Chapter V: Dakota and Assiniboin Cults (3)

§ 203. When the tree had been erected in place, it was noticed
that each of those who were to endure the torture had been
provided with an esquire, while there was also a force of men,
armed with guns to preserve order, criers to make proclamations,
and heralds and water-carriers armed with long staves tipped with
bead-work and horse-hair. These water-carriers did not carry
water for the men attached to the tree, they were not allowed to
drink, but if they happened to faint away the medicine men would
take a mouthful of water apiece and spray it upon the body of the
patient, producing coldness by the evaporation of the water.

§ 204. All the Indians on that occasion were attached to the tree
itself by long ropes of hair or by thongs, fastened to skewers run
horizontally under the flesh. (See § 181.)

§ 205. The young woman, Pretty Enemy, was not tied up to the tree,
but she danced with the others, and had her arms scarified from
the shoulders to the elbows. All this scarification was done by a
medicine man, who also slit the ear of the babies born since the
last sun dance.

§ 206. The young men were scarified in the following manner: Their
attendants, whom I have called esquires, seized and laid them on
a bed of some sagebrush at the foot of the sacred tree. A short
address was made by one of the medicine men; then another, taking
up as much of the skin of the breast under the nipple of each
dancer as could be held between his thumb and forefinger, cut a
slit the length of the thumb, and inserted a skewer to which a
rope was fastened, the other end of the rope being tied to the
tree.

§ 207. The young men placed eagle pipes, as they were called, in
their mouths. These pipes were flutes which were made each from
one of the bones in an eaglet’s wing. They had to be sounded all
the time the young man was dancing. This dancing was done in the
manner of a buck jump, the body and legs being stiff and all
movement being upon the tips of the toes. The dancers kept looking
at the sun, and either dropped the hands to the sides in the
military position of “attention,” with the palms to the front, or
else held them upward and outward at an angle of 45 degrees, with
the fingers spread apart, and inclined towards the sun.

§ 208. When laid on the couch of sagebrush before spoken of,
each young man covered his face with his hands and wailed. I was
careful to examine each one, and saw that this wailing was a
strictly ceremonial affair unaccompanied by tears.

§ 209. Before approaching the tree the victims were naked, with
the exception of blue cloth petticoats and buffalo robes worn with
the fur outside, giving them the appearance of monks of the olden
time. The buffalo robes were, of course, thrown off when the young
men were laid on the sagebrush, preparatory to the scarification.
One young man was unable to tear himself loose, and he remained
tied up to the tree for an hour and seven minutes by my watch.
He fainted four times. The medicine man put into his mouth some
of the small red, bitter, salty seeds of the _Dulcamara_, while
the women threw costly robes, blankets, articles of beadwork and
quillwork, and others of the skin of the elk and antelope upon the
rope attaching him to the tree, in the hope of breaking him loose.
The articles thus attached to the rope were taken away by the poor
for whom they were given. There was any amount of this giving of
presents at all stages of the dance, but especially at this time,
and the criers were calling without ceasing, “So and so has done
well. He is not afraid to look the poor women and children in the
face! Come up some more of you people! Do not be ashamed to give!
Let all the people see how generous you are!” or words to that
effect. (I had to rely upon my interpreter, who was reputed to be
the best and most trustworthy at the agency).

§ 210. One of the prime movers in the organization of this
particular dance, Rocky Bear, at the last moment, for some
particular reason, decided not to go through the terrible ordeal.
He explained his reasons to the tribe, and was excused. He gave
presents with a lavish hand, and it was understood that on some
subsequent occasion he would finish the dance. There was no sign
of dissatisfaction with his course, and everyone seemed to be on
the best of terms with him. All through the ceremony there was
much singing by the women and drumming by the medicine men, and a
feast of stewed dog, which tastes very much like young mutton, was
served with boiled wild turnips.

§ 211. By a comparison of the accounts of Miss Fletcher, Capt. Bourke, and Bushotter it will be noticed that while there are several points of disagreement which, as Capt. Bourke remarks, are “due no doubt to local causes,” the accounts are in substantial agreement. Miss Fletcher says that the opening of the camp circle was toward the east; but Bushotter gives it as toward the north. She states that the tent of preparation was erected on the first day after sunset; but Bushotter says it was set up on the fourth day. She represents the selection of the men who go to seek the tree, the departure to fetch the tree, the felling of the tree, the bringing it and setting it up within the camp circle as all taking place on the fourth day. Bushotter states that the men were selected on the third day; they went to seek the tree on the fourth day; they went to fell the tree on the fifth day, and on the same day they brought it to the camp and set it in place. Capt. Bourke saw four men and one girl employed in felling the tree. Miss Fletcher mentions that five men and three girls did this in 1882; but Bushotter recorded that several men and women took part in this performance. The ears of the children were pierced on the fourth day after the raising of the sun pole, according to Miss Fletcher; but Bushotter says that this did not occur till after the devotees had been scarified and fastened to the pole and posts, on the sixth day. Bushotter agrees with Miss Fletcher in saying that on the sixth day the earth was “mellowed,” the devotees scarified, and they danced with the thongs fastened to the pole, etc., and attached to the skewers running under their flesh.

BERDACHES.

