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Les diagrammes sulvants illustrent la mithode. 1 2 3 s 6 M 1 0-KEE-PA. 41 I OK E EPA: A RELIGIOUS CEREMONY; AND OTHER CUSTOMS OF THE MANDANS. 0--^' 1,)-' ,M ■51- BY GEORGE CATLIN. • '.-•■ • > • t . • • • • • !,• .*• *,* ■ •••• Mitb Efjittem CalouwtJ IUuattat(on«. LONDON : TRUBNER AND CO., GO, PATERNOSTER ROW. 18G7. [All rifjiits referred.] I .^i- J. K. TAYLOR AND CO., PHIXTKnS, LirrLB QIJEEN STUKKT, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS. T(^ THE READER. Mr. Schoolcraft, in his work on tho North American Indians, pub- lished for tho Congress of the United States, has endeavoured to impeach tho veracity of Mr. Catlin's description of the Mandan re- ligious ceremonies, first made public some years since, and here republished. "VYo have always liad the most implicit confidence in tho truth of Mr. Catlin, who was an eye-witness to the scenes described ; and it is therefore with no little satisfaction we submit for tho reader's perusal tho following extract from a recent letter writt(>n (with the manuscript of this Avork before him) by Ilis Ilighm^ss tho Prince Maximilian of Ktniwied, tho celebrated traveller among the North American Indians, the original of which i^ now in our possession. Tho unimpeachable statements contained in tho letter, and the certificates of three educated and intelligent men, who, as Avill bo seen in the narrative, witnessed with Mr. Catlin the whole of those ceremonies as he has described them, added to Mr. Catlin's ac- count, arc conclusive evidence as to the exi.stenco and character of this ceremony before the extinction of the Mandan tribe ; and, after a perusal of the work, the reader, wc think, will admit that no ethnological fact is now better established than that of the O-kcc-pa of the Mandaus. The rUBLISHERS. VI LKITKI! FIJOM I'UINrK MAXLMILIAN (»!■ NErWTEI). " Nfuwifd, I'lussin, December 20, 18Bfi. "Tn >fR.'{JKOK()K CaTLIN. " Dear Sir, " Your letter nunc safely tt) linml, and revived the (jiiite forgotten reeoll(H'ti(iris nf my wtay aiiionj^'st tlie fndiaii tril)es of the Missouri, now thirty-three years past. " The Maiidaii tribe, which we both havi' known so well, and with whom I passed a whok, winter, was one of the first to be destroyed by a terrible disease, when all the distin^niished chi(-fs, Mah.to-t(.h-pa, Char-a-tn, Numa- kn-kie, etc. ete., died ; and it is doubtful if n single man of thorn remained to record the history, customs, and religious ideas of his people. " Not having been, like yourself, an eye-witness of those remarkable starvations and tortures of the O-h-r.p,,, but having arrive.l later, and spent the whole of a winter with the Mandans, I received from all the distin- guishod chiefs, and from .Mr. Kipp (at that time director of Fort Clarke, at tho Mandan village, and an cxcell.Mit interpreter of tho Mandan language), tho most detailed and complete record and description of the O-kn'-pa festival, where the young men suffered a great deal; and I can attest your relation of it to bo a coiTcct one, after all that I heard and ol)sen'od myself. " In my description of my voyage in North America (English edition) r gave a very detaikul description of tho O-hrr-pa, as it was reported to me by all the chiefs and Mr. Kijip, and it is about tho same that you told,— and nobody would doubt our veracity, I hope. "I know most of tho American works published on the American Indians, and I possess many of them; but it would bo a labour too heavy tor my age oi eighty-fivo years, to recapitulate them all. " Schoolcraft is a writer who knows well the Indians of his own part of the . .untry, but I do not know his last large work on that matter. If ho should d<.ubt what wo have both told in our works, of the great Medicine festivities of the O-h.-pn, he would lie wrong, certainly. " If my statement, as that of a witness, could bo of use to you. I should be very pleased. " Your obedient "(rSigned) U\X. Pnnce of Nf'uuded." 