Part 5

Another visit to the Piegan, in the same region, was made just 20 years later, during the month of September, 1853. J. M. Stanley, who accompanied Gov. Stevens as the artist of the expedition, left camp on the banks of Marias River and three days later, September 14, 1853, reached the divide between Milk and Bow Rivers: "From this divide I had a view of the Bull's Head, forming the base of Cypress mountain.... At 1 o'clock I descended to a deep valley, in which flows an affluent of Beaver river. Here was the Piegan camp, of ninety lodges, under their chief Low Horn, one hundred and sixty-three miles north, 20° west, of Fort Benton.

"Little Dog conducted me, with my party, to his lodge, and immediately the chief and braves collected in the 'council Lodge,' to receive my message...." This was conducted with customary formality, and the next day, September 15, "At an early hour a town crier announced the intention of the chief to move camp. The horses were immediately brought in and secured around their respective lodges, and in less than one hour the whole encampment was drawn out in two parallel lines on the plains, forming one of the most picturesque scenes I have ever witnessed.

"Preparation for their transportation is made in the following manner: The poles of the lodges, which are from twenty to thirty-five feet in length, are divided, the small ends being lashed together and secured to the shoulders of the horse, allowing the butt-ends to drag upon the ground on either side; just behind the horse are secured to cross-pieces, to keep the poles in their respective places, and upon which are placed the lodge and domestic furniture. This also serves for the safe transportation of the children and infirm unable to ride on horseback--the lodge being folded so as to allow two or more to ride securely. The horses dragging this burden--often of three hundred pounds are also ridden by the squaws, with a child astride behind, and one in her arms, embracing a favorite young pup.

"Their dogs (of which they have a large number) are also used in transporting their effects in the same manner as the horses, making, with ease, twenty miles a day, dragging forty pounds. In this way this heterogeneous caravan, comprising of a thousand souls, fell into line and trotted quietly until night, while the chiefs and braves rode in front, flank, or rear, ever ready for the chase or defence against a foe.... Like other tribes in this region, the Piegans retain all their primitive customs, adhering with faithful pertinacity to the ceremonies of their forefathers." (Stanley, (1), pp. 448-449.) At that time the Piegan were estimated to have had 430 lodges, the average number of persons occupying each being 10.

During this brief but interesting journey Stanley made many sketches of the Indians with whom he came in contact, but not one of the drawings is known to exist at the present time. His beautiful painting of a buffalo hunt, shown in plate 2, is one of his five pictures now in the National Museum at Washington.

The Blackfeet allies often moved in great numbers from place to place when searching for the herds of buffalo or tracking some enemy tribe. Such a war party was encountered on the banks of the River Saskatchewan, two days' journey below Fort Pitt, about the present town of Battleford, Saskatchewan, on June 1, 1848. Among the party then going from Fort Pitt to Norway House, the Hudson's Bay Company's post on the northeast shore of Lake Winnipeg, was the Canadian artist Kane, who entered in his journal: "We saw a large party of mounted Indians, riding furiously towards us. On their nearer approach they proved to be a large war party, consisting of Blackfoot Indians, Blood Indians, Sur-cees, Gros Ventres, and Paygans.... We instantly put ashore to meet them.... They told us they were a party of 1,500 warriors, from 1,200 lodges, who were then 'pitching on' towards Fort Edmonton; that is, they were making short journeys, and pitching their tents on towards Edmonton, leaving few behind capable of bearing arms. They were in pursuit of the Crees and Assiniboines, whom they threatened totally to annihilate, boasting that they themselves were as numerous as the grass on the plains. They were the best mounted, the best looking, the most warlike in appearance, and the best accoutred of any tribe I had ever seen on the continent during my route.... After our smoke several of the young Braves engaged in a horse race, to which sport they are very partial, and at which they bet heavily; they generally ride on those occasions stark naked, without a saddle, and with only a lasso fastened to the lower jaw of the horse as represented in Sketch No. 16." (Kane, (1), pp. 417-420.) The "sketch No. 16" is here reproduced in plate 16, _a_. It shows, in addition to the horses, several conical skin-covered lodges, the one on the right being highly decorated.

The valley of the Saskatchewan and southward to the waters of the Missouri was a region frequented by many tribes, rich in game, and one from which the Hudson's Bay Company derived quantities of furs. The Blackfeet, who, as already mentioned, occupied in recent years the country about the headwaters of the Missouri, formerly lived farther north, and about the close of the eighteenth century were encountered near the Saskatchewan, neighbors of the Assiniboin and Cree. About the year 1790 Mackenzie traversed the country, and wrote, regarding the number and distribution of the tribes then claiming that northern region: "At Nepawi, and South-Branch House, about thirty tents of Knisteneaux, or ninety warriors; and sixty tents of Stone-Indians, or Assiniboins, who are their neighbors, and are equal to two hundred men; their hunting ground extends upwards to about Eagle Hills. Next to them are those who trade at Forts George and Augustus, and are about eighty tents or upwards of Knisteneaux: on either side of the river, their number may be two hundred. In the same country are one hundred and forty tents of Stone-Indians; not quite half of them inhabit the West woody country; the others never leave the plains, and their numbers cannot be less than four hundred and fifty men. At the Southern headwaters of the North branch dwells a tribe called Sarsees, consisting of about thirty-five tents, or one hundred and twenty men. Opposite to those Eastward, on the head-waters of the South Branch, are the Picaneaux, to the number of from twelve to fifteen hundred men. Next to them, on the same water, are the Blood-Indians, of the same nation as the last, to the number of about fifty tents, or two hundred and fifty men. From them downwards extend the Black-Feet Indians, of the same nation as the two last tribes; their number may be eight hundred men. Next to them, and who extend to the confluence of the South and North branch, are the Fall, or Big-bellied Indians, who may amount to about six hundred warriors." (Mackenzie, (1), p. lxx.) "South-Branch House" of this narrative stood between the north and south branches of the Saskatchewan, near the present town of Dalmeny, in the Province of Saskatchewan. The Picaneaux, who probably possessed from 200 to 300 skin-covered lodges, were the Piegan, the Piekann Indians of Maximilian, whose village as it appeared in 1833 was painted by Bodmer. Likewise the Fall or Big-bellied Indians, whose habitat about the year 1790 was near the junction of the two branches of the Saskatchewan, were the Atsina, the Gros Ventres of the Prairie, and their village or camp in 1790 was probably quite similar to the one visited by Maximilian 43 years later, when it was sketched by Bodmer.

By reason of the roving disposition of the northern tribes, those mentioned in the preceding quotations and their neighbors, it was not possible for them to erect and maintain permanent villages. The skin-covered lodge served as a shelter easily and quickly raised and readily transported from place to place as requirements and desires made necessary. But many bark-covered structures were probably to have been found scattered throughout the wooded sections.

Something of the manners and ways of life of these people may be gathered from another passage in Mackenzie's narrative: "In the fall of the year the natives meet the traders at the forts, where they barter the furs or provisions which they may have procured; then they obtain credit, and proceed to hunt the beavers, and do not return till the beginning of the year; when they are again fitted out in the same manner and come back the latter end of March, or the beginning of April. They are now unwilling to repair to the beaver hunt until the waters are clear of ice, that they may kill them with fire-arms, which the Chepewyans are averse to employ. The major part of the latter return to the barren grounds, and live during the summer with their relations and friends in the enjoyment of that plenty which is derived from numerous herds of deer. But those of that tribe who are most partial to these desarts, cannot remain there in winter, and they are obliged, with the deer, to take shelter in the woods during that rigorous season, when they contrive to kill a few beavers, and send them by young men, to exchange for iron utensils and ammunition." (Mackenzie, (1), pp. xc-xci.)

The large ceremonial lodges erected by the Blackfeet were among the most interesting structures reared by the tribes of the Northwest. A remarkable example was encountered by the Fisk party September 1, 1862, near the banks of Milk River, a short distance from Fort Benton. As described in the journal: "We passed this afternoon an abandoned camp of some three thousand or four thousand Blackfeet Indians. A large 'medicine lodge,' in which they had celebrated their superstitious rites, was left standing, although its covering had been mostly stripped from its frame-work. It was circular, and about one hundred feet in diameter and forty feet high in the centre, the roof poles running from the top down to and around a tree, which was erected for a centre pole. This, in time of occupancy, is covered with dressed buffalo skins, and constitutes the Indian's highest achievement in the architectural line." (Fisk, (1), p. 24.) The entire ceremony attending the selection of a site for the structure, the cutting of the poles, the erection of the associated sweat lodges, and the final raising of the medicine lodge, has been recorded by Grinnell, (3), pages 263-267, and is one of the most complete accounts of a native ceremony ever prepared.

ARAPAHO.

The ancient habitat of the Arapaho, according to tradition, was once far northeast of the country which they later occupied. It may have been among the forests of the region about the headwaters of the Mississippi, the present State of Minnesota, where their villages would have stood on the shores of lakes and streams. But later, like the related Cheyenne, with whom they have been closely allied during recent generations and probably for a long period, they reached the prairies, through what causes may never be known, and there, with different environments, their manners and ways of life changed. While a people of the timbered country, they undoubtedly reared and occupied the forms of habitations so characteristic of the forests, as exemplified by the wigwams of the Ojibway and other tribes in recent times, but after reaching the prairie country, where buffalo were obtained in such vast numbers, their villages or camps assumed the appearance of those of the Siouan tribes, conical skin lodges taking the place of the mat or bark covered structures.

The Atsina, a detached division of the Arapaho, closely associated with the Blackfeet, were often mentioned by the early writers as the Gros Ventres of the Prairie, and in certain English narratives as the Fall or Rapid Indians. In other journals they were mentioned under the name Minnetarees of Fort de Prairie. Thus they were called by the early American explorers.

On May 29, 1805, just two weeks before arriving at the Great Falls of the Missouri, the Lewis and Clark party reached Judith River, and a short distance above its junction with the Missouri "We saw the fires of one hundred and twenty-six lodges, which appeared to have been deserted about twelve or fifteen days, and on the other side of the Missouri a large encampment, apparently made by the same nation. On examining some moccasins which we found there, our Indian woman said that they did not belong to her own nation the Snake Indians, but she thought that they indicated a tribe on this side of the Rocky mountains, and to the north of the Missouri; indeed it is probable that these are the Minnetarees of fort de Prairie." (Lewis and Clark, (1), I, p. 234.) The following year, when the expedition was returning from the west, the tribe was again mentioned. On July 15, 1806, the expedition passed Shields River, and two days later reached Brattons River (now Bridger Creek), a tributary of the Yellowstone in the present Sweetgrass County, Montana. Here, "In one of the low bottoms of the river was an Indian fort, which seems to have been built during the last summer. It was built in the form of a circle, about fifty feet in diameter, five feet high, and formed of logs, lapping over each other, and covered on the outside with bark set up on end, the entrance also was guarded by a work on each side of it, facing the river. These intrenchments, the squaw informs us, are frequently made by the Minnetarees and other Indians at war with the Shoshonees, when pursued by their enemies on horseback." Another similar work was encountered the next day. (Lewis and Clark, (1), II, pp. 379-380.)

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 77 PLATE 16

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 77 PLATE 17

The preceding references to fortified camps are of great interest, but similar works were mentioned by other explorers of the upper Missouri Valley. During the summer of 1833 several were encountered by Maximilian, and on July 18 of that year he wrote: "On this day at noon, we reached, on the south bank, an Indian fort ... it is a kind of breastwork, which Indian war-parties construct in haste of dry trunks of trees.... This fort consisted of a fence, and several angles, enclosing a rather small space, with the open side towards the river. In the center of the space there was a conical hut, composed of wood. Near this fort, on the same bank of the river, there was a beaver's den made of a heap of brushwood." (Maximilian, (1), p. 216.) Six days before, on July 12, they had encountered several huts probably similar to that which stood within the "fort." In the narrative it is said: "Just at the place where our vessel lay, were four old Indian huts, of some war or hunting party, composed of trunks and boughs of trees piled together in a square, in which some of our party made a fire to cook their meat. Scarcely 100 paces above these huts, was the Indian Fort Creek of Lewis and Clark." (Op. cit., p. 212.)

Elsewhere in this sketch other native "forts" will be mentioned. The erection of such works appears to have been quite common among the widely scattered tribes.

Fortunately, a very interesting picture of a skin lodge village or camp of the Atsina has been preserved, a painting made by Bodmer during the summer of 1833, when it was visited by Maximilian. It stood on the bank of the Yellowstone, at the mouth of the Big Horn, near the dividing line between Rosebud and Yellowstone Counties, Montana. Describing the settlement as it appeared on the evening of August 3, 1833. Maximilian wrote: "On the left was the mouth of Bighorn River, between considerable hills, on which numbers of Indians had collected. In the front of the eminence the prairie declined gently towards the river, where above 260 leather tents of the Indians were set up; the tent of the principal chief was in the foreground, and, near it, a high pole, with the American flag. The whole prairie was covered with Indians, in various groups, and with numerous dogs; horses of every colour were grazing round, and horsemen galloping backwards and forwards, among whom was a celebrated chief, who made a good figure on his light bay horse." These were the Gros Ventres, "called by the English, Fall Indians." (Maximilian, (1), pp. 231-232.) Bodmer's painting, or more correctly, an engraving made from the painting, is reproduced in plate 17.