§ 212. These unfortunate beings, who have been referred to as miⁿquga and miⁿquge in Chapter III (§ 30), are called wiŋkta by the Santee and Yankton Dakota, and wiŋkte by the Teton. They dress as women and act in all respects as women do, though they are really men. The terms for sodomy, wiŋktapi and wiŋktepi, are significant, and go to prove that the berdaches should not be called hermaphrodites. It is probable that the Dakota regard the moon as influencing these people. (See § 353.)

ASTRONOMICAL LORE.

§ 213. Ho-ke-wiŋ-la is a man who stands in the moon with outstretched arms. His name is said to mean Turtle Man. When the Teton see a short man with a large body and legs they generally call him “Ho-ke-la,” after the man in the moon.

The Teton do not like to gaze at the moon, because at some past time a woman, who was carrying a child on her back, gazed a long time at the moon, till she became very weak and fell senseless.

No Teton dare look at the stars and count even “one” mentally. For one is sure to die if he begin to count the stars and desist before finishing. They are also afraid to point at a rainbow with the index finger, though they can point at it with the lips or elbow. Should one forget, and point with the index finger, the bystanders laugh at him, saying, “By and by, O friend, when your finger becomes large and round, let us have it for a ball bat.”

DAY AND NIGHT.

§ 214. One of Bushotter’s Teton texts reads thus:

Indians are often singing “The day and night are mysterious” or “wakaŋ.” They do so for the following reasons: While the day lasts a man is able to do many wonderful things at different times, and he kills so many animals, including men, and sometimes he receives presents, and besides he is able to see all things. But he does not fully understand what the day is, nor does he know what makes the light. Though the man can do various things during the day, he does not know who makes or causes the light. Therefore he believes that it was not made by hand, i.e., that no human being makes the day give light. Therefore the Indians say that the day is “wakaŋ.” They do not know who causes all these things, yet they know that there is some one thing having power, and that this thing does it. In their opinion, that is the sun. So they pray to the sun; and they respect both the day and the sun, making them “wakaŋ.” On that account they usually sing some songs about them. Then they say that the night is “wakaŋ.” When it is night, there are ghosts and many fearful objects, so they regard the night as “wakaŋ,” and pray to it.

THE DAWN.

§ 215. When Bushotter’s younger brother was sick on one occasion he was made to pray to Anpao, The Dawn. The tent skins were thrown back from the entrance and the sick boy was held up with the palms of his hands extended towards the light, while he repeated this prayer: “Wakaŋ´taŋka, uŋ´śimála yé! Téhaŋ wauŋ´ kte,” i. e., “O Great Mysterious One, please pity me! Let me live a long time!” Then the patient was laid back on his couch. While the sick boy prayed a blanket was held up, and the next morning it was hung from the top of the tent. When the invalid recovered the blanket and a tobacco pouch were taken to a hill and left there as sacrifices. The boy got well, and the people believed that some mysterious power had cured him.

WEATHER SPIRIT.

§ 216. The Teton say that a giant, called Waziya, knows when there is to be a change of weather. When he travels his footprints are large enough for several Indians to stand while they are abreast; and his strides are far apart, for at one step he can go over a hill. When it is cold the people say, “Waziya has returned.” They used to pray to him, but when they found that he did not heed them they desisted. When warm weather is to follow Waziya wraps himself in a thick robe, and when it is to be cold he goes nude. The members of the Heyoka or Anti-natural Society love the acts of Waziya; so they imitate him in always saying or doing the opposite of what might be expected under the circumstances. Riggs says,[165] “Waziya, the god of the north, and Itokaga, the god of the south, are ever in conflict and each in turn is victorious.”

HEYOKA.

§ 217. Waziya and Heyoka are not fully differentiated. Heyoka, according to Riggs,[166] is “the antinatural god.” He is said to exist in four varieties, all of which have the forms of small men, but all their desires and experiences are contrary to nature. In the winter they stand on the open prairie without clothing; in the summer they sit on knolls wrapped in buffalo robes, and yet they are freezing. Each of them has in his hands and on his shoulders a bow and arrows, rattles, and a drum. All these are surcharged with lightning, and his drumstick is a little Wakinyan. The high mounds of the prairies are the places of his abode. He presides over the land of dreams, and that is why dreams are so fantastic.

§ 218. In speaking of the Heyoka gods, Pond says:[167]

Like the Wakinyan, there are four varieties of them, all of which
assume in substance the human form, but it would be unnecessarily
tedious to note the differences of form, especially as the
differences are unimportant. They are said to be armed with the
bow and arrows, and with deer-hoof rattles, which things are
charged with electricity. One of the varieties carries a drum,
which is also charged with the same fluid. For a drumstick he
holds a small Wakinyan god by the tail, striking on the drum with
the beak of the god. This would seem to us to be an unfortunate
position for a god, but it must be remembered that it is “wakan,”
and the more absurd a thing is, the more “wakan.”

§ 219. One of these gods in some respects answers to the whirlwind
zephyr of Greek mythology. It is the gentle whirlwind which is
sometimes visible in the delicate waving of the tall grass of the
prairie.[168]

By virtue of their medicine and tonwan powers the Heyoka render
aid to such men as revere them, in the chase, or by inflicting
and healing diseases, especially those resulting from the
gratification of their libidinous passions.

HEYOKA FEAST.

§ 220. Lynd gives an account of the Heyoka feast. He says:[169]

They assemble in a lodge, wearing tall, conical hats, being nearly
naked, and painted in a strange style. Upon the fire is placed a
huge kettle full of meat, and they remain seated around the fire
smoking until the water in the kettle begins to boil, which is
the signal for the dance to begin. They dance and sing around
it excitedly, plunging their hands into the boiling water, and
seizing large pieces of hot meat, which they devour at once. The
scalding water is thrown over their backs and legs, at which they
never wince, complaining that it is cold. Their skin is first
deadened, as I am creditably informed, by rubbing with a certain
grass; and they do not in reality experience any uneasiness from
the boiling water--a fact which gives their performances great
mystery in the eyes of the uninitiated.

§ 221. Dr. Brinton has confounded the Heyoka with the Wakinyan. The two are distinct classes of powers, though there is some connection between them, as may be inferred from the following stories in the Bushotter collection.

§ 222. No Indian belonging to the Heyoka Society ever tells of his own personal mystery. Such things are “wakaŋ,” and not even one man can be induced to sing the Heyoka songs upon an ordinary occasion; because if they sing one of those songs except at the proper time they say that the Thunder-beings would kill the entire households of the offenders. Therefore they object to singing the Heyoka songs and they do not like to speak about them.

STORY OF A HEYOKA MAN.

§ 223. It is said that the people of the olden times knew when they were about to die, and they used to dream about their deaths and how they would be when the time drew near. One of those men said, “When the first thunder is heard next spring, I and my horse shall die.”

For that reason his kindred were weeping from time to time, this man who had dreamed of his death decorated the legs of his horse by moistening light gray clay and drawing zigzag lines down the legs. In like manner he decorated the neck and back of the horse, and he made similar lines on his own arms. Then he would walk about the prairie near the camp, singing and holding a pipe with the stem pointing toward the sky.

When the leaves opened out in the following spring, the first thundercloud was seen. Then the man said, “Ho, this is the day on which I am to die!” So he tied up his horse’s tail in a rounded form, put a piece of scarlet blanket around the animal’s neck, and spread a fine blanket over his back, as a saddlecloth, with the ends trailing along the ground. He painted himself and his horse just as he had been doing formerly, and, taking the pipe, he walked round and round at some distance from the camp, pointing the pipestem towards the clouds as he sang the Heyoka songs. The following is given as a song of the human Heyoka man, but it is said to have been sung originally by the mysterious and superhuman Heyoka in the thundercloud:

Ko-la, o-ya-te kin, ko-la, wan-ni-yaŋg u-pe e-ye he+!
Ko-la, o-ya-te, kin, ko-la, wan-ni-yaŋg u-pe e-ye he+!
Ko-la, lo-waŋ hi-bu we!
Ko-la, će-ya hi-bu we!
O-ya-te waŋ-ma-ya-ka-pi ye.
He-he-he!
Ta-muŋ-ka śni ḳuŋ e-ye-ye he+!

In this song, “oyate” means the Thunder-beings; “kola,” the Heyoka men here on earth, whom the Thunder-beings threatened to kill; “oyate waŋmayakapi,” ordinary Indians who are not wakan; “He-he-he! tamuŋka śni ḳuŋ,” i. e., “Alas! I hate to leave them (living Indians),” means that the singer expects to be killed by the Thunder-beings.

The whole song may be rendered freely thus:

My friends, the people are coming to see you!
My friends, the people are coming to see you!
My friends, he sings as he comes hither!
My friends, he cries as he comes hither!
You people on earth behold me while you may!
Alas! alas! alas!
I hate to leave my own people!

On the day referred to the Heyoka man had not been absent very long from the camp when a high wind arose, and the rain was so plentiful that a person could not see very far. Then the Thunder-beings looked (i. e., there was lightning) and they roared; but still the man and his horse continued walking about over there in sight of the camp. By and by there was a very sudden sound as if the trees had been struck, and all the people were much frightened, and they thought that the Thunder-beings had killed them. Some of the women and children fainted from fear, and the men sat holding them up. Some of the people thought that they saw many stars, and there seemed to be the sound, “Tuŋ+!” in the ears of each person.

When the storm had lasted a long time, the Thunder-beings were departing slowly, amid considerable loud roaring. When it was all over the people ventured forth from their lodges. Behold, the man and his horse had been killed by the Thunder-beings, so his relations were crying ere they reached the scene of the disaster.

The horse had been burnt in the very places where the man had decorated him, and his sinews had been shriveled by the heat, so he lay with each limb stretched out stiff. The man, too, had been burnt in the very places where he had painted himself. The grass all around appeared as if the Thunder-beings had dragged each body along, for it was pushed partly down on all sides. So the people reached there and beheld the bodies.

As the men in former days used to know events beforehand, as has just been told, it has long been the rule for no one to reveal his personal mystery, which he regards as “wakan.”

HEYOKA WOMEN.

§ 224. Bushotter gave the following account of a female Heyoka who was killed by lightning:

A certain woman whom I saw after she had been killed by lightning
belonged to the Heyoka Society. When she walked, she carried a
pipe with the mouthpiece pointing upward, as she thought that the
Thunder-beings would put the mouthpiece into their mouths, though
the act would immediately cause her death.

§ 225. “Women used to dream about the Thunder-beings, just as the
men did, and in those dreams the Heyoka man or woman made promises
to the Thunder-beings. If the dreamers kept their promises, it was
thought that the Thunder-beings helped them to obtain whatever
things they desired; but if they broke their promises, they were
sure to be killed by the Thunder-beings during some storm. For
this reason the Heyoka members worshiped the Thunder-beings, whom
they honored, speaking of them as wakan.”

§ 226. Some of the women sing, and some do not; but all let their hair hang loosely down their backs, and their dresses consist of a kind of cloth or a robe sewed down the middle of the back. Sometimes the cloth is all blue, at other times half is red and half is blue. Some times there is beadwork on the dress. Even the Heyoka women wear the long red cloth trailing on the ground before and behind them, in imitation of the young dandies of the tribe.

IYA, THE GOD OF GLUTTONY.

§ 227. Lynd speaks of the “vindictive Iya” as driving the hunters “back from the hunt to the desolation of their lodges”.[170]

And Riggs has written:[171]

A people who feast themselves so abundantly as the Dakotas do,
when food is plenty, would necessarily imagine a god of gluttony.
He is represented as extremely ugly, and is called E-ya. He has
the power to twist and distort the human face, and the women still
their crying children by telling them that the E-ya will catch
them.

IKTO, IKTOMI, OR UNKTOMI.

§ 228. Ikto or Iktomi (in the Teton dialect) or Unktomi (in the Santee) are the names now given to the spider by the Dakota; but the names once belonged to a mythical character, who resembles in many respects the Ictinike of the Omaha and Ponka, and the Ictciñke of the Iowa, Oto, and Missouri tribes. “Ikto,” say the Teton, “was the first being who attained maturity in this world. He is more cunning than human beings. He it was who named all people and animals, and he was the first to use human speech. Some call him the Waunća or Mocker, a name now applied to the monkey.[172] If we see any peculiar animals at any place, we knew that Iktomi made them so. All the animals are his kindred, and they are obliged to act just as he commanded them at the beginning.”

§ 229. In enumerating the powers that delight in working ill to the Indians, Lynd mentions Unktomi thus:

“The ubiquitous Unktomi tortures the Indians in their hunger by
bringing herds of buffaloes near the camp, which they no sooner
start to pursue than he drives away by means of a black wolf and a
white crow.”[173]

§ 230. Though Ikto was very cunning, he was sometimes deceived by other beings. One day he caught the rabbit, and the latter was about to fare hard, when a thought occurred to him. He persuaded his captor to release him on condition that he taught Ikto one of his magic arts. Said the rabbit, “Elder brother, if you wish snow to fall at any time, take some hair such as this (pulling out some rabbit fur) and blow it in all directions, and there will be a blizzard.” The rabbit then made a deep snow in this manner, though the leaves were still green. This surprised Ikto, who thought that he had learned a wonderful accomplishment. But the foolish fellow did not know that _rabbit_ fur was necessary, and when he tried to make snow by blowing his own hair, he was disappointed.

§ 231. On another occasion, Ikto reached a stream which he could not ford. So he stood on the bank and sang thus:

]
Tó-kin ko-wá-ka-tan ma-ká-ni, e-chin´chin na-wá-zhin!
I stand, thinking often, Oh that I might reach the other side!]

Presently a long object passed, swimming against the current. When it reached him it said, “I will take you across, but you must not lift your head above the water. Should you notice even a small cloud warn me at once, as I must go under the water.” Ikto was then told to give the warning thus: “Younger brother, your grandfather is coming.” Before the other bank was reached Ikto gave the warning, and so sudden was the commotion that Ikto became unconscious. On recovering, he found that the thunder was roaring, and the water was dashing high, but the monster had disappeared.

It is shown in the section on Spider lore (§ 249) how the name Iktomi has been transferred from the mythical character to the insect, who, in turn, is invoked as “grandfather.”

ĆAŊOTIDAŊ AND HOḢNOĠIĆA.

§ 232. These powers have been scarcely differentiated; and some writers speak of them as identical. They seem to have been of the nature of bogies or boggarts. Says Lynd:[174]

Ćaŋotidaŋ draws the hungry hunters to the depths of
the wood by imitating the voices of animals, or by the nefarious
“_Cico! cico!_” (_i. e._, I invite you to a feast! I invite you
to a feast!) when he scares them out of their senses by showing
himself to them.

On the same page he distinguishes between the Ćaŋotidaŋ and the Oḣnoġića thus:

“The stray lodge becomes the delight of the wild Ohnogica,”
implying that such lodges were haunted by this spirit for the
purpose of frightening any unwary traveler who ventured there
without a companion.

In Tah-koo Wah-kon (p. 75, note), Riggs speaks of the “Chan-o-te-dan or Hoh-no-ge-cha. The former is a fabulous creature, dwelling usually in the woods as the name indicates. The latter name would seem to give it a place by the door of the tent.” With this we may compare the Omaha invocation, “O thou who standest at the right side of the entrance! Here is tobacco!” (§ 40). The name also reminds us of “The Dweller upon the Threshold” in Bulwer’s “Zanoni.”

Riggs, in his “Theogony of the Sioux,” p. 270, writes thus of the “Chan-o-te-na”:

This means, Dweller in the woods. Sometimes he is called
Oh-no-ge-cha, which would seem to assign him to a place in the
tent. Whether these are one and the same, or two, is a question in
dispute. But they are harmless household gods. The Chan-o-te-na is
represented as a little child, only it has a tail. Many Indian men
affirm that they have seen it, not only in night dreams, but in
day visions.

The name Hoḣnoġića or Oḣnoġića is called by the Teton, Uŋgnaġićala, which is the name of the screech-owl. As the Ponka Indaȼiñga dwells in the forest, and is said to resemble an owl, he must be identical with the Dakota Ćaŋotidaŋ or Uŋgnaġićala. (See § 38.)

ANŬŊG-ITE.

§ 233. Wonderful stories of beings with two faces are found among the Dakota as well as among the Omaha. Lynd[175] states the belief of the Dakota (_i. e._, those speaking the Santee dialect) that “women with child are but torturing sports for the vengeful Anog-ite.”

In the Omaha legend of Two Faces and the Twins[176] the pregnant mother of the Twins died as soon as she had gazed at Two Faces. In the Teton legend of He-who-Has-a-Sword and Ha-ke-la, the latter is said to have met a giant, Anuŋg-ite, or Two Faces, who pretended to be an Indian woman nursing an infant. The infant had been stolen from its parents by the Anuŋg-ite, who drew a rose brush across its face to make it cry. As soon as this was done the Two Faces said, in a woman’s voice, “A-wo! A-wo! A-wo!” that being the expression used by Teton women when they wish to soothe crying infants.

§ 234. The Indians used to hear an Anuŋg-ite or Two Faces pass along kicking the ground. When he kicked the ground with one foot bells used to ring and an owl hooted, and when he kicked with the other it seemed as if a buffalo bull was there, snorting as he does when about to charge. At the next step a chickadee was heard, and when he moved the other foot he made all kinds of animals cry out. The Indians had heard this Anuŋg-ite and were afraid of him. Now and then when a man who thought himself strong was alone when he met the Anuŋg-ite the latter surprised him by catching him and throwing him into one of his ears. These ears were so large that each could hold three men. No person knew where the Anuŋg-ite made his abode, and no one cared to follow him; no one dared to go out of doors at night. Now, there was an old man and his wife who had a lodge to themselves, and their only child was a willful boy. One night he was particularly ill-behaved, and when his mother told him to do something he disobeyed her. So she said: “I will put you out of the lodge and the Anuŋg-ite will toss you into his ear.” She did not believe this, and merely said it to frighten her son into obedience. Finding him heedless, she seized his arm and, though he began to cry, pushed him out of the lodge and fastened the entrance securely. The poor boy ran crying around the lodge, but soon there was silence. The mother in turn began to cry, and went to seek him, but she did not find him outside the lodge. The next morning she and her husband, weeping, went to seek him among the people in the neighboring camp, asking every one about him, but no one had seen him. So they returned to their lodge, and they wept many days for their son. One night the mother was weeping. Suddenly she heard some one say, “Hiⁿ! hiⁿ! You said to me: Ghost, take that one. Hiⁿ! hⁿ!” This was said often, and she noticed a rattling of small bells as the being walked along. Just then she said: “Husband, I think now that a ghost has taken my son.” The husband said: “Yes; you gave the boy to the ghost, and, of course, the ghost took him. Why should you complain? It serves you right.” Then the mother cried aloud, so that her voice might have been heard at a distance. Then said she: “Husband, to-morrow night I will lie hid by the wood-pile, and if the ghost comes I will have a knife in my hand, and after I catch it by the leg I will call to you. Be ready to come at once. You must aid me, and I will recover my son, because I know that he threw him into his ear.” So the next night she lay in wait for the monster. By and by something was coming, crying out “Hiⁿ!” and making all kinds of birds and animals cry out as it walked. She saw a very large being come and stand by the lodge. He was very tall, his head being above the smoke-hole, down which he peeped into the lodge. Suddenly the mother called to her husband, and seized one leg of the monster with both hands. Then she and her husband gashed the legs in many places, and, after tying a thong to one leg, they pulled down the monster and bound him securely. They guarded him till it was day. Then they beheld a hideous monster covered with thick hair, except on his faces. They split his ears with a knife, and within one they found their long-lost son, who was very lean and unable to speak. He had a thick coat of long hair on him from his legs up to his head, but his head and face were smooth. And he would have become an Anuŋg-ite had he not been rescued. He did not survive very long. After the parents had taken their son from the ear of the monster they put many sticks of wood on a fire, and on this they laid the monster. He soon was in flames, and they stood looking on. Many things were sent flying out of the fire in all directions, just like sparks. These were porcupine quills, bags, all kinds of feathers, arrows, pipes, birds, axes, war-clubs, flints, stones for sharpening knives, stone balls resembling billiard balls, necklaces of _tuki_ shells, flints for striking tinder, flint hide-scrapers, whips, tobacco-pouches, all kinds of beads, etc.[177]

PENATES.

§ 235. It has been supposed that the Dakotas had no penates or household gods; but according to Riggs,[178] “such have come into the possession of the missionaries. One of these images is that of a little man, and is inclosed in a cylindrical wooden case, and enveloped in sacred swan’s down.”

GUARDIAN SPIRITS.

§ 236. Each Teton may have his special guardian spirit. If such spirits are remembered they confer great power on their favorites. The latter may be surrounded by foes and yet escape, either by receiving great strength, enabling them to scatter their enemies, or by being made invisible, disappearing like a ghost or the wind. Sometimes it is said that one is rescued by being turned into a small bird that flies off in safety. (See §§ 122, 325.) This refers to those who “ihaŋbla” (have intercourse with spirits) or who have guardian spirits (tawaśićuŋpi) as servants. Bushotter’s stepfather has a guardian spirit who enabled him to tell about lost animals, etc., and bad deeds, even when the latter were committed in secret. So Bushotter and the other children of the household were afraid to do wrong after they had been detected several times by the aid of the guardian spirit.

BELIEFS ABOUT THE BUFFALO.

§ 237. In several of the Siouan tribes the buffalo is considered a “grandfather.” He figures in the traditions of the Osage.[179] Gentes and sub gentes are named after him. His image plays an important part in the sun dance (§ 164).

§ 238. Miss Fletcher[180] mentions a prayer used during the White Buffalo Festival of the Hunkpapa Dakota, in which are remembered the “powers of the earth, wind, sun, water, and the buffalo.” And in her article on “The Shadow or Ghost Lodge; a Ceremony of the Ogallala Sioux,” she states that 2 yards of red cloth are (were) “lifted and offered to the buffalo, with a prayer that good may (might) be granted to the father” (i. e., of the dead child) “during the period of the lodge-keeping.”[181]

§ 239. In her article on the “Elk Mystery of the Ogallala Sioux”[182] is given an important note:

Among the Santees in past times, a man who should dream of buffalo
must announce it in the following manner: He takes the head of a
buffalo he has killed, carefully removes the skin, preserving it
as nearly whole as possible, and throws away the skull and the
flesh. He then restores the skin to its natural shape and lets it
cure. When this has taken place, a few feet square of earth is set
apart at the back of the lodge, the sods cut off, and the exposed
earth made fine. This is the “U-ma-ne.” Upon this earth a new
blanket, formerly a robe, is spread. The blanket or robe must not
belong to a woman. The buffalo head is placed in the center of the
blanket, and one side of the head (is) painted blue, and the other
(side) red. Upon the blue side, tufts of white swan’s down are
tied to the hair of the head. Sometimes small eagle feathers are
substituted, and, very rarely, large feathers. Upon the red side,
tufts of down-colored red are similarly tied. These decorations
look like “a woman’s sunbonnet,” as they cover the head and
fall to the shoulders. The pipe is only filled and presented to
the head. The feast kettle is hung over the fire. When all is
in readiness, the man who prepared the head thus addresses it:
“Grandfather! Venerable man! Your children have made this feast
for you. May the food thus taken cause them to live, and bring
them good fortune.” An Indian of remarkable intelligence, whose
father before him had been a priest of the higher class, explained
that in some religious festivals the buffalo and the earth were
spoken of as one, and (were) so regarded. “Therefore if any one
should revile or ridicule the buffalo, ever so softly, the earth
would hear and tell the buffalo, and he would kill the man.”

Bushotter furnished two articles on the buffalo, translations of which are appended.

ORIGIN OF THE BUFFALO.

§ 240. The buffalo originated under the earth. It is said that
in the olden times, a man who was journeying came to a hill
where there were many holes in the ground. He explored them, and
when he had gone within one of them, he found plenty of buffalo
chips, and buffalo tracks were on all sides; and here and there
he found buffalo hair which had come out when the animals rubbed
against the walls. These animals were the real buffalo, who dwelt
underground, and some of them came up to this earth and increased
here to many herds. These buffalo had many earth lodges, and
there they raised their children. They did many strange things.
Therefore when a man can hardly be wounded by a foe, the people
believe that the former has seen the buffalo in dreams or visions,
and on that account has received mysterious help from those
animals. All such men who dream of the buffalo, act like them and
dance the buffalo (bull) dance. And the man who acts the buffalo
is said to have a real buffalo inside him, and a chrysalis lies
within the flat part of the body near the shoulder-blade; on
account of which the man is hard to kill; no matter how often they
wound him, he does not die. As the people know that the buffalo
live in earth lodges, they never dance the buffalo dance in vain.

THE TATAŊGNAŚKIŊYAŊ OR MYTHIC BUFFALO.

§ 241. It is said that a mythic buffalo once attacked a party of
Indians, killing one of them. The others fled and climbed a tree,
at which the buffalo rushed many times, knocking off piece after
piece of the tree with his horns till very little of it was left.
Then one of the Indians lighted some tinder and threw it far off
into the tall grass, scorching the buffalo’s eyes, and seriously
injuring his horns, causing the hard part of the latter to slip
off, so that the animal could no longer gore any one. But as he
was still dangerous, one of the men determined to fight him at
the risk of his own life, and so he slipped down from the tree,
armed with a bow and some arrows. He finally gave the buffalo a
mortal wound. Then all the men came down the tree and cut up the
buffalo after flaying him. They were about to carry off the body
of their dead comrade in a robe, when they were obliged to climb
a tree again because another mythic buffalo had appeared. He did
not attack them, but went four times around the body of the slain
man. Then he stopped and said, “Arise to your feet.” All at once,
the dead man came to life. The buffalo addressed him, saying,
“Hereafter you shall be mysterious, and the sun, moon, four winds,
day and night shall be your servants.” It was so. He could assume
the shape of a fine plume, which was blown often against a tree,
to which it stuck, as it waved repeatedly.

THE BEAR.

§ 242. The Assiniboin address prayers to the bear.[183] They offer
it sacrifices of tobacco, belts, and other esteemed objects. They
celebrate feasts in its honor, to obtain its favors and to live
without accidents. The bear’s head is often preserved in the
camp during several days, mounted in some suitable position and
adorned with scraps of scarlet cloth, and trimmed with a variety
of necklace collars, and colored feathers. Then they offer it the
calumet, and ask it that they may be able to kill all the bears
they meet, without accident to themselves, in order to anoint
themselves with his fine grease and make a banquet of his tender
flesh.

THE WOLF.

§ 243. Smet says, “The wolf is more or less honored among the Indians” (_i. e._ the Assiniboin) “Most of the women refuse to dress its skin for any purpose. The only reason that I could discover for this freak is, that the wolves sometimes go mad, bite those they meet and give them the hydrophobia. It is doubtless to escape this terrible disease and to avoid the destruction of their game, that the Indians make it” (the wolf) “presents, and offer it supplications. In other cases, he is little feared.” The “little medicine wolf” is in great veneration among the Assiniboin. As soon as an Indian hears his barks, he counts the number; he remarks whether his voice is feeble or strong, and from what point of the compass it proceeds. All these things are regarded as good or bad omens. If the undertakings of the Indians result, as they occasionally do, in success, after hearing the barking of the little wolf, this animal is honored by a grand feast after the return of the party.[184]

§ 244. That some of the Dakota reverenced the wolf is evident from the fact that there is a society, called the Wolf Society, but known among the white people as the Dog Society. That society has many beautiful songs, according to Bushotter, and its membership is confined to young men. All the wolf stories belong to this society. Three of these stories follow this section.

§ 245. The man who met the ghost woman after fleeing from the two ghost men[185] encountered a wolf, who pitied him and showed him the way to a camp, where he was received and adopted into the tribe. This man always remembered the wolf as a kind animal, and when he killed any game, he threw a portion outside of the camp, as an offering to the wolf.

§ 246. There was once a handsome young Teton, whose wife’s father disliked him and plotted against him. He dug a pit within his lodge, covering it with skins. Then he invited his son-in-law to a feast. The son-in-law met a wolf, whom he saluted, asking him the way to the village. The young man was persuaded to recline on the skins, which gave way, precipitating him into the pit. The father-in-law and his two single daughters covered the skins with earth, and removed their tent elsewhere on the morrow, when all the people started on a journey. After some days, the wolf who had met the man went to the deserted camping place in search of food. On reaching the place where the accident (?) had happened, he heard a human cry. So he dug away the earth, removed the skins, and found the man, whom he recognized. The wolf pitied him, and said, “As you did not kill me when we met, you shall now be saved.” So he howled, and very soon many wolves appeared. They found a lariat, which they lowered into the pit, and by grasping the other end with their teeth, they pulled the man up. He was very grateful, promising never to harm a wolf. Just then a weeping woman appeared, gazing in surprise at the man, as he was very thin, looking like a ghost. She was his wife, and her heart was soon made glad when he told her of his rescue.

§ 247. Once upon time a man found a wolf den, into which he dug to get the cubs. The mother came, barking, and she finally said to him, “Pity my children;” but he paid no attention to her. So she ran for her husband, who soon appeared. Still the man persevered. Then the wolf sang a beautiful song, “O man, pity my children, and I will instruct you in one of my arts.” He ended with a howl, causing a fog. When the wolf howled again the fog disappeared. Then the man thought, “These animals have mysterious gifts,” and he tore up his red blanket into small pieces, which he put as necklaces on the cubs, whom he painted with Indian red, restoring them to their place in the den. Then the grateful father exclaimed, “When you go to war hereafter, I will accompany you, and bring to pass whatever you wish.” So they parted as friends. In the course of time the man went on the war path. As he came in sight of a village of the enemy, a large wolf met him, saying, “By and by I will sing and you shall steal their horses when they least suspect danger.” So they stopped on a hill close to the village, and the wolf sang. After this he howled, making a high wind arise. The horses fled to the forest, many stopping on the hillside. When the wolf had howled again, the wind died away, and a mist arose; so the man took as many horses as he pleased.

HORSES.

§ 248. These are well named “Cŭñka wakaⁿ (Śuŋka wakaŋ)” for they are indeed wakaŋ. Consequently the Dakota have the Cŭñg olowaⁿ (Śuŋg olowaŋ) or Horse Songs, and they pray to the horses (ćewićakiyapi). If any one paints a horse in a wakaŋ manner, when he has no right to do so, he is sure to pay the penalty: he will encounter misfortune of some sort, or he will fall ill, or he will be slain by a foe, or he will have his neck broken by being thrown from a horse.

SPIDERS.

§ 249. The Teton pray to gray spiders, and to those with yellow legs. When a person goes on a journey and a spider passes, one does not kill it in silence. For should one let it escape, or kill it without prayer, bad consequences must ensue. In the latter case, another spider would avenge the death of his relation. To avoid any such misfortune, when the spider is encountered, the person must say to it, “Iktómi Tuŋkaŋśila, Waʞiŋyaŋ niktepe lo,” i. e., “O Grandfather Spider, the Thunder-beings kill you!” The spider is crushed at once, and his spirit believes what has been told him. His spirit probably tells this to the other spiders, but they can not harm the Thunder-beings. If one thus addresses a spider as he kills it, he will never be bitten by other spiders.

§ 231. One of the Dakota myths tells how Unktomi killed himself, causing his limbs to shrivel up till they assumed the appearance of spiders’ limbs.

SNAKE LORE.

§ 250. Some Dakota will not kill snakes by hitting them. He who violates the law in this respect will dream horrible dreams about various kinds of snakes; and occasionally it happens that such a man has a horse bitten by a snake. The Siŋteḣla taŋka, or the Ancient of Rattlesnakes, was one of the enemies of the Thunder-beings.

“There are some things about which it is most unlucky to dream. Snakes are said to be terrible; they seek to enter a man’s ears, nose, or mouth” (i.e., in the dream); “and should one succeed, it is a sure sign of death. ‘No good comes from snakes.’”[186]

THE DOUBLE WOMAN.

§ 251. In the olden times there was what they called “Wiŋyaŋ nuŋ-papi-ka,” or the The Double Woman, consisting of two very tall females who were probably connected by a membrane. They wore horned headdresses decorated with feathers, and bunches of feathers hung from the right shoulder of one and from the left shoulder of the other. Instead of heel tags, each female had a turtle trailing from the heel or quarter of one moccasin, and a feather from that of the other. In the sketch as given by Bushotter there is a pale blue stripe around the bottom of each skirt, and half of each trailing feather is of that color. Each body, above the top of the blanket, is painted with blue dots on a yellow ground. There is a blue stripe across the right shoulder of the woman on the right, and one across the left shoulder of the other woman, each stripe curving downward towards the opposite side. (See Pl. L.)

They dwelt in a lodge on a very high black cliff. They were always laughing immoderately, as if they were strangers to sorrow. On pleasant evenings they stood on a hill, where they amused themselves by swinging. Should any Indian see them, when he reached home he vomited something resembling black earth, and died suddenly. These women were skillful dancers, and they used to reflect rays of light by means of their mirror, just as the young Indian men do in sport. They jumped many times and sang this song: ] Će´-paŋ-śi ku-wa´-ni-to´ Tu´-wa le´-ći śi´-na mi´-ćo-ze´. ]

“Cousin, please come over here! Some one waves a robe over in this direction at me. Ha! ha! ha!” Then they walked about. No one knew from what quarter the Double Woman was coming, and how the two lived was a mystery. There are many tall women found now among different Indian tribes who imitate the behavior of the Double Woman.

John Bruyier and other Teton at Hampton, Va., regard this story of the Double Woman as manufactured by Bushotter. But this character figures in two Santee myths in Rev. S. R. Riggs’s collection, about to be published by the Bureau of Ethnology.[187] (See § 394.)

THE DOUBLE WOMAN.]

DEER WOMEN.

§ 252. Deer women of the Teton resemble the Wolf women of the Pawnee. Both tempt unwary youths whom they encounter away from the camp in solitary places. Should a youth yield to the woman’s solicitations the result will be a sad one. As soon as he leaves her she will resume her natural shape. The youth will appear as if drunk or insane, and he will reach home with difficulty. His health will become impaired, and he will soon die. So now the hunters avoid any female that they see on the way. They hate the Deer women. The Deer women never speak, but in all other respects they resemble Indian women.

DWARFS OR ELVES.

§ 253. Dwarfs or elves are probably referred to in the following;

This [_i. e._ the object sought by Lewis and Clarke’s party] was
a large mound in the midst of the plain, about N. 20° W. from the
mouth of Whitestone River, from which it is 9 miles distant. The
base of the mound is a regular parallelogram, the longest side
being about 300 yards, the shorter 60 or 70; from the longest
side it rises with a steep ascent from the north and south to the
height of 65 or 70 feet, leaving on the top a level plain of 12
feet in breadth and 90 in length. The north and south extremities
are connected by two oval borders, which serve as new bases, and
divide the whole side into three steep but regular gradations
from the plain. The only thing characteristic in this hill is
its extreme symmetry, and this, together with its being wholly
detached from the other hills, which are at the distance of 8 or
9 miles, would induce a belief that it was artificial; but as the
earth and loose pebbles which compose it are arranged exactly
like the steep grounds on the borders of the creek, we concluded
from this similarity of texture that it might be natural. But the
Indians have made it a great article of their superstition; it
is called the Mountain of the Little People, or Little Spirits,
and they believe that it is the abode of little devils in the
human form, of about 18 inches high, and with remarkably large
heads; they are armed with sharp arrows, with which they are very
skillful, and are always on the watch to kill those who should
have the hardihood to approach their residence. The tradition
is that many have suffered from these little evil spirits, and,
among others, three Maha Indians fell a sacrifice to them a few
years since. This has inspired all the neighboring nations, Sioux,
Mahas, and Ottoes, with such terror that no consideration could
tempt them to visit the hill.[188]

BOGS.