11' PREFACE. All mon havo, or ought to Iiuvo, soino peculiar ambition towards tho attainniont of which the principal energies of their lives arc directed : mine, which developed itself some thirty years since, has been that of pi^rpi'tuating the looks and customs of a numerous race (if human beings fast passuig to extinction. In this pursuit 1 havo passed fourteen years of my life amongst the various tribes of Indians in North, South, imd Central Am(>rica, and of the nume- rous customs which I have recorded, there is nothhig else so peculiar and sui'prising as the 0-lcc-jta of the Mandans, the subject of this book, — an annual ceremony, which I described in a former publica- tion, but which description, forming but an item in a large work, was necessarily too brief to give all the connecting links of a custom which derives its interest from being understood in all its phases. This publication, therefore, which is made for all classes of readers, as well as for gentl(!men of science who study, not the j^roprieties of man, In ; Man, and which has not before appeared in all its parts, is made from a sense of duty, to perpetuate entire a human custom of extraordinary interest, peculiar to a single tribe in America, and which tribe, as will be seen, is now extinct ; leaving in my hands alone chiefly, what has been preserved of their personal looks and peculiar modes. Geo. Catlin. ll»» f 0-KEE-PA: A RELIGIOUS CEKEMONY OF THE MANDANS. In a niirrative of fourtoon yoars' travels and rcsi(l(>n('(? amongst tlio native tribes of North and South America, cntitkul ' Life amnngst the Indians,'' and publislied in London and in Paris, several years since, I gave an acscount of the tribi; of Mandans, — their personal appearance, character, and habits ; and briefly alluded to the siiii^'ular and unique custom which is now to bo described, and was then omitted, as was alleged, for want of sufficient space for its insertion, — the "0-kee-pa," an annual religious ceremony, to the strict observ- anc(\ of which those ignorant and superstitious people attributed not only their enjoyment in life, but their very existeiu-e ; for traditions, their only history, instructed them in the belief that the singular forms of this ceremony produced the buff'alos for their supply of food, and that the omission of this annual ceremony, with its sacrifices made to the waters, would bring upon them a repetition of the calamity which their traditions say once befell them, destroying the whole human race, excepting one man, who landed from his amoe on a high mountain in the West. This tradition, however, was not peculiar to the Mandan tribe, for amongst one hundred and twenty different tribes that I have visited in B O-KLK-r.V, (IF TllK M.VXDANS. Niu-th and South an 1 Contral Aimrica, not a tribe exists that lias not ivhited to nie distinut or vague traditions of .such a cahmiity, iuAvliieh one, or three, or oi<;'ht pers(»ns "were saved above tlie waters, on the top of a hi,i;li mountain. Souu^ of these, at the base of the Ixoeky Moun- tains and in tlie pUiins of Venezuela, and the rani))a del Saeranu^nto in South Auu>riea, niakc annutd pilg-riiuages to the fancied summits ^vhere the antediluvian species Avere saved in canoes or otherwise, and, under the mysteri(»us regulations of their mrdivlDC (mystery) men, ti^nder their prayers and saerifiees to the Great Spirit, to en- sure their exemption from a similar eatastroi)lie. Indian traditions are generally C(mtlieting, and soon run into fabl(> ; but hoAV strong a proof is the iDHiiiiinoif-s traditiiai of the aboriginal races of ;i whole continent, of such an event I — lu)W strong a corroboration of the ^[osaic accimnt, — and what an miansworable proof that anihropos Amcr/ruiiiis is an antediluvian race! And liow just a claim does it lay, Avith th(> various modes and forms Avhicli these poor people practise in celebrating tliat event, to the in(piiries and sympathi(^s of the philanthropic and Christian (as well as to the seientilic) world ! Some of those writers who have endi>avoured to trace the aborigines of America to an Asiatic or Egyptian origin, have advanced these tra- ditions as evidence in support of their theories, Avhich are, as yet, but unconfirmed hypotlies(^s ; and as there is not yi't knowJi to exist (as I sliall show, but not in this place), either in the American lan- guages, or in the Mexican or Aztec, or other monumcMits of these people, one single proof of such an innnigration (though it ceuld have been mad(>), these traditions as yet are mine, and not tlu>irs,— are American, — indigenous, and not exotic. If it Avere slioAvn that inspired history of the Deluge and of the Creation restrictcnl those events to one conthient alone, then it