University of Virginia Library

PRELIMINARY REMARKS
ON
THE CUSTOMS OF THE DAHCOTAHS.

I.
SIOUX CEREMONIES, SCALP DANCE, &c.

The Sioux occupy a country from the Mississippi river to some
point west of the Missouri, and from the Chippewa tribe on the
north, to the Winnebago on the south; the whole extent being
about nine hundred miles long by four hundred in breadth.

Dahcotah is the proper name of this once powerful tribe of Indians.
The term Sioux is not recognized, except among those who
live near the whites. It is said to have been given by the old
French traders, that the Dahcotahs might not know when they
were the subjects of conversation. The exact meaning of the word
has never been ascertained.

Dahcotah means a confederacy. A number of bands live near
each other on terms of friendship, their customs and laws being
the same. They mean by the word Dahcotah what we mean by
the confederacy of states in our union. The tribe is divided into
a number of bands, which are subdivided into villages; every village
being governed by its own chief. The honor of being chief
is hereditary, though for cause a chief may be deposed and another
substituted; and the influence the chief possesses depends much
more upon his talents and capacity to govern, than upon mere hereditary
descent. To every village there is also a war-chief, and
as to these are ascribed supernatural powers, their influence is unbounded.

Leading every military excursion, the war-chief's command
is absolute with his party.

There are many clans among the Sioux, and these are distinguished
from each other by the different kinds of medicine they
use. Each clan takes a root for its medicine, known only to those
initiated into the mysteries of the clan. The name of this root
must be kept a secret. Many of these roots are entirely destitute
of medicinal power. The clans are governed by a sort of freemasonry
system. A Dahcotah would die rather than divulge the
secret of his clan. The clans keep up almost a perpetual warfare
with each other. Each one supposes the other to be possessed
of supernatural powers, by which they can cause the death of any
individual, though he may live at a great distance. This belief is
the cause of a great deal of bloodshed. When a Dahcotah dies, it
is attributed to some one of another clan, and revenge is sought
by the relatives of the deceased. All their supposed supernatural
powers are invoked to destroy the murderer. They first try the
powers of their sacred medicine, imagining they can cast a fatal
spell on the offender; if this fail, they have recourse to more destructive
weapons, and the axe, knife or gun may be fatally used.
After the supposed murderer is killed, his relations retaliate, and
thus successive feuds become perpetual.

The Dahcotahs, though a reckless, are a generous people, usually
kind and affectionate to their aged, though instances to the contrary
frequently occur. Among the E-yanktons, there was a man
so feeble and decrepit from age as to be totally unable to take
care of himself; not being able to walk, he occasioned great trouble.
When the band went out hunting, he entreated the young
men to drag him along, that he might not fall a prey to the Chippeways,
or to a fate equally dreaded, cold and starvation. For a
time they seemed to pity him, and there were always those among
the hunting party who were willing to render him assistance. At
last he fell to the charge of some young men, who, wearied with
carrying him from place to place, told him they would leave him,

but he need not die a lingering death. They gave him a gun, and
placed him on the ground to be shot at, telling him to try and kill
one of the young warriors who were to fire at him; and thus he
would have so much more honor to carry with him to the land of
spirits. He knew it was useless to attempt to defend himself. In
a few moments he received his death-wound, and was no longer a
burden to himself or to others.

The Sioux have a number of superstitious notions, which particularly
influence the women. They are slavishly fearful of the
spirits of the dead, and a thousand other fancies. Priests and jugglers
are venerated from their supposed supernatural powers.

Little is generally known of their religion or their customs.
One must live among them to induce them to impart any information
concerning their mode of life or religious faith; to a stranger
they are always reserved.

