[1] Called in the Dakota tongue "_Hok-sée-win-nâ-pee
Wo-hán-pee_"--Virgins' Dance (or Feast).
[2] One of the favorite and most exciting games of the Dakotas is
ball-playing. A smooth place on the prairie, or in winter, on a frozen
lake or river, is chosen. Each player has a sort of bat, called
"_Tâ-kée-cha-psé-cha_," about thirty-two inches long, with a hoop at the
lower end four or five inches in diameter, interlaced with thongs of
deer-skin, forming a sort of pocket. With these bats they catch and
throw the ball. Stakes are set as bounds at a considerable distance from
the center on either side. Two parties are then formed and each chooses
a leader or chief. The ball (_Tâpa_) is then thrown up half way between
the bounds, and the game begins, the contestants contending with their
bats for the ball as it falls. When one succeeds in getting it fairly
into the pocket of his bat he swings it aloft and throws it as far as he
can toward the bound to which his party is working, taking care to send
it if possible where some of his own side will take it up. Thus the ball
is thrown and contended for till one party succeeds in casting it beyond
the bounds of the opposite party. A hundred players on a side are
sometimes engaged in this exciting game. Betting on the result often
runs high. Moccasins, pipes, knives, hatchets, blankets, robes and guns
are hung on the prize-pole. Not unfrequently horses are staked on the
issue and sometimes even women. Old men and mothers are among the
spectators, praising their swift-footed sons, and young wives and
maidens are there to stimulate their husbands and lovers. This game is
not confined to the warriors but is also a favorite amusement of the
Dakota maidens, who generally play for prizes offered by the chief or
warriors. (See _Neill's Hist. Minn._, pp 74-5; _Riggs' Tâkoo Wakân_, pp
44-5, and _Mrs. Eastman's Dacotah_, p 55.)
[3] Pronounced _Wah-zeé-yah_--the god of the North, or Winter. A fabled
spirit who dwells in the frozen North, in a great _teepee_ of ice and
snow. From his mouth and nostrils he blows the cold blasts of winter. He
and _I-tó-ka-ga Wi câs-ta_--the spirit or god of the South (literally
the "South Man") are inveterate enemies, and always on the war-path
against each other. In winter _Wa-zi-ya_ advances southward and drives
_I-tó-ka-ga Wi-câs-ta_ before him to the Summer-Islands. But in spring
the god of the South having renewed his youth and strength in the "Happy
Hunting Grounds," is able to drive _Wa-zi-ya_ back again to his icy
wigwam in the North. Some Dakotas say that the numerous granite
boulders scattered over the prairies of Minnesota and Dakota, were
hurled in battle by _Wa-zi-ya_ from his home in the North at _I-tó-ka-ga
Wi-câs-ta_. The _Wa-zi-ya_ of the Dakotas is substantially the same as
"_Ka be-bon-ik-ka_"--the "Winter-maker" of the Ojibways.
[4] Mendota--(meeting of the waters) at the confluence of the Mississippi
and Minnesota rivers. The true Dakota word is _Mdó-tè_--applied to the
mouth of a river flowing into another, also to the outlet of a lake.
[5] Pronounced _Wee-wâh-stay_; literally--a beautiful virgin or woman.
[6] _Cetân-wa-ká-wa-mâni_--"He who shoots pigeon-hawks walking"--was the
full Dakota name of the grandfather of the celebrated "Little Crow"
(_Ta-ó-ya-te-dú-ta_--His Red People) who led his warriors in the
terrible outbreak in Minnesota in 1862-3. The Chippeways called the
grandfather _Ká-ká-gè_--crow or raven--from his war-badge, a crow-skin;
and hence the French traders and _courriers du bois_ called him "_Petit
Corbeau_"--Little Crow. This sobriquet, of which he was proud, descended
to his son, _Wakinyan Tânka_--Big Thunder, who succeeded him as chief;
and from Big Thunder to his son _Ta-ó-ya-te-dú-ta_, who became chief on
the death of _Wakinyan Tânka_. These several "Little Crows" were
successively Chiefs of the Light-foot, or _Kapóza_ band of Dakotas.
_Kapóza_, the principal village of this band, was originally located on
the east bank of the Mississippi near the site of the city of St. Paul.
_Col. Minn. Hist. Soc._, 1864, p. 29. It was in later years moved to the
west bank. The grandfather whom I, for short, call _Wakâwa_, died the
death of a brave in battle against the Ojibways (commonly called
Chippeways)--the hereditary enemies of the Dakotas. _Wakinyan
Tânka_--Big Thunder, was killed by the accidental discharge of his own
gun. They were both buried with their kindred near the "_Wakan Teepee_,"
the sacred Cave--(Carver's Cave). _Ta-ó-ya-te-dú-ta_, the last of the
Little Crows, was killed July 3, 1863, during the outbreak, near
Hutchinson, Minnesota, by the Lampsons--father and son, and his bones
were duly "done up" for the Historical Society of Minnesota. See
_Heard's Hist. Sioux War_, and _Neill's Hist. Minnesota_, Third Edition.
[Illustration: LITTLE CROW. _From an original photograph in the author's
possession_]
Little Crow's sixteen-year-old son, _Wa-wi-na-pe_--(One who appears
--like the spirit of his forefather) was with him at the time he was
killed; but escaped, and after much hardship and suffering, was at last
captured at _Mini Wakan_ (Devil's Lake, in North Dakota). From him
personally I obtained much information in regard to Little Crow's
participation in the "Sioux War," and minutely the speech that Little
Crow made to his braves when he finally consented to lead them on the
war-path against the whites. A literal translation of that speech will
be found further on in this note.
I knew _Ta-ó-ya-te-dú-ta_, and from his own lips, in 1859-60 and 61,
obtained much interesting information in regard to the history,
tradition, customs, superstitions and habits of the Dakotas, of whom he
was the recognized Head-Chief. He was a remarkable Indian--a philosopher
and a brave and generous man. "Untutored savage" that he was, he was a
prince among his own people, and the peer in natural ability of the
ablest white men in the Northwest in his time. He had largely adopted
the dress and habits of civilized man, and he urged his people to
abandon their savage ways, build houses, cultivate fields, and learn to
live like the white people. He clearly forsaw the ultimate extinction of
his people as a distinct race. He well knew and realized the numbers and
power of the whites then rapidly taking possession of the
hunting-grounds of the Dakotas, and the folly of armed opposition on the
part of his people. He said to me once: "No more Dakotas by and by;
Indians all white men. No more buffaloes by and by; all cows, all oxen."