On July 8, 1842, Fremont, while on his journey to the Rocky Mountains, reached a village of the Arapaho and Cheyenne. But before arriving at the village the party came in contact with a large number of Indians belonging to the two tribes, who were chasing a herd of buffalo. Of the exciting scene presented by these many mounted Indians and the rushing buffalo, he left a vivid account: "We were too far to hear the report of the guns, or any sound; and at every instant, through the clouds of dust, which the sun made luminous, we could see for a moment two or three buffalo dashing along, and close behind them an Indian with his long spear, or other weapon, and instantly again they disappeared. The apparent silence, and the dimly seen figures flitting by with such rapidity, gave it a kind of dreamy effect, and seemed more like a picture than a scene of real life. It had been a large herd when the _cerne_ commenced, probably three or four hundred in number; but, though I watched them closely, I did not see one emerge from the fatal cloud where the work of destruction was going on. After remaining here about an hour, we resumed our journey in the direction of the village.

"Gradually, as we rode on, Indian after Indian came dropping along, laden with meat; and by the time we had neared the lodges, the backward road was covered with the returning horsemen. It was a pleasant contrast with the desert road we had been traveling. Several had joined company with us, and one of the chiefs invited us to his lodge. The village consisted of about one hundred and twenty-five lodges, of which twenty were Cheyennes; the latter pitched a little apart from the Arapahoes. They were disposed in a scattering manner on both sides of a broad, irregular street, about one hundred and fifty feet wide, and running along the river. As we rode along, I remarked near some of the lodges a kind of tripod frame, formed of three slender poles of birch, scraped very clean, to which were affixed the shield and spear, with some other weapons of a chief. All were scrupulously clean, the spear-head was burnished bright, and the shield white and stainless. It reminded me of the days of feudal chivalry; and when, as I rode by, I yielded to the passing impulse, and touched one of the spotless shields with the muzzle of my gun, I almost expected a grim warrior to start from the lodge and resent my challenge. The master of the lodge spread out a robe for me to sit upon, and the squaws set before us a large wooden dish of buffalo meat. He had lit his pipe in the mean while, and when it had been passed around, we commenced our dinner while he continued to smoke. Gradually, five or six other chiefs came in, and took their seats in silence. When we had finished, our host asked a number of questions.... A storm had been gathering for the past hour, and some pattering drops on the lodge warned us that we had some miles to our camp.... We found our companions under some densely foliaged old trees, about three miles up the river.... Nearly opposite was the mouth of one of the most considerable affluents of the South fork, _la Fourche aux Castors_, (Beaver fork,) heading off in the ridge to the southeast." (Fremont, (1), pp. 29-30.) This would have been near the eastern boundary of the present Morgan County, Colorado, a region approaching the western edge of the great prairie, in the midst of the range of vast herds of buffalo. The entire description of the events of the day as prepared by Fremont reads more like fiction than fact and is one of the clearest and most concise accounts extant of a buffalo hunt by native tribes under such conditions. The paintings by Stanley and Wimar, as reproduced in plates 2 and 3, would serve to illustrate Fremont's narrative.

The following year (1843) Fremont, on his second expedition, reached St. Vrain's Fort; thence continuing up the South Fork of the Platte he soon arrived in the vicinity of the present city of Denver, and at some point not far below the mouth of Cherry Creek discovered a large Arapaho village. This was on July 7, 1843, and to quote from his journal: "We made this morning an early start, continuing to travel up the Platte; and in a few miles frequent bands of horses and mules, scattered for several miles round about, indicated our approach to the Arapaho village, which we found encamped in a beautiful bottom, and consisting of about 160 lodges. It appeared extremely populous, with a great number of children; a circumstance which indicated a regular supply of the means of subsistence. The chiefs, who were gathered together at the farther end of the village, received us (as probably strangers are always received to whom they desire to show respect or regard) by throwing their arms around our necks and embracing us.... I saw here, as I had remarked in an Arapaho village the preceding year, near the lodges of the chiefs, tall tripods of white poles supporting their spears and shields, which showed it to be a regular custom.... Though disappointed in obtaining the presents which had been evidently expected, they behaved very courteously, and after a little conversation, I left them, and, continuing up the river, halted to noon on the bluff, as the bottoms are almost inundated; continuing in the afternoon our route along the mountains, which are dark, misty, and shrouded." (Fremont, (1), pp. 111-112.)

A photograph of a small Arapaho village, standing in Whitewood Canyon, Wyoming, about the year 1870, is reproduced in plate 16, b. The skin-covered lodges shown in this photograph were probably similar to those sketched by Bodmer a generation before.

SAUK AND FOXES.

It is not the purpose of the present sketch to trace the early migrations of the two related tribes, or to refer to their connection, linguistically or socially. However, it is evident their villages were similar in appearance, and both had two distinct forms of habitations which were occupied during different seasons of the year. The summer villages of both tribes consisted of bark houses, and near by were gardens in which they raised corn, squashes, beans, and some tobacco, but with the coming of autumn the families scattered and sought the more protected localities where game was to be secured, and there erected the dome-shaped, mat-covered lodge, resembling the structures of other tribes of the region.