Part 23

No. 1, 2, 3, 4. Various styles of habitations, representing a settlement.

5. An elevated structure used for the storage of food.

6. A box with wrappings, containing the corpse of a child. The small lines, with ball attached, are ornamented appendages consisting of strips of cloth or skin, with charms, or, sometimes, tassels.

7. Grave-post, bearing rude illustrations of the weapons or implements used by a person during his life.

8. A grave scaffold, containing adult. Besides the ornamental appendages, as in the preceding, there is a “Shaman stick” erected over the box containing the corpse as a mark of good wishes of a sorrowing survivor. See object No. 1, in Figure 112.

The following extract from Schoolcraft (Hist. Indian Tribes of the United States, 1851, Vol. I, p. 356, Fig. 46) relates to the burial posts used by the Sioux and Chippewas. Plate LXXXIII is after the illustration given by this author in connection with the account quoted:

Among the Sioux and Western Chippewas, after the body has been wrapped in its best clothes and ornaments, it is then placed on a scafford, or in a tree, where it remains until the flesh is entirely decayed; after which the bones are buried, and the grave-posts fixed. At the head of the grave a tabular piece of cedar, or other wood, called the adjedatig, is set. This grave-board contains the symbolic or representative figure which records, if it be a warrior, his totem; that is to say, the symbol of his family, or surname, and such arithmetical or other devices as serve to denote how many times the deceased has been in war parties, and how many scalps he had taken from the enemy; two facts from which his reputation is essentially to be derived. It is seldom that more is attempted in the way of inscription. Often, however, distinguished chiefs have their war-flag, or, in modern days, a small ensign of American fabric, displayed on a standard at the head of their graves, which is left to fly over the deceased till it is wasted by the elements. Scalps of their enemies, feathers of the bald and black eagle, the swallow-tailed falcon, or some carnivorous bird, are also placed, in such instances, on the adjedatig, or suspended, with offerings of various kinds, on a separate staff. But the latter are super-additions of a religious character, and belong to the class of the ke-ke-wa-o-win-an-tig. The building of a funeral fire on recent graves, is also a rite which belongs to the consideration of their religious faith.

The following quotations and illustrations are taken from Dr. Ferdinand von Hochstetter’s New Zealand, before cited. That author says on page 437 _et seq._:

The carved Maori-figures, which are met with on the road, are the memorials of chiefs, who, while journeying to the restorative baths of Rotorua, succumbed to their ills on the road. Some of the figures are decked out with pieces of clothing or kerchiefs; and the most remarkable feature in them is the close imitation of the tattooing of the deceased, by which the Maoris are able to recognize for whom the monument has been erected. Certain lines are peculiar to the tribe, others to the family, and again others to the individual. A close imitation of the tattooing of the face, therefore, is to the Maori the same as to us a photographic likeness; it does not require any description of name.

A representation of one of these carved posts is given in Figure 116.

Another carved post of like character is represented in Figure 117, concerning which the same author says, page 338:

“Beside my tent, at Tahuahu, on the right bank of the Mangapu, there stood an odd half decomposed figure carved of wood; it was designated to me by the natives as a Tiki, marking the tomb of a chief.”

The same author states, page 423: “The dwellings of the chiefs at Ohinemutu are surrounded with inclosures of pole-fences; and the Whares and Wharepunis, some of them exhibiting very fine specimens of the Maori order of architecture, are ornamented with grotesque wood-carvings. The annexed wood-cut [here reproduced as Figure 118] is intended as an illustration of some of them. The gable figure, with the lizard having six feet and two heads, is very remarkable. The human figures are not idols, but are intended to represent departed sires of the present generation.”

CHARMS AND FETICHES.

The use of objects as charms and fetiches is well known. Their graphic representation is not so well understood, although in the attempted interpretation of pictographs it is to be supposed that objects of this character would be pictorially represented. The following is an instance where the use in action of a charm or fetich was certainly portrayed in a pictograph.

Figure 119, drawn by the Dakota Indians near Fort Snelling, Minnesota, exhibits the use for a fetichistic purpose of an instrument which is usually included among war clubs, though this particular object is more adapted to defense than to offense.

The head of the fetich is a grooved stone hammer of moderate size, measuring from an inch and a half to as much as 5 inches in length. A withe is tied about the middle of the hammer in the groove provided for the purpose, having a handle of from 2 to 4 feet in length. The latter is frequently wrapped with buckskin or raw-hide to strengthen it, as well as for ornamental purposes. Feathers attached bear mnemonic marks or designs, indicating marks of distinction, perhaps fetichistic devices not understood.

These objects are believed to possess the peculiar charm of warding off an enemy’s missiles when held upright before the body. In the pictograph made by the Dakota Indian, the manner of holding it, as well as the act of shooting an arrow by an enemy, is shown with considerable clearness. The interpretation was explained by the draftsman himself.

