A BROTHER TO THE BLACKFOOT
THE first strenuous days in Fort Benton, and the welcome he received
there, might have convinced Brother Van that he had found a good place
in which to settle. It was plain that his ministry was much needed
and the prospects for a growing and useful work were bright. But he
never forgot for a moment that he had taken the long journey from his
Gettysburg home for the sake of serving among the Indians. Hence it is
not surprising that within a week from that exciting morning when he
had begun his Montana preaching career in the crowded barroom, we find
him pushing on toward one of the agencies where he could more readily
get in touch with the tribes. Again his attractive manner and his
earnestness of purpose won for him a lift on his way, only this time he
was to jolt over the rough prairie roads in a heavy wagon, instead of
gliding smoothly along the Missouri.
The Regimental Adjutant from Fort Shaw had brought his wife into
Fort Benton so that she might take passage on the return trip of the
_Far West_. The Adjutant had met Brother Van, and learning of the
missionary’s desire to continue his journey to the West, had invited
him to share the army wagon for the ride back to the post. The eager
young traveler grasped this opportunity without delay. It did not
take him long to stow away his baggage in the army conveyance, for his
scanty wardrobe made only a small bundle. He took his place beside the
Adjutant, and soon they were rumbling over the prairie toward Sun River
settlement and Fort Shaw.
The gumbo was still sticky and tough from the rains of the previous
days, and it was apparent from the first that there was to be a hard
journey ahead. The five army mules drawing the wagon objected to the
heavy traveling of the unbroken roads, and caused delays by their
“objections.” The driver’s patience at last was exhausted, and in true
western style he spoke to the errant beasts. Then he remembered that
there was a preacher in the wagon, and apologized for the language he
had used. Brother Van showed himself to be a very human missionary, for
he laughingly replied, “Why, bless your soul, you express my sentiments
exactly, though I can’t approve of your language.”
Before dark a severe thunderstorm overtook the travelers, and the
only shelter they could find was a lonely, deserted cabin. Here they
spent the night, making the best of such comforts as were found in the
government wagon. The coyotes sang a lonely song, and the prairie-dogs,
their only neighbors, made vigorous protests against the intruders.
This was the initiation of the tenderfoot preacher into the joys of
overland journeying.
On the next day they reached Sun River where no church or schoolhouse
existed; so again a place for Sunday service was sought, and a
Christian home was found which was opened gladly for this unaccustomed
use. Riders were sent out to all the settlements within reach, with
the result that on the following day a fine congregation gathered in
the frontier cabin. Carelessness about habits of prayer and worship
was common among these lonely people of the opening West. Brother Van’s
tender songs and warning words brought a genuine response from them.
After the service the travelers pushed on so that they might reach
Fort Shaw by evening. At this place also, Brother Van immediately set
about making arrangements to preach; and within a short time he had the
soldiers of the garrison gathered about him, talking to them in a manly,
helpful way that won their interest and their respect.
Tarrying but a day at Fort Shaw, he traveled with several companions
north to the town of Chouteau, which was on the Teton River, and
fifteen miles from the base of the Rocky Mountains. He hastened then
to the Indian agency near there where the Blackfeet were settled. This
tribe had migrated from Canada to the prairies of Montana, and it is
interesting to know that they had been first called “Blackfeet” by the
Flatheads and Shoshones, for when they had come to the end of their
long journey, their moccasins were travel-stained and black.
On arriving at the agency, the missionary first made himself known to
the officials and clerks and spoke to a group of them. They received
him cordially and from the beginning of his stay he was given fresh
confidence for his new work by the good will that they showed him. In
his first meetings with the Indians the Blackfeet tribesmen listened
to him stolidly and were apparently unmoved; but they caught the spirit
of brotherhood in this paleface preacher, and they soon began to show
signs of their approval of him. Brother Van was happy indeed in the
new opportunities opening before him, and in the increasing evidence
that the Indians gave of their affection for him. He was fascinated
by the strange life and mysterious customs which he found all about
him. During his stay with the Blackfeet, and through later years, the
missionary loved to study their ceremonies and legends.
One of the oldest institutions of the tribe was the building of the
medicine lodge, a celebration which Brother Van followed with the
keenest interest. It took place at the time of the ripening of berries
in the summer, and lasted through four days and nights. The lodge was
always erected in fulfilment of a vow made by some woman of the tribe
who was in trouble and who wished the help of the gods, perhaps to
bring back in safety a husband or son away at war, or to restore a
sick child to health. Her pledge was made publicly, so that all the
tribe would know that she would build the lodge in case her prayer
was granted. At the proper time the whole tribe would assemble and
set up their lodges in a circle in the middle of which the medicine
lodge was erected. The woman who had made the vow neither ate nor drank
throughout the four days, except once only, and that in sacrifice.