But his braves were restless. They smarted under years of wrong and
robbery, to which, indeed, the most stinging insults were often added by
the traders and officials among them. If the true, unvarnished history
of the cause and inception of the "Sioux Outbreak" in Minnesota is ever
written and published, it will bring the blush of shame to the cheeks of
every honest man who reads it.
Against his judgment and repeated protests, Little Crow was at last,
after the depredations had begun, forced into the war on the whites by
his hot-headed and uncontrollable "young men."
Goaded to desperation, a party of Little Crow's young "bucks," in
August, 1862, began their depredations and spilled white blood at Acton.
Returning to their chief's camp near the agency, they told their fellow
braves what they had done. The hot-headed young warriors immediately
demanded of Little Crow that he put on the "war-paint" and lead them
against the white men. The chief severely rebuked the "young men" who
had committed the murders, blackened his face (a sign of mourning),
retired to his _teepee_ and covered his head in sorrow.
His braves surrounded his tent and cut it into strips with their knives.
They threatened to depose him from the chiefship unless he immediately
put on the "war-paint" and led them against the whites. They knew that
the Civil War was then in progress, that the white men were fighting
among themselves, and they declared that now was the time to regain
their lost hunting-grounds; that now was the time to avenge the thievery
and insults of the Agents who had for years systematically cheated them
out of the greater part of their promised annuities, for which they had
been induced to part with their lands; that now was the time to avenge
the debauchery of their wives and daughters by the dissolute hangers-on
who, as employees of the Indian Agents and licensed traders, had for
years hovered around them like buzzards around the carcasses of
slaughtered buffaloes.
But Little Crow was unmoved by the appeals and threats of his warriors.
It is said that once for a moment he uncovered his head; that his face
was haggard and great beads of sweat stood out on his forehead. But at
last one of his enraged braves, bolder than the rest, cried out:
"_Ta-ó-ya-te-dú-ta_ is a coward!"
Instantly Little Crow sprang from his _teepee_, snatched the
eagle-feathers from the head of his insulter and flung them on the
ground. Then, stretching himself to his full height, his eyes flashing
fire, and in a voice tremulous with rage, he exclaimed:
"_Ta-ó-ya-te-dú-ta_ is not a coward, and he is not a fool! When did he
run away from his enemies? When did he leave his braves behind him on
the war-path and turn back to his _teepees_? When he ran away from your
enemies, he walked behind on your trail with his face to the Ojibways
and covered your backs as a she-bear covers her cubs! Is
_Ta-ó-ya-te-dú-ta_ without scalps? Look at his war-feathers! Behold the
scalp-locks of your enemies hanging there on his lodge-poles! Do they
call him a coward? _Ta-ó-ya-te-dú-ta_ is not a coward, and he is not a
fool. Braves, you are like little children; you know not what you are
doing.
"You are full of the white man's _devil-water_" (rum). "You are like
dogs in the Hot Moon when they run mad and snap at their own shadows. We
are only little herds of buffaloes left scattered; the great herds that
once covered the prairies are no more. See!--the white men are like the
locusts when they fly so thick that the whole sky is a snow-storm. You
may kill one--two--ten; yes, as many as the leaves in the forest
yonder, and their brothers will not miss them. Kill one--two--ten, and
ten times ten will come to kill you. Count your fingers all day long and
white men with guns in their hands will come faster than you can count.
"Yes; they fight among themselves--away off. Do you hear the thunder of
their big guns? No; it would take you two moons to run down to where
they are fighting, and all the way your path would be among white
soldiers as thick as tamaracks in the swamps of the Ojibways. Yes; they
fight among themselves, but if you strike at them they will all turn on
you and devour you and your women and little children just as the
locusts in their time fall on the trees and devour all the leaves in one
day. You are fools. You cannot see the face of your chief; your eyes are
full of smoke. You cannot hear his voice; your ears are full of roaring
waters. Braves, you are little children--you are fools. You will die
like the rabbits when the hungry wolves hunt them in the Hard Moon
(January). _Ta-ó-ya-té dú-ta_ is not a coward: he will die with you."
[7] _Hârps-te-nâh_. The first-born daughter of a Dakota is called
_Winona_; the second, _Hârpen_; the third, _Hârpstinâ_; the fourth,
_Wâska_; the fifth, _Wehârka_. The first-born son is called _Chaskè_;
the second, _Hârpam_; the third, _Hapéda_; the fourth, _Châtun_; the
fifth, _Hârka_. They retain these names till others are given them on
account of some action, peculiarity, etc. The females often retain their
child-names through life.
[8] _Wah-pah-sâh_ was the hereditary name of a long and illustrious line
of Dakota chiefs. Wabashaw is a corrupt pronunciation. The name is a
contraction of _Wâ-pa-hâ-sa_, which is from _Wâ-ha-pa_, the standard or
pole used in the Dakota dances and upon which feathers of various colors
are tied, and not from _Wâ-pa_--leaf, as has been generally supposed.
Therefore _Wâpasa_ means the Standard--and not the "Leaf-Shaker," as
many writers have it. The principal village of these hereditary chiefs
was _Ke-úk-sa_, or _Ke-ó-sa_,--where now stands the fair city of Winona.
_Ke-úk-sa_ signifies--The village of law-breakers; so called because
this band broke the law or custom of the Dakotas against marrying blood
relatives of any degree. I get this information from Rev. Stephen R.
Riggs, author of the Dakota Grammar and Dictionary, "_Takoo Wakan_,"
etc. _Wapasa_, grandfather of the last chief of that name, and a
contemporary of _Cetan-Wa-kâ-wa-mâni_, was a noted chief, and a friend
of the British in the war of the Revolution. _Neill's Hist. Minn._, pp.
225-9.
[9] _E-hó, E-tó_--Exclamations of surprise and delight.
