turban. Formerly the Gulf tribes wore
robe, waist-garment, and occasionally moccasins.
"PLAINS. Men: Buffalo robe, shirt to knees or longer, breech-cloth,
thigh-leggings, moccasins, headdress. Women: Long shirt-dress with
short ample cape sleeves, belt, leggings to the knees, moccasins.
"NORTH PACIFIC. _Chilkat_--Men: Blanket or bark mat robe, shirt-coat
(rare), legging-moccasins, basket hat. Women: Tanned skin
shoulder-robe, shirt-dress with sleeves, fringed apron, leggings (?),
moccasins, breech-cloth (?).
"WASHINGTON-COLUMBIA, _Salish_--Men: Robe, head-band, and, rarely,
shirt-coat, leggings, moccasins, breech-cloth. Women: Long
shirt-dress, apron, and, rarely, leggings, breech-cloth, moccasins.
{59}
"SHOSHONEAN. Same as the Plains tribes.
"CALIFORNIA-OREGON. _Hupa_--Men: Robe, and waist-garment on occasion,
moccasins (rarely); men frequently and old men generally went entirely
naked. Women: Waist-garment and narrow aprons; occasionally robe-cape,
like Pueblo, over shoulders or under arms, over breast; basket cap;
sometimes moccasins. _Central California_--Men: Usually naked; robe,
network cap, moccasins, and breech-cloth occasionally. Women:
Waist-skirt of vegetal fibre or buckskin, and basketry cap; robe and
moccasins on occasion.
"SOUTH-WESTERN. _Pueblo_--Men: Blanket or rabbit-skin or feather robe,
shirt with sleeves, short breeches partly open on outer sides,
breech-cloth, leggings to knees, moccasins, hair-tape, and head-band.
Women: Blanket fastened over one shoulder, extending to knees; small
calico shawl over blanket thrown over shoulders; legging-moccasins,
belt. Sandals formerly worn in this area. Snow-moccasins of fur
sometimes worn in winter. _Apache_--Men: Same as on plains. Women:
Same, except legging-moccasins with shield toe. _Navaho_--Now like
Pueblo; formerly like Plains tribes.
"GILA-SONORA. _Cocopa and Mohave_--Men: Breech-cloth, sandals,
sometimes head-band. Women: Waist-garments, usually of fringed bark,
front and rear. _Pima_--Same as Plains; formerly cotton robe,
waist-cloth and sandals."
Face-Painting
A first-hand account of how the Indian brave decorated his face cannot
but prove of interest. Says a writer who dwelt for some time among the
Sioux:[13]
[13] J. G. Kohl, _Kitchi-gami_ (1860).
"Daily, when I had the opportunity, I drew the patterns their faces
displayed, and at length obtained a collection, whose variety even
astonished myself. The strange combinations produced in the
kaleidoscope may be termed weak when compared to what an Indian's
imagination produces on his forehead, nose, and cheek. I will try to
give some account of them as far as words will reach. Two things
struck me most in their arrangement of colour. First, the fact that
they did not trouble themselves at all about the natural divisions {60}
of the face; and, secondly, the extraordinary mixture of the graceful
and the grotesque. At times, it is true, they did observe those
natural divisions produced by nose, eyes, mouth, etc. The eyes were
surrounded with regular coloured circles; yellow or black stripes
issued harmoniously and equidistant from the mouth; over the cheeks ran
a semicircle of green dots, the ears forming the centre. At times,
too, the forehead was traversed by lines running parallel to the
natural contour of that feature; this always looked somewhat human, so
to speak, because the fundamental character of the face was unaltered.
Usually, however, these regular patterns do not suit the taste of the
Indians. They like contrasts, and frequently divide the face into two
halves, which undergo different treatment; one will be dark--say black
or blue--but the other quite light, yellow, bright red, or white: one
will be crossed by thick lines made by the forefingers, while the other
is arabesque, with extremely fine lines, produced by the aid of a brush.