The other members of the tribe gave themselves over to visiting and
feasting with their friends, and, also, to a strange kind of worship in
which they tried to prove the sincerity of their prayers by torturing
themselves in various painful ways.
The lodge was built in accordance with a plan which the Sun himself was
supposed to have given to one of the young men of the tribe in ancient
times. It represented the world, and was made by placing small trees
of uniform size in a circle, and bending the branches toward the center
to form the roof. One half of it was painted red for the Sun, and the
other half black to represent night. In recent years the medicine lodge
is seldom used owing to the effect of modern education in destroying
the superstitious beliefs of the Indians, and within another generation
the ceremony will probably be extinct.
Illustration: Board of Home Missions and Church Extension
Methodist Episcopal Church.
BROTHER VAN VISITING A MEDICINE LODGE ERECTED AS
A TRIBAL CEREMONY BY THE BLACKFEET INDIANS
Brother Van also discovered that the tribal dances were not as simple
as they had appeared to be, but that they were filled with hidden
meanings, and that each had a history of its own. The story of the
Pigeon Dance, which was one of those witnessed by the new missionary,
shows the background of folk tales, dreams, and of the imitation of
animal and bird life from which these dances grew. It is believed by
the people that all of their dances originated in the dream of a seer
of the tribe many generations ago. The custom was for some old man
to go off into absolute seclusion out of sound of any human voice. He
then subjected himself to various ceremonials, and becoming at last
exhausted sought sleep and dreams. The process was continued until
something new and unheard of was dreamed. The seeker for “something new
under the sun” would then come back to the waiting tribe, and patiently
wait and watch for his dream to come true. Not until he saw it in
reality could he call the tribe together and proclaim the glad news.
Once upon a time an old man went away to a quiet spot and after the
proper ceremonials fell asleep and the much desired dream came to him.
He saw a flock of beautiful, many-colored pigeons and as they circled
and whirled, he perceived that they were in truth executing a rythmic
dance. With grace and perfection of motion they performed wonderful
and intricate figures. Their soft cooing made a weird and strange
music which added to the charm of the mystical dances. The old man had
dreamed the dream for which he longed. He came back to the tribe and
said nothing, but he watched for the realization of the vision.
Eagerly he sought the nesting and feeding places of pigeons. One day
he actually saw the birds dancing as he had seen them in his dream.
Immediately runners were sent forth to call the people together. A
great feast was prepared at which the seer announced the vision that
he had seen, and the manner in which the dance was conducted. On the
American nation’s birthday in the year 1917, this strange but beautiful
dance was a part of the celebration at the Blackfeet Indian agency, and
Brother Van, so long a friend of the Indians, was the guest of honor.
The missionary found that through their love of beauty and heroism
the Indians had a peculiar understanding and appreciation of Bible
history. There was much in their simple, wandering life that made them
feel a close kinship with those shepherds, hunters, and warriors of the
ancient East. They had passed through the same great human experiences,
and they shared many of the same beliefs. In their crude and faltering
way they, too, looked up to a Great Spirit who made all things and
upon whose bounty all men depend. As they told Brother Van their tribal
legends, he was struck by the remarkable resemblance which many of
these bore to some of the stories of the Bible. The Blackfeet story of
the forming of the world is peculiarly interesting because it shows the
belief which they have in a Creator.
“In the beginning there was water everywhere. A raft was floating on
which Old Man (the Sun) and all the animals were gathered. Old Man
wished to make land. He sent the beaver to the bottom of the water to
bring up mud. The beaver never reached the bottom. The loon was tried
and he failed. The otter made the perilous journey and failed. At last
the muskrat was sent down. He was gone so long that Old Man thought he
was drowned. Finally he came up and floated almost dead. He was pulled
on top of the raft, and as they looked at his paws, they found a little
mud on them. Old Man dried this mud and scattered it over the water,
and land was formed.
“Old Man then began to make the earth to suit him. He marked places
for rivers to run. Sometimes the rivers ran smoothly and sometimes
with falls. He made mountains, prairies, and timber. He carried a lot
of rocks around with him, and of these he made mountains. He caused
grass to grow on the plains for the animals to feed upon. He marked
certain pieces of land where berries should grow; others where camas
should grow; others for wild carrots and turnips, and others for
service-berries, bull-berries, and rosebuds.
“He made the Big Horn sheep and put it on the prairie, but it was
awkward and slow; so he put it on the rough hills, and it skipped about.
While Old Man was in the mountains he made the antelope. It ran so fast
that it hurt itself; so he put it on the plains and said, ‘This is the
place that will suit you.’
