Part 5

CHARTS ON BARK.—Their drawings of maps and sections of country are in execution miserable to us but explanatory among themselves. Most Indians can carve on a tree, or paint, who they are, where going, whence come, how many men, horses, and guns the party is composed of, whether they have killed enemies, or lost friends, and, if so, how many, etc., and all Indians passing by, either friends or foes, will have no difficulty in reading the same, though such representations would be quite unintelligible to whites unless instructed. (Pl. 64.) Some Indians have good ideas of proportion and can immediately arrive at the meaning of a picture, pointing out the objects in the background, though others can not distinguish the figure of a man from that of a horse, and as to their executions of any drawing they are rude in the extreme. Where the natural talent exists, however, there is no doubt they could be instructed.

ANTIQUITIES

From the Sioux to the Blackfeet, inclusive, there is not in all that country any mounds, teocalli, or appearances of former works of defense bearing the character of forts or any other antique structure. Not a vestige or relic of anything that would form data, or be an inducement to believe their grounds have ever been occupied by any other than roving tribes of wild Indians; nor in the shape of tools, ornaments, or missiles that would lead to any such inference. We have not been more fortunate in searching their traditions in the hope of finding some clue relative to these things. They do not believe that any persons ever occupied their country except their own people (Indians), and we can not say we have ever seen or heard anything to justify any other conclusion regarding the extent of territory mentioned.

The elk-horn mound, mentioned elsewhere, is evidently of remote date and the work of Indians, but proves nothing sought by these researches. It might be stated that although no antique vessels of clay are found, yet the Arikara now, and as long as the whites have known them, have manufactured tolerably good and well-shaped clay vessels for cooking, wrought by hand without the aid of any machinery, and baked in the fire. They are not glazed, are of a gray color, and will answer for pots, pans, etc., equally as well as those made by the whites, standing well the action of fire and being as strong as ordinary potter’s ware. They also have the art of melting beads of different colors and casting them in molds of clay for ear and other ornaments of various shapes, some of which are very ingeniously done. We have seen some in shape and size as drawn in Plate 65, the groundwork blue, the figure white, the whole about one-eighth inch thick, and presenting a uniform glazed surface.

PIPES

No antique pipes are found, but many and various are now made by all Indians.

VESSELS AND IMPLEMENTS

The Arikara and Gros Ventres, who raise corn, have other vessels as alluded to, but not the roving tribes, except the utensils furnished by whites. None of these things denote anything more than a people in the rudest state of nature, whose only boiling pot was once a hollow stone, or the paunch of a buffalo in which meat can be boiled and still is on occasions, by filling the paunch with water and casting therein red-hot stones until the water attains a boiling point, after which the stones are taken out, and one added occasionally to continue the heat, or the paunch suspended above a blaze at such a distance that the fire, though heating, does not touch it. Their spoons are yet made of the horns of the bighorn and buffalo, wrought into a good shape, some of which will hold half a gallon with ease. These are dippers. Others for eating are made smaller of horn and wood, yet large enough to suit their capacious mouths. (Pl. 65.) In all this and in everything they do, but one idea presents itself—that of crude, untutored children of nature, who have never been anything else.

The only ancient stone implements we have ever seen are the hatchet, stone war club, arrow point, buffalo shoulder-blade ax, hump-rib knife, and elk-horn bow, the shapes of which we have endeavored to draw in Plate 66, and all of which, except the knife, can yet occasionally be seen among them.

There is a total absence of anything antique, any shell, metal, wampum, or other thing formerly possessed by inhabitants supposed to have occupied this country. Neither are there any hieroglyphics or traditions to denote anything of the kind.

ASTRONOMY AND GEOLOGY

EARTH AND ITS MOTIONS.—Their knowledge on this subject is very limited. They believe the earth to be a great plain containing perhaps double the extent of country with which they are acquainted, and that it is void of motion. They do not believe the stars are inhabited by other people, but admit they may be abiding places of ghosts or spirits of the departed. They are not fond of talking about these things, neither do their opinions agree, each man’s story differing materially from the other and all showing extreme ignorance and superstition.

They believe that Wakoñda created all things and this one idea appears original and universal, further than which, however, they are at a loss.

If they can not be made to comprehend the extent of the earth and its laws of motion, etc., there is much less likelihood that they can have any reasonable idea of the field of space or other creations therein further than superstitious notions according to the fancy of the individual.

THE SUN.—They take the sun to be a large body of fire, making its daily journey across the plains for the purpose of giving light and heat to all, and admit it may be the residence of Wakoñda; consequently it is worshiped, venerated, smoked, and invocated on all solemn occasions. We have often endeavored to explain the diurnal revolution of the earth, representing the sun as stationary, but always failed. They must first be brought to understand the attractions of cohesion and gravitation, for, as a sensible Indian stated on one of these occasions, “If at midnight we are all on the under side, what is to hinder the Missouri from spilling out, and us from falling off the earth? Flies, spiders, birds, etc., have small claws by which they adhere to the ceiling and other places, though man and water have no such support.”