[10] _Mah-gâh_--The wild-goose.
[11] _Teé-peé_--A lodge or wigwam, often contracted to "_tee_."
[12] Pronounced _Mahr-peé-yah-doó-tah_--literally, Cloud Red.
[13] Pronounced _Wahnmdeé_--The War Eagle. Each feather worn by a warrior
represents an enemy slain or captured--man, woman or child; but the
Dakotas, before they became desperate under the cruel warfare of their
enemies, usually spared the lives of their captives, and never killed
women or infants, except in rare instances under the _lex talionis_.
_Neill's Hist. Minn._, p. 112.
[14] _Mah-tó_--The polar bear--_ursus maritimus_. The Dakotas say that in
olden times white bears were often found about Rainy Lake and the Lake
of the Woods in winter, and sometimes as far south as the mouth of the
Minnesota. They say one was once killed at White Bear Lake (but a few
miles from St. Paul and Minneapolis), and they therefore named the lake
Medé Mató--White Bear Lake, literally--Lake White Bear.
[15] The _Hó-hé_ (Ho-hay) are the Assiniboins or "Stone-roasters." Their
home is the region of the Assiniboin River in Manitoba. They speak the
Dakota tongue, and originally were a band of that nation. Tradition says
a Dakota "Helen" was the cause of the separation and a bloody feud that
lasted for many years. The _Hóhés_ are called "Stone-roasters," because,
until recently at least, they used _wa-ta-pe_ kettles and vessels made
of birch bark in which they cooked their food. They boiled water in
these vessels by heating stones and putting them in the water. The
_wa-ta-pe_ kettle is made of the fibrous roots of the white cedar
interlaced and tightly woven. When the vessel is soaked it becomes
water-tight. [_Snelling's_] _Tales of the North-west_, p 21,
_Mackenzie's Travels._
[16] _Hey-ó-ka_ is one of the principal Dakota deities. He is a giant, but
can change himself into a buffalo, a bear, a fish or a bird. He is
called the Anti-natural God or Spirit. In summer he shivers with cold,
in winter he suffers from heat; he cries when he laughs and he laughs
when he cries, etc. He is the reverse of nature in all things. _Heyóka_
is universally feared and reverenced by the Dakotas, but so severe is
the ordeal that the _Heyóka Wacipee_ (the dance to _Heyóka_) is now
rarely celebrated. It is said that the "Medicine-men" use a secret
preparation which enables them to handle fire and dip their hands in
boiling water without injury and thereby gain great _eclat_ from the
uninitiated. The chiefs and the leading warriors usually belong to the
secret order of "Medicine-men" or "Sons of _Unktéhee_"--the Spirit of
the Waters.
[17] The Dakota name for the moon is _Han-yé-tu-wee_--literally,
Night-Sun. He is the twin brother of _An-pé-tu-wee_--the Day Sun. See
note 70.
[18] The Dakotas believe that the stars are the spirits of their departed
friends.
[19] _Tee_--Contracted from _teepee_, lodge or wigwam, and means the same.
[20] For all their sacred feasts the Dakotas kindle a new fire called "The
Virgin Fire." This is done with flint and steel, or by rubbing together
pieces of wood till friction produces fire. It must be done by a virgin,
nor must any woman, except a virgin, ever touch the "sacred armor" of a
Dakota warrior. White cedar is "_Wakân_"--sacred. See note 50. _Riggs'
Tahkoo Wakân_, p. 84.
[21] All Northern Indians consider the East a mysterious and sacred land
whence comes the sun. The Dakota name for the East is
_Wee-yo-heé-yan-pa_--the sunrise. The Ojibways call it _Waub-ó-nong_
--the white land or land of light, and they have many myths, legends and
traditions relating thereto. Barbarous peoples of all times have
regarded the East with superstitious reverence simply because the sun
rises in that quarter.
[22] See _Mrs. Eastman's Dacotah_, pp. 225-8, describing the feast to
_Heyóka_.
[23] This stone from which the Dakotas have made their pipes for ages, is
esteemed _wakân_--sacred. They call it _I-yân-ska_, probably from _iya_,
to speak, and _ska_, white, truthful, peaceful,--hence, peace-pipe,
herald of peace, pledge of truth, etc. In the cabinet at Albany, N.Y.,
there is a very ancient pipe of this material which the Iroquois
obtained from the Dakotas. Charlevoix speaks of this pipe-stone in his
_History of New France_. LeSueur refers to the Yanktons as the village
of the Dakotas at the Red-Stone Quarry. See _Neill's Hist. Minn._, p.
514.
[24] "_Ho_" is an exclamation of approval--yea, yes, bravo.
[25] Buying is the honorable way of taking a wife among the Dakotas. The
proposed husband usually gives a horse or its value in other articles to
the father or natural guardian of the woman selected--sometimes against
her will. See note 75.
[26] The Dakotas believe that the _Aurora Borealis_ is an evil omen and
the threatening of an evil spirit (perhaps _Waziya_, the
Winter-god--some say a witch, or a very ugly old woman). When the lights
appear danger threatens, and the warriors shoot at, and often slay, the
evil spirit, but it rises from the dead again.
[27] _Se-só-kah_--The Robin.
[28] The spirit of _Anpétu-sâpa_ that haunts the Falls of St. Anthony with
her dead babe in her arms. See the Legend in _Neill's Hist. Minn._, or
my _Legend of the Falls._
[29] _Mee-coónk-shee_--My daughter.
[30] The Dakotas call the meteor, "_Wakân-dénda_" (sacred fire) and
_Wakân-wóhlpa_ (sacred gift). Meteors are messages from the Land of
Spirits warning of impending danger. It is a curious fact that the
"sacred stone" of the Mohammedans, in the Kaaba at Mecca, is a meteoric
stone, and obtains its sacred character from the fact that it fell from
heaven.
[31] _Kah-nó-te-dahn_,--the little, mysterious dweller in the woods. This
spirit lives in the forest, in hollow trees. _Mrs. Eastman's Dacotah_,
Pre. Rem. xxxi. "The Dakota god of the woods--an unknown animal said to
resemble a man, which the Dakotas worship: perhaps, the
monkey."--_Riggs' Dakota Dic. Tit--Canotidan_.
