2½ feet long, scraped to a shell and smooth inside and out,
resembling in shape a staff churn (3). The head or skin is stretched on
the smaller end with a hoop, which is retained in its place by sinews
passed through. The other is left open. When beaten but one stick is
used, the drum being set on end. Both are often painted with different
devices. The rattles, wag-ga-mó (Sioux) or Chi-chi-quoin (Cree), were
originally and in a measure still are gourds dried with the seeds in,
or after being dried the seeds, etc., are taken out and pebbles put
in (4). Others are made of the rawhide of elk stretched over a slight
frame of woodwork while wet and dried in that shape, pebbles being put
therein at holes left in the top or in the handle (5 and 6). No. 7 is
the rattle used by the “braves” in their dance. It is made of rawhide
like the rest, but in the form of an open ring.
No. 8 is the rattle made out of deer and antelope hoofs scraped
thin and light, reduced in size, and a number of each attached to
small strings, so closely that they clash together when shaken. The
flute (9) is made of wood, and the whistle (10) is the wing bone of
a swan. These have before been described. From what has preceded it
will be understood that there are no verses in their songs evincing
their patriotism, or other chants representing their triumphs; that
all is chorus and tune. Their laments for the dead are of the same
description, adding a few words and calling upon the departed by
stating the degree of relationship, the few mournful words to deplore
their loss, and the rest of the chant is in meaningless ejaculations.
Their music is never recorded nor have they such things as music boards
or bark songs. In their bacchanalian songs they often repeat catches
of whatever comes into their minds at the time, adapting the words
to the song, but these words or any particular expressions do not
properly belong to the songs, which in their original are of the same
description as the others.
Many lullabies are sung to children by their mothers, but as usual
but few words introduced, consisting mostly of humming of different
tunes to put them to sleep, adding sometimes, “Sleep, sleep, my pretty
child,” or “Red fox come here; you will get a marrow bone to eat”—this
when they are 2 or 3 years old.
There is nothing in their painting or sculpture worthy of notice.
All are rude drawings and carvings scarcely intelligible without
explanation.
PRESENT CONDITION AND FUTURE PROSPECTS
The nations we write of are as yet in their savage state. But few
steps have been taken by them in the path of knowledge. Their original
manners and customs, if not entire, are but slightly changed, their
superstitions the same as their ancestors, and their minds deplorably
void of moral truth or useful science. Their idol worship remains
undisturbed by religious teachers, and the humane efforts in this
respect, extended to China and the South Seas, are withheld from the
coppered brethren residing next door.
There are some points not to be overlooked, inasmuch as they have a
general bearing upon the whole race, involving a subject of great
interest to which the foregoing details form but the prelude. The
principal of those to which we allude is this: “How far has knowledge,
art, and commerce, and the progress of civilization, affected the
improvement of the Indians, and changed or modified their original
manners, customs, and opinions?”
As art and knowledge are yet in their infancy among them and as has
been stated but little improvement in their moral condition is visible,
yet great and important changes have been brought about by the commerce
of trade, without which any plan for their future advancement would be
retarded a century, and by correct appreciation of which views can be
formed regarding contemplated measures for their prosperity.
In the foregoing pages, which present their savage life in detail,
nothing speculative has been ventured upon, no conjectures hazarded,
by us or by anyone well acquainted with the wild tribes, nor will any
new opinions be perceived. The whole is merely a collection of facts,
thrown together in the form of answers to certain questions without
further comment than necessary for their illustration and clothed in
the simplest garb of verbiage to facilitate their comprehension.
When we entered the fur trade in the spring of 1833, now 21 years
since, all the Indians herein treated of, from the Sioux to the
Blackfeet, inclusive, were much more ignorant in everything, degrading
in their habits, slovenly in appearance, and barbarous in their actions
than they now are. Life was then held by a slight tenure, crime was
frequent, atrocious disorder and family feuds were general, and their
occupations confined to slaughtering their enemies, murdering each
other, and providing for their families only in extremes of necessity.
The traders of the Columbia Fur Co. and after them those of the
American Fur Co. were men of ability, honesty, and truth. In the course
of their dealings, intermarriages, and conversations with the Indians,
the minds of the latter were enlarged, a different train of thought
and action engendered, new desires created which gave a stimulus to
industry, which raised the Indian from the level of the brute to the
standing of an intellectual being.