“At last he decided to make a woman and a child. He modeled clay in
human shape and laid the forms on the ground and said, ‘You shall be
people.’ After four days they were changed and he said, ‘Stand up and
walk.’ They walked to the river and the woman said, ‘Shall we live
forever?’ Old Man said, ‘I had not thought of that. We must decide.
I’ll throw this buffalo chip in the water. If it floats, people shall
live after being dead for four days. If it sinks, that shall be the end
of them.’
“He threw the chip. It floated. The woman said, ‘No, I will throw this
stone into the water. If it floats, we shall live always; if it sinks,
people must die.’ The rock sank. Old Man said, ‘You have chosen. That
will be an end to them.’ By and by the child died and the woman wanted
to change the law, but Old Man answered, ‘What is made law must be law.’
“At first people had claws like bears so that they might gather roots
and berries. There were buffalo which killed and ate people. Old Man
said, ‘I’ll change this. From this day on the people shall eat buffalo.’
So he cut some service-berry shoots and peeled them; then he took a
flat piece of wood and tied strips of green hide to it and made a bow.
On one end of each light, straight shoot, he tied a chip of hard stone,
and on the other end he put a feather. He gave them to the men, saying,
‘Take these the next time you go among buffalo. Shoot as I have taught
you.’
“When the arrows first struck the buffalo, it called out, ‘Oh, my
friends, a great fly is biting me.’ After the buffalo had been killed,
Old Man saw his people eat the raw flesh. ‘I will show you something
better,’ said he. He gathered soft, dried, rotten wood. He took another
piece of wood and rapidly drilled a hole in it with an arrow-head. A
tiny flame soon sprang up from which he kindled a big fire and showed
his children how to roast the meat.”
The history of the forming of the Blackfeet Indian tribe is also very
quaint, and it could not but have an especial appeal to Brother Van,
for from his early youth his life had been one to encourage clean
living. The story tells how one brave looked with disfavor upon the
tribal vices and misdemeanors, and strove to bring the members into a
finer, cleaner way of living. His own life was pure and good, and his
people recognized this, but they would not heed his pleadings. Finally,
he went off into the silence of the plains to communicate with the
Great Spirit. He told of his desire for his people: that they should
all be pure and strong; that the maidens should be contented; that they
should dwell in a land where game abounded, and where wars should never
come. From this great spiritual leader the Blackfeet tribe was said to
have descended.
As Brother Van pursued his work among his beloved Indians, they became
more and more attached to him. Like the white residents, they, too,
accepted their kind-hearted visitor as a brother. This tie deepened
with the years in which he was known to them, and in time a great honor
came to him. He was adopted into the tribe, and with a picturesque
ceremony he was received into their circle and given a new name,
Amahk-Us-Ki-Tsi-Pahk-Pa, which means “Great Heart” or “Big Heart.”
There was a tribute in the meaning of those queer syllables which any
man might be proud to win――especially from people of a different race.
At the same time he received a gift of a new and beautiful tribal
costume from them. It is Brother Van’s custom to visit the Blackfeet
every year on the Fourth of July when he wears his Indian costume and
celebrates the nation’s birthday with his Indian brothers.
Illustration: Board of Home Missions and Church Extension
Methodist Episcopal Church.
THE PICTURESQUE CEREMONY OF ADOPTION INTO THE
BLACKFEET TRIBE
With the progress of his work on the agency, Brother Van’s indignation
was aroused by the injustice and oppression dealt to the red man.
As he witnessed the system of trading, he came to see with ever
increasing clearness, that the Indians would never have the necessary
opportunities for progress and development unless the white man, and
the white man’s government, could be brought to deal fairly and justly
with these original inhabitants of the plains. The very future of the
Indian race he saw to be at stake. “What is the use,” he asked himself,
“of teaching and training these people when diseases caused by contact
with the white man’s civilization are threatening their existence, and
when their living is being taken from them by the settlement of their
lands?”
The problem which confronted the missionary has been put briefly in a
more recent time by Commissioner of Indian Affairs, the Hon. Cato Sells,
who says, “Before you educate the Indian you must save his life.” As
Brother Van faced the misery, the disease, and the ignorance among them,
he decided that even to save the Indians’ lives, to say nothing of
winning them to Christ, it would be necessary to lead the white people
to change their ways. How could he continue to try to convert and
educate the Indians, when the Indians could see very plainly that the
white preacher’s brothers were very much in need of the same kind of
teaching?
Gradually Brother Van’s resolution was formed――he must give his first
attention to establishing churches in the new towns that the white
settlers were building. It meant giving up the life among the people
he had come to serve, and who already had shown many encouraging signs
of response to his preaching. His decision led him away from his new
friends and back among his own race, but he continued to come into
contact with the Indians from time to time. His sympathy with them and
his understanding of their habits helped him to teach them successfully.
Through the years he proved himself to be “Great Heart,” a brother to
the Blackfoot.