[32] The Dakotas believe that thunder is produced by the flapping of the
wings of an immense bird which they call _Wakinyan_--the Thunder-bird.
Near the source of the Minnesota River is a place called
"Thunder-Tracks" where the foot-prints of a "Thunder-bird" are seen on
the rocks twenty-five miles apart. _Mrs. Eastman's Dacotah_, p. 71.
There are many Thunder-birds. The father of all the
Thunder-birds--"_Wakinyan Tanka_"--or "Big Thunder," has his _teepee_ on
a lofty mountain in the far West. His _teepee_ has four openings, at
each of which is a sentinel; at the east, a butterfly; at the west, a
bear; at the south, a red deer; at the north, a caribou. He has a bitter
enmity against _Unktéhee_ (god of waters) and often shoots his fiery
arrows at him, and hits the earth, trees, rocks, and sometimes men.
_Wakinyan_ created wild-rice, the bow and arrow, the tomahawk and the
spear. He is a great war-spirit, and _Wanmdée_ (the war-eagle) is his
messenger. A Thunder-bird (say the Dakotas) was once killed near Kapóza
by the son of Cetan-Wakawa-mâni and he thereupon took the name of
"_Wakinyan Tanka_"--"Big Thunder."
[33] Pronounced _Tah-tâhn-kah_--Bison or Buffalo.
[34] _Enâh_--An exclamation of wonder. _Ehó_--Behold! see there!
[35] The Crees are the Knisteneaux of Alexander Mackenzie. See his account
of them, _Mackenzie's Travels_, (London, 1801) p. xci to cvii.
[36] Lake Superior. The only names the Dakotas have for Lake Superior are
_Medé Tânka_ or _Tânka Medé_--Great Lake, and _Me-ne-yâ-ta_--literally,
_At-the-Water_.
[37] April--Literally, the moon when the geese lay eggs. See note 71.
[38] Carver's Cave at St. Paul was called by the Dakotas _Wakân_
_Teepee_--sacred lodge. In the days that are no more they lighted their
council-fires in this cave and buried their dead near it. See _Neill's
Hist. Minn_., p. 207. Capt. Carver in his _Travels_, London, 1778, p.
63, et. seq., describes this cave as follows: "It is a remarkable cave
of an amazing depth. The Indians term it Wakonteebe, that is, the
Dwelling of the Great Spirit. The entrance into it is about ten feet
wide, the height of it five feet, the arch within is near fifteen feet
high and about thirty feet broad. The bottom of it consists of fine
clear sand. About twenty feet from the entrance begins a lake, the water
of which is transparent, and extends to an unsearchable distance; for
the darkness of the cave prevents all attempts to acquire a knowledge of
it. I threw a small pebble toward the interior parts of it with my
utmost strength. I could hear that it fell into the water, and
notwithstanding it was of so small a size it caused an astonishing and
horrible noise that reverberated through all those gloomy regions. I
found in this cave many Indian hieroglyphics which appeared very
ancient, for time had nearly covered them with moss so that it was with
difficulty I could trace them. They were cut in a rude manner upon the
inside of the walls, which were composed of a stone so extremely soft
that it might be easily penetrated with a knife: a stone everywhere to
be found near the Mississippi. This cave is only accessible by ascending
a narrow, steep passage that lies near the brink of the river. At a
little distance from this dreary cavern is the burying-place of several
bands of the Naudowessie (Dakota) Indians," Many years ago the roof fell
in but the cave has been partly restored and is now used as a beer
cellar.
[39] _Wah-kâhn-dee_--The lightning.
[40] The Bloody River--the Red River was so called on account of the
numerous Indian battles that have been fought on its banks. The Ojibways
say that its waters were colored red by the blood of many warriors slain
on its banks in the fierce wars between themselves and the Dakotas.
[41] _Tah_--The Moose. This is the root-word for all ruminating animals:
_Ta-tânka_, buffalo--Ta-tóka, mountain antelope--Ta-hinca, the red
deer--Ta-mdóka, the buck-deer--Ta-hinca-ská, white deer (sheep).
[42] _Hogâhn_--Fish. Red Hogan, the trout.
[43] _Tipsânna_ (often called _tipsinna_) is a wild prairie-turnip used
for food by the Dakotas. It grows on high, dry land, and increases from
year to year. It is eaten both cooked and raw.
[44] _Rio Tajo_ (or Tagus), a river of Spain and Portugal.
[45]
* * * * "Bees of Trebizond--
Which from the sunniest flowers that glad
With their pure smile the gardens round,
Draw venom forth that drives men mad."
_--Thomas Moore_.
[46] _Skeé-skah_--The Wood-duck.
[47] The Crocus. I have seen the prairies in Minnesota spangled with these
beautiful flowers in various colors before the ground was free from
frost. The Dakotas call them "frost-flowers."
[48] The "Sacred Ring" around the Feast of the Virgins is formed by armed
warriors sitting, and none but a virgin must enter this ring. The
warrior who knows is bound on honor, and by old and sacred custom, to
expose and publicly denounce any tarnished maiden who dares to enter
this ring, and his word cannot be questioned--even by the chief. See
_Mrs. Eastman's Dacotah_, p. 64.
[49] Prairie's Pride.--This annual shrub, which abounds on many of the
sandy prairies in Minnesota, is sometimes called "tea-plant,"
"sage-plant," and "red-root willow." I doubt if it has any botanic name.
Its long plumes of purple and gold are truly the "pride of the
prairies."
[50] The Dakotas consider white cedar "_Wakân_," (sacred). They use
sprigs of it at their feasts, and often burn it to destroy the power of
evil spirits. _Mrs. Eastman's Dacotah_, p. 210.
[51] _Tâhkoo-skahng-skahng_. This deity is supposed to be invisible, yet
everywhere present; he is an avenger and a searcher of hearts. (_Neill's
Hist. Minn_., p. 57). I suspect he was the chief spirit of the Dakotas
before the missionaries imported "_Wakân-Tánka_" (Great Spirit).