might be that tln^ American races came from the Eastern continent, bringing the:,e traditions with Wwm ; but until that is proved, the American traditions of the Deluge are J I- 0-KEi>l'A, OF THK MANDANS. M 0' no ovidonoo wliatcvor of aii Eastern origin. If it wore so, and tJio aborigines of America lu'ouglit their traditions of the Deluge from tlie East, why did tliey not bring inspired history of the Creaflou? Though ther(> is not a tribe in America but wliat have some tlu>ory of man's crt>ation, there is not one amongst tliem all that bears the slightest res(>nd)lance to the ]N[osaic account. How strange is this if these people came from thc> country where inspiration was prior to all history ! The Mandans believed they Avere created under the ground, and that a portion of their people reside there yet. The Cho(!taws assc>rt that " th(>y were created craiv-Jish, living alternately imder the ground and above it, as they chose ; and coming out at tlieir little hoh^ in the earth to get the Avarmth of the sun one sunny day, a portion of the tribe was driven away and could not return ; they built the C'hoctaw village, and the re- mainder of the tribe are still living under the ground." The Si(mx relate Avith great minuteness their traditions of the creation. They say that " the Indians Avere all made from the nnl pipe-stone, Avhich is exactly of their colour ; that the Great Spirit, at a subsequent period, called all the tribes together at the red pipe- stone (piarry, and told them this, thai: the red stone Avas their Hesh, and that they must use it for their pipes only." Other tribc^s Avt're created under the Avater ; and at least one half of the tribes in America represent that man Avas tirst creat(>(l inider the ground, or in the rocky caverns of the mountains. Why this diversity of tlieories of the Crcaliou^ if these peopk- brought their tra- dition of the J)eluge from the land of insjuration? This interesting subject, too intricate for full discussion in this Avork, Avill be further ineidentall}' alluded to in the course of the folloAving relations. For the scientitic, Avlio look amongst these native people chiefly for shape? ui their skulls and for analogies to foreign races, I believe there AA'ill be found enough in the following description of their BS F 4 O-KKK-PA, OF THE MANDANS. religious coroinonios to command their attention ; and for the purely- philanthropic and religious world, whose motives are love and sym- pathy, there will he sufficient to excite their profoundest astonish- ment, and io touch their hearts with pity. In a relation so singular, and apparently incredible, as I am now to make, I hope the reader will he able to follow me, under the conviction that I am representing nothing in my descriptions or in my illustrations but Avhat I saiv, and that I had by my side, during the four days of these scenes, three civilized and educated men, who gave nie their certificates that they witnessed with me all these scenes as I have represented them, and which certificates, with other evidences, will be produced in their proper places, as I proceed. During the suinmcT of 18'}2 I made two visits to the tribe of Mand&n Indians, all living in one villagt; of earth-covered wigwams, on the west bank of the Missouri river, eighteen hundred miles above the town of St. Louis. Theii numbers at that time were between two and thi'ee thousand, and th(y were living entirely according to their native modes, having had no other civilized people residing amongst them or in their vicinity, that we know of, than the few individuals conduct- ing thi Missouri Fur Company's business with them, and living in a trading-house by the side of them. Two exploring parties had long before visited the Mandans, but without in any way affecting their manners. The first of these, in 1738, under the lead of the Brothers Verendrye, Frenchmen, who afterwards ascended the Missouri and Saskachewan, to the Eocky Mountains ; and the other, under Lewis and Clark, about sixty years afterwards. The Mandans, in their person d appearance, as well as in their modes, had many peculiarities difi'erent from the other tribes around them. In stature they were about the ordinary size ; they were comfortably, and in many instances very beautifully clatl with ■% !*' '^: '% I 0-KEE-PA, OF I'HE MANDAXS. 6 (liTssos of skins. 