Properties are attributed to this instrument similar to those of the small bags prepared by the Shaman, which are carried suspended from the neck by means of string or buckskin cords.

Subject-matter connected with this heading appears in several parts of this paper, _e. g._, Figure 46, on page 141, and the characters for 1824-’25 on plate XLII.

CUSTOMS.

Pictographs in the writer’s possession, to be classed under this very general heading, in addition to those that are more intimately connected with other headings, and therefore arranged in other parts of this paper, may be divided into those relating to Associations and those exhibiting details of daily life and habits.

ASSOCIATIONS.

It is well known that voluntary associations, generally of a religious character, have existed among the Indians, the members of which are designated by special paintings and marks entirely distinct from those relating to their clan-totems and name-totems. This topic requires too minute details to be entered upon in this paper after the space taken by other divisions. That it may become a feature in the interpretation of pictographs is shown by the following account:

Dr. W. J. Hoffman obtained a copy of drawings on a pipe-stem, which had been made and used by Ottawa Indians. Both of the flat surfaces bore incisions of figures, which are represented in Figure 120. On each side are four spaces, upon each of which are various characters, three spaces on one side being reserved for the delineation of human figures, each having diverging lines from the head upward, denoting their social status as chiefs or warriors and medicine-men.

Upon the space nearest the mouth is the drawing of a fire, the flames passing upward from the horizontal surface beneath them. The blue cross-bands are raised portions of the wood (ash) of which the pipe-stem is made; these show peculiarly shaped openings which pass entirely through the stem, though not interfering with the tube necessary for the passage of the smoke. This indicates considerable mechanical skill.

Upon each side of the stem are spaces corresponding in length and position to those upon the opposite side. In the lower space of the stem is a drawing of a bear, indicating that the two persons in the corresponding space on the opposite side belong to the Bear gens. The next upper figure is that of a beaver, showing the three human figures to belong to the Beaver gens, while the next to this, the eagle, indicates the opposite persons to be members of the Eagle gens. The upper figure is that of a lodge, the lodge containing a council fire, shown on the opposite side.

The signification of the whole is that two members of the Bear gens, three members of the Beaver gens, and three members of the Eagle gens have united and constitute a society living in one lodge, around one fire, and smoke through the same pipe.

DAILY LIFE AND HABITS.

Examples of daily life and habits are given in Figures 121 and 122:

Figure 121 represents an Alaskan native in the water killing a walrus. The illustration was obtained from a slab of walrus ivory in the museum of the Alaska Commercial Company, of San Francisco, California, and interpreted by a native.

The carving, Figure 122, made of a piece of walrus tusk, was copied from the original in the museum of the Alaska Commercial Company, San Francisco, California, during the summer of 1882. Interpretations were verified by Naumoff, a Kadiak half-breed, in San Francisco at the time. The special purport of some of the characters and etchings is not apparent.

In No. 1 is a native whose left hand is resting against the house, while the right hangs toward the ground. The character to his right represents a “Shaman stick” surmounted by the emblem of a bird, a “good spirit,” in memory of some departed friend. It was suggested that the grave stick had been erected to the memory of his wife.

No. 2. Represents a reindeer, but the special import in this drawing is unknown.

No. 3. Signifies that one man, the recorder, shot and killed another with an arrow.

No. 4. Denotes that the narrator has made trading expeditions with a dog-sledge.

No. 5. Is a sail-boat, although the elevated paddle signifies that that was the manner in which the voyage was best made.

No. 6. A dog-sled, with the animal hitched up for a journey. The radiating lines in the upper left hand corner, over the head of the man, is a representation of the sun.

No. 7. A sacred lodge. The four figures at the outer corners of the square represent the young men placed on guard, armed with bows and arrows, to keep away those not members of the band, who are depicted as holding a dance. The small square in the center of the lodge represents the fire-place. The angular lines extending from the right side of the lodge to the vertical partition line are an outline of the subterranean entrance to the lodge.

No. 8. A pine tree, upon which a porcupine is crawling upward.

No. 9. A pine tree, from which a bird (woodpecker) is extracting larvæ for food.

No. 10. A bear.

No. 11. The recorder in his boat, holding aloft his double-bladed paddle to drive fish into a net.

No. 12. An assistant fisherman driving fish into the net.

No. 13. The net.

The figure over the man (No. 12) represents a whale, with harpoon and line attached, caught by the narrator.

* * * * *

It will be understood that all personal customs, such, for instance, as the peculiar arrangement of hair in any tribe, are embodied in their pictorial designation by other tribes and perhaps by themselves. See in this connection, page 230.