[52] The Dakotas believe in "were-wolves" as firmly as did our Saxon
ancestors, and for similar reasons--the howl of the wolf being often
imitated as a decoy or signal by their enemies the Ojibways.
[53] _Shee-shó-kah_--The Robin.
[54] The Dakotas call the Evening Star the "_Virgin Star_," and believe it
to be the spirit of the virgin wronged at the feast.
[55] Mille Lacs. This lake was discovered by Du Luth, and by him named Lac
Buade in honor of Governor Frontenac of Canada, whose family name was
Buade. The Dakota name for it is _Mdé Wakân_--Spirit Lake.
[56] The Ojibways imitate the hoot of the owl and the howl of the wolf to
perfection, and often use these cries as signals to each other in war
and the chase.
[57] The Dakotas called the Ojibways the "Snakes of the Forest" on account
of their lying in ambush for their enemies.
[58] Strawberries.
[59] _Seé-yo_--The prairie-hen.
[60] _Mahgâh_--The wild-goose. _Fox-pups_. I could never see the propriety
of calling the young of foxes _kits_ or _kittens_, which mean _little
cats_. The fox belongs to the _canis_ or dog family, and not the _felis_
or cat family. If it is proper to call the young of dogs and wolves
_pups_, it is equally proper to so call the young of foxes.
[61] When a Dakota is sick he thinks the spirit of an enemy or some animal
has entered into his body, and the principal business of the
"medicine-man"--_Wicásta Wakân_--is to cast out the "unclean spirit,"
with incantations and charms. See _Neill's Hist. Minn_., pp. 66-8. The
Jews entertained a similar belief in the days of Jesus of Nazareth.
[62] _Wah-zeé-yah's_ star--The North-star. See note 3.
[63] The Dakotas, like our forefathers and all other barbarians, believe
in witches and witchcraft.
[64] The _Medó_ is a wild potato; it resembles the sweet-potato in top and
taste. It grows in bottom-lands, and is much prized by the Dakotas for
food. The "_Dakota Friend_," for December, 1850. (Minn. Hist. Col.)
[65] The meteor--_Wakân-denda_--Sacred fire.
[66] _Me-tá-win_--My bride.
[68] The _Via Lactea_ or Milky Way. The Dakotas call it _Wanágee
Tach-ánku_--The pathway of the spirits; and believe that over this path
the spirits of the dead pass to the Spirit-land. See _Riggs' Tah-koo
Wah-kan_, p. 101.
[69] _Oonk-táy-he_. There are many _Unktéhees_, children of the _Great
Unktéhee_, who created the earth and man, and who formerly dwelt in a
vast cavern under the Falls of St. Anthony. The _Unktéhee_ sometimes
reveals himself in the form of a huge buffalo-bull. From him proceed
invisible influences. The _Great Unktéhee_ created the earth.
"Assembling in grand conclave all the aquatic tribes he ordered them to
bring up dirt from beneath the waters, and proclaimed death to the
disobedient. The beaver and otter forfeited their lives. At last the
muskrat went beneath the waters, and, after a long time, appeared at the
surface, nearly exhausted, with some dirt. From this _Unktéhee_
fashioned the earth into a large circular plain. The earth being
finished he took a deity, one of his own offspring, and, grinding him to
powder, sprinkled it upon the earth, and this produced many worms. The
worms were then collected and scattered again. They matured into infants
and these were then collected and scattered and became full-grown
Dakotas. The bones of the mastodon, the Dakotas think, are the bones of
_Unktéhees_, and they preserve them with the greatest care in the
medicine-bag." _Neill's Hist. Minn_., p. 55. The _Unktéhees_ and the
Thunder-birds are perpetually at war. There are various accounts of the
creation of man. Some say that at the bidding of the _Great Unktéhee_,
men sprang full grown from the caverns of the earth. See _Riggs' "Tahkoo
Wahkan"_, and _Mrs. Eastman's Dacotah_. The _Great Unktéhee_ and the
Great Thunder-bird had a terrible battle in the bowels of the earth to
determine which should be the ruler of the world. See description in
_Winona_.
[70] Pronounced _Ahng-páy-too-wee_--The Sun; literally the Day-Sun, thus
distinguishing him from _Han-yé-tuwee_ (Hahng-yay-too-wee) the Night Sun
(the moon). They are twin brothers, but _Anpétuwee_ is the more
powerful. _Han-yé-tuwee_ receives his power from his brother and obeys
him. He watches over the earth while the sun sleeps. The Dakotas believe
the sun is the father of life. Unlike the most of their other gods, he
is beneficent and kind; yet they worshiped him (in the sun-dance) in the
most dreadful manner. See _Riggs' Tahkoo Wakan_, pp. 81-2, and Catlin's
_Okeepa_. The moon is worshiped as the representative of the sun; and in
the great Sun-dance, which is usually held in the full of the moon, when
the moon rises the dancers turn their eyes on her (or him). _Anpétuwee_
issues every morning from the lodge of _Han-nán-na_ (the Morning) and
begins his journey over the sky to his lodge in the land of shadows.
Sometimes he walks over on the Bridge (or path) of the Spirits--_Wanâge
Ta-chán-ku_,--and sometimes he sails over the sea of the skies in his
shining canoe; but _somehow_, and the Dakotas do not explain how, he
gets back again to the lodge of _Hannánna_ in time to take a nap and eat
his breakfast before starting anew on his journey. The Dakotas swear by
the sun, "_As Anpétuwee hears me, this is true!_" They call him Father
and pray to him--"_Wakán! Até, on-she-má-da_"--"Sacred Spirit,--Father,
have mercy on me." As the Sun is the father, so they believe the Earth
is the mother, of life. Truly there is much philosophy in the Dakota
mythology. The Algonkins call the earth "_Me-suk-kum-mik-o-kwa_"--the
great-grandmother of all. _Narrative of John Tanner_, p. 193.
[71] The Dakotas reckon their months by _moons_. They name their moons
from natural circumstances. They correspond very nearly with our months,
as follows:
January--_Wee-té-rhee_--The Hard Moon; i.e.--the cold moon.
February--_Wee-câ-ta-wee_--The Coon Moon--(the moon when the coons come
out of their hollow trees).
