village. A glue-stick is represented back of his head. Glue, made from
the hoofs of buffalo, is used to fasten arrow-heads on, and is carried
about on sticks.
No. II. The Dakotas and Omahas made peace.
1792-’93.--No. I. Many women died in child-birth.
No. II. The Dakotas camped on the Missouri River near the Gros Ventres
and fought with them a long time. The Dakota tipi and the Gros Ventre
lodge are shown in the figure.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Rees-house-winter.”
[Illustration:
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XXXVII
1793-’94.
1794-’95.
1795-’96.
1796-’97.
1797-’98.
1798-’99.
THE CORBUSIER WINTER COUNTS.]
1793-’94.--No. I. A Ponka who was captured when a boy by the Oglálas
was killed while outside the village by a war party of Ponkas.
No. II. Bear’s-Ears was killed in a fight with the Rees.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Little-Face-killed winter.”
1794-’95.--No. I. The-Good-White-Man came with two other white men. He
promised that if they would let him and his companions go undisturbed
he would return and bring with him weapons with which they could kill
game with but little labor. They gave them buffalo robes and dogs to
pack them on and sent the party off. The sign for white man is a hat,
either by itself or on a head, and the gesture-sign indicates one who
wears a hat. Draw the open right hand horizontally from left to right
across the forehead a little above the eyebrows, the back of the hand
to be upward and the fingers pointing toward the left, or draw the
index across the forehead in the same manner.
No. II. Bad-Face, a Dakota, was shot in the face.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Long-Hair-killed winter.”
1795-’96.--No. I. The-Man-Who-Owns-the-Flute was killed by the
Cheyennes. His flute is represented in front of him with sounds coming
from it. A bullet mark is on his neck.
No. II. The Dakotas camped near the Rees and fought with them.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Water-Stomach-killed winter.”
1796-’97.--No. I. They killed the long-haired man in a fight
with the Cheyennes while on an expedition to avenge the death of
The-Man-Who-Owns-the-Flute, who was killed by the Cheyennes the year
before.
No. II. Badger, a Dakota, was killed by enemies, as shown by the
absence of his scalp.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “War-Bonnet-killed winter.”
1797-’98.--No. I. Little-Beaver and three other white men came to
trade, having been sent by the Good-White-Man. Their goods were loaded
on three sleds, each drawn by six dogs.
No. II. The-Wise-Man was killed by enemies.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Caught-the-medicine-god-woman winter.”
1798-’99.--No. I. Owns-the-Pole, the leader of an Oglála war party,
brought home many Cheyenne scalps. The cross stands for Cheyenne.
No. II. Many women died in child-birth.
White-Cow-Killer says, “Many-squaws-died winter.”
[Illustration:
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XXXVIII
1799-1800.
1800-’01.
1801-’02.
1802-’03.
1803-’04.
1804-’05.
THE CORBUSIER WINTER COUNTS.]
1799-1800.--No. I. The-Good-White-Man returned and gave guns to the
Dakotas. The circle of marks represents the people sitting around him,
the flint-lock musket the guns.
No. II. A woman who had been given to a white man by the Dakotas was
killed because she ran away from him. [See No. I, 1804-’05.]
White-Cow-Killer says, “The-Good-White-Man-came winter.”
1800-’01.--No. I. Nine white men came to trade with them. The covered
head with short hair stands for a white man and also intimates that the
eight dots over it are for white men. According to this count the first
whites came in 1794-’95.
No. II. The Good-White-Man came. He was the first white man to trade
and live with the Dakotas.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Don’t-Eat-Heart-makes-a-god-house winter.”
1801-’02.--No. I. The Oglálas, Brulés, Minneconjous, Sans Arcs, and
Cheyennes united in an expedition against the Crows. They surprised and
captured a village of thirty lodges, killed all the men, and took the
women and children prisoners. The three tipis stand for thirty; the red
spots are for blood.
No. II. A trader brought them their first guns.
White-Cow-Killer says, “All-sick-winter.”
1802-’03.--No. I. The Ponkas attacked two lodges of Oglálas, killed
some of the people, and made the rest prisoners. The Oglálas went to
the Ponka village a short time afterward and took their people from the
Ponkas. In the figure an Oglála has a prisoner by the arm leading him
away. The arrow indicates that they were ready to fight.
No. II. The Omahas made an assault on a Dakota village. Arrows and
bullets are flying back and forth.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Brought-in-horse-shoes winter.”
1803-’04--No. I. They made peace with the Gros Ventres.