"This division is produced in two different ways. The line of
demarcation sometimes runs down the nose, so that the right cheek and
side are buried in gloom, while the left looks like a flower-bed in the
sunshine. At times, though, they draw the line across the nose, so
that the eyes glisten out of the dark colour, while all beneath the
nose is bright and lustrous. It seems as if they wished to represent
on their faces the different phases of the moon. I frequently inquired
whether there was any significance in these various patterns, but was
assured it was a mere matter of taste. They were simple arabesques,
like their squaws' work on the moccasins, girdles, tobacco-pouches, etc.
"Still there is a certain symbolism in the use of the colours. Thus,
red generally typifies joy and festivity; {61} and black mourning.
When any very melancholy death takes place, they rub a handful of
charcoal over the entire face. If the deceased is only a distant
relative, a mere trellis-work of black lines is painted on the face;
they have also a half-mourning, and only paint half the face black.
Red is not only their joy, but also their favourite colour. They
generally cover their face with a coating of bright red, on which the
other colours are laid; for this purpose they employ vermilion, which
comes from China, and is brought them by the Indian traders. However,
this red is by no means _de rigueur_. Frequently the ground colour is
a bright yellow, for which they employ chrome-yellow, obtained from the
trader.
"They are also very partial to Prussian blue, and employ this colour
not only on their faces, but as a type of peace on their pipes; and as
the hue of the sky, on their graves. It is a very curious fact, by the
way, that hardly any Indian can distinguish blue from green. I have
seen the sky which they represent on their graves by a round arch, as
frequently of one colour as the other. In the Sioux language _toya_
signifies both green and blue; and a much-travelled Jesuit Father told
me that among many Indian tribes the same confusion prevails. I have
also been told that tribes have their favourite colours, and I am
inclined to believe it, although I was not able to recognize any such
rule. Generally all Indians seem to hold their own native copper skin
in special affection, and heighten it with vermilion when it does not
seem to them sufficiently red.
"I discovered during a journey I took among the Sioux that there is a
certain national style in this face-painting. They were talking of a
poor Indian who had gone mad, and when I asked some of his {62}
countrymen present in what way he displayed his insanity, they said,
'Oh, he dresses himself up so funnily with feathers and shells; he
paints his face so comically that it is enough to make one die of
laughing.' This was said to me by persons so overladen with feathers,
shells, green and vermilion, Prussian blue, and chrome-yellow, that I
could hardly refrain from smiling. Still, I drew the conclusion from
it that there must be something conventional and typical in their
variegated style which might be easily infringed."
Indian Art
If the Red Race of North America did not produce artistic work of an
exalted order it at least evolved a distinctive and peculiar type of
art. Some of the drawings and paintings on the walls of the brick
erections of the southern tribes and the heraldic and religious symbols
painted on the skin-covered lodges of the Plains people are intricate
and rhythmic in plan and brilliant in colouring. The houses of the
north-west coast tribes, built entirely of wood, are supported by
pillars elaborately carved and embellished to represent the totem or
tribal symbol of the owner. On both the interior and exterior walls
brilliantly coloured designs, usually scenes from Indian mythology, are
found.
The decoration of earthenware was and is common to most of the tribes
of North America, and is effected both by carving and stamping. It is
in the art of carving that the Indian race appears to have achieved its
greatest æsthetic triumph. Many carved objects are exceedingly
elaborate and intricate in design, and some of the work on stone pipes,
masks, and household utensils and ornaments has won the highest
admiration of European masters of the art. Indeed, {63} many of the
pipes and claystone carvings of the Chimpseyans and Clallams of
Vancouver, and the Chippeways and Babeens, are by no means inferior to
the best specimens of European mediæval carved work.
In the potter's art the Indian people often exhibit great taste, and
the tribes of the Mississippi valley and the Pueblo Indians had made
exceptional progress in plaster design. As has already been mentioned,
the mound-builders displayed considerable skill in metalwork, and the
stamped plates of copper taken from the earthen pyramids which they
raised strikingly illustrate the fact that Indian art is the growth and
outcome of centuries of native effort and by no means a thing of
yesterday.