March--_Istâ-wee-ca-ya-zang-wee_--the sore-eyes moon (from snow
blindness).
April--Magâ-oka-da-wee--the moon when the geese lay eggs; also called
Wokâ da-wee--egg-moon; and sometimes Wató-papee-wee, the canoe-moon, or
moon when the streams become free from ice.
May--Wó-zu-pee-wee--the planting moon.
June--Wazú-ste-ca-sa-wee--the strawberry moon.
July--Wa-sún-pa-wee--the moon when the geese shed their feathers, also
called Chang-pâ-sapa-wee--Choke-Cherry moon, and
sometimes--Mna-rchâ-rcha-wee--"The moon of the red-blooming lilies,"
literally, the red-lily moon.
August--Wasú-ton-wee--the ripe moon, i.e., Harvest Moon.
September--Psin-na-ké-tu-wee--the ripe rice moon. (When the wild rice is
ripe.)
October--Wâ-zu-pee-wee or Wee-wa-zu-pee--the moon when wild rice is
gathered and laid up for winter.
November--Ta-kee-yu-hrâ-wee--the deer-rutting moon.
December--Ta-hé-cha-psung-wee--the moon when deer shed their horns.
[72] Oonk-to-mee--is a bad spirit in the form of a monstrous black spider.
He inhabits fens and marshes and lies in wait for his prey. At night he
often lights a torch (evidently the ignis fatuus or Jack-o' lantern) and
swings it on the marshes to decoy the unwary into his toils.
[73] The Dakotas have their stone-idol, or god, called Toon-kan--or Inyan.
This god dwells in stone or rocks and is, they say, the oldest god of
all--he is grandfather of all living things. I think, however, that the
stone is merely the symbol of the everlasting, all-pervading, invisible
Ta-ku Wa-kan--the essence of all life,--pervading all nature, animate
and inanimate. The Rev. S.R. Riggs, who for forty years has been a
student of Dakota customs, superstitions, etc., says, Tâhkoo Wahkan, p.
55, et seq.: "The religious faith of the Dakota is not in his gods as
such. It is in an intangible, mysterious something of which they are
only the embodiment, and that in such measure and degree as may accord
with the individual fancy of the worshiper. Each one will worship some
of these divinities, and neglect or despise others, but the great object
of all their worship, whatever its chosen medium, is the _Ta-koo
Wa-kan_, which is the supernatural and mysterious. No one term can
express the full meaning of the Dakota's _Wakan_. It comprehends all
mystery, secret power and divinity. Awe and reverence are its due, and
it is as unlimited in manifestation as it is in idea. All life is
_Wakan_; so also is everything which exhibits power, whether in action,
as the winds and drifting clouds; or in passive endurance, as the
boulder by the wayside. For even the commonest sticks and stones have a
spiritual essence which must be reverenced as a manifestation of the
all-pervading, mysterious power that fills the universe."
[74] _Wazi-kuté_--Wah-ze-koo-tay; literally--Pine-shooter,--he that shoots
among the pines. When Father Hennepin was at Mille Lacs in 1679-80,
_Wazi-kuté_ was the head chief (_Itâncan_) of the band of Isantees.
Hennepin writes the name Ouasicoude, and translates it--the "Pierced
Pine." See Shea's _Hennepin_, p. 234, _Minn. Hist. Coll_. vol. i, p.
316.
[75] When a Dakota brave wishes to "propose" to a "dusky maid," he visits
her _teepee_ at night after she has retired, or rather, laid down in her
robe to sleep. He lights a splinter of wood and holds it to her face. If
she blows out the light, he is accepted; if she covers her head and
leaves it burning he is rejected. The rejection however is not
considered final till it has been thrice repeated. Even then the maiden
is often bought of her parents or guardian, and forced to become the
wife of the rejected suitor. If she accepts the proposal, still the
suitor must buy her of her parents with suitable gifts.
[76] The Dakotas called the falls of St. Anthony the _Ha-Ha_--the _loud
laughing_, or _roaring_. The Mississippi River they called _Ha-Ha
Wâ-kpa_ River of the Falls. The Ojibway name for the Falls of St.
Anthony is _Ka-kâ-bik-kúng_. Minnehaha is a combination of two Dakota
words--_Mini_--water and _Ha-Ha_, Falls; but it is not the name by which
the Dakotas designated that cataract. Some authorities say they called
it _I-hâ-ha_--pronounced E-rhah-rhah--lightly laughing. Rev. S.W. Pond,
whose long residence as a missionary among the Dakotas in this immediate
vicinity makes him an authority that can hardly be questioned, says they
called the Falls of Minnehaha "_Mini-i-hrpa-ya-dan_," and it had no
other name in Dakota. "It means Little Falls and nothing else." Letter
to the author.
[77] The game of the Plum-stones is one of the favorite games of the
Dakotas. Hennepin was the first to describe this game, in his
_Description de la Louisiane_, Paris, 1683, and he describes it very
accurately. See Shea's translation p. 301. The Dakotas call this game
_Kan-soo Koo-tay-pe_--shooting plum-stones. Each stone is painted black
on one side and red on the other; on one side they grave certain figures
which make the stones _Wakan_. They are placed in a dish and thrown up
like dice. Indeed, the game is virtually a game of dice. Hennepin says:
"There are some so given to this game that they will gamble away even
their great coat. Those who conduct the game cry at the top of their
voices when they rattle the platter, and they strike their shoulders so
hard as to leave them all black with the blows."
[78] _Wa-tanka_--contraction of _Wa-kan Tanka_--Great Spirit. The Dakotas
had no _Wakan Tanka_ or _Wakan-peta_--fire spirit--till white men
imported them. There being no name for the Supreme Being in the Dakota
tongue (except _Tâku Skán-skán_.--See note 51)--and all their gods and
spirits being _Wakan_--the missionaries named God in Dakota--"_Wakan
Tanka_"--which means _Big Spirit_, or _The Big Mysterious_.