No. II. Little-Beaver, a white trader, came.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Plenty-of-woolly-horses winter.”
1804-’05.--No. I. An Indian woman who had been unfaithful to a white
man to whom she was married was killed by an Indian named Ponka. The
symbol for Ponka indicates the name.
No. II. The Omahas came and made peace to get their people, whom the
Dakotas held as prisoners.
[Illustration:
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XXXIX
1805-’06.
1806-’07.
1807-’08.
1808-’09.
1809-’10.
1810-’11.
THE CORBUSIER WINTER COUNTS.]
1805-’06.--No. I. The Dakotas had a council with the whites on the
Missouri River, below the Cheyenne Agency, near the mouth of Bad Creek
(the Lewis and Clarke Expedition?). They had many flags, which the
Good-White-Man gave them with their guns, and they erected them on
poles to show their friendly feelings. The curved line is to represent
the council lodge, which they made by opening several tipis and uniting
them at their sides to form a semicircle. The marks are for the people.
American-Horse’s father was born this year.
No. II. Nine white men came to trade. The three covered heads represent
the white men.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Eight-Dakotas-killed winter.”
1806-’07.--No. I. Black-Rock, a Dakota, was killed by the Crows. A rock
is represented above his head. He was killed with a bow and arrow and
was scalped.
No. II. The Dakotas killed an Omaha in the night.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Killed-while-hunting-eagles winter.”
1807-’08.--No. I. Broken-Leg was killed by the Pawnees. His leg had
been broken by a bullet in a previous fight with the Pawnees.
No. II. Many people camped together and had many flags flying.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Red-shirt-killed Winter.”
1808-’09.--No. I. Little-Beaver’s trading house was burned down.
No. II. A Brulé was found dead under a tree which had fallen on him.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Blue-Blanket’s-father-dead winter.”
1809-’10.--No. I. Black-Rock was killed by the Crows. His brother,
whose name he had taken, was killed by the Crows three years before.
No. II. Little-Beaver’s house was burned.
White-Cow-Killer says, “Little-Beaver’s (the white man)
house-burned-down winter.”
1810-’11.--No. I. Red-Shirt, a Dakota, was killed by the Crows while
looking for his ponies near Old Woman’s Fork.
No. II. They brought in a fine horse with feathers tied to his tail.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Came-with-medicine-on-horse’s-tail winter.”
[Illustration:
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XL
1811-’12.
1812-’13.
1813-’14.
1814-’15.
1815-’16.
1816-’17.
THE CORBUSIER WINTER COUNTS.]
1811-’12.--No. I. They caught many wild horses south of the Platte
River.
No. II. They had very little buffalo meat, as the empty drying pole
indicates, but plenty of ducks in the fall.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Catching-wild-horses winter.”
1812-’13.--No. I. Big-Waist’s father killed.
No. II. Big-Owl killed.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Big-Belly’s-father-killed winter.”
1813-’14.--No. I. Many had the whooping-cough. The cough is represented
by the lines issuing from the man’s mouth.
No. II. Food was very scarce and they had to live on acorns. The tree
is intended for an oak and the marks beneath it for acorns.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Six-Rees-killed winter.”
1814-’15.--No. I. The Dakotas went to a Kaiowa village, about 6 miles
from Scott’s Bluff, and near the mouth of Horse Creek, to treat for
peace; but their intentions were frustrated by one of their number, who
drove his hatchet into a Kaiowa’s head.
No. II. They made peace with the Pawnees. The man with the blue
forehead is a Pawnee, the other is a Dakota, whose body is smeared with
clay. The four arrows show that they had been at war, and the clasped
hands denote peace.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Kaiowa-hit-on-head-with-axe winter.”
Young-Man’s-Horses-Afraid, _i. e._, whose horses are afraid, was
born this year. He is now called “Old-Man-afraid-of-his-Horses” by
the whites, and his son, the present chief of the Oglálas, is known
as “Young-Man-afraid-of-his-Horses.” [The present writer has heard
another interpretation about “afraid-of-his-horses,” _i. e._, that the
man valued his horses so much that he was afraid of losing them. The
present representative of the name, however, stated to the writer that
the true meaning was “The-young-man-whose-horses-they-fear.”]
1815-’16.--No. I. The figure is intended to represent a white man’s
house.
No. II. Some of the Dakotas built a large house and lived in it during
the winter.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Made-a-house winter.”
1816-’17.--No. I. They made peace with the Crows at Pine Bluff. The
arrow shows they had been at war.