Among the many customs susceptible of graphic portrayal which do not happen to be illustrated in this paper, an example may be given in the mode in several tribes (_e. g._, Apache, Muskoki, Dakota and Miztec), of punishing the infidelity of wives, namely, by cutting off the nose. The picture of a noseless woman would, therefore, when made by those tribes, have distinct meaning. The unfaithful wife mentioned on page 134 is drawn with a nose, but in her case the greater punishment of death was inflicted.

TRIBAL HISTORY.

It is very difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish in pictographs, or, indeed, orally, between historical and traditional accounts obtained from Indians, so that this heading may be connected with one before presented, having relation to Traditions as mnemonically pictured. See page 84.

The Walum-Olum, or Bark Record of the Lenni-Lenapè, before mentioned, as also some of Schoolcraft’s pictographic illustrations, may be, in accordance with the judgment of the reader, more or less properly connected with history. The Dakota Winter Counts, including the Corbusier Winter Counts, in the present paper, while having their chief value as calendars, contain some material that is absolute and veritable tribal history, though seldom of more than local and transient interest. An example from Battiste Good’s count for the year 1862-’63, is given in addition, explaining the origin of the title “Brulé” Dakota.

He calls the year “The-people-were-burnt winter,” and adds:

They were living somewhere east of their present country, when a prairie fire destroyed their entire village. Many of their children and a man and his wife, who were on foot some distance away from the village, were burned to death. Many of their horses were also burned to death. All the people that could get to a long lake which was near by saved themselves by jumping into it. Many of these were badly burned about the thighs and legs, and this circumstance gave rise to the name, _si-can gu_, translated as Burnt Thigh, and Brulé, by which they have since been known. Battiste Good’s character for the year is here given as Figure 123.

This is of later date than the mythical times, even among Indians, and, being verified as it is, must be accepted as historical.

BIOGRAPHIC.

The pictographs under this head that have come to the writer’s notice have been grouped as, _First_, a continuous account of the chief events in the life of the subject of the sketch; _Second_, separate accounts of some particular exploit or event in the life of the person referred to. Pictographs of both of these descriptions are very common.

CONTINUOUS RECORD OF EVENTS IN LIFE.

An example of a continuous record is the following “autobiography” of Running-Antelope:

The accompanying illustrations, Figures 124 to 134 are copied from a record of eleven drawings prepared by Running-Antelope, chief of the Uncpapa Dakota, at Grand River, Dakota, in 1873. The sketches were painted in a large drawing-book by means of water colors, and were made for Dr. W. J. Hoffman, to whom the following interpretations were given by the artist:

The record comprises the most important events in the life of Running-Antelope as a warrior. Although frequently more than one person is represented as slain, it is not to be inferred that all were killed in one day, but during the duration of one expedition, of which the recorder was a member or chief. The bird (_Falco cooperi?_) upon the shield refers to the clan or band totem, while the antelope drawn beneath the horses, in the act of running, signifies the personal name.

Figure 124. Killed two Arikara Indians in one day. The lance held in the hand, thrusting at the foremost of the enemy, signifies that he killed the person with that weapon; the left-hand figure was shot, as is shown, by the discharging gun, and afterwards struck with the lance. This occurred in 1853.

Figure 125. Shot and scalped an Arikara Indian in 1853. It appears that the Arikara attempted to inform Running-Antelope of his being unarmed, as the right hand is thrown outward with distended fingers, in imitation of making the gesture for _negation_, _having nothing_.

Figure 126. Shot and killed an Arikara in 1853.

Figure 127. Killed two warriors on one day in 1854.

Figure 128. Killed ten men and three squaws in 1856. The grouping of persons strongly resembles the ancient Egyptian method of drawing.

Figure 129. Killed two Arikara chiefs in 1856. Their rank is shown by the appendages to the sleeves, which consist of white weasel skins. The arrow in the left thigh of the recorder shows that he was wounded. The scars are still distinct upon the person of Running-Antelope, showing that the arrow passed through the thigh.

Figure 130. Killed one Arikara in 1857. Striking the enemy with a bow is considered the greatest insult that can be offered to another. The act of so doing also entitles the warrior to count one _coup_ when relating his exploits in the council chamber.

Figure 131. Killed an Arikara in 1859 and captured a horse.

Figure 132. Killed two Arikara hunters in 1859. Both were shot, as is indicated by the figure of a gun in contact with each Indian. The cluster of lines drawn across the body of each victim represents the discharge of the gun, and shows where the ball took effect. The upper one of the two figures was in the act of shooting an arrow when he was killed.

Figure 133. Killed five Arikara in one day in 1863. The dotted line indicates the trail which Running-Antelope followed, and when the Indians discovered that they were pursued, they took shelter in an isolated copse of shrubbery, where they were killed at leisure. The five guns within the inclosure represent the five persons armed.

Figure 134. An Arikara killed in 1865.

The Arikara are delineated in the above, in nearly all instances, wearing the top-knot of hair, a custom similar to that practiced by the Absaroka, though as the latter were the most inveterate enemies of the Sioux, and as the word Palláni for Arikara is applied to all enemies, the Crow custom may have been depicted as a generic mark. The practice of painting the forehead red, also an Absaroka custom, serves to distinguish the pictures as individuals of one of the two tribes.

PARTICULAR EXPLOITS AND EVENTS.

A record on ivory shown as Figure 135, was obtained by Dr. W. J. Hoffman in San Francisco, California, in 1882, and was interpreted to him by an Alaskan native. The story represents the success of a hunt; the animals desired are shown, as well as those which were secured.

The following is the explanation of the characters:

1, 2. Deer.

3. Porcupine.

4. Winter, or permanent, habitation. The cross-piece resting upon two vertical poles constitutes the rack, used for drying fish.

5. One of the natives occupying the same lodge with the recorder.

6. The hunter whose exploits are narrated.

7, 8, 9. Beavers.

10-14. Martens.

15. A weasel, according to the interpretation, although there are no specific characters to identify it as different from the preceding.

16. Land otter.

17. A bear.

18. A fox.

19. A walrus.

20. A seal.

21. A wolf.

By reference to the illustration it will be observed that all the animals secured are turned toward the house of the speaker, while the heads of those animals desired, but not captured, are turned away from it.

The following is the text in the Kiatexamut dialect of the Innuit language as dictated by the Alaskan, with his own literal translation into English:

Huí-nu-ná-ga huí-pu-qtú-a pi-cú-qu-lú-a mus´-qu-lí-qnut. Pa-mú-qtu-līt´ I, (from) my place. I went hunting (for) skins. martens (settlement.) (animals)

ta-qí-mĕn, a-mí-da-duk´ a-xla-luk´, á-qui-á-muk pi-qú-a a-xla-luk´; five, weasel one, land otter caught one;

ku-qú-lu-hú-nu-mŭk´ wolf

a-xla-luk´, tun´-du-muk tú-gu-qlí-u-gú me-lú-ga-nuk´, pé-luk one, deer (I) killed two, beaver

pi-naí-u-nuk, nú-nuk pit´-qu-ní, ma-klak-muk´ pit´-qu-ní, a-cí-a-na-muk three, porcupine (I) caught none, seal (I) caught none, walrus

pit´-qu-ni, ua-qí-la-muk pit´-qu-ní, ta-gú-xa-muk pit´-qu-ní. (I) caught none, fox (I) caught none, bear (I) caught none.

The following narrative of personal exploit was given to Dr. W. J. Hoffman by “Pete,” a Shoshoni chief, during a visit of the latter to Washington, in 1880. The sketch, Figure 136, was drawn by the narrator, and the following explanation of characters will be sufficient interpretation to render the figures intelligible.

_a._ Pete, a Shoshoni chief.

_b._ A Nez Percés Indian, one of the party from whom the horses were stampeded, and who wounded Pete in the side with an arrow.

_c._ Hoof marks, showing course of stampede.

_d._ Lance, which was captured from the Nez Percés.

_e_, _e_, _e_. Saddles captured.

_f._ Bridle captured.

_g._ Lariat captured.

_h._ Saddle-blanket captured.

_i._ Body-blanket captured.

_j._ Pair of leggings captured.

_k._ Three single legs of leggings captured.

Figure 137, copied from Schoolcraft, IV, p. 253, Pl. 32, is taken from the shoulder-blade of a buffalo, found on the plains in the Comanche country of Texas. No. 5 is a symbol showing the strife for the buffalo existing between the Indian and white races. The Indian (1), presented on horseback, protected by his ornamented shield and armed with a lance, kills a Spaniard (3), the latter being armed with a gun, after a circuitous chase (6). His companion (4), armed with a lance, shares the same fate.

Figure 138 is taken from the winter count of Battiste Good for the year 1853-’54.

He calls the year Cross-Bear-died-on-the-hunt winter.

The “travail” means, they moved; the buffalo, to hunt buffalo; the bear with mouth open and paw advanced, cross-bear. The involute character frequently repeated in Battiste’s record signifies pain in the stomach and intestines, resulting in death. In this group of characters there is not only the brief story, an obituary notice, but an ideographic mark for a particular kind of death, a noticeable name-totem, and a presentation of the Indian mode of transportation.

The word “travail” appearing above, as given by the interpreter, requires explanation. It refers to the peculiar sledge which is used by many tribes of Indians for the purpose of transportation. It is used on the surface of the ground when not covered with snow, even more than when snow prevails. The word is more generally found in print in the plural, where it is spelled “travaux” and sometimes “travois.”

The etymology of this word, which has not yet been found in any Indian language, has been the subject of considerable discussion. The present writer considers it to be one of the class of words which descended in corrupted form from the language of the Canadian voyageurs, and that it was originally the French word “traineau,” with its meaning of sledge.