The enmities formerly existing between different bands of the same
nations, arising from the petty jealousies of chiefs or private family
animosities, were soldered up by the traders. To be sure their object
in this was personal gain, but that is immaterial, the beneficial
results arising from their traffic, etc., were consolidation of force
and interest of the Indians, unity of purpose and action, entailing
order in their government, a great diminution of family feuds and
private quarrels, and an application of their time to the comfort
and welfare of their families instead of its being spent in bloody
contention or domestic idleness or discord.
The introduction of firearms, metallic cooking utensils, and other
tools gave them a greater reliance on their own powers, increased
their hunting operations, and with them their domestic comfort, by
these means withdrawing their attention from their barbarous practices
and opening a new field for their exertions. With the substituting of
European instruments and clothing arose a different kind of pride than
that of olden time. The distinguishing features of the original savage
were fierceness, obstinate will, and bloody determination, leading to
barbarous and disgusting practices. Their women were worse than slaves,
the extent of their labor was more than they could bear. With the stone
ax, the bone awl, the clay pot, the rib knife, and all their primitive
tools, even their most pressing wants were met with great difficulty.
The process of procuring fuel alone was one of much toil, and occupied
most of the time of one female to a lodge. On account of their
inadequate instruments for dressing hides their clothing was wretched,
often insufficient to protect from cold or to cover with decency.
Commerce has changed all this by facilitating their means, and the
character of their women has risen from a state of intolerable slavery
to one of ordinary labor scarcely more servile than that of European
female operatives. Their persons are cleanly dressed, combed, and
adorned, a desire to appear genteel is manifested, a neatness in their
lodges and domestic arrangements perceptible, proving the transfer of
their time and ideas to these ends from those of original filth and
savage recklessness.
In former times the trade was carried on in their different camps by
paying a number of desperate men (Indians) to restrain the populace
from robbing the trader. This force was effective and necessary at the
time, because the wants of the Indians were so numerous and pressing,
their cupidity so great, that it was impossible for the trader publicly
to display his goods or deal with them on anything like fair terms.
And the Indians thus employed considered it an honorable station;
it flattered their pride to rely for protection on their bravery,
and no robberies could be committed nor the traders insulted without
killing these men at the door of the lodge, which was never attempted.
This gave rise to a body of men called soldiers, and the power first
invested in them by the traders formed a nucleus around which collected
a superior and coercive force, which, in the course of time, was
applied to their own civil organization, producing order in their
government, unity of action, and rendering effective the decisions by
council.
The original natural authority was centered in the chiefs of small
bands, supported only by their family connections, who could not or
would not enforce decrees for general welfare nor interfere in any
public differences not touching their private interests. Power being
thus confined and circumscribed, separations into small camps took
place and minor subdivisions into heads of families, resembling in
this elementary form of government that of the ancient patriarchs who
as their interests jarred or covetousness increased made war upon each
other and were insufficient for any general purpose. But when the body
of soldiers was established and their efforts united to support the
chief and council, they soon collected in large bands, from two to four
or six hundred lodges each, entered into effective measures of defense
from the surrounding tribes, regulated their hunts to advantage, and by
this consolidation of interest extinguished the principal sources of
private discord. This was a great step in advancement produced by the
traders and their commerce, for through the chief and council as the
organ of public opinion and soldiers as its support the nation could be
spoken to, their interest consulted, their feelings known, and the mass
made to advance toward a further point of improvement.
Property by means of commerce having been acquired, rates of exchanges
established, and hunting operations enlarged and facilitated, other
things besides scalps became valuable in the eyes of the Indians.
Each having something to lose, perceived the necessity of respecting
the rights of others, giving rise to a spirit of compromise in
difficulties, so that arms were less resorted to in settling disputes,
payment in most cases superseding that ancient and barbarous custom;
also they evinced a disposition to aid each other in times of need,
which minor obligations bound still closer their hitherto feeble bonds
of society.
These were some of the effects of the introduction of commerce. A still
further improvement is visible in their expansion of ideas arising
from association with white traders, exhibited in their amelioration
of manners, desire for knowledge, doubts of their own superstitions,
increase of their vocabulary and modes for expressing thought,
reason supplying the place of passion, and the general usefulness
of the whole, resulting in their minds having been made capable of
comprehending religious or scientific instruction and their time and
talents to be applied to either their moral or spiritual welfare.