[79] The Dakotas called Lake Calhoun, at Minneapolis,
Minn.--_Mdé-mdó-za_--Loon Lake. They also called it _Re-ya-ta-mde_--the
lake back from the river. They called Lake Harriet--_Mdé-únma_--the
other lake--or (perhaps) _Mdé-uma_--Hazel-nut Lake. The lake nearest
Calhoun on the north--Lake of the Isles--they called _Wi-ta
Mdé_--Island-Lake. Lake Minnetonka they called _Me-ne-a-tân-ka_--_Broad
Water_.
[80] The animal called by the French _voyageurs_ the _cabri_ (the kid) is
found only on the prairies. It is of the goat kind, smaller than a deer
and so swift that neither horse nor dog can overtake it. (Snelling's
"_Tales of the Northwest_," p. 286, note 15.) It is the gazelle, or
prairie antelope, called by the Dakotas _Ta-tóka-dan_--little antelope.
It is the _Pish-tah-te-koosh_ of the Algonkin tribes, "reckoned the
fleetest animal in the prairie country about the Assiniboin." _Captivity
and Adventures of John Tanner_, p. 301.
[81] The _Wicâstâpi Wakânpi_ (literally, _men supernatural_) are the
"Medicine-men" or Magicians of the Dakotas. They call themselves the
sons or disciples of _Unktéhee_. In their rites, ceremonies, tricks and
pretensions they closely resemble the _Dactyli, Idæ_, and _Curetes_ of
the ancient Greeks and Romans, the _Magi_ of the Persians and the Druids
of Britain. Their pretended intercourse with spirits, their powers of
magic and divination, and their rites are substantially the same, and
point unmistakably to a common origin. The Dakota "Medicine-Man" can do
the "rope trick" of the Hindoo magician to perfection. The _teepee_ used
for the _Wakan Wacipee_--or Sacred Dance--is called the _Wakan
Teepee_--the Sacred Teepee. Carvers Cave at St. Paul was also called
_Wakan Teepee_ because the Medicine-men or magicians often held their
dances and feasts in it. For a full account of the rites, etc., see
Riggs' _Tahkoo Wahkan_, Chapter VI. The _Ta-sha-ke_--literally,
"Deer-hoofs"--is a rattle made by hanging the hard segments of
deer-hoofs to a wooden rod a foot long--about an inch in diameter at the
handle end, and tapering to a point at the other. The clashing of these
horny bits makes a sharp, shrill sound something like distant
sleigh-bells. In their incantations over the sick they sometimes use the
gourd shell rattle.
The _Chân-che-ga_--is a drum or "Wooden Kettle." The hoop of the drum is
from a foot to eighteen inches in diameter, and from three to ten inches
deep. The skin covering is stretched over one end, making a drum with
one end only. The magical drum-sticks are ornamented with down, and
heads of birds or animals are carved on them. This makes them _Wakan_.
The flute called _Cho-tanka_ (big pith) is of two varieties--one made of
sumac, the pith of which is punched out. The second variety is made of
the long bone of the wing or thigh of the swan or crane. They call the
first the _bubbling chotanka_ from the tremulous note it gives when
blown with all the holes stopped. Riggs' _Tâhkoo Wahkan_, p. 476, et
seq.
_E-né-pee_--vapor-bath, is used as a purification preparatory to the
sacred feasts. The vapor-bath is taken in this way: "A number of poles,
the size of hoop-poles or less, are taken, and their larger ends being
set in the ground in a circle, the flexible tops are bent over and tied
in the center. This frame-work is then covered with robes and blankets,
a small hole being left on one side for an entrance. Before the door a
fire is built, and round stones about the size of a man's head, are
heated in it. When hot they are rolled within, and the door being closed
steam is made by pouring water on them. The devotee, stripped to the
skin, sits within this steam-tight dome, sweating profusely at every
pore, until he is nearly suffocated. Sometimes a number engage in it
together and unite their prayers and songs." _Tâhkoo Wakan_, p. 83.
Father Hennepin was subjected to the vapor-bath at Mille Lacs by Chief
_Aqui-pa-que-tin_, two hundred years ago. After describing the method,
Hennepin says: "When he had made me sweat thus three times in a week, I
felt as strong as ever." Shea's Hennepin, p. 228. For a very full and
accurate account of the Medicine-men of the Dakotas, and their rites,
etc., see Chap. II, Neill's Hist. Minnesota.
[82] The sacred _O-zu-ha_--or Medicine sack must be made of the skin of
the otter, the coon, the weasel, the squirrel, the loon, a certain kind
of fish or the skins of serpents. It must contain four kinds of medicine
(or magic) representing birds, beasts, herbs and trees, viz.: The down
of the female swan colored red, the roots of certain grasses, bark from
the roots of cedar trees, and hair of the buffalo. "From this
combination proceeds a Wakân influence so powerful that no human being,
unassisted, can resist it." Wonderful indeed must be the magic power of
these Dakota Druids to lead such a man as the Rev. S.R. Riggs to say of
them: "By great shrewdness, untiring industry, and more or less of
_actual demoniacal possession_, they convince great numbers of their
fellows, and in the process are convinced themselves of their sacred
character and office." _Tâhkoo Wakân_, pp. 88-9.
[83] _Gâh-ma-na-tek-wahk--the river of many falls_--is the Ojibway name of
the river commonly called Kaministiguia, near the mouth of which is
situated Fort William. The view on Thunder-Bay is one of the grandest in
America. Thunder-Cap, with its sleeping stone-giant, looms up into the
heavens. Here _Ka-be-bon-ikka_--the Ojibway's god of storms--flaps his
huge wings and makes the Thunder. From this mountain he sends forth the
rain, the snow, the hail, the lightning and the tempest. A vast giant,
turned to stone by his magic, lies asleep at his feet. The island called
by the Ojibways the _Mak-i-nak_ (the turtle) from its tortoise-like
shape, lifts its huge form in the distance. Some "down-east Yankee"
called it "Pie-island," from its fancied resemblance to a pumpkin pie,
and the name, like all bad names, _sticks_. McKay's Mountain on the
mainland, a perpendicular rock more than a thousand feet high, upheaved
by the throes of some vast volcano, and numerous other bold and
precipitous headlands, and rock-built islands, around which roll the
sapphire-blue waters of the fathomless bay, present some of the most
magnificent views to be found on either continent.