In weaving, needlework of all kinds, bead-work, and feather-work the
Indians show great taste. Most of the designs they employ are
geometric in plan. In feather-work especially the aboriginal peoples
of the whole American continent excel. Rank was indicated among the
Plains tribes either by the variety and number of feathers worn or by
the manner of mounting or notching them.
The aboriginal art of North America is in the highest degree symbolic
and mythologic. It is thus entirely removed from any taint of
materialism, and had it been permitted to evolve upon its own peculiar
lines it might have developed a great measure of idealistic excellence.
Warfare
In the art of guerrilla warfare the Indians have always shown
exceptional skill. Armed with bow and arrow, a war-club, or a
tomahawk, they carried on a fierce resistance to the incursions of the
white man. These weapons were artistically shaped and moulded, and
{64} were eminently suited to their owner's mode of fighting. But as
they came more into contact with the whites the natives displayed a
particular keenness to obtain firearms and gunpowder, steel knives and
hatchets. They dispensed with their own rude if effective implements
of war, and, obtaining the coveted weapons by making successful raids
upon the camps of their enemies, they set themselves to learn how to
use them. So mysterious did gunpowder appear to them that they
believed it to possess the property of reproduction, and planted it in
the earth in the hope that it would yield a supply for their future
needs. In attacking the settlers they used many ingenious artifices to
entrap or ambuscade them. These methods, naturally, proved successful
against the whites, who had yet to learn Indian war-craft, but soon the
settlers learned to adopt the same devices. The Indian would imitate
the cry of the wild goose to attract the white hunter into the woods,
where he would spring upon him. He would also reverse his snow-shoes
in winter, to make it appear to the settler that he was retreating.
Covering themselves with twigs to look like a bush was another method
adopted by Indian spies. Occasionally they would approach the white
man apparently in a spirit of friendliness, only to commit some act of
treachery. Block-houses were built by the settlers as a means of
defence against Indian nocturnal surprises, and into these the women
and children were hurried for safety. But the perseverance of the
white man and the declining birth-rate of the Indian tribes began to
create a new situation. Driven repeatedly from one part of the country
to another, and confined to a limited territory in which to live, hunt,
and cultivate the soil, the Indians finally adopted a less aggressive
attitude to those whom they at first, and {65} for some time after
their settlement, regarded with suspicion and resentment.
Although the methods of warfare differed with the various tribes, the
general scheme of operations was usually dictated by the council of
chiefs, in whose hands the making of peace and war also lay. The
campaign was generally prefaced by many eloquent harangues from the
leaders, who gradually wrought the braves into a fury of resentment
against their enemies. The ceremony of the war-dance was then
proceeded with. Ranged in a circle, the warriors executed a kind of
shuffle, occasionally slowly gyrating, with gestures and movements
obviously intended to imitate those of some bird or beast,[14] and
grunting, clucking, and snarling the while. This ceremony was always
undertaken in full panoply of war-paint and feathers. Subsequently the
braves betook themselves to the 'war-path.' If the campaign was
undertaken in wooded country, they marched in single file.[15] The
most minute attention was paid to their surroundings to prevent
ambuscade. The slightest sound, even the snapping of a twig, was
sufficient to arrest their attention and cause them to halt. Alert,
suspicious, and with every nerve strung to the highest point of
tension, they proceeded with such exceeding caution that to surprise
them was almost impossible. Should a warrior become isolated from the
main body and be attacked and fatally wounded, he regarded it as
essential to the safety of his comrades to utter a piercing shriek,
which reverberated far through the forest ways and placed the rest of
the band on their guard. This was known as the 'death-whoop.'
[14] Perhaps their personal or tribal totems. See "Totemism," pp.
80-86.
[15] Hence the expression 'Indian file.'