This is the point to which these wild tribes are supposed by us to have
arrived, but no further. Their future condition depends more upon their
white allies than themselves. Traders have instilled education enough
to serve their purposes and let them alone. It would be inexpedient for
them to do more.
It is also apparent, if their present attainments be not improved
upon by those in power, that they must recede, and in case of a
discontinuance of trade or a worse influx of whites, their now to them
useful organization must dissolve. In this event they must become
more miserable than at first, because the desires and necessities
induced by their partial elevation can not be satisfied from their
original resources, these having been lost and abandoned during their
advancement, consequently their present support withdrawn, their
hunting ruined, distress, famine, and dissolution as nations must
certainly follow.
If they are left in their present condition until the tide of
emigration has reached their as yet undisturbed hunting grounds, and
the green plains, now covered with multitudes of buffalo, shall be
strewn with innumerable grog shops, occupied by nests of gamblers,
and hordes of outlaws, bringing with their personal vices a host of
infectious diseases, where will the poor Indian be then? Bitter would
and should be the reflections of our great national reformers that they
had not in time stretched out a saving arm to the aborigines.
It may be said, point out a way, state some feasible plan. Heretofore
our policy has been lame, and our efforts retarded by our being
but partially informed as to their capacity of improvement, or the
practicability of bettering their condition.
To all this we would answer the course to be pursued is plain and can
be easily gathered from these pages, which, like other productions
of the kind, most probably will be thrown aside as soon as read
or disbelieved because the facts recorded do not coincide with
preconceived notions of Indian character.
We do not feel ourselves called upon by the inquiry to present a plan
of operations, neither do we feel capable of instructing superior men.
A plain statement of facts is sought and herein presented, though more
could have been done had it been requested. Extensive establishments
having for their object the civilization of the Indians have already
been commenced with several nations within the boundaries of the
United States and have met with success. Let others be tried, adapting
the means to the situation and necessities of the roving tribes. A
sudden revolution of feeling, an entire change in their habits and
occupations, can not immediately be expected, would not be natural,
neither would it be durable, but a gradual change brought about
in their present employments, by combining them with pastoral and
agricultural pursuits, a judicious introduction of mechanical arts,
their superstitions carefully undermined and replaced by moral truth,
their temporal welfare consulted, and a certain chance of subsistence
presented; these things being accomplished, the eyes of the present
grown generation would close in the rising prosperity of their children.
We perceive in the closing remarks of the inquiry these words: “In all
questions where the interests of the tribes clash with those of the
persons whom you may consult, there is much caution required.”
Now, our personal interests and those of every trader are at
direct variance with any innovations in the present employments or
organization of the Indians. Any improvement in their condition
mentally or the introduction of other pursuits such as arts and
agriculture, even the inculcation of the Christian religion, would
immediately militate against the trade and unfit the Indians for
being only hunters or being regarded only as a source of profit. We
are perfectly aware that the policy advised in these pages, if acted
upon, would effectually ruin the trade and with it our own personal
interest and influence in that capacity. All these things have been
well considered and had they any effect would only have led to our
remaining silent on the subject; but, having written, we prefer
placing things in their proper light, aiming at great general good, and
thus without further comment the whole is left in the hands of those
for whom it is intended.
INTERMARRIAGE WITH WHITES
The prairie tribes have not been much affected by intermarriages
with Europeans except the Cree. Most of the Red River settlement
of half-breeds are of Cree and Chippewa extraction, who though not
generally having the advantage of education, are, however, a bold,
hardy, and fearless people, invariably good-looking, active, and brave.
They unite hunting with agricultural operations but prefer the former,
the indisposition to work showing itself equally in the descendant as
in the original stock. Their parents and the Cree Nation generally
have been, if not benefited, much instructed by these people, and are
superior in intellectual acquirements to any of the other tribes. The
history of this settlement is no doubt well known to all, so that we
need not describe it here.
As far as these other tribes are concerned the only intermixture has
been of the fur traders and engagees of the fur company. Of these, all
that can afford it take their children to the States to be educated,
who usually make intelligent and respectable men. If it were not for
the popular prejudice existing, or if it were possible, we would advise
amalgamation of the races as the most efficient means for saving the
remnants of the Indian tribes.
