Indian Tribes of the Upper Missouri 9

Indian Tribes of the Upper Missouri 9

ANCIENT BONES AND TRADITIONS OF THE MONSTER ERA.—The Indians know

from bones found that such animals existed and were of immense size,

but their traditions never make mention of the living animal. To these

bones, etc., they assign the general name of Wan-wan-kah, which is

a creature of their own imagination, half spirit, half animal. Any

whirlwind or great tempest would be attributed to the movements of the

Wan-wan-kah, also any other natural phenomenon. Many stories are told

of its actions, but all are fabulous, although they profess to believe

in the existence of its powers, some even stating they have seen it

crossing the Missouri in the form of a large fish covering half the

breadth of that river.[5]

 

[5] See page 617 at the end of their oral tales.

 

ANIMALS USED AS ARMORIAL MARKS.—These armorial marks or symbols, such

as the eagle, owl, bear, serpent, etc., do not represent any tribal

organization but kinship occasionally. Neither do they refer to any

traditions of any early date, but are insignia adopted by themselves

as their medicine or charm. Most Indians have a charm of this kind,

either in consequence of some dream or of an idea that the figure has

some effect in carrying out his views regarding war, the chase, or the

health of his family. These are assumed for his own purposes, whether

real or imaginary, to operate on his own actions or to influence those

of other Indians. To these tangible objects, after Wakoñda, who is a

spirit, they address their prayers and invocations. Neither do these

symbols affect them regarding the killing of the same animals on all

occasions, though after he has killed it he will smoke and propitiate

[the spirit of] the dead carcass, and even offer the head small

sacrifices of tobacco and provisions.

 

 

THE HORSE

 

ERA OF THE IMPORTATION OF THE HORSE.—When the horse was first

introduced among them does not appear by any of the traditions of these

ignorant people. The name of the horse in Assiniboin is shunga (dog)

tunga (large), i. e., large dog. Among the Sioux it is named shunka

(dog) wakan (divining), i. e., divining dog, which would only prove

that the dog was anterior to the horse, inasmuch as they were obliged

to make a name for the strange animal resembling some known object with

which it could be afterwards compared.

 

 

PICTOGRAPHS

 

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.

 

[Illustration: BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY FORTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT

PLATE 64

 

_Drawings by an Assiniboine Indian Fort Union Nov. 10. 1853._]

 

[Illustration: BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY FORTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT

PLATE 65

 

CULINARY UTENSILS]

 

[Illustration: BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY FORTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT

PLATE 66

 

CHARACTERISTIC IMPLEMENTS OF THE ASSINIBOINE]

 

[Illustration: BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY FORTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT

PLATE 67

 

_a_, Comb root.

 

_b_, Cat-tail.]

 

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.