When the campaign was undertaken in prairie or open {66} country, the
method usually employed was that of night attack; but if for any reason
this could not be successfully made, a large circle was drawn round the
place to be assailed, and gradually narrowed, the warriors who composed
it creeping and wriggling through the grass, and when sufficiently near
rising and rushing the camp or fort with wild war-cries. If a stout
defence with firearms was anticipated, the warriors would surround the
objective of attack on horseback, and ride round and round the fated
position, gradually picking off the defenders with their rifles or
arrows as the opportunity presented itself. Once the place was stormed
the Indian brave neither asked nor gave quarter, at least so far as its
male defenders were concerned. These were at once slain and scalped,
the latter sanguinary process being effected by the brave placing his
knees on his enemy's shoulders, describing a rapid circle with his
knife in the centre of the victim's head, seizing the portion of the
scalp thus loosened, and quickly detaching it.
Schoolcraft, dealing with the subject of Indian warfare, a matter upon
which he was well qualified to speak, writes:[16]
[16] _Historical and Statistical Information respecting the Indian
Tribes_.
"Success in war is to the Indian the acme of glory, and to learn its
arts the object of his highest attainment. The boys and youths acquire
the accomplishment at an early period of dancing the war-dance; and
although they are not permitted to join its fascinating circle till
they assume the envied rank of actual warriors, still their early
sports and mimic pastimes are imitations of its various movements and
postures. The envied eagle's feather is the prize. For this the
Indian's talent, subtlety, endurance, bravery, persevering fasts, and
what may be called religious penances and observances are made.
{67}
"The war-path is taken by youths at an early age. That age may be
stated, for general comparison, to be sixteen; but, without respect to
exact time, it is always after the primary fast, during which the youth
chooses his personal guardian or _monedo_--an age when he first assumes
the duties of manhood. It is the period of the assumption of the
three-pointed blanket, the true toga of the North American Indian.
"The whole force of public opinion, in our Indian communities, is
concentrated on this point; its early lodge teachings (such as the
recital of adventures of bravery), its dances, its religious rites, the
harangues of prominent actors, made at public assemblages (such as is
called 'striking the post'), all, in fact, that serves to awaken and
fire ambition in the mind of the savage, is clustered about the idea of
future distinction in war.
"... The Indian has but one prime honour to grasp; it is triumph in the
war-path; it is rushing upon his enemy, tearing the scalp reeking from
his head, and then uttering his terrific _sa-sa-kuon_ (death-whoop).
For this crowning act he is permitted to mount the honoured feather of
the war-eagle--the king of carnivorous birds. By this mark he is
publicly known, and his honours recognized by all his tribe, and by the
surrounding tribes whose customs assimilate.
"When the scalp of an enemy has been won, very great pains are taken to
exhibit it. For this purpose it is stretched on a hoop and mounted on
a pole. The inner part is painted red, and the hair adjusted to hang
in its natural manner. If it be the scalp of a male, eagle's feathers
are attached to denote _that_ fact. If a female, a comb or scissors is
hung on the frame. In this condition it is placed in the hands of an
old woman, who bears it about in the scalp-dance, while opprobrious
epithets are uttered against the tribe from which it was {68} taken.
Amidst these wild rejoicings the war-cry is vociferated, and the
general sentiment with old and young is: 'Thus shall it be done to our
enemies.'
"The feather of the eagle is the highest honour that a warrior can
wear, and a very extravagant sum is sometimes given to procure one.
The value of a horse has been known to be paid. The mode in which a
feather is to be cut and worn is important to be noticed.
"The scale of honour with the several tribes may vary, but the
essential features are the same. Among the Dakota tribes an eagle's
feather with a red spot denotes that the wearer has killed an enemy, a
notch cut in it and edges of the feather painted red indicates that the
throat of an enemy has been cut. Small consecutive notches on the
front side of the feather, without paint, denote that the wearer is the
third person that has touched the dead body; both edges notched, that
he is the fourth person who has touched it; and the feather partly
denuded that he is the fifth person that has touched the slain.