POPULATION
Regarding the comparative population of these tribes with the years
1833 to 1854, the decrease is very great. Smallpox, cholera, measles,
and influenza, together with other diseases and wars, incidental to the
climate and their pursuits, have reduced the Sioux about one-third, the
Mandan three-fourths, the Arikara one-fifth, the Assiniboin one-half,
the Cree one-eighth, the Crows one-half, and the Blackfeet one-third
less than they were at the former period. They—that is, from the Sioux
up—are now slowly on the increase.
LANGUAGE
To answer the queries on this head would require a volume of itself,
but the Assiniboin being the same or nearly the same as the Sioux,
and as the Sioux has already been translated into the English
letters, books published in it, and the same taught in schools on the
Mississippi, it is presumed that any and all answers to these queries
can be obtained by procuring the books printed in the Sioux language
and by examining their manner of instruction. We have seen the New
Testament in that language, also several letters, and believe it to
be well adapted to the purpose of Christianity or general usefulness.
Should, however, it be the desire of the department that extensive
vocabularies be made out and explanations of their language given,
or should any other information regarding these tribes be sought, we
will at any time satisfy it on these topics, provided the efforts now
made for their instruction regarding the prairie tribes meet with the
success it is presumed to deserve.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The following bibliographical list of works is submitted to enable the
student to verify and extend the work of Mr. Denig.
BACQUEVILLE DE LA POTHERIE, C. C. LE ROY DE LA. Histoire de l’Amérique
Septentrionale. Tomes I-IV. Paris, 1722. (Same, Paris, 1753.)
CATLIN, GEORGE. Illustrations of the manners, customs, and condition of
the North American Indians. Vols. I-II. London, 1848.
[To be used only with caution.]
CHITTENDEN, N. M., and RICHARDSON, A. T. Life, letters, and travels of
Father Pierre-Jean De Smet, S. J., 1801-1873. Vols. I-IV. New York,
1905.
COUES, ELLIOTT, ed. New light on the early history of the greater
Northwest. The manuscript journals of Alexander Henry and of David
Thompson, 1799-1814. Vols. I-III. New York, 1897.
DE SMET, FATHER PIERRE-JEAN. _See_ Chittenden, H. M., and Richardson,
A. T.
DORSEY, GEORGE A., and KROEBER, A. L. Traditions of the Arapaho. (Field
Col. Mus. Pub. 81, Anthrop. ser. vol. V, Chicago, 1903.)
DORSEY, J. OWEN. A study of Siouan cults. (Eleventh Ann. Rept. Bur.
Ethn., pp. 351-544, Washington, 1894.)
—— Siouan sociology. (Fifteenth Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethn., pp. 205-244,
Washington, 1897.)
DOBBS, ARTHUR. An account of the countries adjoining to Hudson’s Bay in
the north-west part of America. London, 1744.
FLETCHER, ALICE C. The Elk mystery or festival. Ogallala Sioux.
(Rept. Peabody Mus. Amer. Archaeol, and Ethn., vol. III, pp. 276-288,
Cambridge, 1881.)
—— Hae-thu-ska Society of the Omaha tribe. (Journ. Amer. Folk-Lore,
vol. V, pp. 135-144, Boston and New York, 1892.)
FRANKLIN, JOHN. Narrative of a journey to the shores of the Polar Sea.
Philadelphia, 1824.
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN INDIANS NORTH OF MEXICO. Bur. Amer. Ethn., Bull.
30, pts. 1 and 2, Washington, 1907-1910.
[The tribal and other articles in this work are arranged in
alphabetical order.]
HAYDEN, F. V. On the ethnography and philology of the Indian tribes of
the Missouri Valley. (Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n. s. vol. XII, pt. 2,
Philadelphia, 1862.)
[Largely based on information supplied him by Edwin T. Denig.]
HENRY, ALEXANDER. Travels and adventures in Canada, and in the Indian
Territories, between the years 1760 and 1776. New York, 1809.
—— _See also_ Coues, Elliott, ed.
HIND, HENRY YUEL. Narrative of the Canadian Red River Exploring
Expedition of 1857, and of the Assiniboine and Saskatchewan Exploring
Expedition of 1858. Vols. I-II. London, 1860.
