Part 30

There are some points not to be overlooked, inasmuch as they have a general bearing upon the whole race, involving a subject of great interest to which the foregoing details form but the prelude. The principal of those to which we allude is this: “How far has knowledge, art, and commerce, and the progress of civilization, affected the improvement of the Indians, and changed or modified their original manners, customs, and opinions?”

As art and knowledge are yet in their infancy among them and as has been stated but little improvement in their moral condition is visible, yet great and important changes have been brought about by the commerce of trade, without which any plan for their future advancement would be retarded a century, and by correct appreciation of which views can be formed regarding contemplated measures for their prosperity.

In the foregoing pages, which present their savage life in detail, nothing speculative has been ventured upon, no conjectures hazarded, by us or by anyone well acquainted with the wild tribes, nor will any new opinions be perceived. The whole is merely a collection of facts, thrown together in the form of answers to certain questions without further comment than necessary for their illustration and clothed in the simplest garb of verbiage to facilitate their comprehension.

When we entered the fur trade in the spring of 1833, now 21 years since, all the Indians herein treated of, from the Sioux to the Blackfeet, inclusive, were much more ignorant in everything, degrading in their habits, slovenly in appearance, and barbarous in their actions than they now are. Life was then held by a slight tenure, crime was frequent, atrocious disorder and family feuds were general, and their occupations confined to slaughtering their enemies, murdering each other, and providing for their families only in extremes of necessity.

The traders of the Columbia Fur Co. and after them those of the American Fur Co. were men of ability, honesty, and truth. In the course of their dealings, intermarriages, and conversations with the Indians, the minds of the latter were enlarged, a different train of thought and action engendered, new desires created which gave a stimulus to industry, which raised the Indian from the level of the brute to the standing of an intellectual being.

The enmities formerly existing between different bands of the same nations, arising from the petty jealousies of chiefs or private family animosities, were soldered up by the traders. To be sure their object in this was personal gain, but that is immaterial, the beneficial results arising from their traffic, etc., were consolidation of force and interest of the Indians, unity of purpose and action, entailing order in their government, a great diminution of family feuds and private quarrels, and an application of their time to the comfort and welfare of their families instead of its being spent in bloody contention or domestic idleness or discord.

The introduction of firearms, metallic cooking utensils, and other tools gave them a greater reliance on their own powers, increased their hunting operations, and with them their domestic comfort, by these means withdrawing their attention from their barbarous practices and opening a new field for their exertions. With the substituting of European instruments and clothing arose a different kind of pride than that of olden time. The distinguishing features of the original savage were fierceness, obstinate will, and bloody determination, leading to barbarous and disgusting practices. Their women were worse than slaves, the extent of their labor was more than they could bear. With the stone ax, the bone awl, the clay pot, the rib knife, and all their primitive tools, even their most pressing wants were met with great difficulty. The process of procuring fuel alone was one of much toil, and occupied most of the time of one female to a lodge. On account of their inadequate instruments for dressing hides their clothing was wretched, often insufficient to protect from cold or to cover with decency.

Commerce has changed all this by facilitating their means, and the character of their women has risen from a state of intolerable slavery to one of ordinary labor scarcely more servile than that of European female operatives. Their persons are cleanly dressed, combed, and adorned, a desire to appear genteel is manifested, a neatness in their lodges and domestic arrangements perceptible, proving the transfer of their time and ideas to these ends from those of original filth and savage recklessness.

In former times the trade was carried on in their different camps by paying a number of desperate men (Indians) to restrain the populace from robbing the trader. This force was effective and necessary at the time, because the wants of the Indians were so numerous and pressing, their cupidity so great, that it was impossible for the trader publicly to display his goods or deal with them on anything like fair terms. And the Indians thus employed considered it an honorable station; it flattered their pride to rely for protection on their bravery, and no robberies could be committed nor the traders insulted without killing these men at the door of the lodge, which was never attempted. This gave rise to a body of men called soldiers, and the power first invested in them by the traders formed a nucleus around which collected a superior and coercive force, which, in the course of time, was applied to their own civil organization, producing order in their government, unity of action, and rendering effective the decisions by council.