"On the blanket or buffalo robe worn by the Dakota Indian a red or
black hand is often seen painted. The red hand indicates that the
wearer has been wounded by his enemy, the black hand that he has slain
his enemy.
"The warlike tribe of the Chippeways, on the sources of the
Mississippi, who, from a national act in their history, bear the
distinctive name of Pillagers, award a successful warrior who shoots
down and scalps his enemy three feathers; and for the still more
dangerous act of taking a wounded prisoner on the field, five--for they
conceive that a wounded enemy is desperate, and will generally reserve
his fire for a last act of vengeance, if he die the moment after.
Those of the war-party who come up immediately and strike the {69}
enemy, so as to get marks of blood on their weapons, receive two
feathers; for it is customary for as many as can to perform this
act.... Those who have been of the war-party, and merely _see_ the
fight, although they may have no blood-marks of which to boast as
honours, and may even have lacked promptness in following the leader
closely, are yet allowed to mount one feather. These honours are
publicly awarded; no one dares to assume them without authority, and
there are instances where the feathers falsely assumed have been pulled
violently from their heads in a public assemblage of the Indians. They
never, however, blame each other for personal acts denoting cowardice
or any species of timidity while on the war-path, hoping by this
elevated course to encourage the young men to do better on another
occasion.
"All war-parties consist of volunteers. The leader, or war-captain,
who attempts to raise one must have some reputation to start on. His
appeals, at the assemblages for dancing the preliminary war-dance, are
to the principles of bravery and nationality. They are brief and to
the point. He is careful to be thought to act under the guidance of
the Great Spirit, of whose secret will he affects to be apprised in
dreams, or by some rites.
"The principle of enlistment is sufficiently well preserved. For this
purpose, the leader who proposes to raise the war-party takes the
war-club in his hands, smeared with vermilion, to symbolize blood, and
begins his war-song. I have witnessed several such scenes. The songs
are brief, wild repetitions of sentiments of heroic deeds, or
incitements to patriotic or military ardour. They are accompanied by
the drum and rattle, and by the voice of one or more choristers. They
are repeated slowly, sententiously, and with a measured {70} cadence,
to which the most exact time is kept. The warrior stamps the ground as
if he could shake the universe. His language is often highly
figurative, and he deals with the machinery of the clouds, the flight
of carnivorous birds, and the influence of spiritual agencies, as if
the region of space were at his command. He imagines his voice to be
heard in the clouds; and while he stamps the ground with well-feigned
fury, he fancies himself to take hold of the 'circle of the sky' with
his hands. Every few moments he stops abruptly in his circular path,
and utters the piercing war-cry.
"He must be a cold listener who can sit unmoved by these appeals. The
ideas thrown out succeed each other with the impetuosity of a torrent.
They are suggestive of heroic frames of mind, of strong will, of
burning sentiment.
"'Hear my voice, ye warlike birds!
I prepare a feast for you to batten on;
I see you cross the enemy's lines;
Like you I shall go.
I wish the swiftness of your wings;
I wish the vengeance of your claws;
I muster my friends;
I follow your flight.
Ho, ye young men that are warriors,
Look with wrath on the battlefield!'
"Each warrior that rises and joins the war-dance thereby becomes a
volunteer for the trip. He arms and equips himself; he provides his
own sustenance; and when he steps out into the ring and dances, he
chants his own song, and is greeted with redoubling yells. These
ceremonies are tantamount to 'enlistment,' and no young man who thus
comes forward can honourably withdraw.
"The sentiments of the following song were uttered by the celebrated
Wabojeeg, as the leader of the {71} Chippeways, after a victory over
the combined Sioux and Sauks and Foxes, at the Falls of St. Croix,
during the latter part of the seventeenth century:
I
"'Hear my voice, ye heroes!