13oth -women and men wore leggings and moccasins mad(> of skins, and neatly embroidered Avith dyed pdreupine quills. Every man had his " timique and manteau " of skins, which he wore or not as the temperature prompted ; and every woman wore a dress of d(>er or antelope skins, covering the arms to the elbows, and the perscm from the throat nearly to the foot. In complexion, colour of haii-, and eyes, they g(>neral]y bore a family res'jmblance to the rest of th(^ American tribes, but there wt>re (exceptions, consiituting perhaps one-fifth or one sixth-pai't of the tribe, whose complexions were nearly white, with hair of a silvery-grey from childhood to old age, their eyes light blue, their faces oval, devoid of the salient angles so strongly characterizing all the other American tribes, and owing, unquestionably, to the infusion of some foreign stock. Amongst the men, practised by a considerable portion of them, was a mode peculiar to the tribe, and (}xceedingly curious, — that of cultivating the hair to foil, spreading over their backs, to their haunches, and oftentimes as low as the calves of their legs ; divided into flattened masses of an inch or more in breadth, and tilled at intervals of two or three inches with hardeu(>d glue and red or yellow ochre. I here present (Plate I.) tlu-ee of my Mandan portraits in their ordinary costume, — a chief, a warrior, and a young woman, — lest th(> reader should form a wrong opinion of their usual ajipearance, from the bizarre effects of the figures disguised with clay and other l)igments in the ceremony to be described in this work. Tlie Mandans [Nu-mah-kd-kee, pheasants, as they called them- selves) have been known from the time of the first visits made to them to the day of their destruction, as one of the most friendly and hospitable tribes on the United States frontier ; and it had become a proverb in those regions, and much to their credit, as they claimed, " that no Mandan ever killed a white man." 1 was received with great kindness by their chiefs and by the 6 O-KEE-rA, OF TTIE MANPANS. people, and afforded every ftieility for luakinj? my portraits and other designs and notes on their onstonis ; and from Mr. J. Kii)p, the eondnetor of tlie Fur Company's aftairs at that post, and his interpreter, I was enahl(>d to obtain tlie most eompk'to interpreta- tion of eliietiy all that I -witnessed. I had heard, long before I reached their villaj]:e, of their "annnal relif^nons eeremony,'' which the Mandans call " O-hr-pa,^^ and from Mr. Kipp, Avho had resided sev«>ral years with the people, a partial acconnt of it; and from him the most pressing- advice to remain until the ceremony commenced, as he believed it would bo a subject of great interest to mv. I r(>solv(Ml to await its approach, and in the meantime, while in- quiring of on(; of the chiefs whose portrait I was painting, wlu>n this ecTemony was to begin, he replied that '' it would commence as soon as the willow-leaves were full grown under the bank of the river." I asked him why the willoAV had anything to do with it, when ho again replied, "The twig wliich the bird brought into tliei?/}/ Canoe was a Avillow bough, and had full-grown leaves on it." It will here be lor the reader to appreciate the surprise with which I met such a remark from th(> lips of a wild man in the heart of an Indian country, and eighteen hundred miles from the nearest civilization ; antl the eag(>rness with which I followed up my in- quiries on a subject so unexpected and so full of interest. I inipiired of him what bird he alluded to, wliich he found diffi- culty in making me imderstand, and, takir.g mo by the arm, ho con- ducted mo through tlu> a\ inding avenues ol the village until ho dis- covered a C(mple of nu)urning doves pecking in tht> side of one of the earth-covered wigwams, and pohiting to them said, "There is the bird; it is great nmlichic.'''' It then occurred to mo that on my arrival in their village Mr. Ivipp had cautioned luo against harming these birds, which were numerous in the village, and guarded and pro- tected with a superstitious veneration as great medicine (or mystery). ■I i 0-KEK-rA, OF Tin: mandans. Tho render may hero vc^ry i)r()porly iiuiuire, If tlio American traditions of tlie iJilu^i^ luivo not been Imnij^lit from the Eastern Continent, liow is it tliat the ^[andans have the Mosaic aeeonnt of the