The original natural authority was centered in the chiefs of small bands, supported only by their family connections, who could not or would not enforce decrees for general welfare nor interfere in any public differences not touching their private interests. Power being thus confined and circumscribed, separations into small camps took place and minor subdivisions into heads of families, resembling in this elementary form of government that of the ancient patriarchs who as their interests jarred or covetousness increased made war upon each other and were insufficient for any general purpose. But when the body of soldiers was established and their efforts united to support the chief and council, they soon collected in large bands, from two to four or six hundred lodges each, entered into effective measures of defense from the surrounding tribes, regulated their hunts to advantage, and by this consolidation of interest extinguished the principal sources of private discord. This was a great step in advancement produced by the traders and their commerce, for through the chief and council as the organ of public opinion and soldiers as its support the nation could be spoken to, their interest consulted, their feelings known, and the mass made to advance toward a further point of improvement.

Property by means of commerce having been acquired, rates of exchanges established, and hunting operations enlarged and facilitated, other things besides scalps became valuable in the eyes of the Indians. Each having something to lose, perceived the necessity of respecting the rights of others, giving rise to a spirit of compromise in difficulties, so that arms were less resorted to in settling disputes, payment in most cases superseding that ancient and barbarous custom; also they evinced a disposition to aid each other in times of need, which minor obligations bound still closer their hitherto feeble bonds of society.

These were some of the effects of the introduction of commerce. A still further improvement is visible in their expansion of ideas arising from association with white traders, exhibited in their amelioration of manners, desire for knowledge, doubts of their own superstitions, increase of their vocabulary and modes for expressing thought, reason supplying the place of passion, and the general usefulness of the whole, resulting in their minds having been made capable of comprehending religious or scientific instruction and their time and talents to be applied to either their moral or spiritual welfare.

This is the point to which these wild tribes are supposed by us to have arrived, but no further. Their future condition depends more upon their white allies than themselves. Traders have instilled education enough to serve their purposes and let them alone. It would be inexpedient for them to do more.

It is also apparent, if their present attainments be not improved upon by those in power, that they must recede, and in case of a discontinuance of trade or a worse influx of whites, their now to them useful organization must dissolve. In this event they must become more miserable than at first, because the desires and necessities induced by their partial elevation can not be satisfied from their original resources, these having been lost and abandoned during their advancement, consequently their present support withdrawn, their hunting ruined, distress, famine, and dissolution as nations must certainly follow.

If they are left in their present condition until the tide of emigration has reached their as yet undisturbed hunting grounds, and the green plains, now covered with multitudes of buffalo, shall be strewn with innumerable grog shops, occupied by nests of gamblers, and hordes of outlaws, bringing with their personal vices a host of infectious diseases, where will the poor Indian be then? Bitter would and should be the reflections of our great national reformers that they had not in time stretched out a saving arm to the aborigines.

It may be said, point out a way, state some feasible plan. Heretofore our policy has been lame, and our efforts retarded by our being but partially informed as to their capacity of improvement, or the practicability of bettering their condition.

To all this we would answer the course to be pursued is plain and can be easily gathered from these pages, which, like other productions of the kind, most probably will be thrown aside as soon as read or disbelieved because the facts recorded do not coincide with preconceived notions of Indian character.

We do not feel ourselves called upon by the inquiry to present a plan of operations, neither do we feel capable of instructing superior men. A plain statement of facts is sought and herein presented, though more could have been done had it been requested. Extensive establishments having for their object the civilization of the Indians have already been commenced with several nations within the boundaries of the United States and have met with success. Let others be tried, adapting the means to the situation and necessities of the roving tribes. A sudden revolution of feeling, an entire change in their habits and occupations, can not immediately be expected, would not be natural, neither would it be durable, but a gradual change brought about in their present employments, by combining them with pastoral and agricultural pursuits, a judicious introduction of mechanical arts, their superstitions carefully undermined and replaced by moral truth, their temporal welfare consulted, and a certain chance of subsistence presented; these things being accomplished, the eyes of the present grown generation would close in the rising prosperity of their children.

We perceive in the closing remarks of the inquiry these words: “In all questions where the interests of the tribes clash with those of the persons whom you may consult, there is much caution required.”

Now, our personal interests and those of every trader are at direct variance with any innovations in the present employments or organization of the Indians. Any improvement in their condition mentally or the introduction of other pursuits such as arts and agriculture, even the inculcation of the Christian religion, would immediately militate against the trade and unfit the Indians for being only hunters or being regarded only as a source of profit. We are perfectly aware that the policy advised in these pages, if acted upon, would effectually ruin the trade and with it our own personal interest and influence in that capacity. All these things have been well considered and had they any effect would only have led to our remaining silent on the subject; but, having written, we prefer placing things in their proper light, aiming at great general good, and thus without further comment the whole is left in the hands of those for whom it is intended.

INTERMARRIAGE WITH WHITES

The prairie tribes have not been much affected by intermarriages with Europeans except the Cree. Most of the Red River settlement of half-breeds are of Cree and Chippewa extraction, who though not generally having the advantage of education, are, however, a bold, hardy, and fearless people, invariably good-looking, active, and brave. They unite hunting with agricultural operations but prefer the former, the indisposition to work showing itself equally in the descendant as in the original stock. Their parents and the Cree Nation generally have been, if not benefited, much instructed by these people, and are superior in intellectual acquirements to any of the other tribes. The history of this settlement is no doubt well known to all, so that we need not describe it here.

As far as these other tribes are concerned the only intermixture has been of the fur traders and engagees of the fur company. Of these, all that can afford it take their children to the States to be educated, who usually make intelligent and respectable men. If it were not for the popular prejudice existing, or if it were possible, we would advise amalgamation of the races as the most efficient means for saving the remnants of the Indian tribes.

POPULATION

Regarding the comparative population of these tribes with the years 1833 to 1854, the decrease is very great. Smallpox, cholera, measles, and influenza, together with other diseases and wars, incidental to the climate and their pursuits, have reduced the Sioux about one-third, the Mandan three-fourths, the Arikara one-fifth, the Assiniboin one-half, the Cree one-eighth, the Crows one-half, and the Blackfeet one-third less than they were at the former period. They—that is, from the Sioux up—are now slowly on the increase.

LANGUAGE

To answer the queries on this head would require a volume of itself, but the Assiniboin being the same or nearly the same as the Sioux, and as the Sioux has already been translated into the English letters, books published in it, and the same taught in schools on the Mississippi, it is presumed that any and all answers to these queries can be obtained by procuring the books printed in the Sioux language and by examining their manner of instruction. We have seen the New Testament in that language, also several letters, and believe it to be well adapted to the purpose of Christianity or general usefulness. Should, however, it be the desire of the department that extensive vocabularies be made out and explanations of their language given, or should any other information regarding these tribes be sought, we will at any time satisfy it on these topics, provided the efforts now made for their instruction regarding the prairie tribes meet with the success it is presumed to deserve.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The following bibliographical list of works is submitted to enable the student to verify and extend the work of Mr. Denig.

BACQUEVILLE DE LA POTHERIE, C. C. LE ROY DE LA. Histoire de l’Amérique Septentrionale. Tomes I-IV. Paris, 1722. (Same, Paris, 1753.)

CATLIN, GEORGE. Illustrations of the manners, customs, and condition of the North American Indians. Vols. I-II. London, 1848.

[To be used only with caution.]

CHITTENDEN, N. M., and RICHARDSON, A. T. Life, letters, and travels of Father Pierre-Jean De Smet, S. J., 1801-1873. Vols. I-IV. New York, 1905.

COUES, ELLIOTT, ed. New light on the early history of the greater Northwest. The manuscript journals of Alexander Henry and of David Thompson, 1799-1814. Vols. I-III. New York, 1897.

DE SMET, FATHER PIERRE-JEAN. _See_ Chittenden, H. M., and Richardson, A. T.

DORSEY, GEORGE A., and KROEBER, A. L. Traditions of the Arapaho. (Field Col. Mus. Pub. 81, Anthrop. ser. vol. V, Chicago, 1903.)

DORSEY, J. OWEN. A study of Siouan cults. (Eleventh Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethn., pp. 351-544, Washington, 1894.)

—— Siouan sociology. (Fifteenth Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethn., pp. 205-244, Washington, 1897.)

DOBBS, ARTHUR. An account of the countries adjoining to Hudson’s Bay in the north-west part of America. London, 1744.

FLETCHER, ALICE C. The Elk mystery or festival. Ogallala Sioux. (Rept. Peabody Mus. Amer. Archaeol, and Ethn., vol. III, pp. 276-288, Cambridge, 1881.)

—— Hae-thu-ska Society of the Omaha tribe. (Journ. Amer. Folk-Lore, vol. V, pp. 135-144, Boston and New York, 1892.)

FRANKLIN, JOHN. Narrative of a journey to the shores of the Polar Sea. Philadelphia, 1824.

HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN INDIANS NORTH OF MEXICO. Bur. Amer. Ethn., Bull. 30, pts. 1 and 2, Washington, 1907-1910.

[The tribal and other articles in this work are arranged in alphabetical order.]

HAYDEN, F. V. On the ethnography and philology of the Indian tribes of the Missouri Valley. (Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n. s. vol. XII, pt. 2, Philadelphia, 1862.)

[Largely based on information supplied him by Edwin T. Denig.]

HENRY, ALEXANDER. Travels and adventures in Canada, and in the Indian Territories, between the years 1760 and 1776. New York, 1809.

—— _See also_ Coues, Elliott, ed.

HIND, HENRY YUEL. Narrative of the Canadian Red River Exploring Expedition of 1857, and of the Assiniboine and Saskatchewan Exploring Expedition of 1858. Vols. I-II. London, 1860.

JESUIT RELATIONS. Relations des Jesuites contenant ce qui s’est passe de plus remarquable dans les missions des pères de la Compagnie de Jesus dans la Nouvelle-France. Embrassant les années 1611-1672. Tomes. I-III. Quebec, 1858.

—— Jesuit Relations and allied documents. Travels and explorations of the Jesuit missionaries in New France, 1610-1791. Reuben Gold Thwaites, editor. Vols. I-LXXIII. Cleveland, 1896-1901.

KELSEY, HENRY. A journal of a voyage and journey undertaken by Henry Kelsey ... in anno 1691. With an Introduction by Arthur G. Doughty and Chester Martin. _In_ The Kelsey Papers, published by the Public Archives of Canada, ..., Ottawa, 1929.

[He mentions “ye Stone Indians” and also has an “Account of these Indians beliefs and superstitions,” which seems to be the first sketch of the life and customs of the Plains Indians.]

KROEBER, ALFRED L. Ethnology of the Gros Ventre. (Anthrop. Papers Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. I, pt. 4, New York, 1908.)

—— The Arapaho. (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist, vol. XVIII, New York, 1902.)

_See also_ Dorsey, Geo. A., and Kroeber.

LEWIS, MERIWETHER, and CLARK, WM. Original journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804-1806. Reuben Gold Thwaites, editor. Vols. I-VIII, New York, 1904-1905.

LA POTHERIE. _See_ Bacqueville de la Potherie.

LONG, JOHN. Voyages and travels of an Indian interpreter and trader, describing the manners and customs of the North American Indians. London, 1791.

LOWIE, ROBERT H. The Assiniboine. (Anthrop. Papers Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. IV, pt. 1, New York, 1909.)

MARGRY, PIERRE. Decouvertes et etablissements des Francais dans l’ouest et dans le sud de l’Amerique Septentrionale (1614-1754). Memoires et documents originaux. Pts. I-VI. Paris, 1875-1886.

MAXIMILIAN, ALEX. P., PRINZ ZU WIED. Reise in das innere Nord-America in den Jahren 1832 bis 1834. B. I-II. Coblenz, 1839-1841.

MOONEY, JAMES. Mescal plant and ceremony. (Therapeutic Gazette, 3d ser., vol. XII, Detroit, 1896.)

—— Calendar history of the Kiowa Indians. (Seventeenth Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., pt. 1, Washington, 1898.)

—— The Ghost-dance religion and the Sioux outbreak of 1890. (Fourteenth Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethn., pt. 2, Washington, 1896.)

PERROT, NICOLAS. Memoire sur les Moeurs, Coustumes et Relligion des Sauvages de l’Amerique Septentrionale, publie pour la premiere fois par le R. P. J. Tailhan. Leipzig et Paris, 1864.

RADISSON, PETER ESPRIT. Voyages of Peter Esprit Radisson ... with historical illustrations and an introduction by Gideon D. Scull. Publ. Prince Society. Boston, 1885.

SCHOOLCRAFT, HENRY R. Historical and statistical information, respecting the history, condition, and prospects of the Indian tribes of the United States. Pts. I-VI. Philadelphia, 1851-1857.

[In his fourth volume he publishes Denig’s Assiniboin vocabulary.]

SCULL, GIDEON D. _See_ Radisson, Peter Esprit.

THWAITES, REUBEN GOLD, ed. Early western travels 1748-1846. Vols. I-XXXII. Cleveland, 1904-1907.

WISSLER, CLARK. The Blackfoot Indians. (Annual Archaeol. Rept. for 1905. App. Rept. Min. Ed. Ont., pp. 162-178, Toronto, 1906.)

MANUSCRIPT

KURZ, FREDERICK. Journal. Copy of translation in the archives of the Bureau of American Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution. 1,076 typewritten pages with 125 drawings.

INDEX

Page

ABORTION, means used to produce 521

ACCOUNTS, method of keeping 420-421

ADOPTION OF CAPTIVES 552

ADULTERY, punishment of 482 _See also_ INFIDELITY

ADVANCEMENT OF TRIBES 579-580

AGED PEOPLE, treatment of 422, 443-444, 576-577

AGRICULTURE— among the Missouri Indians 463-464 claim to land based on 477 need of 543 of the Plains tribes 407

AMERICAN FUR COMPANY, traders of 621

AMPUTATION, practice of 427-428

ANIMAL LIFE, of the upper Missouri 410-412

ANIMAL SYMBOLS, use of 412

ANIMALS— belief concerning: 487 custom regarding killing of 412 list of, used for food 583

ANNUITIES, distribution of 473

ANTELOPE, hunting of 535

ANTIQUITIES, absence of 413, 414

ARIKARA— migration of 405 pottery of 413

ARROW AND BOW, used in buffalo hunting 542

ARROWS, game played with 570

ASSINBOIN INDIANS— advancement of 579-580 attitude of, toward debts 476 character of 459 characteristics of 397,468 discussion of method of dealing with 470-474 etymologic interpretations of the name 381 intellectual capacity of 593-602 intertribal relations of 403-404 names of 396 origin of 395 progress of 620-623 strength of, compared with white man's 529 territory occupied by 396-397 traditional origin of 382

ATONEMENT, no conception of 490

AUDUBON, assisted by Denig 381

BAD ANIMAL, Assiniboin war leader 402

BALL GAME, described, 565-566

BAND, composition of 431

BEADS— use of 590