On that day when our warriors sprang
With shouts on the dastardly foe,
Just vengeance my heart burned to take
On the cruel and treacherous breed,
The Bwoin--the Fox--the Sauk.
II
"'And here, on my breast, have I bled!
See--see! my battle scars!
Ye mountains, tremble at my yell!
I strike for life.
III
"'But who are my foes? They shall die,
They shall fly o'er the plains like a fox;
They shall shake like a leaf in the storm.
Perfidious dogs! they roast our sons with fire!
IV
"'Five winters in hunting we'll spend,
While mourning our warriors slain,
Till our youth grown to men
For the battle-path trained,
Our days like our fathers we'll end.
V
"'Ye are dead, noble men! ye are gone,
My brother--my fellow--my friend!
On the death-path where brave men must go
But we live to revenge you! We haste
To die as our forefathers died.'
"In 1824, Bwoinais, a Chippeway warrior of Lake Superior, repeated to
me, with the appropriate tunes, the following war-songs, which had been
uttered {72} during the existing war between that nation and the
Dakotas:
I
"'Oshawanung undossewug
Penasewug ka baimwaidungig.'
[From the south--they come, the warlike birds--
Hark! to their passing screams.]
II
"'Todotobi penaise
Ka dow Wiawwiaun.'
[I wish to have the body of the fiercest bird,
As swift--as cruel--as strong.]
III
"'Ne wawaibena, neowai
Kagait ne minwaindum
Nebunaikumig tshebaibewishenaun.'
[I cast my body to the chance of battle.
Full happy am I, to lie on the field--
On the field over the enemy's line.]"
The Indian Wife and Mother
The position of women among the North American Indians is distinctly
favourable, when the general circumstances of their environment are
considered. As with most barbarian people, the main burden of the work
of the community falls upon them. But in most cases the bulk of the
food-supply is provided by the men, who have often to face long and
arduous hunting expeditions in the search for provender. The labour of
planting and digging seed, of hoeing, harvesting, and storing crops, is
invariably borne by the women. In the more accessible Indian territory
of North America, however, the practice of agriculture is falling into
desuetude, and the aborigines are becoming accustomed {73} to rely to a
great extent on a supply of cereals from outside sources.
In the art of weaving Indian women were and are extremely skilful. In
the southern regions the Hopi women have woven cotton garments from
time immemorial.
Among the various tribes the institution of marriage greatly depends
for its circumstances upon the system of totemism, a custom which will
be found fully described in the chapter which deals with the mythology
of the Red Race. This system places a taboo upon marriages between
members of the same clan or other division of a tribe. The nature of
the ceremony itself differs with locality and race. Among the Plains
Indians polygamy was common, and the essential feature of the ceremony
was the presentation of gifts to the bride's father. In some tribes
the husband had absolute power, and separation and divorce were common.
But other Plains people were free from the purchase system, and the
wishes of their women were consulted. East of the Mississippi the
Iroquoian, Algonquian (except in the north and west), and Muskhogean
tribes retained descent of name and property in the female line.
Exchange of gifts preceded marriage with these peoples. Among the
Hurons a council of mothers arranged the unions of the members of the
tribe. Monogamy, on the whole, prevailed throughout the continent;
and, generally speaking, the marriage bond was regarded rather loosely.
Indian Child-Life
One of the most pleasing features in Indian life is the great affection
and solicitude bestowed by the parents upon their children. As a close
student of Indian custom and habit avers, "The relation of {74} parent
to child brings out all the highest traits of Indian character."
Withal, infant mortality is extraordinarily high, owing to the lack of
sanitary measures. The father prepares the wooden cradle which is to
be the infant's portable bed until it is able to walk. The _papoose_
has first a child-name, which later gives place to the appellation
which it will use through life. Children of both sexes have toys and
games, the boys amusing themselves with riding and marksmanship, while
the girls play with dolls and imitate their mothers 'keeping wigwam.'