Their dances and feasts are not amusements. They all have an
object and meaning, and are celebrated year after year, under a
belief that neglect will be punished by the Great Spirit by means
of disease, want, or the attacks of enemies. All their fear of punishment
is confined to what they may suffer in this world. They
have no fear of the anger of their deities being continued after
death. Revolting as the ceremony of dancing round a scalp seems
to us, an Indian believes it to be a sacred duty to celebrate it.
The dancing part is performed by the old and young squaws. The
medicine men sing, beat the drum, rattle the gourd, and use such
other instruments as they contrive. Anything is considered a musical
instrument that will assist in creating discordant sounds.
One of these is a bone with notches on it, one end of which rests
on a tin pan, the other being held in the left hand, while, with a
piece of bone in the right, which a medicine man draws over the
notches, sounds as discordant and grating as possible are created.

The squaws dance around the scalps in concentric circles, in
groups of from four to twelve together, pressing their shoulders
against each other, and at every stroke of the drum raising themselves

to their utmost height, hopping and sliding a short distance
to the left, singing all the time with the medicine men. They
keep time perfectly. In the centre, the scalps are attached to a
pole stuck in the ground, or else carried on the shoulders of some
of the squaws. The scalp is stretched on a hoop, and the pole to
which it is attached is several feet long. It is also covered with
vermilion or red earth, and ornamented with feathers, ribbons,
beads, and other trinkets, and usually a pair of scissors or a comb.

After dancing for a few minutes, the squaws stop to rest. During
this interval one of the squaws, who has had a son, husband,
or brother killed by a warrior of the tribe from which the scalp
she holds was taken, will relate the particulars of his death, and
wind up by saying, “Whose scalp have I now on my shoulders?”
At this moment there is a general shout, and the dance again
commences. This ceremony continues sometimes, at intervals, for
months; usually during the warm weather. After the dance is
done, the scalp is buried or put up on the scaffold with some of the
deceased of the tribe who took the scalp. So much for the scalp
dance—a high religious ceremony, not, as some suppose, a mere
amusement.

The Sacred Feast is given in honor of the sacred medicine,
and is always given by medicine-men or women who are initiated
into the mysteries of the medicine dance. The medicine men are
invariably the greatest rascals of the band, yet the utmost respect
is shown them. Every one fears the power of a medicine man.

When a medicine man intends giving a feast, he goes or sends
to the persons whom he wishes to invite. When all are assembled,
the giver of the feast opens the medicine bag with some
formality. The pipe is lit and smoked by all present; but it is
first offered to the Great Spirit. After the smoking, food is
placed in wooden bowls, or other vessels that visitors may have
brought; for it is not a breach of etiquette to bring dishes with
you to the feast. When all are served, the word is given to commence
eating, and those that cannot eat all that is given them,

must make a present to the host, besides hiring some one present
to eat what they fail to consume. To waste a morsel would offend
the Great Spirit, and injure or render useless the medicine. Every
one having finished eating, the kettle in which the food was cooked
is smoked with cedar leaves or grass. Before the cooking is commenced,
all the fire within the wigwam is put out, and a fresh one
made from flint and steel. In the celebration of the Sacred Feast,
the fire and cooking utensils are kept and consecrated exclusively
to that purpose. After the feast is over, all the bones are carefully
collected and thrown into the water, in order that no dog
may get them, nor a woman trample on them.

The Sioux worship the sun. The sun dance is performed by
young warriors who dance, at intervals of five minutes, for several
days. They hop on one foot and then on the other, keeping time
to the drum, and making indescribable gestures, each having a
small whistle in his mouth, with his face turned towards the sun.
The singing and other music is performed by the medicine men.
The drum used is a raw hide stretched over a keg, on which a
regular beating of time is made with a short stick with a head to
it. Women pretend to foretell future events, and, for this reason,
are sometimes invited to medicine feasts.

II.
INDIAN DOCTORS.

When an Indian is sick and wants “the Doctor” as we say, or a
medicine man, as they say,—they call them also priests, doctors and
jugglers,—a messenger is sent for one, with a pipe filled in one hand,
and payment in the other; which fee may be a gun, blanket, kettle
or anything in the way of present. The messenger enters the
wigwam (or teepee, as the houses of the Sioux are called) of the
juggler, presents the pipe, and lays the present or fee beside him.