[84] The Mission of the Holy Ghost--at La Pointe, on the isle
_Wauga-bâ-me_--(winding view) in the beautiful bay of Cha-quam-egon
--was founded by the Jesuits about the year 1660. Father René Menard was
probably the first priest at this point. After he was lost in the
wilderness, Father Glaude Allouëz permanently established the mission in
1665. The famous Father Marquette, who took Allouëz's place, Sept. 13,
1669, writing to his superior, thus describes the Dakotas: "The
Nadouessi are the Iroquois of this country, beyond La Pointe, _but less
faithless, and never attack till attacked._ Their language is entirely
different from the Huron and Algonquin. They have many villages but are
widely scattered. They have very extraordinary customs. They principally
use the calumet. They do not speak at great feasts, and when a stranger
arrives give him to eat of a wooden fork, as we would a child. All the
lake tribes make war on them, but with small success. They have false
oats (wild rice,) use little canoes, _and keep their word strictly_."
_Neill's Hist. Minn._, p. III.
[85] _Michâbo_ or _Manni-bozo_--the Good Spirit of the Algonkins. In
autumn, in the moon of the falling leaf, ere he composes himself to his
winter's sleep, he fills his great pipe and takes a god-like smoke. The
balmy clouds from his pipe float over the hills and woodland, filling
the air with the haze of "Indian Summer." _Brinton's Myths of the New
World_, p. 163.
[86] Pronounced _Kah-tháh-gah_--literally, _the place of waves and foam_.
This was the principal village of the _Isantee_ band of Dakotas two
hundred years ago, and was located at the Falls of St. Anthony, which
the Dakotas called the _Ha-ha_,--pronounced _Rhah-rhah_,--the
_loud-laughing waters_. The Dakotas believed that the Falls were in the
center of the earth. Here dwelt the _Great Unktéhee_, the creator of the
earth and man: and from this place a path led to the Spirit-land. DuLuth
undoubtedly visited Kathâga in the year 1679. In his "Memoir" (Archives
of the Ministry of the Marine) addressed to Seignelay, 1685, he says:
"On the 2nd of July, 1679, I had the honor to plant his Majesty's arms
in the great village of the Nadouecioux called Izatys, where never had a
Frenchman been, etc." _Izatys_ is here used not as the name of the
village, but as the name of the band--the _Isantees_. _Nadouecioux_ was
a name given the Dakotas generally by the early French traders and the
Ojibways. See _Shea's Hennepin's Description of Louisiana_, pp. 203 and
375. The villages of the Dakotas were not permanent towns. They were
hardly more than camping grounds, occupied at intervals and for longer
or shorter periods, as suited the convenience of the hunters; yet there
were certain places, like Mille Lacs, the Falls of St. Anthony, _Kapoza_
(near St. Paul), _Remnica_ (where the city of Red Wing now stands), and
_Keuxa_ (or _Keoza_) on the site of the city of Winona, so frequently
occupied by several of the bands as to be considered their chief
villages respectively.
Mr. Neill, usually very accurate and painstaking, has fallen into an
error in his prefatory notes to the last edition of his valuable
_History of Minnesota_. Speaking of DuLuth, he says:
"He appears to have entered Minnesota by way of the Pigeon or St. Louis
River, and to have explored where no Frenchman had been, and on July 2,
1679, was at _Kathio_ (_Kathâga_) perhaps on Red Lake or Lake of the
Woods, which was called 'the great village of the Wadouessioux,' one
hundred and twenty leagues from the _Songaskicons_ and _Houetepons_ who
were dwellers _in the Mille Lac region_."
Now _Kathâga_ (Mr. Neill's _Kathio_) was located at the Falls of St.
Anthony on the Mississippi as the whole current of Dakota traditions
clearly shows and DuLuth's dispatches clearly indicate. Besides, the
_Songaskicons_ and _Houetepons_ were _not_ and never were "dwellers in
the Mille Lac region." The Songaskicons (Sissetons) were at that time
located on the Des Moines river (in Iowa), and the Houetabons
(Ouadebatons) at and around Big Stone Lake. The Isantees occupied the
region lying between the mouth of the Minnesota River and Spirit Lake
(Mille Lacs) with their principal village--_Kathága_--where the city of
Minneapolis now stands. These facts account for the "one hundred and
twenty leagues" as distances were roughly reckoned by the early French
explorers.
September 1, 1678, Daniel Greysolon DuLuth, a native of Lyons, France,
left Quebec to explore the country of the Dakotas. "The next year (1679)
on the 2nd day of July, he caused the king's arms to be planted in the
great village of the Nadouessioux (Dakotas) called Kathio" (_Kathága_)
"where no Frenchman had ever been, also at the Songaskicons and
Houetabons, one hundred and twenty leagues distant from the former. * *
* * On this tour he visited Mille Lacs, which he called Lake Buade, the
family name of Frontenac, governor of Canada." _Neill''s History of
Minnesota_, p. 122. This is correct, except the name of the
village--_Kathio_, which is a misprint or perhaps an error of a copyist.
It should be _Kathága_. DuLuth was again at the Falls of St. Anthony in
1680 and returned to Lake Superior via the Mississippi, Rum River and
Mille Lacs, according to his own dispatches.
Franquelin's "_Carte de la Louisiane_" printed at Paris A.D. 1684, from
information derived from DuLuth, who visited France in 1682-3, and
conferred with the minister of the Colonies and the minister of
Marine--shows the inaccuracy, as to points of compass at least, of the
early French explorers. According to this map, Lake Buade (Mille Lacs)
lies north-west of Lake Superior and Lake Pepin lies due west of it.
DuLuth was afterward appointed to the command of Fort Frontenac near
Niagara Falls, and died there in 1710. The official dispatch from the
Governor of Canada to the French Government is, as regards the great
explorer, brief and expressive--"Captain DuLuth is dead. He was an
honest man."
To Daniel Greysolon DuLuth, and not to Father Hennepin, whom he rescued
from his captors at Mille Lacs, belongs the credit of the first
exploration of Minnesota by white men.
Father Hennepin was a self-conceited and self-convicted liar. Daniel
Greysolon DuLuth "was an honest man."