No. II. They lived in the same house that they did last winter.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Made-a-house winter.”
[Illustration:
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XLI
1817-’18.
1818-’19.
1819-’20.
1820-’21.
1821-’22.
1822-’23.
THE CORBUSIER WINTER COUNTS.]
1817-’18.--No. I. The Oglálas had an abundance of buffalo meat and
shared it with the Brulés, who were short of food. The buffalo hide
hung on the drying pole, with the buffalo head above it, indicates an
abundance of meat.
No. II. The-Brave-Man was killed in a great fight. The fight is shown
by the arrows flying to and from him. Having been killed by an enemy,
he is scalped.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Plenty-of-meat winter.”
1818-’19.--No. I. A large house was built.
No. II. Many died of the small-pox.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Little-small-pox winter.”
1819-’20.--No. I. Another house was built. The Dakotas made medicine in
it.
No. II. In an engagement with the Crows, both sides expended all of
their arrows, and then threw dirt at each other. A Crow is represented
on the right, and is distinguished by the manner in which the hair is
worn.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Made-a-house-of-old-wood winter.”
1820-’21.--No. I. The Dakotas assaulted and took a Crow village of a
hundred lodges. They killed many and took many prisoners.
No. II. A Dakota, named Glue, froze to death.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Two-arrows-made-a-war-bonnet winter.”
1821-’22.--No. I. They had all the _mini wakan_ (spirit water or
whisky) they could drink. They never had any before. A barrel with a
waved or spiral line running from it represents the whisky, the waved
line signifying spirit.
No. II. A large roaring star fell. It came from the east, and shot out
sparks of fire along its course. Its track and the sparks are shown in
the figure. See also page 111.
White-Cow-Killer says, “One-star-made-a-great-noise winter.”
Battiste Good, alias Wa-po-ctan-qi (Brown-Hat), historian and chief,
designated this year as that of his birth. Omaha bullets were whizzing
through the village and striking and piercing his mother’s lodge as she
brought him forth. Red-Cloud also was born.
1822-’23.--No. I. Dog, an Oglála, stole seventy horses from the Crows.
Each of the seven tracks stands for ten horses. A lariat, which serves
the purpose of a long whip, and is usually allowed to trail on the
ground, is shown in the man’s hand.
No. II. A Brulé, who had left the village the night before, was found
dead in the morning outside the village, and the dogs were eating his
body. The black spot on the upper part of the thigh shows he was a
Brulé.
White-Cow-Killer says,
“White-man-peels-the-stick-in-his-hand-broke-his-leg winter.”
[Illustration:
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XLII
1823-’24.
1824-’25.
1825-’26.
1826-’27.
1827-’28.
1828-’29.
THE CORBUSIER WINTER COUNTS.]
1823-’24.--No. I. They had an abundance of corn, which they got at the
Ree villages.
No. II. They joined the whites in an expedition up the Missouri River
against the Rees.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Old-corn-plenty winter.” For further
explanation of the record of this year, see page 111.
1824-’25.--No. I. Cloud-Bear, a Dakota, killed a Dakota, who was a long
distance off, by throwing a bullet from his hand and striking him in
the heart. The spiral line is again used for _wakan_. The gesture-sign
for _wakan_ (holy, supernatural) is: With its index-finger extended and
pointing upward, or all the fingers extended, back of hand outward,
move the right hand from just in front of the forehead spirally upward
nearly to arm’s length from left to right. [See “Sign Language N. A.
Indians,” p. 380, by the present writer, in the First Annual Report of
the Bureau of Ethnology.]
No. II. Cat-Owner was killed with a spider-web thrown at him by a
Dakota. The spider-web is shown reaching to his heart from the hand
of the man who threw it. The blood issuing from his mouth and nose
indicates that he bled to death. It is a common belief among them that
certain medicine men possess the power of taking life by shooting
needles, straws, spider-webs, bullets, and other objects, however
distant the person may be against whom they are directed.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Killed-the-women-picking-cherries winter.”
1825-’26.--No. I. Some of the Dakotas were living on the bottom-lands
of the Missouri River, below the Whetstone, when the river, which was
filled with broken ice, unexpectedly rose and flooded their village.
Many were drowned or else killed by the floating ice. Many of those
that escaped climbed on cakes of ice or into trees.
No. II. Many of the Dakotas were drowned in a flood caused by a rise of
the Missouri River, in a bend of which they were camped. The curved
line is the bend in the river; the waved line is the water, above which
the tops of the tipis are shown.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Great-flood-and-many-Indians-drowned
winter.” [See page 113.]