Having smoked, the Doctor goes to the teepee of the patient, takes
a seat at some distance from him, divests himself of coat or blanket,
and pulls his leggins to his ankles. He then calls for a gourd,
which has been suitably prepared, by drying and putting small
beads or gravel stones in it, to make a rattling noise. Taking the
gourd, he begins to rattle it and to sing, thereby to charm the
animal that has entered the body of the sick Sioux. After singing
hi-he-hi-hah in quick succession, the chorus ha-ha-ha, hahahah
is more solemnly and gravely chaunted. On due repetition of this
the doctor stops to smoke; then sings and rattles again. He
sometimes attempts to draw with his mouth the disease from an
arm or a limb that he fancies to be affected. Then rising, apparently
almost suffocated, groaning terribly and thrusting his face into a
bowl of water, he makes all sorts of gestures and noises. This is
to get rid of the disease that he pretends to have drawn from
the sick person. When he thinks that some animal, fowl or fish,
has possession of the sick man, so as to cause the disease, it becomes
necessary to destroy the animal by shooting it. To accomplish
this, the doctor makes the shape of the animal of bark, which
is placed in a bowl of water mixed with red earth, which he sets
outside of the wigwam where some young men are standing, who
are instructed by the doctor how and when to shoot the animal.

When all is ready, the doctor pops his head out of the wigwam,
on his hands and knees. At this moment the young men fire at
the little bark animal, blowing it to atoms; when the doctor jumps
at the bowl, thrusting his face into the water, grunting, groaning
and making a vast deal of fuss. Suddenly a woman jumps upon
his back, then dismounts, takes the doctor by the hair, and drags
him back into the teepee. All fragments of the bark animal are
then collected and burned. The ceremony there ceases. If
the patient does not recover, the doctor says he did not get the
right animal. The reader must be convinced that it is not
for want of the most strenuous exertions on the part of the
physician.

These are some of the customs of the Dahcotahs, which, however
absurd they may appear to us, are held in sacred reverence
by them. There are some animals, birds and fishes, that an Indian
venerates; and the creature thus sacred, he dare neither kill nor
eat. The selection is usually a bear, buffalo, deer, otter, eagle,
hawk or snake. One will not eat the right wing of a bird; another
dare not eat the left: nor are the women allowed to eat any part
that is considered sacred.

The Sioux say it is lawful to take revenge, but otherwise it is
not right to murder. When murder is committed, it is an injury
to the deceased, not a sin against the Great Spirit. Some of their
wise men say that the Great Spirit has nothing to do with their
affairs, present or future. They pretend to know but little of a
future state. They have dreamy ideas of large cities somewhere
in the heavens, where they will go, but still be at war with their
enemies and have plenty of game. An Indian woman's idea of
future happiness consists in relief from care. “Oh! that I were
dead,” they will often say, “when I shall have no more trouble.”
Veneration is much regarded in all Indian families. Thus a son-in-law
must never call his father-in-law by his name, but by the
title father-in-law, and vice versa. A female is not permitted to
handle the sac for war purposes; neither does she dare look into
a looking-glass, for fear of losing her eyesight.

The appearance of a brilliant aurora-borealis occasions great
alarm. The Indians run immediately for their guns and bows and
arrows to shoot at it, and thus disperse it.

III.
INDIAN NAMES AND WRITING.

The names of the Sioux bands or villages, are as fanciful as those
given to individuals. Near Fort Snelling, are the “Men-da-wah-can-tons,”

or people of the spirit lakes; the “Wahk-patons,” or
people of the leaves; the “Wahk-pa-coo-tahs,” or people that
shoot at leaves, and other bands who have names of this kind.
Among those chiefs who have been well-known around Fort Snelling,
are,

                 

Wah-ba-shaw,	The Leaf.
Wah-ke-on-tun-kah,	Big Thunder.
Wah-coo-ta,	Red Wing.
Muzza Hotah,	Gray Iron.
Ma-pe-ah-we-chas-tah,	The man in the Cloud.
Tah-chun-coo-wash-ta,	Good Road.
Sha-co-pee,	The Sixth.
Wah-soo-we-chasta-ne,	Bad Hail.
Ish-ta-hum-bah,	Sleepy Eyes.

These fanciful names are given to them from some peculiarity
in appearance or conduct; or sometimes from an occurrence that
took place at the time that they usually receive the name that is
ascribed to them for life. There is a Sioux living in the neighborhood
of Fort Snelling, called “The man that walks with the women.”
It is not customary for the Indian to show much consideration
for the fair sex, and this young man, exhibiting some symptoms
of gallantry unusual among them, received the above name.

The Sioux have ten names for their children, given according to
the order of their birth.

                   

The oldest son is called	Chaskè,
The second,	Haparm,
The third,	Ha-pe-dah,
The fourth,	Chatun,
The fifth,	Harka,
The oldest daughter is called	Wenonah,
The second,	Harpen,
The third,	Harpstenah,
The fourth,	Waska,
The fifth,	We-harka.

These names they retain until another is given by their relations
or friends.

The Dahcotahs say that meteors are men or women flying through
the air; that they fall to pieces as they go along, finally falling to
the earth. They call them “Wah-ken-den-da, or the mysterious
passing fire. They have a tradition of a meteor which, they say,
was passing over a hill where there was an Indian asleep. The
meteor took the Indian on his back, and continued his route till it
came to a pond where there were many ducks. The ducks seeing
the meteor, commenced a general quacking, which so alarmed him
that he turned off and went around the pond, and was about to
pass over an Indian village. Here he was again frightened by a
young warrior, who was playing on the flute. Being afraid of
music, he passed around the village, and soon after falling to the
earth, released his burden. The Indian then asked the meteor to
give him his head strap, which he refused. The Indian offered
him a feather of honor for it, and was again refused. The Sioux,
determined to gain his point, told the meteor if he would give him
the strap, he would kill a big enemy for him. No reply from the
meteor. The Indian then offered to kill a wigwam full of enemies
—the meteor still mute. The last offer was six wigwams full of
dead enemies for the so much coveted strap. The meteor was
finally bribed, gave up the head-strap, and the Sioux went home
with the great glory of having outwitted a meteor; for, as they
met no more, the debt was never paid.

The language of the Sioux would, with proper facilities, be easily
acquired. It is said, in many respects, to resemble the ancient
Greek. Even after having acquired considerable knowledge of
the language by study, it is necessary to live among the people in
order to understand their fanciful mode of speaking.

One of the chiefs, “Sleepy Eyes,” visited a missionary not many
weeks since, and on being asked why he did not come at the time
appointed, replied, “How could I come when I have no mocassins,”
meaning that he had no horse. The horse had recently been

killed by a man who owed him a grudge; and his way of alluding
to the loss was the mocassins. On another occasion, this same
chief, having done what he considered a favor for the missionaries,
at Traverse des Sioux, told them that his coat was worn out, and
that he had neither cloth nor thread to mend it; the fact was, that
he had no coat at all, no cloth nor thread; his brawny neck and arms
were entirely bare, and this was his way of begging for a new coat.

In Indian warfare, the victor takes the scalp of his enemy. If
he have time, he takes the entire scalp, including the ears; but if
hurried, a smaller scalp-piece is taken. As an inducement to be
foremost in battle, the first four that touch the dead body of an
enemy, share the honors that are paid to the one who slew the foe
and took the scalp. But the victors in Indian fight frequently
suffer in this way; a wounded savage feigns death, and, as some
warrior approaches to take his scalp, he will suddenly rise, discharge
his gun, and fight desperately with the tomahawk until
killed. Deeds of valor performed by Indians are as often done
from desperation as from any natural bravery. They are educated
to warfare, but often show great disinclination to fight; strategy
goes farther with them than manly courage does. At Fort Snelling,
the Sioux have more than once crouched under the walls of
the fort for protection, and on one occasion a chief, who came in
to give information of the approach of some Chippeways trembled
so as to shake the ornaments about his dress.