THE SKY.—Those who take the trouble to explain state the sky to be a material mass of a blue color, the composition of which they do not pretend to say, and think it has an oval or convex form, as apparent to the eye, resting for its basis on the extreme boundaries of the great plain, the earth. Hence their drawing, which is almost the only form in which they could represent it. Stars are small suns set therein, though they think they may be large bodies appearing small by seeing through space. Space is the intervening distance between earthly and heavenly bodies.

The Indians can not rationally account for an eclipse, supposing it to be a cloud, hand, or some other thing shadowing the moon, caused by Wakoñda to intimate some great pending calamity. Many are the prophecies on these occasions of war, pestilence, or famine, and their predictions are often verified. Predicting an eclipse does not appear to excite their wonder as much as would be supposed. The writer predicted the eclipse of the moon on December 25, 1852, months before, but received no further credit than that of having knowledge enough from books to find out it was to take place.

Their year is composed of four man-ko´-cha or seasons, viz., wai-too (spring), min-do-ka´-too (summer), pe-ti-e-too (autumn), wah-nee-e-too (winter). These are only seasons and do not each contain a certain number of days, but times—a growing time, a hot time, a leaf-falling time, and a snow time. These four seasons make a year which again becomes man-ko´-cha or the same as a season. This is difficult to explain. They count by the moon itself and its different phases, not computing so many days to make a moon, nor so many moons to a year.

They give each moon its name, beginning, say, with the March moon whenever it appears either in February or March, when it would be wee-che´-ish-ta-aza, sore eye moon; next would follow Ta-pa´-ghe-na-ho-to, frog moon; next pe-tai-chin-cha´-ton, buffalo calf moon; next wee-mush-tu, hot moon; next wah-pa´-ze-ze, yellow-leaf moon; next wah-pa-ich-pa´-ah, leaf-falling moon; next yo-ka´-wah-how-wee, first snow moon; next we-cho-kun, middle moon; next om-hos-ka-sun-ka-koo, lengthening days moon’s brother; and next om-has-ka, lengthening of days moon. Their year has no beginning nor end. They count and name the moons as they come, and these names are also varied. Any annual remarkably known fact respecting the season can be applied to the name of the same moon. Thus the sore-eyed moon can be called the snow-melting moon, and the falling-leaf moon be termed the moon when the buffaloes become fat. These moons suffer no divisions of time except their phases, viz., new moon, increasing moon (first quarter), round moon (full moon), eaten moon (second quarter), half moon, dead moon (invisible). Among themselves they have no division of time equal to a week, although they are aware that we count by weeks, or divining days (Sundays), and will often ask how many divining days (or Sundays) there are to a given period.

An Indian in counting any period less than a year will say 3 moons and a full (3½ moons), 4 moons and an eaten one (4¾ moons), 6 moons and an increasing one (6½ moons), etc. These serve all his purposes and when wishing to be more minute and exact he must notch each day on a stick. For a year or four seasons they say a winter. A man may say “I am 40 winters old and one summer.” Yet sometimes the same man will say, “I am 40 seasons old.” This is still right. He will also say that he is 80 seasons old, or 160 seasons old. All of these are correct and understood immediately, as in the one case you mentally take the half, and in the other the quarter. This is often done among themselves, but with whites they generally name the winter only to designate the year, yet man-ko´-cha (season) is the right name for a year and would be received as such by all the Assiniboin. The day is divided into the following parts: hi-ak-kane (daylight), umpa (morning), wee-he-num-pa (sunrise), wee-wa-kan-too (forenoon), wi-cho-kun (midday), we-coo-cha-nu (afternoon), we-coh-pa-ya (sunset), hhtie-too (twilight), eoch-puz-za (dark), and haw-ha-pip-cho-kun (midnight). Any intermediate space of time would be indicated by pointing the finger to the place the sun is supposed to have been at that time. They know nothing of the division of hours and minutes, yet some of the squaws living a long time in the fort can tell the hour and minute by the clock.

They know that the minute hand makes the revolution of the dial plate before it strikes and know the figures from 1 to 12; also that each figure is five minutes apart, and will say it wants so many fives to strike 9, or it has struck 10 and is 5 fives past. This they pick up nearly of their own accord, which proves that some are susceptible of intelligence and education. They know nothing of the solstices nor have any period such as a cycle or century, neither do they believe the world will come to an end or that their priests or any others have the power to destroy or rebuild it.