In warm weather a great deal of the children's time is spent in
swimming and paddling. They are exceedingly fond of pets, particularly
puppies, which they frequently dress and carry upon their backs like
babies. Among some of the southern peoples small figures representing
the various tribal deities are distributed as dolls to the children at
certain ceremonies, and the sacred traditions of the race are thus
impressed upon them in tangible form. It is a mistake to think that
the Indian child receives no higher instruction. This, however, is
effected by moral suasion alone, and physical punishment is extremely
rare. Great good-humour prevails among the children, and fighting and
quarrelling are practically unknown.
At about fifteen years of age the Indian boy undertakes a solitary fast
and vigil, during which his totem or medicine spirit is supposed to
instruct him regarding his future career. At about thirteen years of
age the girl undergoes a like test, which signalizes her entrance into
womanhood.
[Illustration: Adventure with a Totem]
Adventure with a Totem
An account of the manner in which a young Indian beheld his totem
states that the lad's father sent him to a mountain-top to look for
Utonagan, the female {75} guardian spirit of his ancestors. At noon,
on his arrival at the mountain, he heard the howls of the totem spirit,
and commenced to ascend the slope, chilled by fear as the yells grew
louder. He climbed a tree, and still heard the cries, and the rustle
of the spirit in the branches below. Then terror overcame him, and he
fled. Utonagan pursued him. She gained upon him, howling so that his
knees gave way beneath him and he might not turn. Then he bethought
him of one of his guardian spirits, and, with a fresh access of
courage, he left his pursuer far behind. He cast away his blanket;
Utonagan reached it, and, after snuffing at it, took up the chase once
more. Then he thought of his guardian spirit the wolf, and again new
strength came to him. Still in great terror, he looked back. Utonagan
followed with a wolf-like lope. Then he thought of his guardian spirit
the bitch, and once more he gained ground. At length, exhausted by his
exertions, he sank to the earth in a fainting condition, and fell
asleep. Through the eyes of sleep he saw the spirit as a wolf. She
said to him: "I am she whom your family and the Indians call Utonagan.
You are dear to me. Look at me, Indian." He looked, and lost his
sense of fear. When he awoke the sun was high in the sky. He bathed
in the creek and returned home.
An Indian Girl's Vigil
Another story is told of an Indian girl's vigil. Catherine Wabose,
when about thirteen years of age, left her mother's lodge and built a
small one for herself. After a fast of four days she was visited by
her mother, who gave her a little snow-water to drink. On the eve of
the sixth day, while still fasting, she was conscious of a superhuman
voice, which invited {76} her to walk along a shining path, which led
forward and upward. There she first met the 'Everlasting Standing
Woman,' who gave her her 'supernatural' name. She next met the 'Little
Man Spirit,' who told her that his name would be the name of her first
son. She was next addressed by the 'Bright Blue Sky,' who endowed her
with the gift of life. She was then encircled by bright points of
light and by sharp, painless instruments, but, mounting upon a
fish-like animal, she swam through the air back to her lodge. On the
sixth day she experienced a repetition of the vision. On the seventh
day she was fed with a little pounded corn in snow-water. After the
seventh day she beheld a large round object like a stone descend from
the sky and enter the lodge. It conferred upon her the gift of
prophecy, and by virtue of this she assumed the rank of a prophetess
upon her return to the tribe.
It is not difficult to suppose that the minds of these unfortunate
children were temporarily deranged by the sustained fasts they had been
forced to undertake.
Picture-Writing
Most of the tribes of North America had evolved a rude system of
picture-writing. This consisted, for the most part, of figures of
natural objects connected by symbols having arbitrary or fixed
meanings. Thus the system was both ideographic and pictographic; that
is, it represented to some extent abstract ideas as well as concrete
objects. These scripts possessed so many arbitrary characters, and
again so many symbols which possessed different meanings under varying
circumstances, that to interpret them is a task of the greatest
complexity. They were usually employed in the compilation of the
seasonal calendars, and {77} sometimes the records of the tribe were
preserved by their means.