The above represents the only way that the Sioux have of writing
an account of an engagement that has taken place.

IV.
INDIAN CHILDREN.

The children among the Sioux are early accustomed to look with
indifference upon the sufferings or death of a person they hate. A
few years ago a battle was fought quite near Fort Snelling. The
next day the Sioux children were playing foot-ball merrily with
the head of a Chippeway. One boy, and a small boy too, had
ornamented his head and ears with curls. He had taken the skin
peeled off a Chippeway who was killed in the battle, wound it
around a stick until it assumed the appearance of a curl, and tied
them over his ears. Another child had a string around his neck
with a finger hanging to it as an ornament. The infants, instead
of being amused with toys or trinkets, are held up to see the scalp
of an enemy, and they learn to hate a Chippeway as soon as to
ask for food.

After the battle, the mother of a Sioux who was severely
wounded found her way to the fort. She entered the room
weeping sadly. Becoming quite exhausted, she seated herself on
the floor, and said she wanted some coffee and sugar for her sick
son, some linen to bind up his wounds, a candle to burn at night,
and some whiskey to make her cry! Her son recovered, and the
mother, as she sat by and watched him, had the satisfaction to see
the scalps of the murdered Chippeways stretched on poles all
through the village, around which she, sixty years old, looked forward
with great joy to dance; though this was a small gratification
compared with her recollection of having formerly cut to
pieces the bodies of sundry murdered Chippeway children.

A dreadful creature she was! How vividly her features rise
before me. Well do I remember her as she entered my room on
a stormy day in January. Her torn mocassins were a mocking
protection to her nearly frozen feet; her worn “okendo kenda”

hardly covering a wrinkled neck and arms seamed with the scars
of many a self-inflicted wound; she tried to make her tattered
blanket meet across her chest, but the benumbed fingers were
powerless, and her step so feeble, from fatigue and want of food,
that she almost fell before the cheerful fire that seemed to welcome
her. The smile with which she tried to return my greeting
added hideously to the savage expression of her features, and her
matted hair was covered with flakes of the drifting snow that
almost blinded her.

Food, a pipe, and a short nap before the fire, refreshed her wonderfully.
At first she would hardly deign an answer to our questions;
now she becomes quite talkative. Her small keen eye follows
the children as they play about the room; she tells of her
children when they were young, and played around her; when
their father brought her venison for food.

Where are they? The Chippeways (mark her as she compresses
her lips, and see the nervous trembling of her limbs)
killed her husband and her oldest son: consumption walked
among her household idols. She has one son left, but he loves
the white man's fire-water; he has forgotten his aged mother—
she has no one to bring her food—the young men laugh at her,
and tell her to kill game for herself.

At evening she must be going—ten miles she has to walk to
reach her teepee, for she cannot sleep in the white man's house.
We tell her the storm is howling—it will be dark before she reaches
home—the wind blows keenly across the open prairie—she had
better lie down on the carpet before the fire and sleep. She
points to the walls of the fort—she does not speak; but her action
says, “It cannot be; the Sioux woman cannot sleep beneath
the roof of her enemies.”

She is gone—God help the Sioux woman! the widow and the
childless. God help her, I say, for other hope or help has she
none.

GODS OF THE DAHCOTAHS.

First in order of the gods of the Dahcotahs, comes the Great
Spirit. He is the creator of all things, excepting thunder and
wild rice. Then there is,

Wakinyan, or Man of the West.

Wehiyayanpa-micaxta, Man of the East.

Wazza, Man of the North.

Itokaga-micaxta, Man of the South.

Onkteri, or Unktahe; God of the Waters.

Hayoka, or Haoka, the antinatural god.

Takuakanxkan, god of motion.

Canotidan, Little Dweller in Woods. This god is said to live in
a forest, in a hollow tree.

Witkokaga, the Befooler, that is, the god who deceives or fools
animals so that they can be easily taken.