1826-’27.--No. I. The brother of the Good-White-Man came.
No. II. Held a commemoration of the dead. The pipe-stem and the skull
indicate this.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Long-Whistle-sick winter.”
1827-’28.--No. I. The snow was very deep.
No. II. In a fight with the Mandans, Crier was shot in the head with a
gun.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Snow-shoe-making winter.”
1828-’29.--No. I. They provided themselves with a large supply of
antelope meat by driving antelope into a corral, in which they were
easily killed.
No. II. They drove many antelope into a corral and then killed them.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Many-Rees-killed winter.”
[Illustration:
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XLIII
1829-’30.
1830-’31.
1831-’32.
1832-’33.
1833-’34.
1834-’35.
THE CORBUSIER WINTER COUNTS.]
1829-’30.--No. I. Striped-Face stabbed and killed his son-in-law for
whipping his wife.
No. II. Spotted-Face stabs his son-in-law for whipping his wife.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Spotted-Face-held-on-long winter.”
1830-’31.--No. I. They saw wagons for the first time. Red-Lake, a white
trader, brought his goods in them.
No. II. The Crows were approaching a village at a time when there was a
great deal of snow on the ground and intended to surprise it, but some
herders discovering them the Dakotas went out, laid in wait for the
Crows, surprised them, and killed many. A Crow’s head is represented in
the figure.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Killed-many-white-buffalo winter.”
1831-’32.--No. I. Red-Lake’s house, which he had recently built, was
destroyed by fire, and he was killed by the accidental explosion of
some powder.
No. II. A white man, whom they called Gray-Eyes, shot and killed a man
who was working for him.
1832-’33.--No. I. They killed many Gros Ventres in a village which they
assaulted.
No. II. All of Standing-Bull’s horses were killed, but by whom is
unknown. Hoof-prints, blood-stains, and arrows are shown under the
horse.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “One-Horn’s-leg-broken winter.”
1833-’34.--No. I. The stars moved around.
No. II. It rained stars.
White Cow-Killer calls it “Plenty-stars winter.”
The records [see page 116] all undoubtedly refer to the magnificent
meteoric display of the morning of November 13th, 1833, which was
witnessed throughout North America, and which they have correctly
assigned to the winter corresponding with that of 1833-’34. All of
them represent stars as having four points.
1834-’35.--No. I. They were at war with the Cheyennes. The Cheyenne is
the one with the stripes on his arm.
No. II. They fought with the Cheyennes. The stripes on the arm are for
Cheyenne as before.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Cheyennes-came-and-one-killed winter.”
[Illustration:
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XLIV
1835-’36.
1836-’37.
1837-’38.
1838-’39.
1839-’40.
1840-’41.
THE CORBUSIER WINTER COUNTS.]
1835-’36.--No. I. They killed a very fat buffalo bull.
No. II. They killed a very fat buffalo bull.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Two warriors-killed winter.”
1836-’37.--No. I. The Dakotas and the Pawnees fought on the ice on the
North Platte River. The former were on the north side, the right-hand
side in the figure, the latter on the south side, the left in the
figure. Horsemen and footmen on the right are opposed to footmen on the
left. Both sides have guns and bows, as shown by the bullet-marks and
the arrows. The red marks are for blood-stains on the ice.
No. II. They fought the Pawnees across the ice on the North Platte. The
man on the left is a Pawnee.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Fight-on-ice winter.”
1837-’38.--No. I. Paints-His-Cheeks-Red and his family, who were
camping by themselves, were killed by Pawnees.
No. II. Paints-His-Face-Red, a Dakota, was killed in his tipi by the
Pawnees.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Five-Fingers-died winter.”
1838-’39.--No. I. Spotted-Horse carried the pipe around and took
the war path against the Pawnees, to avenge the death of his uncle,
Paints-His-Cheeks-Red.
No. II. Crazy-Dog, a Dakota, carried the pipe around and took the war
path. The waved or spiral lines denote crazy.
White-Cow-Killer says, “Paints-his-Chin’s-lodge-all-killed winter.”