[Illustration: Indian Picture Writing: A Petroglyph in Nebraska. By
permission of the Bureau of American Ethnology]
Perhaps the best known specimen of Indian script is the Dakota
'Lone-dog Winter-count,' supposed to have been painted originally on a
buffalo-robe. It is said to be a chronicle covering a period of
seventy-one years from the beginning of the nineteenth century.
Similar chronicles are the _Wallum-Olum_, which are painted records of
the Leni-Lenâpé, an Algonquian people, and the calendar history of the
Kiowa. The former consists of several series, one of which records the
doings of the tribes down to the time of the arrival of the European
colonists at the beginning of the seventeenth century. We append an
extract from the _Wallum-Olum_ as a specimen of genuine aboriginal
composition. The translation is that made by the late Professor
Brinton.
After the rushing waters had subsided, the Lenâpé of the Turtle were
close together, in hollow houses, living together there.
It freezes where they abode: it snows where they abode: it storms where
they abode: it is cold where they abode.
At this northern place, they speak favourably of mild, cool lands, with
many deer and buffaloes.
As they journeyed, some being strong, some rich, they separated into
house-builders and hunters:
The strongest, the most united, the purest were the hunters.
The hunters showed themselves at the north, at the east, at the south,
at the west.
In that ancient country, in that northern country, in that Turtle
country, the best of Lenâpé were the Turtle-men. [That is, probably,
men of the Turtle totem.]
All the cabin fires of that land were disquieted, and all said to their
priest: "Let us go."
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To the Snake land, to the east, they went forth, going away, earnestly
grieving.
Split asunder, weak, trembling, their land burned: they went, torn and
broken, to the Snake Island.
Those from the north being free, without care, went forth from the land
of snow, in different directions.
The fathers of the Bald Eagle and the White Wolf remain along the sea,
rich in fish and strength.
Floating up the streams in their canoes, our fathers were rich, they
were in the light, when they were at those islands.
Head Beaver and Big Bird said: "Let us go to Snake Island," they said.
All say they will go along to destroy all the land.
Those of the north agreed,
Those of the east agreed.
Over the water, the frozen sea,
They went to enjoy it.
On the wonderful slippery water,
On the stone-hard water all went,
On the great tidal sea, the muscle-bearing sea.
Ten thousand at night,
All in one night,
To the Snake Island, to the east, at night,
They walk and walk, all of them.
The men from the north, the east, the south:
The Eagle clan, the Beaver clan, the Wolf clan,
The best men, the rich men, the head men,
Those with wives, those with daughters, those with dogs.
They all come, they tarry at the land of the spruce-pines:
Those from the west come with hesitation,
Esteeming highly their old home at the Turtle land.
There was no rain, and no corn, so they moved farther seaward.
At the place of caves, in the Buffalo land, they at last had food, on a
pleasant plain.
[Illustration: The Lenâpé come to the Place of Caves]
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Modern Education and Culture
After the establishment of the United States Government a number of
Christian and lay bodies undertook the education and enlightenment of
the aborigines. Until 1870 all Government aid for this object passed
through the hands of missionaries, but in 1775 [Transcriber's note:
1875?] a committee on Indian affairs had been appointed by Congress,
which voted funds to support Indian students at Dartmouth and Princeton
Colleges. Many day-schools were provided for the Indians, and these
aimed at fitting them for citizenship by inculcating in them the social
manners and ethical ideas of the whites. The school established by
Captain R. H. Pratt at Carlisle, Pa., for the purpose of educating
Indian boys and girls has turned out many useful members of society.
About 100 students receive higher instruction in Hampton Institute.
There are now 253 Government schools for the education of Indian youth,
involving an annual expenditure of five million dollars, and the
patient efforts of the United States Government may be said to be
crowned with triumph and success when the list of cultured Indian men
and women who have attended these seminaries is perused. Many of these
have achieved conspicuous success in industrial pursuits and in the
higher walks of life.
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