JESUIT RELATIONS. Relations des Jesuites contenant ce qui s’est passe
de plus remarquable dans les missions des pères de la Compagnie de
Jesus dans la Nouvelle-France. Embrassant les années 1611-1672. Tomes.
I-III. Quebec, 1858.
—— Jesuit Relations and allied documents. Travels and explorations of
the Jesuit missionaries in New France, 1610-1791. Reuben Gold Thwaites,
editor. Vols. I-LXXIII. Cleveland, 1896-1901.
KELSEY, HENRY. A journal of a voyage and journey undertaken by Henry
Kelsey ... in anno 1691. With an Introduction by Arthur G. Doughty
and Chester Martin. _In_ The Kelsey Papers, published by the Public
Archives of Canada, ..., Ottawa, 1929.
[He mentions “ye Stone Indians” and also has an “Account of
these Indians beliefs and superstitions,” which seems to be the
first sketch of the life and customs of the Plains Indians.]
KROEBER, ALFRED L. Ethnology of the Gros Ventre. (Anthrop. Papers Amer.
Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. I, pt. 4, New York, 1908.)
—— The Arapaho. (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist, vol. XVIII, New York,
1902.)
_See also_ Dorsey, Geo. A., and Kroeber.
LEWIS, MERIWETHER, and CLARK, WM. Original journals of the Lewis and
Clark Expedition, 1804-1806. Reuben Gold Thwaites, editor. Vols.
I-VIII, New York, 1904-1905.
LA POTHERIE. _See_ Bacqueville de la Potherie.
LONG, JOHN. Voyages and travels of an Indian interpreter and trader,
describing the manners and customs of the North American Indians.
London, 1791.
LOWIE, ROBERT H. The Assiniboine. (Anthrop. Papers Amer. Mus. Nat.
Hist., vol. IV, pt. 1, New York, 1909.)
MARGRY, PIERRE. Decouvertes et etablissements des Francais dans l’ouest
et dans le sud de l’Amerique Septentrionale (1614-1754). Memoires et
documents originaux. Pts. I-VI. Paris, 1875-1886.
MAXIMILIAN, ALEX. P., PRINZ ZU WIED. Reise in das innere Nord-America
in den Jahren 1832 bis 1834. B. I-II. Coblenz, 1839-1841.
MOONEY, JAMES. Mescal plant and ceremony. (Therapeutic Gazette, 3d
ser., vol. XII, Detroit, 1896.)
—— Calendar history of the Kiowa Indians. (Seventeenth Ann. Rept.
Bur. Amer. Ethn., pt. 1, Washington, 1898.)
—— The Ghost-dance religion and the Sioux outbreak of 1890.
(Fourteenth Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethn., pt. 2, Washington, 1896.)
PERROT, NICOLAS. Memoire sur les Moeurs, Coustumes et Relligion des
Sauvages de l’Amerique Septentrionale, publie pour la premiere fois par
le R. P. J. Tailhan. Leipzig et Paris, 1864.
RADISSON, PETER ESPRIT. Voyages of Peter Esprit Radisson ... with
historical illustrations and an introduction by Gideon D. Scull. Publ.
Prince Society. Boston, 1885.
SCHOOLCRAFT, HENRY R. Historical and statistical information,
respecting the history, condition, and prospects of the Indian tribes
of the United States. Pts. I-VI. Philadelphia, 1851-1857.
[In his fourth volume he publishes Denig’s Assiniboin
vocabulary.]
SCULL, GIDEON D. _See_ Radisson, Peter Esprit.
THWAITES, REUBEN GOLD, ed. Early western travels 1748-1846. Vols.
I-XXXII. Cleveland, 1904-1907.
WISSLER, CLARK. The Blackfoot Indians. (Annual Archaeol. Rept. for
1905. App. Rept. Min. Ed. Ont., pp. 162-178, Toronto, 1906.)
MANUSCRIPT
KURZ, FREDERICK. Journal. Copy of translation in the archives
of the Bureau of American Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution.
1,076 typewritten pages with 125 drawings.
INDEX
Page
ABORTION, means used to produce 521
ACCOUNTS, method of keeping 420-421
ADOPTION OF CAPTIVES 552
ADULTERY, punishment of 482
_See also_ INFIDELITY
ADVANCEMENT OF TRIBES 579-580
AGED PEOPLE, treatment of 422, 443-444, 576-577