They know and name the North Star the same as we do—wa-se-a-ure-chah-pe (north star)—and also know the Ursa Major, sometimes calling it the “seven stars” and “the wagon.” They are aware that it makes its revolution around the polar star, pointing toward it, and this is the secret of their traveling by night when there is no moon. They call no other stars by name. The Milky Way is said to be moch-pe-achan-ka-hoo (the backbone of the sky). It is known by them to be composed of clusters of small stars, but they suppose it to bear the same relative position to the arch of the heavens, and to be as necessary to its support as the backbone of any animal to its body. Meteors are falling stars which become extinguished as they fall. They attract but little attention as their effects are never perceived. Aurora borealis is believed to be clouds of fire or something the same as electricity. Being very common and brilliant it creates neither wonder nor inquiry.

The moon is not believed to influence men or vegetables nor to have any other properties than to give light by night.[6] They suppose it to be made of some body wasting away during a given period. Some say it is eaten up by a number of small animals (moles) and Wakoñda makes a new one on the destruction of the old. They know very well that all this is error and that the whites have a better philosophy, but will not take the trouble or can not comprehend our views of the motions of heavenly bodies. Having nothing else better explained to them, they adhere to their own ideas, which are of the simplest and most primitive kind, and do not appear to wish them superseded by others which they can not understand. The same remark would apply to all their astronomical and geographical opinions. They have a correct knowledge of the cardinal points, and honor the east as the first from the fact that the sun rises there. The pipe is first presented to the east, then to the south, supposed to be the power of the spirits of their departed friends, then west, then north, and lastly to the earth as the great grandfather of all. The amount of facts or real information they can give are mentioned and as for further explanations, as observed before, they do not delight to talk about these matters but appear to think them sacred or forbidden fields through which their thoughts ought not to roam. The subject affords no scope for research unless a writer is disposed to collect a number of fables, which would serve no purpose unless it be to develop their ignorance and superstition.

[6] It is considered a fetish as a light at night and sacrificed to on this account.

FUTURE LIFE

INDIAN PARADISE.—The Paradise of these Indians is in the south in warm regions (not necessarily in the heavens, yet in some imaginary country not belonging to earth), where perpetual summer, abundance of game, handsome women, and, in short, every comfort awaits them; also the satisfaction of seeing their friends and relatives. No quarrels, wars, disturbances, or bodily pain are allowed to exist, but all live in perfect harmony. Departed spirits have the power to revisit their native lands, manifest themselves to their friends in dreams, and if they have been neglectful in crying for or feasting them can trouble them with whistling sounds and startling apparitions, many of which are said to be seen and heard and are most religiously believed in by all. Consequently, the dead are feasted (a long ceremony), smoked, sacrificed to, and invoked, besides being cried for years after they are gone, perhaps as long as any of the relatives are living. The heavenly bodies they think may also be residences for spirits, but we think this idea is derived from the whites. The other is the most ancient and original tradition, if not the only one, and is universally believed. This subject will meet with further notice in the course of these pages.

ARITHMETIC

NUMERATION.—All these prairie tribes count by decimals and in no other way. The names of the digits are:

One—washe´nah. Two—noom´pah. Three—yam´ine. Four—topah. Five—ta´ptah. Six—sha´kpah. Seven—shakkowee. Eight—sha´kkando´gha. Nine—noo´mpchewo´oukkah. Ten—wixchemenah.

After ten the word akkai, dropping the name of the ten, serves until twenty, thus:

Eleven—akka´i washe. Twelve—akkai noompah. Thirteen—akkai yammene. Fourteen—akkai topah. Fifteen—akkai zaptah. Sixteen—akkai sha´kpah. Seventeen—akkai shakko´. Eighteen—akkai sha´kando´gha. Nineteen—akkai noompchewoukkah. Twenty—wixche´mmene noompa; i. e. for twenty, literally two tens.

From twenty to thirty the word “sum” or “more” (plus) is added, thus:

21—wixchemmena noompa sum washena (two tens plus one). 22—wixchemmena noompa sum noompa (two tens plus two). 23—wixchemmena noompa sum yammene (two tens plus three), and so on up to thirty, which is three tens or wixchemmene yam´mene. 31—wixchemmene yammene sum washena (three tens plus one). 32—wixchemmene yammene sum noompa (three tens plus two); the same as after twenty, and the same after each succeeding ten as far as one hundred, thus— 40—wixchemmene to´pah (four tens). 41—wixchemmene topah sum washena (four tens plus one). 50—wixchemmene zaptah (five tens). 51—wixchemmene zaptah sum washena. 52—wixchemmene zaptah sum noo´mpa. 60—wixchemmene shakpa (six tens). 61—wixchemmene shakpa sum washena. 62—wixchemmene shakpa sum noompa. 70—wixchemmene shakko (seven tens). 71—wixchemmene shakko sum washena (seven tens plus one). 72—wixchemmene shakko sum noompa. 73—wixchemmene shakko sum yammene. 74—wixchemmene shakko sum topah, etc. 80—wixchemmene shakandogha (eight tens). 90—wixchemmene noomchewouka (nine tens). 100—o-pah-wa-ghe. 101—o-pah-wa-ghe sum washea. 110—opahwaghe sum wixche´mmene. 160—opahwaghe sum wixche´mmene shakpa. 161—opahwaghe sum wixche´mmene shakpa sum washena. 170—opahwaghe sum wixche´mmene shakko. 180—opahwaghe sum wixche´mmene shakandogha. 190—opahwaghe sum wixche´mmene noomchewouka. 200—opahwaghe noompa. 300—opahwaghe yammene. 400—opahwaghe topah. 500—opahwaghe zaptah. 600—opahwaghe shakpah. 700—opahwaghe shakko. 800—opahwaghe shakandogha. 900—opahwaghe noomchewouka. 1,000—koke-to-pah-wa-ghe. 1,853—koketopahwaghe sum opahwaghe shakandoga sum wixche´mmene zaptah sum yammene. 2,000—koketopahwaghe noompah. 3,000—koketopahwaghe yammene. 4,000—koketopahwaghe topah. 10,000—koketopahwaghe wixchemmene. 20,000—koketopahwaghe wixchemmene noompa. 50,000—koketopahwaghe wixchemmene zaptah. 100,000—opahwaghe koketopahwaghe. 500,000—opahwaghe zaptah koketopahwaghe. 600,000—opahwaghe shakpah koketopahwaghe. 10,000,000—opahwaghe wixehemmene koketopahwaghe.

Although the computation could thus be carried on to a million yet the Indian would not appreciate the number. We think that after 5,000, or at the utmost 10,000, their ideas fail them; that is, they can not realize in thought more than that amount, yet are able mechanically to count it. This is evident, as they have no distinct name for a million, but are obliged to call it ten hundred thousand, and were they requested to go further would proceed eleven, twelve, thirteen hundred thousand, etc., but not comprehending the great number as a body. They can not multiply or subtract uneven sums without the aid of small sticks or some other mark. Thus to add 40 to 60 would be done by the fingers, shutting down one for each succeeding ten, naming 70, 80, 90, 100. But to add 37 to 94 would require some time; most Indians would count 37 small sticks and beginning with 94, lay one down for each succeeding number, naming the same until all were counted. Now tell them to add 76 to 47 and subtract 28. In addition to the first process, and counting the whole number of sticks, he would withdraw 28 and recount the remainder. They are easily confused when counting and consider the knowledge of figures one of the most astonishing things the whites do.

In counting with the hand, an Indian invariably begins with the little finger of the left, shutting it down forcibly with the thumb of the right; when the five fingers are thus shut he commences on the thumb of the right, shutting it with the left fist. When wishing to telegraph by signs a certain number less than 10 he holds up that number of fingers, beginning with the little finger of the left hand and keeping the others shut. Should the number be 7, then all the fingers of the left and thumb and finger of the right would be extended, holding up his hands, the rest of the fingers closed. Tens are counted by shutting and opening both hands; thus, 100 would be indicated by shutting and opening both hands 10 times in succession. The number 7 has two names, shakkowee and enshand (the odd number). They count fast enough in continuation from 1 to 100 but must not be interrupted.

COIN.—There is not now nor have we any reason to suppose there ever has been among them any coin, shells, wampum, or any other thing constituting a standard of exchange, neither are they acquainted with American money. Were a guinea and a button presented there is no question but the Indian would take the latter. They barter their furs for goods which have fixed prices, and are well acquainted with these prices, as also of the value of their robes and furs as a means of purchasing merchandise.

KEEPING ACCOUNTS.—The Indians themselves keep no accounts. The manner in which accounts are kept by whites with them is as follows. We are not exactly acquainted with the minor operations in accounts kept by the Hudson’s Bay Co. with the Cree and the Chippewa, but from authentic information the following appears to be their system. A plue is equal to 1 pound beaver skin or 3 shillings sterling (say 67 cents); that is, 1 pound of the fur is worth at their forts 67 cents in merchandise at their fixed prices. Therefore a large beaver skin (2 pounds) is 2 plues; 6 muskrats, which are worth from 10 to 12½ cents each, is a plue; 1 wolf skin is counted a plue, being equal in value to the standard 67 cents; an otter skin is 2 plues, a red-fox 1, and so forth.

All skins and other articles of trade acquired by Indians are reckoned into plues by the trader and the Indians and the prices of merchandise are computed in the same manner. On the Missouri the plan is somewhat different, to explain which we annex the following accounts copied from our books. It will be necessary to observe that everything is brought to the standard of buffalo robes which have an imaginary value of $3 each in the country.

THE CRAZY BEAR, ASSINIBOIN CHIEF