When a warrior desires to make up a war party he visits his friends and
offers them a filled pipe, as an invitation to follow him, and those
who are willing to go accept the invitation by lighting and smoking
it. Any man whose courage has been proved may become the leader of a
war party. Among the Arapahos the would-be leader does not invite any
one to accompany him, but publicly announces his intention of going to
war. He fixes the day for his departure and states where he will camp
the first night, naming some place not far off. The morning on which
he starts, and before leaving the village, he invokes the aid of the
sun, his guardian by day, and often, to propitiate him, secretly vows
to undergo penance, or offer a sacrifice on his return. He rides off
alone, carrying his bare pipe in his hand, with the bowl carefully tied
to the stem to prevent it from slipping off. If the bowl should at any
time accidentally fall to the ground, he considers it an evil omen,
and immediately returns to the village, and nothing could induce him
to proceed, as he thinks that only misfortune would attend him if he
did. Sometimes he ties eagle or hawk plumes to the stem of his pipe,
and, after quitting the village, repairs to the top of some hill and
makes an offering of them to the sun, taking them from his pipe and
tying them to a pole, which he erects in a pile of stones. (Some of the
stone-heaps seen on the hills in the Arapaho country originated in this
way, but most of them were made by dreamers, who withdraw from their
people to devote themselves in solitude to contemplation, fasting, and
prayer, in order to work themselves into a state of rapture, hoping
to have visions and receive messages from spirits.) Those who intend
to follow him usually join him at the first camp, equipped for the
expedition; but often there are some who do not join him until he has
gone further on. He eats nothing before leaving the village, nor as
long as the sun is up; but breaks his fast at his first camp, after
the sun sets. The next morning he begins another fast, to be continued
until sunset. He counts his party, saddles his horse, names some place
six or seven miles ahead, where he says he will halt for awhile, and
again rides off alone with his pipe in his hand. After awhile the party
follow him in single file. When they have reached his halting place
he tells them to dismount and let their horses graze. They all then
seat themselves on the ground on the left of the leader, forming a
semicircle, facing the sun. The leader fills his pipe, all bow their
heads, and, pointing the stem of the pipe upward, he prays to the sun,
asking that they may find an abundance of game, that dead-shots may be
made, so that their ammunition will not be wasted, but reserved for
their enemies; that they may easily find their enemies and kill them;
that they may be preserved from wounds and death. He makes his petition
four times, then lights his pipe, and after sending a few whiffs of
smoke skyward as incense to the sun, hands the pipe to his neighbor,
who smokes and passes it on to the next. It is passed from one to
another, toward the left, until all have smoked, the leader refilling
it as often as necessary. They then proceed to their next camp, where
probably others join them. The same programme is carried out for three
or four days before the party is prepared for action.
1839-’40.--No. I. Left-Handed-Big-Nose was killed by the Shoshoni. His
left arm is represented extended, and his nose is very conspicuous.
American-Horse was born in the spring of 1840.
No. II. They killed a Crow and his squaw, who were found on a trail.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Large-war-party-hungry-eat-Pawnee-horses
winter.”
1840-’41.--No. I. Sitting-Bear, American-Horse’s father, and others,
stole two hundred horses from the Flat Heads. A trailing lariat is in
the man’s hand.
No. II. They stole one hundred (many) horses from the Snakes.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Little-Thunder’s-brothers-killed winter.”
[Illustration:
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XLV
1841-’42.
1842-’43.
1843-’44.
1844-’45.
1845-’46.
1846-’47.
THE CORBUSIER WINTER COUNTS.]
1841-’42.--No. I. The Oglálas engaged in a drunken brawl, which
resulted in a division of the tribe, the Kiyuksas (Cut-Offs)
separating from the others.
No. II. The Oglálas got drunk on Chug Creek, and engaged in a quarrel
among themselves, in which Red-Cloud’s brother was killed, and
Red-Cloud killed three men. Cloud-Shield (Mahpiya-Wahacanka) was born.
1842-’43.--No. I. Feather-Ear-Rings was killed by the Shoshoni. The
four lodges and the many blood-stains intimate that he was killed at
the time the four lodges of Shoshoni were killed.
No. II. Lone-Feather said his prayers, and took the war path to avenge
the death of some relatives.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “Crane’s-son-killed winter.”
1843-’44.--No. I. The great medicine arrow was taken from the Pawnees
by the Oglálas and Brulés, and returned to the Cheyennes, to whom it
rightly belonged.
No. II. In a great fight with the Pawnees they captured the great
medicine arrow which had been taken from the Cheyennes, who made it, by
the Pawnees. The head of the arrow projects from the bag which contains
it. The delicate waved lines (intended probably for spiral lines) show
that it is sacred.
White-Cow-Killer calls it “The Great-medicine-arrow-comes-in winter.”
Battiste Good’s record gives the following for the same year: