 | CHAPTER XXV. Travels in the interior of North America. |  |
CHAPTER XXV.
ACCOUNT OF THE MANDAN INDIANS.
In communicating the information contained in the following chapters, in which I mean to
treat especially of some tribes of the aborigines of North America, I shall take it for granted
that the reader is acquainted with the interesting and important particulars which have been
given us by Messrs. Edwin James, T. Say, and Schoolcraft. Dr. E. James speaks especially of
the origin of the North American Indians, of their near affinity to each other; of the recently
broached hypothesis of their descent from the Israelites, which he proves to be groundless, and
which is contradicted by the bodily conformation of the Indians, and also of the injudicious and
unjust treatment which they suffer from the Anglo-Americans. According to him many of the
Indian nations would long since have been converted to the Christian religion, and have settled
in fixed abodes, like the Cherokees, &c., if the earlier missionaries had better understood the work
on which they were sent. It is notorious that this subject was treated, in early times, with the
most unwarrantable want of discretion, and positive ignorance; that the greatest injustice was
exercised towards the Indian population, and that, even now, wrongs untold are heaped on this
much to be pitied and oppressed race. A large portion of those nations has entirely disappeared,
and the accounts which have been preserved of them are extremely imperfect; other are
expelled from their native seats, mixed together in small fragments of various tribes, half
degenerated, and consequently now affording but little that can interest the inquirer. Such were
the Indians whom Volney saw: only to the west and north-west of the Mississippi may the
Indians be yet found in their original state. Before, however, I speak of them in general, I will
describe more in detail a small tribe which has hitherto been very imperfectly known.
The Mandans (called by the Canadians, les Mandals), by which name these Indians are generally
known, though it was originally given them by the Sioux, were formerly a numerous
people, who, according to the narrative of an aged man, lately deceased, inhabited thirteen, and
particularize their descent, they add the name of the village whence they came originally. Some,
for instance, call themselves Sipuske-Numangkake, the men of the pheasant or prairie hens, from
the village Sipuska-Mihte, pheasant village; others, Mato-Numangkake, the men of the bear,
from the village Mato-Mihte, bear village, &c. &c. Another general name of this people is
Mahna-Narra, the sulky, because they separated from the rest of their nation, and went higher up
the Missouri.
The early history of the Mandans is involved in obscurity; their own traditions and legends
will be discussed in the sequel, when treating on their religious ideas. They affirm that they
descend originally from the more eastern nations, near the sea-coast.[1]
Though the above-named
villages do not all exist at this time, these Indians still call themselves by their several names,
They formerly dwelt near the Heart River: when Charbonneau arrived here at the end of the last
century, the two Mandan villages, which are still standing, were about six or eight miles further
down the Missouri. The small-pox and the assaults of their enemies have so reduced this people,
that the whole number now reside in two villages, in the vicinity of Fort Clarke. These
two villages are Mih-Tutta-Hang-Kush (the southern village), about 300 paces above Fort Clarke,
and on the same side of the river, and Ruhptare,[2]
about three miles higher up, likewise on the
same bank. The first had, at the time of our visit, sixty-five huts, and contained about 150
warriors; the other, thirty-eight huts and eighty-three warriors. According to this, the tribe
had not more than 230 or 240 warriors; and, on the whole, scarcely 900 or 1000 souls; Dr.
1250 souls.
The Mandans are a vigorous, well-made race of people, rather above the middling stature,
and very few of the men could be called short. The tallest man now living was Mahehsi-Karehde
(the flying war eagle), who was five feet ten inches two lines, Paris measure (above six feet
English). In general, however, they are not so tall as the Manitaries. Many of them are
robust, broad-shouldered, and muscular, while others are slender and small limbed. Their
physiognomy is, in general, the same as that of most of the Missouri Indians, but their noses
are not so long and arched as those of the Sioux, nor have they such high cheek bones.
The nose of the Mandans and Manitaries is not broad—sometimes aquiline, or slightly curved,
and often quite straight. Their eyes are, in general, long and narrow, of a dark brown
colour; the inner angle is often rather lower in childhood, but it is rarely so in maturer age.
The mouth is broad, large, rather prominent, and the lower jaw broad and angular. No great
difference occurs in the form of the skull: in general I did not find the facial angle smaller
than in Europeans, yet there are some exceptions.[4]
Their hair is long, thick, lank, and
black, but seldom as jet and glossy as that of the Brazilians: that of children is often only
dark brown, especially at the tips; and Bradbury speaks of brown hair among the Mandans.
There are whole families among them, as well as among the Blackfeet, whose hair is grey, or
black mixed with white, so that the whole head appears grey. The families of Sih-Chida and
Mato-Chiha are instances of this peculiarity. The latter chief was particularly remarkable in this
respect: his hair grew in distinct locks of brown, black, silver grey, but mostly white, and his
eyebrows perfectly white, which had a strange effect in a tall otherwise handsome man, between
twenty and thirty years of age. They encourage the growth of their hair, and often lengthen it
by artificial means. Their teeth, like those of all the Missouri Indians, are particularly fine,
strong, firm, even, and as white as ivory. It is very seldom that you see a defect or a tooth
to be attributed to their chewing hard, dry meat. The women are pretty robust, and sometimes
tall, but, for the most part, they are short and broad shouldered. They are but few who can be
called handsome as Indians, but there are many tolerable and some pretty faces among them. It
is usually said of the Mandan women that they, in some respects, have a natural conformation,
such as Le Vaillant and Peron ascribe to the Hottentot women; but it seems to be owing, in the
Mandan women, less to nature than to artificial means.[5] The children have frequently slender
limbs, and very prominent bellies. Deformed persons are very rare among the Mandans. I, however,
saw a very little dwarf with a long, narrow face, and one man who squinted. Persons who
had lost the sight of one eye, or with a cataract, are by no means uncommon. There were
several deaf and dumb, among whom two brothers and a sister were all born with this defect.
Some goîtres, or, rather, thick necks among the women, are, doubtless, caused by too great
exertions in carrying burdens on their backs. Instances where joints of the fingers are wanting
are frequent, but these come under the head of voluntary mutilations.
The colour of these Indians is a fine brown, sometimes reddish, more or less dark, which
might, sometimes, come under the denomination of copper colour. In some it is more of a
greyish-brown, in others yellowish; after a thorough ablution the skin of some of them appears
almost white, and even some colour in their cheeks.[6]
They do not disfigure their bodies, only
they make some apertures in the outer rim of the ear, in which they hang strings of beads, brass
or iron rings of different sizes, or shells, the last of which they obtain from other Indian tribes.
If they are questioned respecting these shells, they answer that they were brought from the sea.
These Indians are vain, and in this respect childish, like all savage nations. They are very fond
of ornament, and the young men have always a little looking-glass suspended from their wrists.
The traders sell these looking-glasses in a pasteboard case, which, however, is immediately
changed for a solid wooden frame, and attached to the wrist by a red ribbon or a leather strap.
The looking-glasses are framed in various ways; the rude frame is often painted red, or with
stripes of different colours, with footsteps of bears or buffaloes carved on it. Nay, sometimes these
nails, ribbons, pieces of skin and feathers (see the annexed woodcut of a hand looking-glass). Some
The Indian dandy is constantly consulting his mirror, and, if he has been travelling, especially
in the high winds so prevalent here, he immediately has recourse to his looking-glass, and his
disordered dress is most carefully arranged.
It is remarkable that the men are far more vain than the women, and the latter are obliged
to be greatly inferior to the lords of the creation in their attire and adornments. The costume of
the Mandans is rather simple: by far the greatest attention is paid to the head-dress. Their hair
is parted transversely across the middle of the head, the front hair combed smoothly down,
and generally divided into three flat bands, two of which hang down on the temples, and are
generally plaited. To these plaits they attach the ornament already mentioned, which consists
of two strips of leather or cloth closely embroidered with white or azure glass beads, and intertwined
with brass wire, as represented in the portrait of Pehriska-Ruhpa (Plate XVII). If the
ground of this ornament is red or blue, it is studded with white beads, and if the ground is white
the beads are blue. They put this ornament in their hair and pull it over the temples; a long
string is fastened to the under part, which reaches to the waist, and is adorned with alternate
rows of blue beads and white dentalium shells. Between these two singularly decorated plaits
there is, in the centre of the forehead, a smooth flat lock reaching to the nose, which is not
ornamented, but only tied with a red ribbon. The back hair falls smoothly from the crown of
the head to the waist, and is divided into many tails, an inch and a half or two inches broad,
which are smeared with brownish or red clay. When the hair is not naturally long enough it is
frequently lengthened with other human hair, often that of enemies whom they have killed,
which is fastened on with rosin. At the back of the head they sometimes wear a long stiff
ornament in the shape of a ruler, three or four fingers broad, made of small sticks entwined with
wire, which is fastened to the hair, and reaches down to the shoulders. It is covered with porcupine
quills, dyed of various colours, in very neat patterns. At the upper end of this ornament
an eagle's feather is affixed horizontally, the quill end of which is covered with red cloth, and
the tip is ornamented with a bunch of horsehair dyed yellow. The lower white half of the feather
is frequently dyed red with vermilion, and the quill covered with dyed porcupine quills. Such
feathers are represented in Plate XXI. Figs. 13, 14. When the Indians are not in their best dress,
when they are travelling, or going to the chase, they fasten their long hair in a thick bunch.
semicircle of feathers of birds of prey, like radii, or sunbeams, or a bunch of the tail feathers of
the raven placed in a similar manner. Sometimes they have a thick tuft of owl's feathers, or small
rosettes made of broad raven's feathers, cut short, in the centre of which is the tail of a bird of
prey spread out like a fan. These feather ornaments are frequently determined according to the
several bands or unions, of which I shall speak in the sequel. They likewise wear the large
horned feather cap; this is a cap consisting of strips of white ermine, with pieces of red cloth
hanging down behind as far as the calves of the legs, to which is attached an upright row of
black and white eagle's feathers, beginning at the head and reaching to the whole length.
Only distinguished warriors, who have performed many exploits, may wear this head-dress (See
Plate XIII., which is the best representation hitherto given of it).
If they give away one or more of these head-dresses, which they estimate very highly, they
are immediately considered men of great importance; the regular price of such a cap is a good
horse; for a single eagle's feather is always valued at one or two dollars. On their buffalo robes
they often represent this feather cap, under the image of a sun. Very celebrated and eminent
warriors, when most highly decorated, wear in their hair various pieces of wood, as signals of their
wounds and heroic deeds. Thus Mato-Topé (see his portrait, Plate XIV.) had fastened transversely
in his hair a wooden knife, painted red, and about the length of a hand, because he had
killed a Chayenne chief with his knife; then six wooden sticks, painted red, blue, and yellow,
with a brass nail at one end, indicating so many musket wounds which he had received. For an
arrow wound, he fastened in his hair the wing feather of a wild turkey; at the back of his head
he wore a large bunch of owl's feathers, dyed yellow, with red tips, as the badge of the Meniss-Ochata
(the dog band). The half of his face was painted red, and the other yellow; his body
was painted reddish-brown, with narrow stripes, which were produced by taking off the colour
with the tip of the finger wetted. On his arms, from the shoulder downwards, he had seventeen
yellow stripes, which indicated his warlike deeds, and on his breast the figure of a hand, of a
yellow colour, as a sign that he had captured some prisoners. A warrior so adorned takes more
time for his toilette than the most elegant Parisian belle. The colour with which they paint their
bodies is mixed with grease. When in mourning they colour the face and hands white. The
women and children paint only their faces red, leaving the hair its natural colour. The Mandans
and Manitaries, and all the Indians of the Upper Missouri, often wear the handsome necklace
made of the claws of the grizzly bear. These claws are very large in the spring, frequently three
inches long, and the points are tinged of a white colour, which is much esteemed; only the claws
of the fore feet are used for necklaces, which are fastened to a strip of otter skin, lined with red
cloth, and embroidered with glass beads, which hangs down the back like a long tail. Such a
not part with them on any terms. The Mandans adorn themselves with many other kinds of
necklaces, such as strings of glass beads, scented roots, or fungi, elks' teeth, for 100 or 150 of
which they will, in exchange, give a horse, or something equivalent. These Indians generally
wear no covering on the upper part of the body; the leather shirt of the Assiniboins, Sioux,
Crows, Blackfeet, and other nations that live more to the north and north-west, are seldom used
among them; yet a few individuals have obtained them from those Indians, either as presents,
or by barter. Even in the midst of winter, the Mandans wear nothing on the upper part of the
body, under their buffalo robe. They paint their bodies of a reddish-brown colour, on some
occasions with white clay; and frequently draw red or black figures on their arms. The face is,
for the most part, painted all over with vermilion, or yellow, in which latter case the circumference
of the eyes and the chin are red. There are, however, no set rules for painting, and it
depends on the taste of the Indian dandy; yet, still, a general similarity is observed. The bands,
in their dances, and also after battles, and when they have performed some exploit, follow the
established rule. In ordinary festivals, and dances, and whenever they wish to look particularly
fine, the young men paint themselves in every variety of way, and each endeavours to find out
some new mode. Should he find another dandy painted just like himself, he immediately retires
and makes a change in the pattern, which may happen three or four times during the festival. If
they have performed an exploit, the entire face is painted jet black. Sometimes, though seldom,
the Mandans adorn the wrist and upper arm with polished steel bracelets, which they obtain from
the merchants; often they wear many brass rings on their fingers, and are, on the whole, excessively
fond of ornaments and finery. The chief article of their dress is the ample buffalo robe,
called mahita, or mih-sha, which is often very elaborate and valuable. In dry weather these
buffalo robes are worn with the hair inwards, and in rainy weather with the hairy side outwards.
They are tanned on the fleshy side, and painted either white or reddish-brown, and ornamented
with a transverse band of blue or white glass beads, and three large rosettes of the same beads,
often of very tasteful patterns, at regular intervals. The centre is frequently red, surrounded
with sky blue, embroidered with white figures, or sometimes the reverse. The transverse band
is worked with variously dyed porcupine quills, and is then narrower. This, however, is
now old-fashioned, and was worn before the coloured glass beads were obtained in such numbers
from the Whites. Other robes are painted with a reddish-brown ground, and black figures, especially
of animals; others have a white ground, with representations of their heroic deeds in black,
or in gay colours, with the wounds they received, the loss of blood, the killed, the prisoners, the
arms they have taken, the horses stolen (the number of which is indicated by the number of horse-shoes),
in black, red, green, or yellow figures, executed in their yet rude style of painting. The
Manitaries, and Crows, are the most skilful in this art.[7] Another mode of painting their robes
is, to represent the number of valuable presents they have made. By these presents, which are
often of great value, they acquire reputation and respect among their countrymen. On such
robes we observed long red figures, with a black circle at the termination, placed close to each
other in transverse rows; they represent whips, indicating the number of horses given, because
the whip belonging to the horse is always bestowed with the animal. Red or dark blue transverse
figures indicate cloth or blankets given; parallel transverse stripes represent fire-arms, the outlines
of which are pretty correctly drawn. The robe is frequently cut, at the bottom, into narrow
strips, like fringe, and ornamented on the sides with tufts of human hair, and horse-hair dyed
yellow and green, and with glass beads. Formerly the Indians painted these robes more carefully
than they now do, and it was possible to obtain one for five musket balls and some powder;
now they are far inferior, and eight or ten dollars is not unfrequently paid for them. A robe
handsomely painted is equal in value to two not painted.
Their leggins are fastened with straps to their leathern girdles, and are embroidered at the
outer seam with stripes, one or two inches in breadth, of porcupine quills, of beautiful various
colours, and often with blue and white beads, and long leathern fringes, which form at the ankle
a thick bunch, which trails upon the ground. The leather of which their leggins are made is,
for the most part, stained of a reddish-brown, or pale red, usually with clay, sometimes white, and
often marked below the knee with black transverse stripes. They, as well as all the tribes of North
America, use what the English call a breech-cloth (Nokka), which is a narrow strip of woollen cloth,
striped black and white, which passes between the thighs under the girdle, before and behind, where
it hangs down. Their shoes, which are made of buck skin, or buffalo leather, are generally plain,
or very slightly ornamented; but, in full dress, they are embroidered with coloured rosettes, or strips
of dyed porcupine quills or beads. Those men who have performed exploits wear, round the ankles,
wolf's tail, or pieces of otter skin, which are lined with red cloth, and trail on the ground. In the
summer, when the men are at home, and go about in state, they carry the fan of eagle's feathers
in their hands, which we have before described. What the Anglo-Americans call "the crow,"
which is worn by the warriors of the nations of the Mississippi, and the Lower Missouri, is
wholly unknown among the tribes of the Upper Missouri, the Sioux, Assiniboins, Crows, Mandans,
Arikkaras, Manitaries, and Blackfeet.
The boys are generally naked, and in winter merely have a robe thrown over them; the
girls are dressed in leather in summer as well as winter. The women wear a long leather
and fringed; they ornament the wrists with iron rings, and tie strings of glass beads round their
necks, and sometimes in their ears. Their leggins, called, by the Canadians, mitasse, are short,
reaching only from the ankle to the knee. Their shoes are simple, and without any ornament.
Tattooing is in use among these people, but by no means general. Most commonly only the
left half of the breast and the corresponding arm are marked with black parallel stripes, and a
few other figures. The lower arm and some of the fingers are occasionally marked; the men do
not tattoo their faces, and they are far inferior in this art to the New Zealanders and other
nations of the South Seas. Among the women such designs are sometimes seen, but not
frequently, and they are chiefly among the women's band of the white buffalo cow. The point
of the needle is dyed a dark blue with the bark of the willow soaked in water.
In Major Long's Travels to the Rocky Mountains it is stated that the Crows rub their bodies
with castoreum, on account of its pleasant scent. I must observe, however, that the custom is
not confined to one nation, but is practised by the Mandans, Manitaries, Crows, and Blackfeet,
and most of the other tribes of the Upper Missouri. They mix the castoreum with a red colour,
and with it rub their face and frequently their hair.
Having obtained a clear idea of the outward appearance of these Indians, we will next
consider their habitations, villages, and domestic life. Their villages are assemblages of clay
huts, of greater or less extent, placed close to each other, without regard to order. Mih-Tutta-Hang-Kush,
the largest of the Mandan villages, was about 150 or 200 paces in diameter, the
second was much smaller. The circumference forms an irregular circle, and was anciently
surrounded with strong posts, or palisades, which have, however, gradually disappeared as the
natives used them for fuel in the cold winters. At four places, at nearly equal distances from
each other, is a bastion built of clay, furnished with loop-holes, and lined both within and without
with basket-work of willow branches. They form an angle, and are open towards the village; the
earth is filled in between the basket-work; and it is said that these bulwarks, which are now in a
at Ruhptare. The huts, as I have before remarked, stand close to ach other, leaving, in the
centre, an open circular space, about sixty paces in diameter, in the centre of which (among the
Mandans) the ark of the first man is set up, of which we shall speak in the sequel. It is a
small cylinder, open above, made of planks, about four or five feet high, fixed in the ground, and
bound with climbing plants, or pliable boughs, to hold them together (see the woodcut, p. 342).
At the north end of this circular space is the medicine lodge, in which festivals are
celebrated, and certain customs practised, which are connected with the religious notions of this
people, which we shall treat of in the sequel. At the top of a high pole, a figure is here
placed, made of skins, with a wooden head, the face painted black, and wearing a fur cap and
feathers, which is intended to represent the evil spirit, Ochkih-Hadda (corresponding with the
devil), or a wicked man, as they affirm, who once appeared among them, had neither wife nor
child, and vanished, and whom they now stand greatly in dread of. Other grotesque figures,
made of skins and bundles of twigs, we saw hanging on high poles, most of them being offerings
to the deity. Among the huts are many stages of several stories, supported by poles, on which
they dry the maize. The huts themselves are of a circular form, slightly vaulted, having a sort
of portico entrance. When the inmates are absent the entrance is shut up with twigs and
thorns; and if they wish merely to close the door they put up a skin stretched out on a frame,
which is shoved aside on entering. In the centre of the roof is a square opening for the
smoke to find vent, over which is a circular sort of screen made of twigs, as a protection
against the wind and rain, and which, when necessary, is covered with skins (see woodcut).
The interior of the hut is spacious, tolerably light, and cleanly. Four strong pillars towards
the middle, with several cross beams, support the roof. The inner circumference of the hut is
formed by eleven or fifteen thick posts, four or five feet in height, between which other rather
shorter ones are placed close to each other. On these shorter posts, which are all of an equal
roof. On the outside the huts are covered with a kind of mat, made of osiers, joined together with
bark, and now the skeleton of the hut is finished. Over this hay is spread, and the outer covering
is of earth. The men and women work together in erecting these huts, and the relations, neighbours,
and friends, assist them in the work. The building of the huts, manufacturing of their
arms, hunting, and wars, and part of the labours of the harvest, are the occupations of the men;
every other kind of work is left to the women, who, though in general well treated, are obliged to
perform all the really laborious work. The women fetch fuel, in heavy loads, frequently from
great distances, carry water, and, in winter, blocks of ice into the huts, cook, tan the skins, make
all the clothing, lay out the plantations, perform field labour, &c. &c. In the centre of the hut a
circular place is dug for the fire, over which the kettle is suspended. This fire-place, or hearth,
is often enclosed with a ledge of stones. The fuel is laid, in moderately thick pieces, on the
external edge of the hearth, crossing each other in the middle, when it is kindled, and the pieces
gradually pushed in as they burn away. The Indians are not fond of large fires. The inmates
sit round it, on low seats, made of peeled osiers, covered with buffalo or bear skin. Round the
inner circumference of the hut lie or hang the baggage, the furniture, and other property, in
leather bags, the painted parchment travelling bags, and the harness of the horses; and on
separate stages there are arms, sledges, and snow-shoes, while meat and maize, piled up, complete
the motley assemblage. (See Mr. Bodmer's drawing of the interior of the hut of Dipauch,
Plate XIX.) The beds stand against the wall of the hut; they consist of a large square case,
made of parchment or skins, with a square entrance, and are large enough to hold several persons,
who lie very conveniently and warm on skins and blankets. (See the woodcut.)
In the winter huts they place, at the inside of the door, a high screen of willow boughs,
covered with hides, which keeps off the draught of air from without, and especially protects the
fire.
The summer huts are very cool, and, generally speaking, have no unpleasant smell. Mr. Say
gives a very good description, and a tolerably accurate print, of a Konza lodge, or hut, and, with
Manitaries, and Arikkaras. Among these differences are the mats which are fastened all round in
the first hut, and which I did not observe among the tribes that I visited. The beds, too, are
arranged in a different manner. The Mandans and Manitaries are seen in their huts, sitting
round the fire, employed in all kinds of domestic labour. The man has, generally, no clothing
except the nokka, and is often merely smoking, but the women are never idle. In winter, that
is, at the beginning or middle of November, these Indians remove, with the greater part of their
effects, to the neighbouring forest, where their winter huts are situated. These consist of precisely
similar huts, of rather smaller dimensions. Their departure from the summer huts is determined
by the weather, but, as beforesaid, is generally about the middle of November; and their
return, in the spring, is usually about the latter end of February, or the beginning of March, so
that we may reckon that they pass above eight months in their summer quarters. Inside of the
winter huts is a particular compartment, where the horses are put in the evening, and fed with
maize. In the daytime they are driven into the prairie, and feed in the bushes, on the bark of
poplars. There are, probably, above 300 horses in the two Mandan villages; some of the
people, indeed, do not possess any, while others, again, have several. The Mandans and Manitaries,
like all the other Indians of this country, sometimes make what are here called caches, or
hiding-places, in the vicinity of their villages. These caches are holes, or magazines, underground,
often so artfully contrived that it is very difficult to discover them. The Indians frequently
go from their winter to their summer village, to fetch any articles they may happen to
want, as they invariably leave part of their property behind. When they quit their huts for a
longer period than usual, they load their dogs with the baggage, which is drawn in small sledges,
made of a couple of thin, narrow boards, nine or ten feet in length, fastened together with leather
straps, and with four cross-pieces, by way of giving them firmness. Leather straps are attached in
front, and drawn either by men or dogs. The load is fastened to the sledge by straps (for such a
sledge drawn by dogs see Vignette XXIX). When the snow is deep, they use snow shoes (Plate
XXI. Fig. 4), which are described by Captain Franklin, only those of the Mandans are much
smaller, about two feet and a half long; whereas in the north their length is from four to six feet.
The Mandans and Manitaries have not, by any means, so many dogs as the Assiniboins, Crows, and
Blackfeet. They are rarely of the true wolf's colour, but generally black, or white, or else
spotted with black and white. Among the nations further to the north-west they more nearly
resemble the wolf, but here they are more like the prairie wolf (Canis latrans). We likewise
found, among these animals, a brown race, descended from European pointers, hence the genuine
bark of the dog is more frequently heard here, whereas among the western nations they only
howl. The Indian dogs are worked very hard, have hard blows, and hard fare; in fact, they are
treated just as this fine animal is treated among the Esquimaux.
The Mandans are hospitable, and often invite their acquaintance to come and see them.
Their pipes are made of the red-stone, or of black clay. They obtain the red pipe-heads chiefly
from the Sioux; sometimes they have wooden heads lined with stone; the tube is plain, long,
round or flat, on the whole, of the same shape as among the Sioux, but they are not so fastidious
about ornamenting their pipes as other tribes. They smoke the leaves of the tobacco plant,
which is cultivated by them; the bark of the red willow (Cornus sericea), which they obtain from
the traders, is sometimes mixed with the tobacco, or the latter with the leaves of the bearberry
(Arbutus uva ursi). The tobacco of the Whites, unmixed, is too strong for the Indians, because
they draw the smoke into their lungs; hence they do not willingly smoke cigars.
The meals of the Mandans are served in wooden dishes. The spoons are generally large
and deep; they are made of the horn of the bighorn (see woodcut, p. 251); sometimes they are
yellow, or else they are shallow, made of black buffalo's horn. They have a considerable variety
of dishes. The Indians residing in permanent villages have the advantage of the roving hunting
tribes, in that they not only hunt, but derive their chief subsistence from their plantations, which
afford them a degree of security against distress. It is true these Indians sometimes suffer
hunger when the buffalo herds keep at a great distance, and their crops fail; but the distress
can never be so great among the Missouri Indians, as in the tribes that live further northwards.
The plants which they cultivate are maize, beans, French beans, gourds, sunflowers, and tobacco
(Nicotiana quadrivalvis), of which I brought home some seeds, which have flowered in several
botanic gardens.
Of maize there are several varieties of colour, to which they give different names. The
several varieties are:—1. White maize. 2. Yellow maize. 3. Red maize. 4. Spotted maize.
5. Black maize. 6. Sweet maize. 7. Very hard yellow maize. 8. White, or red-striped maize.
9. Very tender yellow maize.[8]
The beans are likewise of various sorts—small white beans, black, red, and spotted beans.
The gourds are—yellow, black, striped, blue, long, and thick-shelled gourds.
The sunflower is a large helianthus, which seems perfectly to resemble that cultivated in our
gardens. It is planted in rows between the maize. There are two or three varieties, with red,
and black, and one with smaller seeds. Very nice cakes are made of these seeds. The tobacco
grow up from the seeds, without having any care whatever bestowed upon it. It is not transplanted.
When it is ripe the stalks are cut, dried, and powdered; or the leaves, with the
small branches, are cut into little pieces. The taste and smell are disagreeable to an European,
resembling camomile rather than tobacco. The plant is not now so much cultivated as
formerly, being superseded by the more pleasant tobacco of the Whites; but the species is still
preserved. It is only on solemn occasions, for instance, in negotiations for peace, that this
tobacco is still smoked; the seed is, therefore, preserved in the medicine bag of the nation, that
the plant may never be lost. When they mean to smoke this tobacco, a small quantity of fat
is rubbed on it.
The cultivation of the maize and other fields, of which each family prepares three, four,
or five acres, takes place in the month of May. Rows of small furrows are made, into which
the grains of maize are thrown singly, and covered with earth. Three times in the summer the
plants are hoed, and the earth heaped up against them, that the moisture may have better
access to them. The harvest takes place in October, when men, women, and children, each
lend a helping hand. At present the women use, in their field labour, a broad iron hoe, with
a crooked wooden handle, which they obtain from the merchants. Charbonneau recollected the
time when they used the shoulder blade of the buffalo for this purpose. The fields are never
fenced, but lie quite open and exposed.
The wild plants of the prairie are used by the Mandans, and other people of the Upper
Missouri; and to those before-mentioned, I can only add the feverolles (Faba minor equina),
a fruit resembling the bean, which is said to grow in the ground, but which I did not see; there
are many other roots in the prairie, which are used for food. The gourds are eaten fresh as
well as dry. The beans are seldom eaten of one kind, but many sorts are mixed together. The
maize is boiled or roasted, then pounded, mixed with fat, and made up into small cakes and baked.
There are, of course, many other ways of dressing it. The sweet maize has a very pleasant
taste, especially when it is in what is called the milky state; it is then boiled, dried, and laid
by for use.
All kinds of animals serve the Mandans for food; the bear, when it is young and fat, the
wolf, the fox, in short, everything except the horse; the ermine is not eaten by many; and of
birds they dislike the turkey-buzzard, and the raven, because they feed on the dead bodies
deposited on the stages. They have a great aversion from serpents, but eat the turtle; the
buffalo is the chief object of their chase, as it supplies them with skins, meat, tallow, marrowbones,
sinews, and many other necessaries. Next to the buffalo the beaver is the most indispensable
to them, since it not only furnishes them with valuable skins, but supplies them with delicate
food, the fat tail, especially, being considered quite a dainty morsel by the Indians. Pemmican,
Their only drink is water, for they are unacquainted with the method of preparing fermented
liquors. They did not obtain any spirits, either from the American Fur Company, or the agents
of Messrs. Soublette and Campbell; hence an intoxicated person is scarcely ever seen. They
are extremely fond of sugar, and likewise of salt, which they procure from their lakes, and, if the
supply is insufficient, purchase from the Whites. They are likewise fond of coffee and tea, well
sweetened. It has been affirmed, that several North American nations, especially those which
speak the Algonquin language, are cannibals, and more particularly the Chippeways and the
Potawatomis; but I found no trace of this unnatural custom among the Missouri nations.
Two, and sometimes three, families usually live together in an Indian hut, commonly the
father, with his married sons or sons-in-law. Polygamy is everywhere practised, and the number
of wives differs; however, they have very seldom more than four, and, in general, only one. The
women are very skilful in various kinds of work, particularly in dyeing and painting the buffalo
robes. They extract a red colour from the roots of the savoyenne, or from buffalo berries; yellow
from a lichen of the Rocky Mountains; black from helianthus, as well as from a black stone
or clay; blue and green they extract from European substances. Among the Mandans, Manitaries,
and Arikkaras, the women, as Lewis and Clarke relate, manufacture beads from coloured
glass. They powder those which they have obtained from the traders, and mould them into
different shapes. This custom is, however, no longer common. The dyeing of the skins, of
which many travellers have spoken, employs a great portion of the women's time. These three
nations understand the manufacture of earthen pots and vessels, of various forms and sizes. The
clay is of a dark slate colour, and burns a yellowish-red, very similar to what is seen in the
burnt tops of the Missouri hills. This clay is mixed with flint or granite, reduced to powder by
the action of fire. The workwoman forms the hollow inside of the vessel by means of a round
stone which she holds in her hand, while she works and smooths the outside with a piece of poplar
bark. When the pot is made, it is filled and surrounded with dry shavings, and then burnt,
when it is ready for use. They know nothing of glazing. With respect to their boats, the North
Americans are far more expert than the Brazilians, Patagonians, and other South Americans, who
live on the banks of rivers, and yet have contrived no means to pass them. The Chippeways and
other northern nations have handsome vessels of birch bark; the Esquimaux makes his kiack,
which is curiously covered with seal skin; and on the Missouri, especially among the Mandans,
there are boats of buffalo skin, which are represented in the plates accompanying this work.
They are very light, of a circular form, stretched on a frame of several pieces of wood crossing
each other, and may be carried on the shoulder of a single individual.
If a young Indian desires to marry, and has obtained the consent of the girl, he endeavours
to procure that of her father; when he is certain of this, he brings two, three, nay, even eight or
latter then takes other horses, and if he has them not himself, his relations assist him, and these
horses are fastened, in return, to the hut of the intended son-in-law. In such a case an estimate
is previously made of the number of horses possessed by the woman's relations, for all presents
are returned in equal number. The bride next boils some maize, and daily carries a kettle or dish
filled with it to the hut of the bridegroom. After some time has elapsed, the young man repairs
to the hut of his bride, where he passes the night with her, and the marriage is considered as complete.
The young couple often continue to reside in the hut of the father-in-law, but they more
frequently build a new hut for themselves; sometimes, however, they afterwards separate. The
father-in-law is, subsequently, the principal person in the hut; everything depends on him, and is
done on his account, and for him; if game is killed, the flesh is first presented to him, &c. There
are often many children in these Indian families; some had as many as ten; yet, on the whole,
the Indians have not so many children as the Whites, doubtless because they keep them longer at
the breast. They are extremely fond of them, but the children are often weak and sickly, in consequence,
it is supposed, of the hard labour which the women have to perform. I was universally
assured, that the new-born children are of a reddish colour. The births are, in general, extremely
easy, and the mother bathes in the river immediately afterwards, even if it is frozen; in
ten days the child is considered as safe, having got over the most dangerous period. A person is
paid to give it the name chosen by the parents and relations. The child is held up, then turned
to all sides of the heavens, in the direction of the course of the sun, and its name proclaimed.
They have cradles for their infants, consisting of a leather bag, which is suspended by a strap to
a cross beam in the hut. These cradles of the Mandans are not so elegant and beautifully worked
as those which we saw among the Sioux and Assiniboins. The children of these Indians are subject
to no kind of discipline whatever; they may do and say whatever they please, and nobody
finds fault with them. Everything is done to excite a spirit of independence and self-will in the
boys; if the mother speaks to one of them, he will very likely slap her face, or kick her, nay,
sometimes he will do the same to his father, who says, coolly, bowing his head, this boy will one
day become a famous warrior. The men sometimes treat their wives very brutally; and it
has not unfrequently happened, that a woman, after such treatment, has left the hut and hanged
herself on a tree. This lately happened in the case of an aged woman, whose grown-up son
had ill-treated her. She was missed, and was afterwards found suspended from a tree. The
women have nothing to indemnify them for their incessant and laborious work, not even good
clothing, for this right of the fair sex in Europe is claimed among the Indians by the men. It is
singular that these women, who are condemned constantly to work like slaves, refuse to do any
work whatever if they marry a white man, and, the Whites being entirely in the power of the
Indians, and the relations of their wives, they are obliged to submit to this. Sisters have great
belong to them. If an Indian returns from an expedition on horseback, and meets his sister, he
will immediately alight, and give her the horse; on the other hand, if he wishes to possess some
object of value belonging to his sister, for instance, a dress, he goes and abruptly demands it,
and immediately receives it; even should it be the very dress she is wearing, she will take it off at
once, and give it to her brother.
Prudery is not a virtue of the Indian women; they have often two, three, or more lovers:
infidelity is not often punished. There was only one woman among the Mandans, a piece of
whose nose was cut off, a circumstance which is very common among the Blackfeet. If an Indian
elopes with a married woman, the husband whom she has abandoned avenges himself by seizing
the seducer's property, his horses and other things of value, to which the latter must quietly
submit. Such a woman is never taken back. If a man has the eldest daughter of a family for
his wife, he has a right to all her sisters. A chief business of the young men among these Indian
tribes is to try their fortune with the young maidens and the women, and this, together with their
toilet, fills up the greater part of their time. They do not meet with many coy beauties. In the
evening, and generally till late at night, they roam about the villages, or in the vicinity, or from
one village to the other. They have a singular mode of displaying their achievements in this
field, especially when they visit the women in their best dresses. On these occasions they
endeavour to gain credit by the variety of their triumphs, and mark the number of conquered
beauties by bundles of peeled osier twigs, painted red at the tips. These sticks are of two kinds.
Most of them are from two to three feet in length, others five or six feet. The latter, being
carried singly, are painted with white and red rings alternately, which indicates the number of
conquests. The shorter sticks are only painted red at the tips, and every stick indicates an
exploit, the number of which is often bound up into a pretty large bundle. Thick fasces of
this kind are carried about by the dandies in their gallant excursions. Among the Mandans these
sticks are generally quite plain; among the Manitaries, on the contrary, there is, usually, in the
middle of the bundle, one larger stick, at the end of which there is a tuft of black feathers.
These feathers indicate the favourite, and the dandies tell everybody that she is the person for
whom this honour is intended. (See Plate XXI. Fig. 6.)
If these people have had familiar intercourse with a person who wore the white buffalo
robe, a piece of skin of that colour is fastened to the stick; if she wore a red blanket, or
buffalo robe, a piece of red cloth is fastened to the stick. This custom, which is well known
among the Mandans and Manitaries, has not, to my knowledge, been mentioned by any
traveller.
They have distinct names for the several degrees of relationship. The father's brother is
called father, and the mother's sister, mother; cousins are called brothers and sisters. The
a slain enemy, and his gun, she is at liberty, from that moment, to converse with him. This
custom is found among the Manitaries, who have, doubtless, borrowed it from the Mandans, but
not among the Crows and Arikkaras. Among the Chippeways, and the Algonquins in general,
the name must not be changed; and persons with the same name must not marry, but consider
each other as brothers and sisters. Among all the North American Indian nations there are
men dressed and treated like women, called, by the Canadians, Bardaches, of whom Mc Kenzie,
Tanner, Langsdorff, and others, have spoken; but there was only one such among the Mandans,
and two or three among the Manitaries.
Volney, and some other writers, have spoken rather too unfavourably of the moral character
of the aborigines of North America, and their domestic habits. According to them, distrust and
hostile feeling prevail among them, for which reason they never leave their huts unarmed; but
I can bear witness that they are frequently seen in their villages, as well as in the environs, without
arms, and that it is only at greater distances, and when they appear in state, that they carry their
weapons in their hands. I have never observed any disputes among them, but, on the contrary,
much more unity and tranquillity than in civilized Europe. It has often been asserted that the
Indians are inferior in intellectual capacity to the Whites; but this has been now sufficiently
refuted; and Harlan is not wrong in saying that, among the races of men, of which Blumenbach
reckons five, the American should be ranked immediately after the Caucasian. If man, in all his
varieties, has not received from the Creator equally perfect faculties, I am, at least, convinced
that, in this respect, the Americans are not inferior to the Whites. Many of the Mandans
manifest a great thirst for knowledge, and much desire to hear something of objects of a higher
order; and if they were not so much attached to the prejudices inherited from their ancestors,
many of them might be very easily instructed. The bad examples which they so often observe
in the white men, who roam about their country in quest of gain, are not calculated to inspire
them with much respect for our race, or to improve their morality. And if they have not been
found inclined to the Christian religion, this is, certainly, in some measure, the consequence of
the bad conduct of the Whites, who call themselves Christians, and are often worse, and more
immoral, than the most uncivilized of the Indians. Many American and foreign works have
taken notice of the striking good sense and wit, the correct judgment of the Indians, in all the
occurrences of daily life, and it would be mere repetition here to quote examples. One is often
at a loss to answer their questions, founded on correct and natural judgment. The inactive
mode of life natural to the Indians, which disdains all laborious exertion, is a great obstacle to their
adopting a different system. But they are not deficient in talent for drawing, music, &c., and
this is quite manifest at first sight. Several Mandans not only too much pleasure in drawing,
but had a decided talent for it. The hieroglyphics are well known, which the Indians employ
XXII.), and the subjoined Indian letter from a Mandan to a fur trader:
The following is the explanation of the hieroglyphic figures contained in it:
The cross signifies, "I will barter, or trade." Three animals are drawn on the right hand of
the cross: one is a buffalo; the two others, a weasel (Mustela Canadensis), and an otter. The
writer offers, in exchange for the skins of these animals (probably meaning that of a white
buffalo), the articles which he has drawn on the left side of the cross.
He has, in the first place, depicted a beaver very plainly, behind which there is a gun; to
the left of the beaver are thirty strokes, each ten separated by a longer line; this means, I will
give thirty beaver skins and a gun for the skins of the three animals on the right hand of the
cross.
Many of them dispute, with great earnestness, on more elevated subjects; thus, they inquired
our ideas of the various heavenly bodies, and of the origin of the universe, as they, themselves,
declare their own silly traditions to be insufficient. Some, indeed, thought our ideas on these subjects
much more silly than their own. They laughed outright, when we affirmed that the earth
was round, and revolved about the sun. Others, however, would not reject our views, and were
of opinion that, as the Whites could do so much which was incomprehensible to them, it was possible
they might be right on this point also.
In all works that treat of these remarkable people, we find recorded very energetic and well-digested
speeches of their chiefs. They frequently use very appropriate figures, and often said
bitter truths to their white oppressors. Dr. Morse quotes some such phrases, used at the conclusion
of treaties of peace, or declarations of war, which express much in a few words. Thus, in
declarations of war: "The blood of our wives and children smokes on the ground! The bones of
our warriors and old men are uncovered, and whiten the earth! The tomahawk is raised!" And
on the conclusion of peace: "The bones of our warriors are buried! the tomahawk is buried!
the blood of our women and children is covered! The path which leads to them must be kept
clean; no weeds may grow there. The chain which binds us together must not become rusty."
great energy of character, many have committed suicide on account of disappointments in love,
or of wounded honour, of which Dr. Morse relates a remarkable instance, where an Indian killed
himself because he was reproached with cowardice, after his mother had suffered death for him.
Many travellers speak of the extraordinary memory of the Indians; several of them relate the
entire history of their people in a continuous narrative.
The Mandans and Manitaries are proud, and have a high sense of honour. If a person
expresses a wish to possess some article belonging to them, he generally receives it as a present,
but a present of equal, or greater value, is always looked for in return. They estimate all their
effects at a very high rate, ascribing to them an imaginary and far too great value; and a trifling
thing is often paid for with one or two horses. Among the articles of great value is the skin of a
white buffalo cow. Fifteen florins are paid for a small ermine skin; whereas, a wolf's skin may
be purchased for a small quantity of tobacco. One or two horses are frequently given for a
feather cap; a horse for 100 or 150 elks' teeth, or for a handful of dentalium shells. The men
are much given to indolence, when they cannot pursue their chief avocations, hunting and war.
In general, the Mandans and Manitaries are not dangerous, and, though there are many rude and
savage men among them, they are, on the whole, well-disposed towards the Whites: the former,
especially, manifest this, and have many good and trustworthy men among them. Some of them
are addicted to thieving, especially the women and children; and it is said, that many of the
Manitaries, when they meet the Whites in the prairie, though they do not kill them, as they used
to do, generally plunder them.
They have always free access to the forts of the trading companies; and, as at Fort Clarke,
there was no separate apartment for the Indians, we were molested by them, during the whole
day, in every room; nay, they often took the place of the owners, which, during the severe cold
in the winter time, was quite intolerable, as they stood in front of the fire, with their large
buffalo robes, and kept the warmth from coming into the apartment. They require to be always
regaled, which is generally done, and it was estimated that in one year they smoked 200 lbs. of
tobacco at the expense of the Company. A few among them, indeed, manifested a much greater
delicacy of feeling than the mass of them, and left the dining-room when the dinner-hour
approached; but only a very small proportion possessed this correct sense of propriety, for
the others generally came just at our dinner time; it is true they had but little meat in the
winter season, and fared but badly. Disputes and quarrels are very rare among them; but
duels are frequent; and revenge for blood is still exercised.
Many of them are particularly cleanly in their persons, and bathe daily, both in winter and
summer; their hands, however, are often smeared with colours and fat, nay, sometimes the
whole body is bedaubed. The women are, in general, less cleanly, particularly their hands,
grow long.
The rude inhabitants of the prairies are extremely agile and hardy; they bathe, in the depth
of winter, in the half frozen rivers, and wear no covering on the upper part of their body under
the buffalo robe; they are very expert swimmers, even when quite young. I have already
observed that all these nations swim in the same manner as the Brazilian Tapuyas, which is confirmed
by other writers. They often practise riding on horseback without a saddle, and very
swift horse-racing. They are capital marksmen with the bow; all their senses are remarkably
acute.
Among the Mandans, and all the nations of the Upper Missouri, as well as among most of
the North American tribes, there are certain bands or unions or companies, which are distinguished
from the others, and kept together by certain external badges and laws. They have
three kinds of war or signal pipes, which are hung round the neck, and are among the badges
of the unions, which divide the men into six classes, according to their age. The first band or
union is composed of "the foolish dogs," or "the dogs whose name is not known." They are
young people from ten to fifteen years of age, and wear a pipe made of the wing bone of the
wild goose, which is but small. When they dance, three of them have a long broad piece of red
cloth hanging from the back of the neck to the ground. Like every distinct class they have a
particular song to accompany their dance. Formerly old people likewise belonged to this band,
but then they never dared to retreat before the enemy; this has since been changed to the
present limited rule. If a boy desires to enter the first band in order to become a man, he goes to
a member of it, addresses him by the appellation of father, and endeavours to purchase the rank,
the dance, the song, and the war pipe belonging to it, for certain articles of value, such as
blankets, cloth, horses, powder, ball, and the like, which the father pays for him. If this place
is sold to him he has a right to all the distinctions and privileges of the band, and he who
sold it thereby renounces all claim to it, and endeavours to purchase admission to a higher
band. The dances of the several classes are in the main very similar, but there is a particular
song belonging to each, and sometimes even a different step. The drum and schischikué must
likewise be purchased at the same time. The latter, among this band, is spherical, with a handle,
and is made of leather.
The second class or band is that of the crows or ravens; it consists of young men from
twenty to twenty-five years of age. Frequently young people are in none of the bands for half
a year or more. They then go to the band of the crows, and say, "Father, I am poor, but I wish
to purchase from you." If the possessor agrees, they then receive the raven's feathers, which the
band wear on their heads, a double war-pipe, consisting of two wing bones of a goose joined
together, a drum, schischikué, the song and the dance. Each of these bands has a leader, called,
is chiefly applied to when any one wishes for admission; a festival then takes place in the medicine
lodge, which is continued for forty successive nights, of which I shall speak in the sequel. They
dance, eat, and smoke there; the purchasers defray the expenses, and give up their wives every
night to the sellers, till the fathers, as they are called, are satisfied, and transfer their rights to the
purchasers, with which the festival concludes.
The third class or band is that of the soldiers, the most eminent and esteemed warriors. In
their dances they paint the upper part of the face red, and the lower part black. Their war
pipe is large, and made of the wing bone of a crane. Their badges are two long straight sticks
bound with otter skin, to which owl's feathers are appended. When they go to war, they plant
these sticks in the ground in front of the enemy, and, this done, they dare not leave them, not
unlike the colours in a European army. They have a similar stick ornamented with raven's feathers
(see second woodcut, page 256). They likewise have a dance and song peculiar to their band,
and must purchase their admission into higher classes. Their schischikué or rattle is made of iron
plate, in the form of a small kettle, with a handle. They likewise possess two tobacco pipes,
which are used for smoking on special occasions. Two men keep and carry with them these
pipes. All the higher classes may, at the same time, belong to the band of the soldiers, who
act as police officers; it is, however, understood that all the members must be satisfied with
the purchase. If but one object to the sale, the bargain cannot be concluded. It often happens
that some individuals do not immediately give their consent, in order to raise the price and sell
to more advantage afterwards. These soldiers, as they are called, form a kind of committee,
which decides all the principal affairs, particularly general undertakings, such as changes of their
places of abode, buffalo hunting, and the like. If the buffalo herds are in the vicinity, they
watch them, and do not suffer them to be disturbed by individuals, till a general chase can be
undertaken.
If, during this time, any one fires at a wolf or other animal, the soldiers take away his gun,
ill-use, and sometimes beat him, to which he must submit; even the chiefs are not spared on
these occasions. The Whites living in the neighbourhood are subject, during such a time, to
the same laws, and the soldiers have often taken their hatchets from the woodcutters of the
fort, or forbidden them to cut wood, that the buffaloes might not be disturbed by the noise.
The fourth band, that of the dogs, wear in their dance a large cap of coloured cloth, to
which a great number of raven's, magpie's, and owl's feathers is fastened, adorned with dyed horsehair
and strips of ermine; they have a large war pipe of the wing bone of a swan. Three of
them have the same strips of red cloth hanging down the back, as have been mentioned, when
speaking of the first band. The head is generally adorned with a thick tuft of owl's, magpie's, and
raven's feathers hanging down behind, and often all the three kinds of feathers are mixed together.
are obliged, if any one throws a piece of meat into the ashes, or on the ground, saying, "There,
dog, eat," to fall upon it, and devour it raw, like dogs or beasts of prey. The schischikué of this
band is a stick, a foot or a foot and a half long, to which a number of animals' hoofs are fastened.
The costume of these three dogs is shown in the portrait of Pehriska-Rupe. (Plate XXIII.)
The fifth band is that of the buffaloes. In their dance they wear the skin of the upper part
of the head, the mane of the buffalo, with its horns, on their heads; but two select individuals, the
bravest of all, who thenceforward never dare to fly from the enemy, wear a perfect imitation of the
buffalo's head, with the horns, which they set on their heads (Plate XVIII.), and in which there
are holes left for the eyes, which are surrounded with an iron or tin ring. This band alone has a
wooden war pipe, and in their union they have a woman, who, during the dance, goes round with
a dish of water, to refresh the dancers, but she must give this water only to the bravest, who wear
the whole buffalo's head. She is dressed, on these occasions, in a handsome new robe of bighorn
leather, and colours her face with vermilion. The men have a piece of red cloth fastened behind,
and a figure representing a buffalo's tail; they also carry their arms in their hands. The
men with the buffaloes' heads always keep in the dance at the outside of the group, imitate all the
motions and the voice of this animal, as it timidly and cautiously retreats, looking around in all
directions, &c. (Plate XVIII.)
The sixth band is that of the black-tailed deer. It consists of all the men above fifty years
of age, who, however, likewise dance. Two women belong to the band, who wait on them at the
dance, cook, carry water round to refresh them, and the like. All the men of this band wear a
garland of the claws of the grizzly bear round their heads, and all insignia of their warlike
exploits about their bodies, such as feathers on their heads, tufts of hair on their arms and legs,
scalps, painting, &c.
All these bands, as well as the following dances, are bought and sold, and, as has been already
observed, on these occasions, the buyer must give up his wife to the seller during the festivity.
But if a young man is still unmarried, he will sometimes travel to a great distance to another
village, to ask a friend or companion for his wife, who accordingly goes with him, and, on the
evenings of the dance, gives up his wives for him. A man often brings three or four, and
even more, wives, and gives them to his father, as he is called, as soon as the dancing, eating,
smoking, and the relating of their exploits, are concluded. Thus one woman after the other
comes, as will be described in the account of the buffalo medicines of the Manitaries, strikes, with
her hand, the arm of the man whom she will favour, and goes to the entrance of the tent, where
she waits till he follows her. The man so invited often keeps his seat, and bows down his head;
the woman then goes home, brings articles of value, such as guns, robes, blankets, &c., which she
lays, piece by piece, before him, till he is satisfied, stands up, and follows her.
There are other dances which are bought and sold, among which are a second dance of the
third band, and the dance of the half-shorn heads, which the lower class may buy before they are
old enough to belong to the third band.
The medicine feast, the insignia, and the dance belonging to the half-shorn heads, will be
described in the sequel. Another dance is that of the old dogs. The band of the dogs can buy it
of the buffaloes before they can become buffaloes, or purchase their admission to the fifth band.
In the dance of the old dogs they paint themselves white, the hands red and black, and wear a
girdle of the skin of the grizzly bear, and a bunch of feathers hanging down at the back of the head.
What is called the hot dance is now danced at Ruhptare, and by the Manitaries, who bought
it from the Arikkaras. It is executed by the little dogs, whose name is not known. A large fire
is kindled on the occasion, and a quantity of live coals is scattered on the ground, about which the
young men dance, quite naked and barefooted. The hands, with the lower part of the arms, and
the feet and ankles, are painted red. A kettle, with meat cut in small pieces, is hung over the
fire; and when the meat is done they plunge their hands into the boiling water, take out the
meat, and eat it, at the risk of scalding themselves. The last comers are the worst off, having to
dip their hands the deepest into the boiling water. During the dance they have in their hands
their weapons and the schischikué.
There is another dance which will be described in one of the following chapters. The
dance is accompanied with the schischikué and drum, and is generally performed in a circle: the
dancers carry in their hands the bow-lance,[9]
which is adorned with feathers and bears' entrails.
The Mandan women are divided precisely in the same manner as the men, into four classes,
according to their age. The youngest band is called "the band of the gun." They wear in their
hair some down feathers of the eagle, and have their peculiar dance.
The next class into which they obtain admission by purchase is "the river class." When they
dance they wear an eagle's feather, fastened to the fore part of the head with a piece of white
ribbon, which projects on the left side, and is entwined round the quill with grass.
The third class consists of the women of the hay, who, when they dance, put on their best
clothes, and sing the scalp song.
The fourth and last class is the band of the white cow. They paint one eye with some
colour according to their taste, generally sky-blue. On the chin, this class, mostly consisting of
aged women, tattoo themselves with black lines; round their heads they wear a broad piece of the
skin of a white buffalo cow, something like a hussar's cap, with a tuft of feathers in it. A more
in Vignette XXVIII.
These unions, or bands, give occasion to many festivities, with singing, music, and dancing.
But they have likewise other dances and diversions. One of these is the scalp dance, which
may be more appropriately described among the usages of war. Their musical amusements are
very simple. The mode of singing varies but little among all the American Indians; it consists
of broken, deep exclamations, often intercepted by loud shouts, and is accompanied by a violent
beating of time on the drum, and the rattling of the schischikué. Besides these two instruments,
the Mandans have long wooden pipes, at the lower end of which there is generally an eagle's
feather hanging by a string. (See woodcut, page 180.) Other pipes are thicker, about twenty
inches long, and are perforated with holes; in this respect they differ from the war pipe. They
are sometimes ornamented with pieces of skin, &c. These are the only musical instruments of
the Indians besides the war pipes.
The Indians have also many games; the game called billiards, by the French Canadians, is
played by two young men, with long poles, which are often bound with leather, and have various
ornaments attached to them. On a long, straight, level course, or a level path in or near the village,
they roll a hoop, three or four inches in diameter, covered with leather, and throw the pole at it;
and the success of the game depends upon the pole passing through it. This game is also practised
among the Manitaries, and is described, in Major Long's Travels to the Rocky Mountains, as
being played by the Pawness, who, however, have hooked sticks, which is not the case with the
tribes here mentioned.
The women are expert at playing with a large leathern ball, which they let fall alternately on
their foot and knee, again throwing it up and catching it, and thus keeping it in motion for a
length of time without letting it fall to the ground. Prizes are given, and they often play high.
The ball is often very neat and curiously covered with dyed porcupine quills. (See Plate XLVIII.
Fig. 14.) Card-playing has not yet reached these Indians, though it is in use among the Osages
and other tribes. The children of the Mandans and Manitaries play with a piece of stag's horn, in
which a couple of feathers are inserted; this is thrown forward, the piece of horn being foremost.
hoop, in the interior of which strips of leather are interwoven; its diameter is about a foot. This
hoop is either rolled or thrown, and they thrust at it with a pointed stick; he who approaches the
centre most nearly is the winner. The hoop and the stick are represented in Plate XLVIII.
hoop into the water. In the summer time the Mandans and Manitaries often amuse themselves
with races in the prairie, for which they have the best opportunity in the vicinity of their
villages; twenty young men, or more, often run at once, and on these occasions there is always
high betting. Some of them are very swift runners, and can hold out a long time.
The Mandans and Manitaries are extremely superstitious, and all their important actions are
guided by such motives. They have most strange ideas of surrounding nature, believe in a multitude
of different beings in the heavenly bodies; offer sacrifices to them; invoke their assistance
on every occasion; howl, lament, fast, inflict on themselves cruel acts of penance, to propitiate
these spirits; and, above all, lay very great stress upon dreams. Some of their traditions have a
resemblance to the revelations of the Bible; for instance, Noah's Ark and the Deluge, the history
of Samson, &c. The question here arises whether these particulars have not been gradually
introduced among them, from their intercourse with Christians, and this seems highly probable.
If they have not yet embraced the Christian religion, it would, however, appear that they have
adopted some portions which strike them as being either remarkable or interesting.[10]
The belief
in a future life, or a better state of things after death, exists among all the American nations; this
is confirmed by D'Orbigny (Voyages, tom. iii. p. 90), who justly blames Azara for denying all
religious ideas to the people of Paraguay. In order to obtain correct information respecting all
their traditions and ideas, we persuaded Dipauch[11]
to enliven our long winter evenings by his
narratives, which he readily agreed to do. He spoke with much seriousness and gravity, and I
had a most excellent interpreter in Mr. Kipp. I give these narratives, which are often extremely
silly, as they were written down from his communications, though I must beg my reader's patience
and indulgence. It was not possible to curtail them or to choose only the more interesting parts,
since all their traditions and legends have a certain connexion, and really possess some influence
on the actual mode of life of this people.
According to Dipauch, these Indians believe in several superior beings, of whom the lord of
life, Ohmahank-Numakshi, is the first, the most exalted and the most powerful; who created the
earth, man, and every existing object.[12]
They believe that he has a tail, and appears sometimes
holds the second rank; he was created by the lord of life, but is likewise of a divine
nature. The lord of life gave him great power, and they, therefore, worship and offer sacrifices
to him. He is nearly identical with Nanabush among the Chippeways, or the people of the
Algonquin language, who, according to the notion of those tribes, acts as mediator between the
creator and the human race. Nanabush and the creator frequently had disputes, and the
Mandans have similar legends. Omahank-Chika, the evil one of the earth, is a malignant spirit,
who has, likewise, much influence over men, but who is not as powerful as the lord of life and
the first man. The fourth being is Rohanka-Tauhanka, who lives in the planet Venus, and it
is he who protects mankind on the earth; for without his care the race would have been long
since extinct. A fifth being, who, however, has no power, is something like the wandering Jew,
ever in motion, and walking on the face of the earth in human form. They call him the lying prairie
wolf. Besides these there is a sixth being, Ochkih-Hadda, whom it is difficult to class, and of whom
they have a tradition, that whoever dreams of him is doomed soon to die. He appears to figure
in their traditions as a kind of devil, is said to have once come to their villages, and taught them
many things, but has not since appeared. They are afraid of him, offer sacrifices to him, and
have in their villages a hideous figure representing him. They worship the sun, because they
believe it to be the residence of the lord of life. All their medicines or sacrifices are offered
chiefly to the sun, or rather to the lord of life, as inhabiting it. In the moon, say they, lives the
old woman who never dies, and who wears a white band from the front to the back of the head;
sacrifices and offerings are likewise made to her. They do not know who she is, but her power
is great. She has six children, three sons and three daughters, who all live in certain stars.
The eldest son is the day (the first day of the creation), the second is the sun, in which the lord
of life has his abode. The third son is the night. The eldest daughter is the star that rises in
the east, the morning star; and they call her, "the woman who wears a plume." The second
daughter, called "the striped gourd," is a high star which revolves around the polar star; and,
lastly, the third daughter is the evening star which is near to the setting sun.
The old woman in the moon desired to find a wife for her son, and brought a girl, whom
she desired to wait outside the door. When the old woman sent out to fetch her, they found in
her place a toad; indignant at the exchange, the toad was boiled in a vessel, that it might be
destroyed. But this could not be done, nor could it be eaten, and it was, therefore, cursed, on
which it remained always visible as a spot in the moon. The narrator could not say whether
the sun was large or small, but, at all events, it was glowing hot. The son married a woman
whom they called "the narrow-leaved wormwood." They had a son, of great promise, who
appeared destined to act an important part. He was very skilful in making arrows, and versed
in all kinds of hunting and catching of animals. He shot birds for his mother, though she had
unable to kill any. Upon this, one of the birds said to him, "Why will you kill me, since I am
related to you?" He dug up in the moon the pomme blanche (Psozalea esculenta), for which
his mother reproved him, because, through the hole which he had dug, they could see the Manitari
villages in the earth beneath. And his mother said, "See, all those men are our relations; I did
not intend to descend to the earth yet, but now we must go thither." The father once ordered
the son to shoot a buffalo for him, and to bring him all the sinews of the animal; but the son
twisted a rope with part of those sinews, in order thereby to let himself down to the earth.
Accordingly he descended to the earth in the vicinity of the Little Missouri, but his rope reached
only to the top of the trees. If he had had all the sinews of the buffalo, his rope would have
reached the ground, but now remained suspended, and swung backwards and forwards. A large
stone was thrown at him from the moon, which stone was in existence not very long since.
The stone, however, could not kill him, he being medicine, that is, charmed.
The Mandans believe that the thunder is produced by the motion of the wings of a gigantic
bird. When this bird flies softly, as is usually the case, he is not heard, but when he flaps his
wings violently, he occasions a roaring noise. This huge bird is said to have only two toes on
each foot, one behind and the other before. It lives in the mountains, where it builds an immense
nest, as big as Fort Clarke. Its food consists of deer and other large animals, the horns of which
are heaped up round the nest. The glance of its eyes produces lightning; it breaks through
the clouds, the canopy of heaven, and makes a way for the rain. The isolated and peculiarly
loud claps of thunder are produced by a gigantic tortoise, which lives in the clouds. When the
lightning strikes, it is a sign of anger. They believe the stars to be deceased men. When a
child is born, a star descends and appears on the earth in human form; after death it reascends
and appears again as a star in the heavens.
The rainbow is a spirit accompanying the sun, and is especially visible at its setting. Many
affirm that the northern lights are occasioned by a large assembly of the medicine men and distinguished
warriors of several nations in the north, who boil their prisoners and slain enemies
in immense cauldrons. The Chippeways are said to call this phenomenon "the dancing spirit,"
and the milky way, "the path of the ghosts."
Dipauch related a history of the creation and the origin of the Mandan tribe, in the following
manner. Though this narrative is equally silly and tiresome, I subjoin it, as giving an
idea of the intellectual condition of this people, and the nature of their conversations.
Before the existence of the earth, the lord of life created the first man, Numank-Machana,
who moved on the waters, and met with a diver or duck, which was alternately diving and rising
again. The man said to the bird, "You dive so well, now dive deep and bring up some earth."
waters, using some incantations, commanding the earth to appear, and it appeared. The land was
naked; not a blade of grass was growing on it; he wandered about and thought that he was alone,
when he suddenly met with a toad. "I thought I was here alone," said he, "but you are here,
and who are you?" It did not answer. "I do not know you, but I must give you a name.
You are older than I am, for your skin is rough and scaly; I must call you my grandmother, for
you are so very old." He went further and found a piece of an earthen pot. "I thought I was
here alone, but men must have lived here before me." Thereupon he took the potsherd and
said, "I will give you also a name, and, as you were here before me, I must, likewise, call you my
grandmother." On going further he met with a mouse: "It is clear," said he to himself, "that I
am not the first being; I call you also my grandmother." A little further on he and the lord
of life met. "Oh, there is a man like myself," exclaimed he, and went up to him. "How do you
do, my son?" said the man to Omahank-Numakshi; but he answered, "I am not your son, but you
are mine." The first man answered, "I dispute this." But the lord of life answered, "You are
my son, and I will prove it; if you will not believe me, we will sit down and plant our medicine
sticks which we have in our hands in the ground; he who first rises is the youngest, and the son
of the other." They sat down and looked at each other for a long time, till, at length, the lord of
life became pale, his flesh dropped from his bones, on which the first man exclaimed, "Now you
are surely dead." Thus they looked at each other for ten years, at the end of which time, when
the bare bones of the lord of life were in a decomposed state, the first man rose, exclaiming,
"Now he is surely dead." He seized Omahank-Numakshi's stick, and pulled it out of the
ground; but at the same moment the lord of life stood up, saying, "See here, I am your father,
and you are my son," and the first man called him his father. As they were going on together,
the lord of life said, "This land is not well formed, we will make it better." At that time the
buffalo was already on the earth. The lord of life called to the weasel, and ordered him to dive
and bring up grass, which was done. He then sent him again to fetch wood, which he brought in
like manner. He divided the grass and the wood, giving one half to the first man. This took place
at the mouth of Heart River. The lord of life then desired the first man to make the north
bank of the Missouri, while he himself made the south-west bank, which is beautifully
diversified with hills, valleys, forests, and thickets. The man, on the contrary, made the whole
country flat, with a good deal of wood in the distance. They then met again, and, when the lord
of life had seen the work of the first man, he shook his head and said, "You have not done
this well: all is level, so that it will be impossible to surprise buffaloes or deer, and approach them
unperceived. Men will not be able to live there. They will see each other in the plain at
too great a distance, and will be unable to avoid each other, consequently they will destroy
each other."
He then took the first man to the other side of the river, and said, "See here, I have made
springs and streams in sufficient abundance, and hills and valleys, and added all kinds of animals
and fine wood; here men will be able to live by the chase, and feed on the flesh of those animals."
They then both proceeded to the mouth of the Natke-Passaha (Heart River), in order, according
to the directions of the lord of life, to make medicine pipes. He himself made them of ash,
lined with stone. The man, on the contrary, made his pipes of box-alder, a soft wood. They
placed these pipes together, and the lord of life said, "This shall be the heart, the centre of the
world; and this river shall be the Heart River." Each of them had now his pipe in his hand, and
when they met any creature, the lord of life laid the pipe down before it: on doing this to a
buffalo, it said, "This is not enough; there must be something to smoke in the pipe." And the
lord of life said, "Then do you get something to smoke." On which the buffalo cleared a spot
on the ground with his fore foot, and said, "When the rutting time of the buffaloes approaches,
come here and you will find something to smoke." The lord of life accordingly sent at the
time appointed to fetch tobacco, but it was not yet dry and prepared; he therefore ordered the
buffalo to be called, which at once spread out the leaves and dried them; and the lord of life
smoked, and found the tobacco very good. The bull then taught him to pull off and smoke the
flowers and the buds, for these are the best parts of the plant.
The lord of life and the first man were now resolved to create the human race. They
began their operations near the bank of the Missouri; and, in order to promote the increase of
the species, they placed the part necessary for that purpose in the forehead; but the frog came
up out of the water, and said, "How foolish you are!" and altered the situation of the part. "What
business have you to speak?" said the lord of life, and struck the frog upon the back with his
stick, and since that time the frog has had a humped back. God had made man, and told him he
should increase and multiply, but not live longer than a hundred years; since, otherwise, there
would not be room enough for all. The first man now said to his father, "When buffaloes are
hunted, the skins of the animals killed must be immediately taken off to wear as robes; the
stomach must be emptied, and pemmican made of the flesh." The lord of life, however,
answered, "This would not be advisable. Men would then quarrel and destroy each other.
Let them rather take the animals home, and tan the hides, then they will have robes for their own
use, and for sale." And it appeared that the lord of life was always right.
The first man was once on the banks of the Missouri, when a dead buffalo cow, in the side of
which the wolves had eaten a hole, floated down the stream. A woman was on the bank, who called
to her daughter, "Make haste, pull off your clothes, and bring the cow on shore." The first man
heard this, and brought the cow to the spot. The girl eat some of the flesh, which the first man
gave her, and became pregnant. She was ashamed, and said to her mother, that "she could not
tell how she came into this state, as she had had no intercourse with any man," and her mother was
rapidity, and soon became a robust young man. He was immediately the first chief of his people—
a great leader among men. The first thing he did was to build a boat, which understood whatever
he said to it. He filled it with men, ordered it to cross the river and come back, and in this
manner he sent it over several times. The new chief was of the nation of the Numakshi (the
Mandans). A saying was then current among these people, that on the other side of the great
water, or the sea, there lived white men, who possessed wampum shells. Bodies of fifteen or twenty
men were frequently sent thither, but they were all killed. Hereupon the chief said, "I will
send my boat thither, with eight men; this is the right number." And the boat went, arrived
at the right place, and brought to the white men the red mouse hair (beaver hair), which they
highly valued. They were well received, feasted in the dwellings, and materials for smoking were
given them. Each received buffalo skins filled with wampum shells, and the boat returned quickly.
The boat then went, for the second time, with eleven men, and the lord of life accompanied it. He
had dressed himself in mean apparel, and took with him a large hollow cane. On their arrival
they went into a village, but the first man remained sitting near the boat, and dug a deep hole,
over which he seated himself. The inhabitants of the village agreed to kill the strangers by overfeeding
them, and, with this view, gave them abundance of food. The first man, to whom the
overplus of the provisions was brought, let them drop through his cane into the hole, and the
white men were astonished at the quantity of provisions consumed. They then agreed to kill
them by smoke; but the first man made the smoke pass through his cane, and their plan was
again defeated. They now thought of killing them by means of women, all of whom they left at
their disposal.[13] As they could not kill the strangers either by eating, smoking, or women, they
gave them as many wampum shells as they could take in their boat, and sent them away. When
the children learnt that the boat understood what was said to it, they ordered it to go down the
river to the white people; it obeyed, and was never afterwards seen.
The first man now said to the Numangkake that he should leave them, and never return;
that he was going to the west; but that, in case of need, they might apply to him, and he would
assist them. They were living in a small village, on Heart River, when their enemies surrounded
them, and threatened to destroy them. In this great distress they resolved to apply to their
protector; but how were they to get to the first man? One man proposed to send a bird to
him; but birds could not fly so far. Another thought that the eyesight must be able to reach
him; but the prairie hills were in the way. At last, a third said that thought would undoubtedly
be the best means of reaching the first man. He wrapped himself in his robe and fell to the
ground. Soon afterwards he said, "I think!—I have thought!—I return!" He threw off his
and he was soon there, fell furiously on the enemy, drove them away, and immediately vanished.
Since that time he has not been again seen.
The lord of life once told the first man, that if the Numangkake should go over the river they
would be devoured by the wolves; on which they both crossed the river, and killed all the old
wolves. They ordered the young wolves not to devour men in future, but to confine themselves
to buffaloes, deer, and other wild animals. They threw the old wolves into the north ocean,
where they became putrid, and their hair swam on the surface of the water, from which the white
men originated. The lord of life also told the Numangkake, that when they had boiled their
maize they should keep up only a small fire for the rest of the day; and this they still do. When
the fire would not burn, they were to take the larger brands from below, and lay them on the top.
When the lord of life was a little below Heart River, in the spring, when the first wild geese flew
past, he told them to wait, because he would fly with them, and assumed the form of a goose. The
Indians are accustomed to shout and halloo when the see the flocks of geese, by which they are
frightened, and thrown into confusion. So it happened on this occasion to the lord of life, and he
fell to the ground. He was carried into the hut of the chief, who sent the youngest woman to
pluck the goose, but it bit her, and she gave it to the oldest, who was likewise bitten; so that the
lord of life escaped. He then flew to the Manitaries. A young woman, who refused to marry,
was here whipped and beaten by him. She went to the lower village, and complained that God
had punished her, because she would not marry. A young man, who wished to have her for his
wife, took the dress of the lord of life, as she was resolved to marry none but him. She now
desired to know whether her lover was really what he pretended to be, and with this view placed
some pointed stakes in the ground, on which he must wound himself in the night, if he were not
of a superior nature. He came and wounded himself, on which she fell on him, took away all
his clothes and hid them, so that he looked for a long time both for them and his weapons. When
day came, two long lines, like fishing lines, were hanging down from the sun to the earth, and
near to the place where the girl was. A voice called to her, from above, to climb up by the lines;
that the clothes were no longer in the place where she had hidden them; it was, therefore, the
lord of life who had appeared to her under the form of the young man. The girl took hold of the
lines, and the sun seemed to come down. Several of her relations, and other men, pulled the
lines, but could not draw the sun down, while the lord of life lay quietly in it. A very strong
man, who was able to pull up the largest trees by the roots, and cast them from him, was
not able to do anything on this occasion; the line turned round his shoulders. "I can pull up
the largest trees," said he, "and my strength is greater than that of all other men united, and yet
I cannot break this small line." To which the lord of life answered, "If you reach and kill me,
the human race will be destroyed from the face of the earth."
At the time that the first man had incensed the Whites by his voracity, the latter made
the water rise so high that all the land was overflowed. On this, the first man advised the
ancestors of the Numangkake to build a wooden tower, or fort, upon an eminence, assuring them
that the water would not rise higher than that point. They followed his advice, and built the
ark, on the lower side of Heart River, on a large scale, and a part of the nation was preserved in
this building, while the remainder perished in the waves. In remembrance of the kind care of
the first man, they placed in each of their villages a miniature model of this ark, one of which
still exists in the village of Mih-Tutta-Hang-Kush. The waters afterwards subsided, and they
still celebrate the festival of Okippe in honour of this ark, of which we shall have to speak in
the sequel.
Before the first great deluge, the Numangkake lived below ground, but a band of them (the
same of which we have been speaking) took up their abode above ground at an earlier period.
They believe that there are four stories below ground, and as many above, and they now inhabit
the fourth from below. The band which first came above ground is called by them Histoppa
(those with the tattooed countenance), and these, for the most part, perished in the great deluge.
Those who lived under ground one day perceived a light over their heads, which made them
desire to ascertain what was above. They accordingly sent up a mouse, which looked about,
returned, and reported that the land above was similar to that which they inhabited. They then
sent up a certain animal, called by them, Nahsi, about the size of a polecat, and distinguishable
by black stripes on its face and legs. Perhaps this was the racoon, which is not now to be found
in this part of the country. This animal, when he came back, said that it was much more
pleasant above than below. They, therefore, ordered the badger to dig a larger opening, as the
present issue was too small. After the badger had performed his task, the black-tailed deer was
ordered to go up and enlarge the opening by means of his horns. He ran about the whole day,
ate service berries, and returned in the evening. His tail was at that time white, but as this deer
returned at sunset, and the sun went down at the very moment when his tail only was above
ground, that was ever afterwards black.
The Numangkake now resolved to go up. The great chief, with his medicine and his
schischikué in his hand, went first. They climbed up, one after another, by the aid of a branch
of a vine; and when exactly half their number had ascended, and a corpulent woman was halfway
up the vine, it broke, and the remainder of the nation fell to the ground. This happened
in the neighbourhood of the sea-shore. Those who had reached the surface went on till they
came to the Missouri, which they reached at White Earth River. They then proceeded up the
Missouri to Moreau's River. At that time they knew nothing of enemies. Once, when a
Mandan woman was scraping a hide, a Chayenne Indian came and killed her. The Mandans
followed the traces of this new enemy till they came to a certain river, where they all turned
These two men went on till they discovered the enemy, killed one of them, and took his scalp
with them. Before they got back to their village they found some white clay which they had
never seen before, and took a portion of it with them. When they came to their great chief,
the first who had climbed up the vine, and whose skull and schischikué they still preserve, as a
relic, in the medicine bag of the nation, they gave him the white clay, with which he marked
some lines on his schischikué. The name of this chief was, at first, Mihti-Pihka (the smoke of
the village), but when he ascended to the surface of the earth he called himself the Mihti-Shi
(the robe with the beautiful hair). When he had received the clay and the scalp, he commanded
all his people to shoot buffaloes, but only bulls, and to make shields of the thickest part of the
hide, which they did. When this was done, they asked the chief what were his next commands?
To which he replied, "Paint a drooping sunflower on this shield" (as a sort of medicine, or amulet),
on which the sister of the chief said, "You are fools! paint a bean on it; for what is smoother
than a bean to ward off the arrows?"
The chief now introduced the establishment of the bands or unions, and founded first that
of "the foolish dogs." He made four caps of crow's feathers, and commissioned the Mandans to
make a number of similar ones. He then gave them the war pipe and song, and exhorted them
to be always valiant and cheerful, and never to retreat before the point of the arrow. He also
gave them the strips of red cloth which hang down behind, and added that, if they would follow
his directions, they would always be esteemed as brave and worthy men. The chief then made
two of the bent sticks covered with otter skins, and gave them the kana-karakachka, and then two
others adorned with raven's feathers, which he also presented to them. The first represent the sunflower,
and the latter the maize. "These badges," said he, "you are to carry before you when
you go against the enemy; plant them in the ground, and fight to the last man, that is to say,
never abandon them." He next founded the band of "the little foolish dogs," and assembled
many young men, whom he ordered to paint their faces of a black colour, and gave them a song
of their own, with the war whoop at the end, and said he would call them "the blackbirds." He
afterwards went to war with his people against the Chayennes. They reached the enemy and
laid all their robes in a heap together. The chief wore a cap of lynx skin, and had his medicine
pipe on his arm. He did not join in the action, but sat apart on the ground during the whole
time that it lasted. They fought almost the whole day, drove the enemy into their village, and
were then repulsed, which happened three or four times, and one of the Numangkake was
killed. When the chief was informed of this, he ordered them to go to the river and bring him
a young poplar with large leaves, which he planted in the ground near to the enemy, and challenged
the Chayennes to attack him; but they answered, they would wait for his attack. As
and robe. He then held up the poplar, which suddenly shot up to a colossal size, was thrown,
by a violent storm which arose, among the enemies, crushed many of them, and obliged the
Chayennes to retreat across the Missouri.
The Numangkake now went up the Missouri to beyond the Heart River, where a Mandan
village had long stood. An old man of their tribe was fishing at this place, when four men
appeared on the opposite bank. On his inquiring who they were, they told him their names,
and put the same question to him, which he answered; and, having an ear of maize with him,
he fastened it to an arrow, and shot it over to the strangers. Finding the maize very agreeable
to the taste, they called to him and said that, within four nights, a great many men would come,
for whom he would do well to prepare plenty of food. They then returned to their camp,
and gave their countrymen an account of the maize. They had likewise tasted the pomme
blanche, and several other vegetables, but considered the maize as the best of all. The
camp was accordingly broken up, and they proceeded slowly onwards. The Numangkake
expected the strangers for four nights; they cooked and made everything ready for their
reception, but, as their visitors did not make their appearance at the end of the fourth night,
they ate the provisions themselves. A year passed by, and the strangers did not come; the
second and the third year likewise; at length, in the spring of the fourth year, all the surrounding
hills were covered with red men. Thus, instead of four days, four years had elapsed.
The new comers crossed the river, and built a village near the Numangkake, and the name of
Manitaries was given, i. e., those who came over the waters.
The principal chief of each nation met, and had a conference together. The Manitari chief
asked the other whence they procured so much red maize? To which he replied, "When we
fought with our enemies, and they killed our wives and children in the maize fields, the maize
grew up, and was for the most part red." To which the Manitari chief replied, "that he would
assist them with his people against their enemies." Already on the following day many
Chayennes came and killed a number of women in the plantations; the united nations attacked
them, killed many during the whole day, and drove them back to a small river which falls into
the Missouri. The two allied nations now remained united, but, being so numerous that the
country did not afford them sufficient subsistence, the Mandans said to the Manitaries,
"Remove higher up the Missouri: this whole country belongs to us. There are the rivers Little
Missouri, Yellow Stone, and Knife River, on the banks of which you can settle, but do not go
beyond the latter river, for it is only in this case that we shall remain good friends. If you go
too far we shall have disputes, make peace and again disagree; but if you remain on this side
there will be constant friendship between us." The Manitaries removed as proposed, but built
between them, and it is only within these fourteen years that permanent peace and concord have
existed between the two people.
At the time when our narrator was a young man, the Arikkaras were near and dangerous
enemies to the Mandans. They often fought with them as well as with the Sioux. When one
of the two allied nations fought alone, it was almost always defeated, but when they were
combined they generally triumphed. The preceding long narrative throws, as I have said, much
light on the actual condition of this people, and of their prevalent superstitious customs.
At the time of their first alliance with the Manitaries, the Mandans are said to have
inhabited eight or nine villages on the two banks of the Missouri, on the Heart River, and higher
upwards. Subsequently a great number of the Mandans were carried off by the small-pox, and
their enemies, the Sioux, entirely destroyed their largest village, and massacred the inhabitants.
The remaining population then collected in the two villages that still exist—Mih-Tutta-Hang-Kush
and Ruhptare. Plate XVI. is a view of Mih-Tutta-Hang-Kush, of which a ground plan will
be found at the end of this chapter. Previously to the devastations of the small-pox, the Sioux
were not very dangerous enemies to the Mandans, because they lived at too great a distance
from them, but the Chayennes and the Arikkaras were their natural adversaries. I shall now
proceed to treat of the religious and superstitious practices which still prevail among them.
These Indians are full of prejudice and superstition, and connect all the natural phenomena
with the before-mentioned silly creations of their own imaginations. They undertake nothing
without first invoking their guardian spirit, or medicine, who mostly appears to them in a dream.
When they wish to choose their medicine or guardian spirit, they fast for three or four days, and
even longer, retire to a solitary spot, do penance, and even sacrifice joints of their fingers; howl
and cry to the lord of life, or to the first man, beseeching him to point out their guardian spirit.
They continue in this excited state till they dream, and the first animal or other object which
appears to them is chosen for their guardian spirit or medicine. Every man has his guardian
spirit. There is, in the prairie, a large hill where they remain motionless many days, lamenting
and fasting; not far from this hill is a cave, into which they creep at night. The choice and
adoration of their medicine are said to have been taught them by the strange man or spirit who
appeared in their villages many years ago, and has not since been seen, and of whom mention
has already been made by the name of Ochkih-Hadda. He is said also to have taught them the
art of tattooing, and to have instituted their medicine feasts. In all natural phenomena, which
are not of daily occurrence, they see wonders, and indications of favourable or unfavourable
events. If the falling stars are numerous, or in a certain direction, it is to them an indication of
war, or of a great mortality in the human race. They were not willing to have their portraits
painted, because they alleged that they should soon die if their portraits came into other hands;
chiefs never smoked out of a stone pipe, but always used a wooden one. Mato-Topé never
partook of other people's tobacco, but always smoked by himself, with the doors shut. They
do not willingly show their medicines or amulets, which are usually kept wrapped up in a bundle
or bag, and never opened except on important occasions. They have particular medicine pipes,
or, as the English call them, medicine stems, which are uncovered and used for smoking only on
solemn occasions. Many make such pipes according to their own taste; such, for instance, was
the pipe of Dipauch (Plate XXI. fig. 3). The bowl was nearly in the form of a Turkish pipe,
and was made of brownish-red clay; the tube, which was rather short and thick, represented the
lord of life in human form, but which it required some stretch of the imagination to discover.
The nation preserves a celebrated pipe of this kind as a sacred relic, which no stranger is permitted
to see. It has been in their possession since remote ages, and they offered to show it to me
for the value of 100 dollars. The Indians cannot obtain such pipes but at a considerable expense:
many of the necessary ornaments are not to be procured among them, such as the upper bill
and the red crown of a species of woodpecker (Picus pilcatus, Linn.), a bird which is not found
so high up the Missouri. For the head of one of these woodpeckers, which was brought from
St. Louis, they gave a large handsome buffalo robe, worth six or eight dollars. If a man possesses
such a pipe, he sometimes conceives the idea of adopting a medicine son. The young man
whom he is to choose appears to him in a dream; it is, however, requisite that he should be of a
good family, or have performed some exploit. He acquaints him with his intention, and, after
having provided two similar medicine pipes, he asks his newly-adopted son, whether he is ready
to undergo the ceremony of the pipes? The latter frequently answers in the affirmative, and the
time for the ceremony is fixed: but, if he has not yet made up his mind, it is deferred. The
adoptive father then chooses two young men, who practise the medicine dance together, with the two
pipes in their hands. The father often dances, in the morning, on the roof of his hut, and instructs
these two young men. When the time arrives, and the adopted son is ready for the ceremony, the
father, with all his relations, and the two young dancers, repairs to the hut of his newly-chosen
son, and brings him a present of maize, cloth, blankets, kettles, and other valuable articles. The
father takes his son by the hand and makes him sit down, after which the company dance round
him, with the two pipes; they sing, accompanied by the drum and schischikué, the two young
dancers keeping time to the music with their pipes. When the ceremony is over, and the presents
laid in one or two heaps, the relations of the medicine son bring horses, cloth, blankets, and other
things of value, which the two parties reciprocally divide between them. The father then again
takes his son by the hand, makes him rise from his seat, and dresses him in new clothes from
head to foot, and likewise paints his face according to his fancy. The dress and pipe are henceforth
his property, and he is considered as a real son, who must support and defend his father.
there is a somewhat similar usage. If the adopted son and father have not happened to meet
for a long time, they make presents to each other; the father gives the son a new dress, and
the latter presents him with a good horse. Among all the Indian nations of North America,
there is a particular class of men, who are specially engaged in all the above-mentioned
ceremonies and medicines. They are, also, the physicians, and are called, among the Mandans,
Numak-Choppenih, which signifies medicine man.
The skin of a white buffalo cow is an important article, and an eminent medicine in the
opinion of the Mandans and Manitaries. He who has never possessed one of them is not respected.
Suppose two men to be disputing about their exploits, the one an old veteran warrior, who
has slain many enemies, the other, a young lad without experience; the latter reproaches the
other with never having possessed a white buffalo cow hide, on which the old man droops his
head, and covers his face for shame. He who possesses such a hide generally offers it to the
lord of life, to whom he dedicates it, or, which is equivalent, to the sun, or to the first man.
He collects, perhaps, in the course of a whole twelvemonth, various articles of value, and then
hangs them up all together on a high pole in the open prairie, generally in the neighbourhood
of the burying-place, or in the village before his hut. Distinguished men and chiefs of
eminence are for the most part poor, because, in order to gain reputation and influence, they give
away everything of value which they possess. A large number of relatives is one of the chief
means of acquiring riches, for a young man who wishes to distinguish himself, and to be liberal,
does honour to the whole family, who assist him to the utmost of their power. When one of his
relations has anything of value, the young man goes to the owner to demand it, and not
unfrequently takes it away without ceremony. Sometimes he hangs his head in silence, and
then something of value is given him, a handsome dress, a horse, &c. If he wishes to gain
reputation and a claim to distinction, it is necessary that he should make presents. All the people
in the village notice very accurately what presents are made, and the donor has a right to display
all such presents painted on his robes, and in this manner to hand down his reputation to posterity,
as has been already related. This and military glory are, in the eyes of these men, the
greatest virtues. They dare not draw a stroke too much on their robes for the horses, guns, &c.,
which they have given away, for the young men keep a most strict account against each other,
and universal ridicule would be the immediate consequence of violating this rule. Among the
distinctions of any man, the white buffalo hide is the greatest. He who has not been so fortunate
as to kill a white buffalo himself, which is generally the case, as these animals are very rare,
purchases a hide, often at a great distance from home, and other nations bring them hither, being
well aware of the great value attached to them by the Mandans. The hide must be that of a
young cow, not above two years old, and be taken off complete and tanned, with the horns,
ten horses, a gun, some kettles, and other articles, for such a hide. The white hide of a bull or
of an old cow is by no means so valuable. The white hide of a young cow suffices for all the
daughters of a family. They do not wear it as a robe, like the Manitaries, or, at the utmost, the
wife, or one of the daughters of the family, wears it once at some great festival, but never a second
time. The Mandans have particular ceremonies at the dedication of the hide. As soon as they
have obtained it they engage an eminent medicine man, who must throw it over him; he then
walks round the village in the apparent direction of the sun's course, and sings a medicine song.
When the owner, after collecting articles of value for three or four years, desires to offer his
treasure to the lord of life, or to the first man, he rolls it up, after adding some wormwood or a
head of maize, and the skin then remains suspended on a high pole till it rots away. At the
time of my visit there was such an offering at Mih-Tutta-Hang-Kush, near the stages for the dead
without the village. Sometimes, when the ceremony of dedication is finished, the hide is cut
into small strips, and the members of the family wear parts of it tied over the head, or across the
forehead, when they are in full dress. If a Mandan kills a young white buffalo cow, it is
accounted to him as more than an exploit, or having killed an enemy. He does not cut up the
animal himself, but employs another man, to whom he gives a horse for his trouble. He alone
who has killed such an animal is allowed to wear a narrow strip of the skin in his ears. The
whole robe is not ornamented, being esteemed superior to any other dress, however fine. The
traders have, sometimes, sold such hides to the Indians, who gave them as many as sixty other
robes in exchange. Buffalo skins with white spots are likewise highly valued by the Mandans;
but there is a race of these animals with very soft silky hair, which has a beautiful gold lustre
when in the sunshine: these are, likewise, highly prized, and sold for ten or fifteen dollars, and,
sometimes, for the value of a horse. Besides the white buffalo skins which are offered in sacrifice
and hung on poles, there are, in the vicinity of the villages of the Mandans and Manitaries,
other strange figures on high poles, as represented in Plate XXV. These figures are composed
of skin, grass, and twigs, which, it seems, represent the sun and moon, perhaps, also, the lord of
life, and the first man. The Indians resort to them when they wish to petition for anything,
and sometimes howl and lament for days and weeks together.
The Mandans have several medicine festivals, of which the Okippe, or the penitential
ceremony of the ark, is by far the most remarkable. It is celebrated in the spring or summer,
and I regret to say that I cannot describe it as an eye-witness. I am, however, enabled to give
a circumstantial description of it, word for word, as it was communicated to me by men initiated
in the mysteries of the nation.[14]
Numank-Machana, the first man, ordered the Numangkake to celebrate this medicine feast
every year. When the village has fixed the time for this festivity, they choose a man of distinction,
in whom confidence can be placed, who must put himself at the head, and direct the
solemnities. In the year 1834 Mato-Topé was chosen. He is called Kani-Sachka. This
man then causes the medicine lodge to be prepared and cleaned before the appointed time,
and wood and other necessaries to be provided.
First day of the Okippe.—At sunset the Kani-Sachka goes into the lodge, and begins the
fast, which continues four days. With him are six men, who are to strike what is called the
tortoise, a vessel or sack made of parchment, and filled with water. Three of the men must
strike in the direction of the river downwards, and three in the direction upwards. They strike
the tortoise during the whole night. Before sunrise a man representing the Numank-Machana,
or the first man, arrives. He dresses himself in the medicine lodge in the following manner:
round his body he fastens a wolf's skin, on his head, raven's feathers, in his arms he carries the
medicine pipe, and in his robe a portion of pemmican. His face is painted red, and on the small of
the back he binds a piece of wood, to which the tail of a buffalo cow is fastened. Dressed in this
manner, he goes early in the morning of the first day of the festival, and sings on the open space
in the centre. All kinds of valuable articles, such as guns, robes, blankets, &c., are thrown towards
him, of which he afterwards takes possession, while on his part he distributes pemmican among the
people. He then returns to the medicine lodge, but is not at that time permitted to speak a word.
The most eminent men of the nation now come to the lodge, address the first man as their
uncle, and say, "Well, uncle, how did you fare in the villages? How did you find them?
Were you well received?" To which he replies, "Very well, nephew. I have not once lowered
my pipe to the ground." By which he means to say that he has received ample presents, and
offerings of all kinds have been hung upon his pipe. He then says, "I have seen a great many
buffaloes feeding in the prairie and drinking at the river; they are very abundant everywhere."
These were the horses; but he means to intimate that, by the medicine of this day, the buffaloes
will be attracted in great numbers. All those who intend to submit their bodies to a penance
or certain tortures, in order to render themselves acceptable to the lord of life and the first man,
come to the medicine lodge early in the morning. Their number is, of course, uncertain; sometimes
many present themselves, at other times only a few. They are smeared all over with
white clay, with no other covering besides their robes, with the hairy side outwards, and drawn
over their heads, so that the face is covered, and they are quite wrapped up in them. In the
medicine lodge they lay aside their robes. On the first day of the feast they go four times,
wrapped up as before described, and dance around the ark, which stands in the centre of the open
space. The Kani-Sachka remains during all this time moaning and leaning against the ark. All
takes place.
Second day of the Okippe.—On the second day, early in the morning, eight men appear,
who represent buffalo bulls. They are naked, wearing only an apron of blue and white striped
woollen cloth. Their body is painted black in front, with two red perpendicular stripes like the
facings of a military uniform, and with several white transverse stripes looking like lace or bands.
The fore arm and ankles are alternately striped white and red. In their hands they carry a fan
of green willow twigs, and on their back a buffalo robe, the head of which, with the long hair
on the forehead, hangs over the face. To the middle of the robe a single buffalo horn is
fastened, while at the head and loins green willow branches are appended. The eight buffalo
bulls put on this fantastic dress in the lodge, and, when this is done, march out two abreast in
an inclined posture, extending their robes with outspread hands, and holding the willow fans
upright. In this manner they dance up to the ark, where they divide, four going to the left
and four to the right round the space. They again join opposite the medicine lodge, and then
return as before to the ark, where they continue to dance. When they are opposite to each other
they stand upright and imitate the roaring of the buffalo. As soon as this dance begins, the
six tortoise strikers bring their instrument from the centre of the lodge, and place it near the
ark in an easterly direction, striking it, and singing a certain song which is said to be a prayer.
The Kani-Sachka stands, with his head bowed, leaning on the ark, directly opposite the tortoise,
and moans without ceasing. He is quite naked except an apron of buffalo skin. His whole
body is bedaubed with yellow, and on his forehead he has a wreath of bleached buffalo hair
or wool hanging over the eyes. The eight buffalo bulls form a ring and dance round him, covering
him with their robes; they dance in like manner to the tortoise, and next go to the door of the
medicine lodge, where they make a kind of covered way with their robes, beneath which
the tortoise is conveyed into the lodge. The whole ceremony is repeated eight times on this
day, four times in the morning and four times in the afternoon.
Third day of the Okippe.—The same masks as yesterday dance on this day twelve
times, and are prohibited from either eating or drinking. A number of other masks join them.
1. Two men, dressed like women, who dance in this costume, keeping by the side of the
eight buffalo bulls. They wear clothes of bighorn leather, women's leggins (mitasses), the robes
having the hair outwards. Their cheeks are painted red, their chins tattooed, and their heads
adorned with glass beads, as is the custom among the women. 2. Two other men represent a
couple of swans; they are naked, carry a swan's tail in their hand, are painted all over white,
only the nose, mouth (representing the bill), and the lower part of the legs and feet, black.
3. A couple of rattlesnakes; the back is painted with black transverse stripes, in imitation of those
and in each hand they carry a bunch of wormwood. 4. One man represents the evil spirit; he is
conducted by two men of the village to the river, where he is dressed and painted; his entire
body is painted black, and, as soon as this is done, he is not permitted to speak a word. They
put on his head a cap, with a black cock's-comb; he likewise wears a mask, with white wooden
rings left for the opening round the eyes. They then make for him large teeth of cotton yarn,
paint the sun upon his stomach, the crescent upon his back, and on each joint of the arms and
legs, a white circle; they then put on a buffalo's tail, and place a small stick in his hand, with a
ball, made of skin, at the end, to which a scalp, painted red on the under side, is fastened. The
ball represents the head of an enemy. When this monster is completed, they let him loose, and
he runs, like one possessed, about the prairie, comes into the village, gets upon the huts, one after
the other, and prys into every corner, while the inhabitants throw out to him all kinds of valuable
articles as presents. As soon as he perceives this he turns towards the sun, and intimates to it,
by signs, how well he is treated, and that it is foolish of it (the sun) to keep at so great a distance.
He goes about and looks on the people's heads for vermin, and, if he finds any, he pretends to be
very happy, and runs about with great rapidity. The Indians are very much afraid of the devil,
for which reason this part cannot be assigned to anybody; but he who wishes to perform it
must offer himself. My informant added that this medicine feast was once celebrated on the
banks of Heart River, where the Mandans then resided, and the man who had undertaken this
part was conducted into the river. When his clothes were taken off, in order to paint and dress
him, he appeared very uneasy, and required to be let loose; and when this was done he seemed
as one possessed by the evil spirit, and ran, with the velocity of an arrow, on the hills and about
the plain. His two attendants were alarmed, and pursued him to the village, but the new demon
darted past them, leaped over the high fence of the village, jumped down into the huts, and again
made his egress, and then ran to the river; this now convinced them that he was possessed. It
cost the inhabitants much trouble to catch and wash him, but he trembled like an aspen leaf,
wrapped himself in his robe, and continued in this condition for the remainder of his life without
ever speaking a word.[15] While the devil is walking about, the other masks continue dancing, and
they represent. 5. Two men, representing white-headed eagles, are painted of a dark brown
colour; the head, neck, fore arm and hands, and the lower part of the legs, are white; they
carry a stick in their hands, and their business is to pursue the antelopes. 6. Are two beavers;
they wear the robe with the hairy side outwards, have a piece of parchment, resembling a beaver's
tail, fastened to their girdle, and are painted brown. 7. Are two birds of prey; their
shoulders are blue, the breast yellowish and spotted; they have feathers on their heads, and the
feet of birds of prey in their hands. 8. Are two or four bears (mato), wrapped in bears' skins,
with the head and claws, which cover their head and their whole body; they generally walk in a
stooping attitude about the dancers, and growl like those animals. 9. Two men represent the
dried meat, which is cut in small strips. They wear a cap of white hare skin; their body is
painted with zig-zag stripes; round the waist they have a girdle of green boughs, and they dance
with the others. 10. Forty or fifty Indians of different ages perform the part of antelopes; they
are painted red on the back, the rest of the body and limbs are white, the nose and mouth black;
they carry small sticks, and run about very swiftly. 11. Two men personate the night; they are
naked, painted quite black, with white stars; on their backs they have the setting moon, and on
their breast the rising sun; they are not allowed to sit, during the whole day, till the sun has
set: they then sit down and must not rise till the next morning. 12. Are one or two wolves;
they are painted white, wear a wolf's skin, and pursue the antelopes, which fly before them: if
they catch one, the bears come and take it from them and devour it. All these animals imitate the
originals to the best of their power. 13. Two prairie wolves; the tops of their heads are painted
white, their faces yellowish-brown; they wear dry herbs in their hair, and carry in their hands a
stick, painted with reddish-brown stripes, and run in the prairie before the other animals when
they leave the village. Almost all these animals are said to have different songs, with words,
which the uninitiated do not understand; they sometimes practise these songs for a whole summer,
and are frequently obliged to pay a high price for instruction. Originally there were only ten
masks at this festival. The white-headed eagles, the beavers, and the prairie wolves, are a modern
addition, and no part of the true ancient observances of it. When all these animals come
together they fight with each other, and perform all sorts of antics. Every animal acts according
to its natural character; the beavers strike with their tails, making a loud clapping noise; the
buffaloes roll and wallow in the sand; the bears strike with their paws, &c.
During all these masquerade dances, the penitents have remained three entire days in
the medicine lodge, where they have fasted and thirsted, sitting perfectly still and quiet. On the
afternoon of that day, the persons of the ten masks also meet in the medicine lodge, and
all together then leave this place. The penitents lie down on their bellies, in a circle round the
ark, at some distance from it; the masks dance among them and over them, to the sound of
other article of value, to an eminent person, to inflict the tortures on them. During this time
the Kani-Sachka has been moaning, and leaning on the ark. The tortures of the penitents now
begin. In many of them strips of skin and flesh are cut from the breast, or the arms, and on the
back, but in such a manner that they remain fast at both ends. A strap is then passed under them,
and the sufferers are thrown over the declivity of the bank, where they remain suspended in the
air; others have a strap drawn through the wound, to which the head of a buffalo is fastened,
and they are obliged to drag this heavy weight about; others have themselves suspended by the
muscles of the back; others have joints of their fingers cut off; others, again, are lifted up by
the flesh, which is cut across the stomach, or have some heavy body suspended to the muscles,
which have been cut and loosened, and other similar tortures. Those who have been tortured on
this day return directly to their huts; but those who can bear to fast longer do not submit
themselves to the torture till the fourth day.
Fourth day of the Okippe.—All those who have endured fasting for four days are now
assembled in the medicine lodge. Such as feel themselves faint beg that the dancing may begin
early. Accordingly, the masquerade, and the dances performed yesterday, begin at daybreak.
They dance on this day sixteen times—eight times in the morning, and eight times in the afternoon.
The candidates for the torture are cut about two o'clock in the afternoon; and when
they have suffered to the utmost of their power, a large circle is formed; two men, who have no
part in the festival, take one of the penitents between them, hold him by the hand, and the whole
circle moves round with the greatest rapidity. The Kani-Sachka is likewise treated in this manner.
The famished and tortured penitents, for the most part, soon fall down, and many faint away, but
no regard is paid to this; they are dragged and pulled about as long as they can possibly bear it;
they are then let loose, and remain stretched on the ground as if dead. The eight buffalo bulls
now come forward to execute their last dance. Meantime, Numank-Machana (the first man)
stands on one side of the place, and invites the inhabitants to assemble. The men come on
foot and on horseback, with their bows and arrows: the arrows are adorned with green leaves at
the wooden points; and, when the eight buffaloes have approached, dancing, the first man, and
been repulsed by him, they are shot at from all sides, fall, roll on the ground, and then lie still as
if dead. The first man then invites the inhabitants to take the flesh of the buffaloes. The latter,
whose robes have already fallen off, rise, and retire into the medicine lodge. Then the dancers
divide into two parties, extend their arms and legs, strike themselves on the stomach, exclaiming
that they feel themselves strong; some, that they will kill enemies; others, that they will slay
many buffaloes, &c. They then retire, take food, and rest themselves, and the festival is
concluded.
The wounds that have been inflicted on this occasion are now healed, but they remain visible
among the Manitaries than among the Mandans; the former seem to submit to much more severe
tortures. The buffalo skulls, which these Indians have dragged about with much pain, are preserved
in their huts, where they are everywhere to be seen, to be handed down from the father to
the children. Many such heads are looked upon by them as medicine; they are kept in the huts,
and sometimes the Indians stroke them over the nose, and set food before them. In general, the
buffalo is a medicine animal, and more or less sacred.
Another very remarkable medicine festival is that for attracting the herds of buffaloes, which
is usually celebrated in the autumn, or winter. I shall describe this festival, as an eye-witness
among the Manitaries, where it is observed precisely in the same manner as among the Mandans.
At this festival they leave their wives to the older men, and individual Indians do the same on
certain occasions, when they desire to ask good wishes for the attainment of some object they
have in view. A man, in such a case, goes, with his pipe, and accompanied by his wife, who
wears no clothes except her buffalo robe, to another hut. The wife carries a dish of boiled maize,
which she sets down before a third person, and the man does the same with his pipe. The woman
then passes the palm of her hand down the whole arm of the person favoured in this manner,
takes him by the hand, and he must follow her to a retired spot, generally to the forest surrounding
the huts in the winter time; after which she returns and repeats the same process, often with
eight or ten men. As soon as the man so favoured has resumed his seat, the person who asks his
good wishes presents his pipe to him that he may smoke; whereupon he expresses his best wishes
for the success of the undertaking or project in hand. By way of returning thanks, his arm is
again stroked.
A third medicine feast is that described by Say, by the name of the corn dance of the
Manitaries. He is pretty correct in his account of it, and it is used as well among the Mandans
as the Manitaries. It is a consecration of the grain to be sown, and is called the corn
dance feast of the women. The old woman who never dies sends, in the spring, the water-fowl,
swans, geese, and ducks, as symbols of the kinds of grain cultivated by the Indians. The wild goose
signifies maize; the swan, the gourd; and the duck, beans. It is the old woman that causes these
plants to grow, and, therefore, she sends these birds as her signs and representatives. It is very
seldom that eleven wild geese are found together in the spring; but, if it happens, this is a sign
that the crop of maize will be remarkably fine. The Indians keep a large quantity of dried flesh in
readiness for the time in the spring when the birds arrive, that they may immediately celebrate
the corn feast of the women. They hang the meat, before the village, on long stages made of
poles, three or four rows, one above another, and this, with various articles of value, is considered
as an offering to the old woman. The elderly females, as representatives of the old woman
who never dies, assemble on a certain day about the stages, carrying a stick in their hands, to one
ground before them, and then dance round the stages. Some old men beat the drum, and
rattle the schischikué. The maize is not wetted or sprinkled, as many believe, but, on the contrary,
it is supposed that such a practice would be injurious. While the old women are performing
these ceremonies, the younger ones come and put some dry pulverized meat into their mouths, for
which each of them receives, in return, a grain of the consecrated maize, which she eats. Three
or four grains are put into their dish, and are afterwards carefully mixed with the seed to be sown,
in order to make it thrive and yield an abundant crop. The dried flesh on the stages is the perquisite
of the aged females, as the representatives of the old woman who never dies. During
the ceremony, it is not unusual for some men of the band of dogs to come and pull a large piece
of flesh from the poles, and carry it off. As members of this band, and being men of distinction,
no opposition can be offered.
A similar corn feast is repeated in the autumn, but at that season it is held for the purpose
of attracting the herds of buffaloes, and of obtaining a large supply of meat. Each woman then
has not a stick with a head of maize, as in the former instance, but a whole plant of that grain,
pulled up by the roots. They designate the maize as well as the birds, which are the symbols of
the fruits of the earth, by the name of the old woman who never dies, and call upon them in
the autumn, saying—"Mother, have pity on us; do not send the severe cold too soon, so that
we may have a sufficient supply of meat; do not permit all the game to go away, so that we may
have something for the winter."
In autumn, when the birds emigrate to the south, or, as the Indians express it, return to
the old woman, they believe that they take with them the presents—especially the dried flesh—
that were hung up at the entrance of the village, for the giver and protectress of the crop.
They further imagine that the old woman partakes of the flesh. Some poor females among
these Indians, who are not able to offer flesh or any valuable gift, take a piece of parchment, in
which they wrap the foot of a buffalo, and suspend it to one of the poles as their offering. The
birds on their return, go to the old woman, each bringing something from the Indians; but,
towards the end, one approaches, and says—"I have very little to give you, for I have received
only a very mean gift." To this, the old woman, on receiving the buffalo's foot from the poor
women, or widows, says—"This is just what I love; this poor offering is more dear to me than
all the other presents, however costly." Upon this she boils a piece of the foot with some maize,
and eats it with much satisfaction.
The old woman who never dies has very extensive plantations of maize, the keepers of
which are the great stag and the white-tailed stag. She has, likewise, many blackbirds, which help
to guard her property. When she intends to feed these keepers, she summons them, and they
fall with avidity upon the maize fields. As these plantations are very large, she requires many
which fly from the sea-shore in the spring, represent the old woman, who then travels to the
north to visit "the old man who never dies," and who always resides in that quarter. She does
not, however, stop there long, but generally returns in three or four days. In former times, the
old woman's hut was near the little Missouri, where the Indians often went to visit her. One day,
twelve Manitaries came to her, and she set before them a pot of maize, which was so small, that
it was not sufficient to satisfy even one; but she invited them to eat, and, as soon as the pot was
empty, it was instantly refilled, and all the twelve men had enough. This occurred several
times while the old woman resided in that spot.
Serpents, especially the rattlesnakes, are in a greater or less degree "medicine" for these
people, who kill them, and cut off the rattles, which they regard as an effectual remedy in many
diseases. They chew one of the joints, and wet various parts of the body of the patient with
the saliva. They likewise believe in the existence of a colossal medicine serpent, which lives in
a lake three or four days' journey from this place, and to which they make offerings. The
following is their tradition of this monster:—Two young men were strolling along the bank of
the river, and observed a cavern, through which curiosity led them to go. On reaching the
further end, they were surprised at beholding a picturesque country, wholly unknown to them,
where numerous herds of buffaloes were grazing. Suddenly, however, an immense giant stood
before them, who demanded—"Who are you, you little people? I am afraid, if I were to lay
hold of you, I should crush you!" He then lifted them in his hands very carefully, and
carried them into the village, which was inhabited by giants like himself. Accompanied by the
two Mandans, they went out to hunt buffaloes. The giants killed the buffaloes by throwing
stones, but the Mandans destroyed many with their arrows, which greatly delighted the giants.
At that time the giants were at war with the eagles, which were very numerous, and which
they slew by flinging stones. The Mandans, however, shot them with arrows, so that they
speedily procured a large quantity of eagles' feathers. They then took leave of the giants, and
were permitted to depart with all their valuable feathers. On their return they found the cave
blocked up by a colossal serpent. At first they were at a loss how to make a passage, but
they soon collected a large pile of wood and burnt the monster. One of them tasted the roasted
flesh of the serpent, and, finding it palatable, partook of more. They proceeded on their way, when
the head of the Mandan who had tasted the serpent's flesh began to swell prodigiously, and an
intolerable itching came over his face. He begged his friend not to leave him, but to take him home.
On the second day he continued to swell, increased in length, felt an irritation all over, and
was soon afterwards transformed into a serpent, upon which he begged his companion to take
him to the Missouri, which the latter accomplished in three days. As soon as the serpent reached
the water, he dived, but speedily rose to the surface, and said, "There are many like me below, but
too, was done, but the serpent not liking his new abode, his comrade was obliged to carry him to a
second lake, called Histoppa-Numangka (the place of the tattooed countenance), when the
serpent was satisfied, and resolved to remain. He commissioned the young man to bring him four
things, viz. a white wolf, a polecat, some pounded maize, and eagles' tails: after this he was to go
to war four times, and kill an enemy in each combat. All this accordingly took place. The
serpent then added that he would always remain in this lake, never die, be medicine, and, when
the Mandans desired anything, they might come hither, do penance, or make offerings, that is
to say, hang robes, eagles' tails, and other articles of value, on poles on the banks of the lake,
which the Indians sometimes do even to this day.
Another curiosity of a similar nature is the Medicine Stone, which is mentioned by Lewis
and Clarke, and which the Manitaries likewise reverence. This stone is between two and three
days' journey from the villages on Cannon-ball River, and about 100 paces from its banks. I was
assured that it was on a tolerably high hill, and in the form of a flat slab, probably of sandstone.
The stone is described as being marked with impressions of the footsteps of men, and
animals of various descriptions, also of sledges with dogs. The Indians use this stone as an
oracle, and make offerings of value to it, such as kettles, blankets, cloth, guns, knives, hatchets,
medicine pipes, &c., which are found deposited close to it. The war parties of both nations, when
they take the field, generally go to this place, and consult the oracle as to the issue of their
enterprise. Lamenting and howling, they approach the hill, smoke their medicine pipes, and pass
the night near the spot. On the following morning they copy the figures on the stone upon
a piece of parchment or skin, which they take to the village, where the old men give the
interpretations. New figures are undoubtedly drawn from time to time on this stone, near to which
the celebrated ark, in which part of the nation was saved in the great deluge, formerly stood.
The Mandans have many other medicine establishments in the vicinity of their villages,
all of which are dedicated to the superior powers. Mr. Bodmer has made very accurate drawings
of those near Mih-Tutta-Hang-Kush, one of which consists of four poles placed in the form of a
square; the two foremost have a heap of earth and green turf thrown up round them, and
four buffalo skulls laid in a line between them, while twenty-six human skulls are placed in
a row from one of the stakes at the back to the other; some of these skulls are painted with a red
stripe. Behind the whole a couple of knives are stuck into the ground, and a bundle of twigs is
fastened at the top of the poles with a kind of comb, or the teeth of a rake, painted red (Vignette
XIV). The Indians repair to such places when they desire to make offerings or put up petitions;
they howl, lament, and make loud entreaties, often for many days together, to the lord of life,
which the French Canadians call weeping, though no tears are shed. A similar medicine establishment
is represented in Plate XXV., where a couple of human figures, very clumsily made of skins,
and the old woman who never dies. Wormwood, of which they generally fasten a bunch to the
poles, is a sacred medicine herb, to which they ascribe various effects.
Dreams, as I have before said, afford the usual motives for such actions, and for the
penances which they impose upon themselves, and they believe all that appears in their dreams
to be true. They were not yet acquainted with fire-arms, when one of the Indians dreamt
of a weapon with which they could kill their enemies at a great distance, and soon afterwards
the white men brought them the first gun. In the same manner they dreamt of horses
before they obtained any. Even the Whites who live among them are infected with this
belief in dreams, and other superstitions. They frequently promise, on undertaking anything,
the joint of a finger, which they cut off at once, and keep in a handful of wormwood; this I
myself saw among the Blackfeet, where, at that time, it was a sign of mourning. It is also done
at the time of the Okippe in May and June. Almost all the Mandans and Manitaries have lost
one or two joints of the fingers, and several of them more. There are numerous superstitious
ideas and prejudices among these Indians. Thus, they believe that a person to whom they wish
ill must die, if they make a figure of wood or clay, substituting for the heart, a needle, an awl, or a
porcupine quill, and bury the image at the foot of one of their medicine poles. When a child is
born, the father must not bridle a horse, that is to say, he is not to fasten the halter to the
lower jaw, otherwise the child would die in convulsions. If the wife be pregnant, this circumstance
is often the cause of much ill fortune to the husband, and he is frequently unsuccessful
in hunting. If an Indian, in such cases, wounds a buffalo, without being able to kill it quickly,
he endeavours to carry the heart of a buffalo home, and makes his wife discharge an arrow at
it; he then again feels confidence in his weapons, that they will speedily kill. The Indians
affirm that a pregnant woman is very lucky at a game called billiards. Many consider it a bad
omen when a woman, while several Mandans are smoking together, passes between them. If a
woman is lying on the ground between the men who are smoking, a piece of wood is laid across
her, to serve as a communication between the men. The strongest man now living among the
Mandans, who has been the victor in several wrestling matches with the Whites, always takes
hold of his pipe by the head, for, were he to touch it in another part, the blood would suddenly
rush from his nostrils. As soon as he bleeds in this manner, he instantly empties his pipe, and
throws the contents into the fire, where it explodes like gunpowder, and the bleeding immediately
stops. Nobody, they say, can touch this man's face, without at once bleeding at the nose and
mouth. A certain Indian affirms that, whenever another offers him a pipe to smoke, out of
civility, he immediately has his mouth full of worms, handfuls of which he throws into the fire.
The medicine of another man consists in making a snow-ball, which he rolls a long time between
his hands, so that it at length becomes hard, and is converted into a white stone, which, when
useless to attempt convincing them to the contrary. The same man pretends that, during a dance,
he plucked white feathers from a certain small bird, which he rolled between his hands, and
formed of them, in a short time, a similar white stone. Sometimes an Indian takes it into his
head to make his gun medicine, or to consecrate it, which he does not dare afterwards to part
with. With this view he generally makes a yearly feast in the spring. The crier (kettle-tender,
or marmiton) must invite a certain number of guests, and receive an equal number of small sticks,
which he delivers to them, as a sign of their being invited; nay, now, European playing cards are
actually sent round for this purpose. The guests appear, lay their guns aside, and take their
places, on which the drum and schischikué go round, and every guest sings, and plays the drum
and rattle. While this music is going on, they eat the food which has been dressed, nor are they
allowed to leave any of it. The host then takes his gun, cuts a piece of flesh, and with it rubs
the barrel, and flings the meat into the fire; this is repeated thrice. He then takes up some of
the water in which the meat was boiled, rubs the whole length of the barrel with it, pours the rest
of the broth into the fire; and, lastly, takes fat, with which he rubs the whole of his gun, and then
throws the remainder into the fire.
A great many Mandans and Manitaries believe that they have wild animals in their body;
one, for instance, affirmed he had a buffalo calf, the kicking of which he often felt; others said
they had tortoises, frogs, lizards, birds, and so forth. Among the Manitaries we saw medicine
dances of the women, where one pretended that she had a head of maize in her body, which she
cast out by dancing, and then ate, after it had been mixed with wormwood. Another discharged
blood, but of this we shall speak in the sequel. Similar feats are seen among the Mandans also.
They likewise relate a number of foolish stories of miraculous and supernatural events. Thus, a
girl refused to marry, and had no intercourse with the other sex. One night, while she
was asleep, a man lay down by her side, on which she awoke, and saw him go away in a white
buffalo robe. As he returned on the two succeeding nights, she resolved to mark him, and
stained her hand with red. He appeared, and she gave him a blow, with her hand, on his back,
not being able to hold him. On the following day she examined all the robes in the whole
village, but could not find the mark of her hand, till at length she discovered it on the back of a
large white dog. Some months after, as the Indians are fully persuaded, she was delivered of
seven young dogs. The people consider owls as medicine birds, and pretend to hold conversations
with them, and to understand their attitudes and voices; often, indeed, they keep these animals
alive in their huts, and look upon them as soothsayers. I shall, subsequently, have occasion to
speak of the manner in which they catch all kinds of birds of prey, which feed on the flesh of
dead animals, particularly eagles, which they sometimes preserve alive. They frequently look
upon them as medicine.
Many instruments used by the Whites, especially mathematical, are a great medicine, or
charm, in their eyes, because they do not comprehend the use of them. Thus, the Indian women
were frequently embarrassed when we looked at them through a telescope, because they believed
that we had the power of penetrating their inmost thoughts, and of discovering their past and
future actions.
The division of time, especially that of the year into months, is pretty conformable to
nature; they count the years by winters, and say so many winters have passed since such an
event. They are able to reckon the winters either by numbers, or on their fingers, for their
numerals are very complete.
1. The month of the seven cold days, answering to our January.
2. The pairing month—February.
3. The month of weak eyes—March.
4. The month of game. Some call it the month of the wild geese. It is likewise
often called the month of the breaking-up of the ice.5. The month in which maize is sown, or the month of flowers—May.
6. The month of ripe service berries.
7. The month of ripe cherries.
8. The month of ripe plums.
9. The month of ripe maize.
10. The month of the falling leaves.
11. The month in which the rivers freeze.
12. The month of slight frost.
Here and there other names are given to the months, but the above are the most common.
The chief occupations of the Indians, besides adorning and painting their persons, looking in
the glass, smoking, eating, and sleeping, are the chase and war, and these fill up a great part of
their time. The principal beast of chase is the buffalo, or, rather, the buffalo cow. The men
generally go hunting in a body, on horseback, in order to be the more secure against a superior
force of their enemies. The equipments of their horses are much like those of the Blackfeet, and
their saddle resembles the Hungarian; though, now, they sometimes obtain saddles from the
Whites, which they line and ornament with red and blue cloth. In riding, they never leave
hold of their whip, the handle of which is made of wood, and not of elk's horn, as among the more
western nations. They never wear spurs. In the summer time, if the herds of buffaloes are dispersed
to great distances in the prairie, the chase, of course, requires more time and exertion; but
in winter, when they approach the Missouri, and seek shelter in the woods, a great number are
excursions the Indians often spend eight or ten days; generally they return on foot, while the
horses are laden with the spoil. The buffaloes are usually shot with arrows, the hunters riding
within ten or twelve paces of them. If it is very cold, and the buffaloes keep at a distance in the
prairie (which happened in the winter of 1833-34), they hunt but little, and would rather suffer
hunger, or live only on maize and beans, than use any exertion; and when, towards spring, many
drowned buffaloes float down the river with the ice, the Indians swim or leap with great dexterity
over the flakes of ice, draw the animals to land, and eat the half putrid flesh, without manifesting
any signs of disgust. It is remarkable how instantly their famished dogs know and take
advantage of the hunting excursions of their masters. When the horses return laden with the
spoils of the chase, the children in the village utter a cry of joy, of which the dogs seem perfectly
to understand the import, for they simultaneously set up a loud howl, run towards the prairie, the
scene of the chase, and partake, with their relations, the wolves, what the hunters have left behind.
When a hunter has killed an animal, he generally eats the liver, the kidneys, and the marrow
of the large thigh bones, raw. If an Indian has procured some game he usually shares it with
others. The entrails and skin always belong to the person who shot the animal. If an eminent
man, who has performed some exploit, comes up when the animal has been just killed, and
demands the tongue, or some other good part, it cannot be refused him. Dogs are not employed
in hunting by the Mandans and Manitaries. They shoot deer and elks in the forests, antelopes
and bighorns in the prairies, the Black Hills, and the neighbouring mountains. They make
parks, as they are called, to catch antelopes, but not buffaloes. Brackenridge says, that the
Indians drive the antelopes into the water and kill them with clubs; but this can only have
happened in isolated cases, when some accident gave them the opportunity. The Manitaries
make these cabri parks more frequently than the Mandans. They choose a valley, between two
hills, which ends in a steep declivity. On the summit of the hills, two converging lines, one or
two miles in length, are marked out with brushwood. Below the declivity they erect a kind of
fence, fifteen or twenty paces in length, composed of poles, covered and filled up with hay
and brushwood. A number of horsemen then drive the cabris between the ends of the lines
marked out by the brushwood, which are very distant from each other, and ride rapidly towards
them. The terrified animals hasten down the hollow, and at length leap into the enclosure,
where they are killed with clubs, or taken alive. There are not many bears in this country; and
the Indians are not fond of hunting them, because it is often dangerous, and the flesh, when
roasted, is not very good. Brackenridge is mistaken when he says, that these Indians always
shout before they enter the forest, in order to frighten the bears. If they did so they would, at
the same time, frighten all other kinds of animals, and we see at once, from this statement, that
that traveller was no sportsman.
The wolf and the fox are sometimes shot with a gun, as well as the white hare, in the winter
time, or they are caught in traps. They set for the wolves very strong traps. The prairie wolf
is not easily caught, being very cautious. Foxes are caught in small traps, which are covered
with brushwood and buffaloes' skulls, to conceal them. Many such traps are seen everywhere
in the prairies, which are surrounded with small stakes, that the animals may not enter them
sideways. Beavers are now caught, in great numbers, in iron traps, which they procure from
the Whites. Small animals, such as the ermine, are caught with horsehair springes, set before
their burrows. The manner in which birds of prey are caught is said to be very remarkable.
The birdcatcher lies down at full length in a narrow pit made on purpose, and exactly large
enough to hold him. As soon as he has lain down, the pit is covered with brushwood and hay,
pieces of meat are laid upon it, and a crow, or some such bird, fastened to it. The eagle, or other
bird of prey, is said to descend, and to sit down, in order to eat, on which the birdcatcher seizes
it by the legs. I would not believe this had not men worthy of credit given me their word for it.
In this manner they catch the eagle, called, by the English, the war-eagle, and the golden eagle
(Aquila chrysaetos), the Quiliou, or oiseau de medicine, of the Canadians, which I was not so
fortunate as to meet with, and which they highly value, as I have already stated.
Next to the chase, war is the chief employment of the Indians, and military glory the
highest object of their ambition. It is well known that Indian bravery is very different from that
of the Whites; for wilfully to expose themselves to the enemy's fire would, in their eyes, not be
bravery, but folly. Cunning and stratagem give them the advantage over the enemy; their
strength lies in concealing their march, and surprises at daybreak. He who kills many
enemies without sustaining any loss is the best warrior.
When a young man desires to establish his reputation in the field, he fasts for four or
seven days, as long as his strength permits him, goes alone to the hills, complains and cries to
the lord of life, calls incessantly to the higher powers for their aid, and only goes home, sometimes,
in the evening, to sleep. A dream suggests his medicine to him. If the lord of life makes
him dream of a piece of cherry-tree wood, or of an animal, it is a good omen. The young men
who take the field with him have then confidence in his medicine. If he can perform an exploit
his reputation is established. But whatever exploits he may perform, he acquires no respect if
he does not make valuable presents; and they say of him, "He has indeed performed many
exploits, but yet he is as much to be pitied as those whom he has killed." A man may have
performed many exploits, and yet not be allowed to wear tufts of hair on his clothes, unless he
carries a medicine pipe, and has been the leader of a war party. When a young man, who
has never performed an exploit, is the first to kill an enemy on a warlike expedition, he
paints a spiral line round his arm, of whatever colour he pleases, and he may then wear a
whole wolf's tail at the ankle or heel of one foot. If he has first killed and touched the
opposite direction, with three transverse stripes. On killing the second enemy he paints his
left leg (that is, the leggin) of a reddish-brown. If he kills the second enemy before another
is killed by his comrades, he may wear two entire wolves' tails at his heels. On his third exploit
he paints two longitudinal stripes on his arms, and three transverse stripes. This is the exploit
that is esteemed the highest; after the third exploit no more marks are made. If he kills an
enemy after others of the party have done the same, he may wear on his heel one wolf's tail,
the tip of which is cut off. In every numerous war party there are four leaders (partisans,
karokkanakah), sometimes seven, but only four are reckoned as the real partisans; the others are
called bad partisans (karokkanakah-chakohosch, literally, partisans galeux). All partisans carry
on their backs a medicine pipe in a case, which other warriors dare not have. To become a chief
(Numakschi) a man must have been a partisan, and then kill an enemy when he is not a
partisan. If he follows another partisan for the second time, he must have first discovered
the enemy, have killed one, and then possessed the hide of a white buffalo cow complete, with the
horns, to pretend to the title of chief (Numakschi). Dipauch, who related these particulars, had
himself done all these, and was an eminent man among his people, but had never assumed that
title. He had given five horses for his white buffalo hide. All the warriors wear small war pipes
round their necks, which are often very elegantly ornamented with porcupine quills (Plate XXI.
Fig. 9, and Plate XLVIII. Fig. 14).
As soon as they advance to attack the enemy every one sounds his pipe, and all together
utter the war whoop, a shrill cry, which they render tremulous by repeatedly and suddenly
striking the mouth with the hand. Those who fast and dream, in order to perform an exploit,
are entitled to wear a wolf's skin. A warrior has a right to wear as many eagle's feathers as he
has performed exploits. All Indians, on their military expeditions, erect, in the evening, a sort
of fort, in which they are, in some measure, secure against a sudden attack. In Major Long's
expedition to the Rocky Mountains, it is stated, that they often make caches (hiding-places) in
these forts; but we did not observe any such on the Missouri. The Indians, on their expeditions,
always set a watch by night as soon as they are near the enemy, and often send out scouts to
considerable distances. At such a post the Indians are very vigilant and active; after an engagement
they do not bury the dead, but, if they have not time to carry them away, leave them on
the spot where they fell. The scalps, called, by the Canadians, les chevelures, are often preserved
for a long time stretched upon small hoops, and the hair is afterwards used as an ornament
to the dress of the men. The skin of the scalp is generally painted red. The Mandans, Manitaries,
and Crows, never torture their prisoners like the Pawnees and the eastern nations. When
a prisoner has arrived at the village, and eaten maize, he is considered as one of their own nation,
and no person ever thinks of molesting him. Often, however, the women hasten out to meet
their husbands or sons who may have fallen in the battle.
When a young man desires to become a leader, or partisan, he first gains, by gifts, the favour
of the other young men, and then dedicates a medicine pipe, which is a plain, unornamented
tube. This ceremony is accomplished by a four days' fast, and supplications for assistance to the
lord of life, the first man, &c. &c., and other supernatural beings. He then addresses the young
men, and calls upon them to give him their support in his undertakings. If a sufficient number
testify their readiness to accompany him in a warlike expedition, and such an expedition is
determined upon, they dance and feast in the medicine lodge for several successive nights, from
whence, too, they generally march off by night. The women never accompany these expeditions.
On setting out the men are badly clothed, and not painted. They do not depart in a body, but,
for the most part, singly, or in small detatched parties. At a certain distance from the village
they halt upon an isolated hill, open their medicine bags, and, after the men have sat down in a
circle, the partisan produces his medicine pipe, which all present smoke; the person who smokes
last, then spreads his medicines on the ground, or hangs them up, and from them foretels the fate
of the expedition. The Indians manifest much gravity and decorum on solemn occasions like these.
When the warriors return from their expedition, the scalps are carried on in advance, on
high poles: if they have performed any exploits, they paint their faces black; very frequently the
whole body is thus disfigured. The women and children go out to meet them, and they enter the
village performing the scalp dance. This dance is then repeated four successive nights in the
medicine lodge, and is subsequently danced in the open space, in the centre of the village. If the
campaign took place in the spring, it is danced, at intervals, till the fall of the leaf in autumn;
if in the autumn, it is danced till spring, but should any of the nation be killed in the interim all
festivities immediately cease. In the scalp dance the Indians paint themselves in various ways,
form a semicircle, advance, and retreat amid the din of singing, the beating of the drum and
schischikué. The wives of those men who have obtained the scalps carry them on long rods.
All the distinguished deeds performed by a war party are placed to the account of the
partisan. All the scalps that are taken belong to him, and also the horses that they have
captured. He who has killed an enemy is a brave man, and reckons one exploit; but the
partisan rises the highest on that account, even though he had not seen any of the enemies who
have been slain. When he returns home, the old men and women meet, and sing the scalp song,
on which he must make them all presents of value. He gives away all the captured horses, and
valuable articles, and is afterwards a poor man, but his reputation is great. Successful partisans
afterwards become chiefs, and are highly respected by their nation. The Indian youths go to
war when they are only fourteen or fifteen years of age. Sometimes they make excursions on
horseback in the winter.
The Mandans and Manitaries make excursions as far as the Rocky Mountains, against their
enemies, the Blackfeet, and against the Chippeways, to the country of Pembina. Their other
enemies are the Sioux, the Arikkaras, the Assiniboins, and the Chayennes (spelt, by the English,
Shiennes). They are at peace with the Crows.
The weapons of the Mandans and Manitaries are, first, the bow and arrow. The bows are
made of elm or ash, there being no other suitable kinds of wood in their country. In form and size
they resemble those of the other nations; the string is made of the sinews of animals twisted.
They are frequently ornamented. A piece of red cloth, four or five inches long, is wound round
each end of the bow, and adorned with glass beads, dyed porcupine quills, and strips of
white ermine. A tuft of horsehair, dyed yellow, is usually fastened to one end of the bow.
Pehriska-Ruhpa, in Plate XXIII., has such a weapon in his hand. The quiver, to which the
bow-case is fastened, is made of panther or buffalo skin; in the first case, with the hair outwards,
the long tail hanging down, and, as among the Blackfeet, lined with red cloth, and embroidered
in various figures with white beads. Their handsome quivers are made of otter skin, which are
much esteemed. A very beautifully ornamented one, belonging to the Crows, is represented in
Plate XLVIII. Fig. 16. Narrow strips of skin hang down at both ends of the quiver. The
arrows of the Mandans and Manitaries are neatly made; the best wood is said to be that of the
service berry (Amelanchier sanguinea). The arrows of all the Missouri nations are much alike,[16]
with long, triangular, very sharp, iron heads, which they themselves make out of old iron: it is
but slightly glued to the shaft of the arrow, which is rather short, and generally remains in the
body of the wounded animal. They know nothing of poisoning their arrows. The arrow-heads
were formerly made of sharp stones: when Charbonneau first came to the Missouri, some made
of flint were in use, and in the villages they are still met with, and in all those parts of the
United States where the expelled or extirpated aborigines formerly dwelt. We were told that, in
the prairie, near the Manitari villages, there is a sand hill, where the wind has uncovered a great
number of such stone arrow-heads. Almost all the Mandans and Manitaries now have guns,
which they ornament with bits of red cloth, on the brass rings of the ramrod, and at the but-end
ramrod in their hand, which they generally use. The pouch is made of leather, or cloth, often
beautifully ornamented with beads, or porcupine quills, and is hung on the back by a piece of skin,
or a broad strip of cloth of some lively colour. Their clubs and tomahawks are of various kinds.
Many have a thick egg-shaped stone fastened to a handle, covered with leather, or without
leather. (See the woodcut).
with pipes fixed to them. The large club with the broad iron point (Plate XLVIII., Fig. 41) is
called manha-okatanha, or mauna-schicha. A simple, knotty, wooden club is called maunapanischa.
(See the woodcut).
Many Mandans likewise carry lances, and I was told that they had a remarkably handsome
one, of which, however, I did not obtain a sight. These Indians have shields, which do not
differ from those of the tribes already mentioned. They all wear, in their girdle, behind, their
large knife, which is indispensable to them in hunting and in war. Some use, for the handle of
the knife, the lower jaw of a bear, with the hair and teeth remaining. (Woodcut, page 234.) The
bow and arrows are, even now, much esteemed by all the nations living on the Missouri, while
those that have been entirely driven from that river (the Osages) greatly prefer the gun; the
former, therefore, are capital archers, which cannot be affirmed of the Osages. The Mandans
and Manitaries are said to fight well in their manner, and there have been frequent instances of
individual bravery. One of their most distinguished warriors, at this time, is Mato-Topé, of whom
we shall often have to speak in the sequel. He has killed more than five chiefs of other nations.
The father of Mato-Topé, whose name was Suck-Schih (the handsome child), behaved exactly
wrapped up in his robe, into a hut of the hostile Arikkaras, as the young men of the village often
do, ate with his face covered, so that he was taken for a young Arikkara; then laid himself down
by the side of a woman, and afterwards cut off a lock of her hair, with which he retired. He
might have killed the woman, as Kokoahkis did, but refrained from doing so.
Wounds appear to be healed with remarkable ease. In cases of arrow wounds, they like to
force the arrow quite through, that the iron head may not remain in the wound. Men and
women are often scalped, in battle, who afterwards come to themselves, and are cured. Such a
large wound on the head is rubbed with fat; the medicine man fumigates it, singing at the same
time. Disorders are not uncommon among the Indians. The Mandans and Manitaries often
suffer from diseases in the eyes; many are one-eyed, or have a tunicle over one eye. In inflammation
of the eye they have a custom of scratching the inner eye with the leaf of a kind of grass,
resembling a saw, which causes them to bleed very much, and this may often occasion the loss of
the eye. Rheumatism, coughs, and the like, are frequent, because they go half naked in the
severest cold, and plunge into ice water. Much benefit is often derived from their steam-baths,
in a well closed hut, where a thick steam is produced by pouring water on hot stones. They
then immediately go into the cold, roll themselves in the snow, or plunge into a river covered with
drifting ice, but do not return to a warm hut, as the Russians do. Many Indians are said to have
died on the spot by trying this remedy. Some suffer from gout; but all who survive these
violent remedies are stronger and more hardy. Another remedy is trampling on the whole body,
especially the stomach, as is practised also among the Brazilians. This operation is performed
with such violence, as often to occasion hard swellings in the intestines, or ulcers, especially in the
liver. The steam-bath is used as a remedy in all kinds of disorders. Vaccination, the application
of which met with no difficulties among several nations on the great lakes, especially the
Chippeways, is not yet practised among the Mandans and Manitaries. Spitting of blood is said to
be frequent, but not pulmonary consumption. Gonorrhœa is very common; they affirm that all
venereal disorders came to them from the Crows beyond the Rocky Mountains. For such disorders
they often seat themselves over a heated pot, but very frequently burn themselves. They
cut open buboes, lengthwise, with a knife, and then run for a couple of miles as fast as they can.
The jaundice is said not to occur among them. It appears that they are not acquainted with
emetics, but, if they feel anything wrong in the stomach, they thrust a feather down the throat,
and thus produce vomiting. Their purgatives are obtained from the vegetable kingdom. The
poison-vine often produces swellings, especially in children. As rattlesnakes are rare in the
vicinity of the villages, it is, of course, seldom that any one is bitten by them; these Indians are
said, however, to have very good remedies against the bite. Frozen limbs are rubbed with snow.
March, they bathe the eyes with a solution of gunpowder in water. They often have recourse to
bleeding, which they perform with a sharp flint, or a knife. They often apply to the Whites for
medicine, and willingly follow their prescriptions. These Indians have also various remedies for
their horses; thus, when a horse has the strangury, they give it a piece of a wasp's nest.
When a Mandan or Manitari dies, they do not let the corpse remain long in the village; but
convey it to the distance of 200 paces, and lay it on a narrow stage, about six feet long, resting
on four stakes about ten feet high, the body being first laced up in buffalo robes and a blanket.
The face, painted red, is turned towards the east. A number of such stages are seen about their
villages, and, although they themselves say that this custom is injurious to the health of the
villages, they do not renounce it. On many of these stages there are small boxes, containing
the bodies of children wrapped in cloth or skins. Ravens are usually seen sitting on these
stages, and the Indians dislike that bird, because it feeds on the flesh of their relations. If you
ask a Mandan why they do not deposit their dead in the ground, he answers—"The lord of life
has, indeed, told us that we came from the ground, and should return to it again;" yet we have
lately begun to lay the bodies of the dead on stages, because we love them, and would weep at
the sight of them. They believe that every person has several spirits dwelling in him; one of
these spirits is black, another brown, and another light-coloured, the latter of which alone
returns to the lord of life. They think that after death they go to the south, to several villages
which are often visited by the gods; that the brave and most eminent go to the village of the
good, but the wicked into a different one; that they there live in the same manner as they do
here, carry on the same occupations, eat the same food, have wives, and enjoy the pleasures of
the chase and war. Those who are kind-hearted are supposed to make many presents and do
good, find everything in abundance, and their existence there is dependant on their course of life
while in the world. Some of the inhabitants of the Mandan villages are said not to believe all
these particulars, and suppose that after death they will live in the sun or in a certain star.
They mourn for the dead a whole year; cut off their hair, cover their body and head with
white or grey clay, and often, with a knife or sharp flint, make incisions in their arms and legs in
parallel lines, in their whole length, so that they are covered with blood. For some days after
death the relations make a loud lament and bewailing. Often a relative, or some other friend,
covers the dead, as they express it: he brings one or two woollen cloths, of a red, blue, white, or
green colour, and, as soon as the body is laid on the stage, mounts upon the scaffolding, and conceals
the body beneath the covering. A friend who will do this is, in token of respect, presented,
by the family of the deceased, with a horse. If it is known beforehand that a person intends
doing this honour to the dead, a horse is at once tied near the stage, and the friend, having performed
and the news of his death reaches the family, who are unable to recover the body, a buffalo skin is
rolled up and carried to the village. All those who desire to lament the deceased assemble, and
many articles of value are distributed among them. The mourners cut off their hair, wound
themselves with knives, and make loud lamentations. Joints of the fingers are not cut
off here, as among the Blackfeet, as a token of mourning, but as signs of penance and offering
to the lord of life and the first man.
The English and French find the pronunciation of the Mandan language extremely difficult;
while to a German, or a Dutchman, it is considerably easier, because it contains very many gutturals,
like ach, och, uch, in German. The nasal sounds, on the contrary, are few, but they
frequently speak in a very indistinct way, having the mouth scarcely opened. The vowels are
often softened, and much depends on the way in which the accent falls. The vowels a and u are
often only half pronounced, but occur very frequently. I collected many words, as specimens of
the language, and wrote down phrases, and made an attempt to compile a grammar of the
Mandan language, but the completion of it was, unfortunately, hindered by unfavourable circumstances.
Several old persons assured me that they perfectly remembered that, in their youth, many
resemblances between the Mandan and Manitari languages did not then exist, which have since
gradually crept in; the two languages being then quite different, which, indeed, they are still, in
the main. As nations and allies, however, they have reciprocally adopted many words and
expressions, and hence there is a better understanding among them now than heretofore, and
their intercourse is greatly facilitated. Time will, undoubtedly, produce a still closer approximation.
It is a remarkable fact, and proves how easily the separation of single tribes, and even
villages, of one and the same nation, leads to changes in the language, and transitions into other
dialects. An example of this kind was presented in the two Mandan villages, where many diversities
of language had already taken place. I collected several specimens of this kind, and, to
me, it was highly interesting. The Mandans are more apt in learning foreign languages than
many other nations. Thus, the majority of them speak the Manitari language, whereas but few
of the latter understand the Mandan language. Most of the American nations, at least, those
on the Missouri, are said to have no maledictory words or terms of abuse; the Mandans have
nothing of the kind but the expression—"bad people." The article is wanting in the Mandan
language, and there is no distinction of gender, except in addressing a man or a woman. For
my observations on the Mandan language, I am chiefly indebted to the kindness and patience of
Mr. Kipp, who had lived eleven years among that people, had married an Indian wife, and had
attained a perfect knowledge of the language. The Mandan names always have a signification,
and are often equivalent to whole sentences: all surrounding objects are made use of in giving
spirit;" "I hear somebody coming;" "There are seven of them married to old women," &c.
In conclusion I would say that some have affirmed that they have found, in North America,
Indians who spoke the Gaelic language; this has been said of the Mandans; but it has long been
ascertained that this notion is unfounded, as well as the assertion that the Mandans had a fairer
complexion than the other Indians.
a Scaffolds for the dead, and poles with offerings.
Vignette XIV., p. 381. Plate XXV
and p. 369.
b The Mandan village—Mih-tutta-hang-kusch.
c The open space in the centre of the village.
d The ark of the first man, p. 343.
e The stream in which the dishes are washed.
Warden is mistaken when he says (Vol. III. p. 559), that the Mandans are descended from the Crows; for this is
applicable to the Manitaries, of whom we shall speak afterward.
Lewis and Clarke write this name Rooptahee, which is incorrect. (See Account of their Journey, Vol. I. p. 120.)
These celebrated travellers passed the winter among the Mandans, and give many particulars respecting them, which, on the
whole, are correct; but their proper names and words from the Mandan and Manitari languages are, in general, inaccurately
understood and written. It is said, they derived their information from a person named Jessáume, who
spoke the language very imperfectly, as we were assured everywhere on the Missouri. Of this kind are many of the
names mentioned by those travellers, which neither the Indians nor the Whites were able to understand; for instance,
Ahnahaways (Vol. I. p. 115), a people who are said to have formerly dwelt between the Mandans and the Manitaries;
likewise Mahawha, where the Arwacahwas lived (ibid.); the fourth village is said to have been called Metaharta, and to
have been inhabited by Manitaries (ibid.); of all these names, except, perhaps, Mahawha, which ought probably to be
Machaha, nobody could give us the slightest information, not even Charbonneau, though he has lived here so many years.
It is necessary to be much on your guard against bad interpreters, and I acted in this respect with much caution. All the
information given by me, respecting Indian words and names, was carefully written down from the statements of sensible,
well-informed men of these nations. I have endeavoured to write down their language exactly, according to its real
pronunciation, in doing which, the German guttural sounds were of great assistance to me, as it is that of the Missouri
Indians, Mr. Kipp and Charbonneau, with some others who have lived long among these Indians, daily assisted me, during
a long winter, with much patience and kindness, in this work.
See Dr. Morse's Report, p. 252. He speaks (p. 349) of the Mandans, Blackfeet, Rapid (Fall) Indians, and Assiniboins.
His tables of the Indian population of the United States are in page 362.
Say, who, in general, gives a very accurate description of the North American Indians (see Major Long's Travels),
lays too much stress, as it appears to me, on the character of the receding of the forehead; for, by a comparison of a great
many skulls, I have fully convinced myself of the contrary. Say affirmed, also, that the facial angle is not so small as
Professor Blumenbach supposes. The Indian features, as far as my experience reaches, cannot be called either Mongol or
Malay, the latter of which is more perceptible in the Brazilians, notwithstanding the manifest affinity with the North
Americans. The learned traveller, Augustus de St. Hilaire, even attributes to the Brazilians a conformation of the skull,
according to which those people are endowed with inferior intellectual faculties. (See Voyages dans les Districts de
Diamande). The missionary, Parker, in his Travels to the Columbia River, p. 155, expresses himself, in this respect,
entirely in accordance with my views; and D'Orbigny confirms them in respect to the South Americans, in the conformation
of whose skulls he found considerable diversities.
Haec deformitas a viris ipsis ut dicunt, tractibus sæpe repetitis producitur. In nonnullis labia externa in orbem
tres ad quatuor digitis transversos prominent; in aliis labia interna valde pendent; immo virorum ars in partibus ipsis
figuras artificiose fictas format.
Fœmina hac raritate curens parvi œstimata, et neglecta est.
Moris est in Mandans, Mœnnitarris, et in Crows, magis autem in Mœnnitarris; in Mandans, a mulieribus dissolutis,
magis quam ab uxoribus hic mos perversus adhibitur.
Volney has many inaccuracies in what he says of the colour of the Indians. (Vol. II. p. 435.) According to him,
the children are born quite white like the Europeans; that the women are white on the thighs, hips, and lower parts of the
body, where the skin is covered by the clothing; that it is wholly erroneous to suppose that the copper colour is natural to
them, &c. Mr. Von Humboldt has long since refuted all these assertions.
There is a print of such a robe in Major Long's Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, and another in Plate XXI.,
Fig. 1., of my Atlas. The original was painted by Mato-Topé himself, and the figures on it represent some of his principal
exploits, in which he killed, with his own hand, five chiefs of different nations.
I brought to Europe specimens of the several kinds of maize grown among the Mandans; these have been sown,
but only the early species were ripe in September, 1835. The heads have by no means attained the same size, on the
Rhine, as in their native country. There the plant attains a height of five or six feet, and the colours of the grains are
very various, bright and beautiful: while, on the Rhine, the plant grew to the height of four or four and a half feet. The
later sorts grew to the height of ten feet, and were not quite ripe at the end of October. (See Bradbury, page 145, for
an account of the maize of the Mandans.)
According to Tanner (page 180), an Ottowa Indian first introduced the cultivation of maize on the Red River, among
the Ojibuas, or Chippeways.
The bow-lance is a large bow, to one end of which the iron point of a lance is fastened. It serves only for show,
and is never used in serious combat. It is very handsomely adorned with eagle's feathers, frequently with red cloth also,
and, when completely decorated, is worth from 100 to 250 florins. It descends from father to son, and cannot be obtained
except at a high price. Sometimes a horse or more must be given for it.
This conjecture is adopted by Dr. Edwin James, the learned author of Tanner's Life among the Indians, p. 357
of that work. I refer to this interesting book for the remarkable hieroglyphics of the people of the Algonquin tribe.
Dipauch is a very distinguished man, and might have been a chief long ago if he had pleased, as he possesses all the
necessary qualifications. His father was shot by the Sioux during Lewis and Clarke's winter residence among these
Indians. Those travellers offered to assist the Mandans against their enemies, and to take the field with them, to which,
however, they would not consent.
Brackenbridge, p. 71, is very much mistaken in believing that the Mandans and Manitaries worship only buffalo
heads, for, if the latter are medicine, it is incontrovertibly true that they believe in a number of superior beings who
make a figure in their mythology.
Numank-Machana autem, partis naturalis loco cauda vacuna usus erat: incolæ loci, valde stupefacti præstantes
et assiduas primi hominis vires admirarunt.
The author refers to a letter on this subject, written by Mr. Catlin, and published in a New York paper; but this
is by no means so complete as that given in his valuable work published last year.—Translator's Note.
When these Indians fast for three or four days together, they dream very frequently of the devil, and, in this case,
they believe that they have not long to live. The narrator had once fasted for a long time at this festival, and suffered himself
to be hung up by the back. During the night he dreamed of the devil, who appeared far more frightful and taller than
he could ever be represented. His plume of feathers reached to the clouds, and he ran about as quick as lightning. On
several other occasions he dreamed of this devil, but now he is resolved not to fast any more, that he might not die prematurely.
He added, that he had often looked without apprehension, and with pleasure, on the mask representing the devil;
but he now regarded the matter in a different light, for, the more he thought of him, the taller and the more frightful did he
appear to him, and, under these circumstances, the spirit had been very near him, and, if he had but once touched him, he
certainly should have been dead already.
Though all their arrows appear, at first sight, to be perfectly alike, there is a great difference in the manner in
which they are made. Of all the tribes of the Missouri the Mandans are said to make the neatest and most solid arrows.
The iron heads are thick and solid, the feathers glued on, and the part just below the head, and the lower end, are wound
round with very even, extremely thin sinews of animals. They all have, in their whole length, a spiral line, either carved
or painted red, which is to represent the lightning. The Manitaries make the iron heads thinner, and not so well.
They do not glue on the feathers, but only tie them on at both ends, like the Brazilians. The Assiniboins frequently have
very thin and indifferent heads to their arrows, made of iron-plate. Mr. Say (Major Long's Expedition) says, that the
arrow-wood (viburnum) is used for their arrows by the Indians on the Lower Missouri and the neighbouring prairies. I
conjecture that this shrub is the alisier (Cratægus torminalis) of the Upper Missouri, which is sometimes used for bows,
but very seldom for arrows.
| CHAPTER XXV. Travels in the interior of North America. | |