olive-hraiuh and tlie dove? This is easily exphiined ; for these terms, and " J5i^' Canoe," nsed l)y the Man»Uins, form no part of the p;eneral traditi(»ns, hein<^ entirely nnnsed by, and nnknown to, the other tribes of th(^ American Continent ; bnt have been introduced amongst tlicr ^landans, like otluT customs that Avill oe described, by some errant colony of Welsh, or other civilized pettple who have merged into the ]\[andan tribe, and, having -\vitn(>ssed the Mandan ceremonies, and lieard tlunr traditions of the Di'lnge, luive described to thos(> people the ]N[osaie account, and from M'hich the Mandans liave ai)proi)riated and introduced into their system the terms "wil- loAV bough" for olive-branch, and ''JJig Canoe" for the Ark, whilst all the other tribes which sp(>ak of a canoe use the word ^^ cttiwe^^ onlv- And there are yet many tribes in the vichuty of the liocky ]\Iountains, and in the north of ]\[exico, which, without impairing in the least the great fa(;t of the tradition, make no mention of a canoe whate\er, but represent that the ancestor or ancestors of the present human rac(^, by various miraculous nu)des, Avhich they describe, gauied tli(> sunnnit of a mountain above the reach of the watc^rs in which th(> rest of numkhid perished. Tn riate II. I have given a bird's-eye view of a section of the Mandan village, which is necessary to enable the reader fully to understand the cen^monii^s to be described. As I have before said, these peopli^ all lived in one village, and their wigwams were covercMl with earth, — they were all of one form; the fram(>s or slu^lls constructed of timbers, and covered with a thatching of willow-boughs, and over and on that, with a foot or two in thickness, of a concrete of tough clay and gravel, which became so hard as to admit the whole group of inmates, with theii' dogs, to recline upon their toi)s. These wigwams varied in size from thirty 8 O-KEK-l'A, OF THK MANDANS. to sixty ft't't ill (liamotcr, wcro pcTlrctly round, and often containocl from twenty to thirty iicrsons Avitliin. The villa<,'i' Avas AVcll protected in front hy a liifjfh and preci- pitous rocky liank of tlio river; and, in the rear, l>y a stockade of timbers tiniily set in the ^n-onunn>r' (or symhtp] of the "./>•/"") arc conspicuous, and their posi- tions sliouhl ho home in mind durin;;' the descriptions of the cerc- imiiiics that are to he <;iven. Tho '' Medlrini' Lo(/ths) suspended on judes ahovc it, was considered l)y tlicsc jn'oph" as a sort of tcmph", hehl as strictly sacnnl, l)cin<;' huilt and used sohly for those tour days' ceremonies, and chis(>d during the rest of the year. In an oi)eu area in t1u> centre of the vilhifje stands the Ark (or "/>/}/ ('(iiior"), around which a great proi>ortion of tlieir cerenionies^ were performed. Tliis ru(h' synd)ol, of eiglit or ten feet in lieiglit, was constructed (if phmks and liooi)S, liaving sonu'what the appear- ance of a large hogshead stamling on its end, and containing s(mio mysterious tilings which none but the meilicinc men yvvro aUowed to examine. An evidenct> of the sacredness of this object Avas the fact that though it had stood, no doubt for many years, in the midst and very centre of the yillage popnlation, there Avas not the slightest (lisco-Ncrable bruise or scratch upon it ! In the distance in this yicw, and ontsido of the picket, is seen a portion of their cenu>tery. Th(>ir deiul, partially embahned, arc tightly Avrapped in buffalo hides, softeiu'd with glue and water, and placed on slight scaffolds, aboyc the reach of animals or human hands, each body haying its separate scaffold. i^. O-KKK-PA, OP TlIK MANDANH. The 0-kce-pa^ tli()u<;h in many respects apparently so unlike it, was strietly a rolitjlous (rrnuoti//, it havinj; been conducted in most of its parts witli the solemnity of relin who had arrived at the age of manhood during tho past year, through an ordeal of privation aiid bodily torture, wliich, while it was supposed to harden their muscle,-' and prepare them for extreme endurance, enabled tlnnr chii'fs, Avho were spectators of the scene, to decide upon their comparative bodily strength, and ability to endure the priva- tions and sutferings that often fall to the lot of Indian warriors, and that they might decide who amongst tho young men was the best able to lead a war-party in an extreme exigency. The season having arrivcnl for the holding of these ceremonies, the leading mcilicine (mystery) man of tho tribe presented himself on the top of a Avigwani one morning before sunrise, and haranguing the people told them that "he discovered something very strange in the western horizon, and he believed that at the rising of the sun a great white nuui would enter the village from the west and open the Medicine Lodged In a few moments the to]>s of the wigwams, and all other eleva- tions, were covered Avith men, women, and children on the look-out ; and at the moment tho rays of the sun shed their first light over tho 10 o-ki;k-1'a, or nii: mam>ans. w ill pniii'it's tiiid liiick of llic villii^c, a sinnilhi'icou!* sliout was raised, and ill a lew iiiiiiiitcs all voices were iiiiiird in Vtlls and iiiniiniriil crit's, and with tlicni tln' liarkin;; and liuwliiit,' (•!' dnus ; all were in niotiun and apparent alanii, preparing; their weapons and securing; tiieii- horses, as if an enemy were rii>hini;' <»n them to take them by storm. All eyes "Were at this time dire< fed to the jn'airie, Aviiere, at tlie distance of a mile or so from the villaiic, a s(»Iitary hmiiaii tiynre was seen desceiidinu' the prairie hills and ajiproaehini;' the viilai;'e in a straiylit line, niitil he reached the jiicket. uhere a forniidahh> array of shields and r«pea:'s was ready to receive him. A larji'e hody of arriors was drawn up in hattle-array, when tlieir leader adxanced id called out to the straiipr to make h!s errand known, and to tell from whence he came. He rcjilied that he laid come from the lii^h mountains in the west, where he resided, — that he had <'ome for the pur})ose of open iiiij; the Jftdicitic Lm/i/r of the ^laiidaiis, and that he must have uninterrupted access to it, or certain destruction wonld he the fate of the whole triln\ The head chi'f and the council of chiefs, who were at that mo- ment assemhled in the council-house, with their faces painted hlack, were sent for, and soon made their appearance in a hody at tlu; picket, and rec(»u;iiized the visitor as an old ac([uaiutaiice, avIioiu th(>y addressed as '•'• Xn-iiKihk-iiu'u-k-a-iKdi'''' (the y/Vs7 or mil// mww]. All shook hands 'ith him, and hivit(>d him within the picket, lie then haranjiueil t .'m for a few minutes, remindiii,i'- thi>m that e\'ery human l.einj;' ou the surfac(> of the earth had heeu destroyed hy the water exceptin.u; himself, who had landed on a hi^h mountain in the "West, in his canuo, where he still resided, and from whence ho had come to o])en the Mcdlcltw Lodjc, that the Mandans mi<;ht celehrate the suhsi(lin«ij of the waters and make the pro[)er sacrifice's to the water, l(>st the same calamity should apjain hapi»en to them. The next moment he was seen enterinu' the a illa"e luider the o-Ki:i:-rA, of tiii; mamuns, 11 escort of the cliic'f'H, wlicii the cries mid uliinns of flic villap'rs iii- stiiiitly ceased, and orders were j^'iveii by tli(« cliiefs tliat tln' Avomcii and children should all he silent and retire Avilhin their Avij;\vams, and their (ht^-s all to bo nni//led dnriiiL!; the whole of that day, which helon^'ed to the (ireat Spirit. In the midst of this startlin,!,' and thrillin*,' scene, which was so well acted ''^reat ceremony," and that I ou<'ht n(tt to lose a moment in witnessing its connnencement, and of making sketches of all that trans[)ired. With this advice 'Mr. Ivijip had accompanied me to the picket, where I had a fair view of the reception of this strang(> visitor from the Wi'st ; in ap^x^aranco a very aged man, Avliose Ixtdy was naked, with the (>xcoption of a rohe made of four whit(^ wolves' skins. His body and face and hair were entirely covered with whitt> clay, and he closely resend)l((l. at a little distance, a cenlenariun white man. In his left hand he extended, as he Avalked, a large pipe, which seemed to be born(> as a very sacred thing. The procession moved to the J\fc;//'ciiie Loilt/c, which this personage seemed to have the only means of op(>ning. lie oiiened it, and ent(>red it ah»ne, it having been (as I Avas assm-ed) superstitiously closed durhig the past year, and never used sinc(> the last annual C(>remony. The diiefs then retired to the Council-house, leavhig this strange visitor sole tenant of this sacred editice ; soon after which he placed himself at its door, and calh-d out to the chiefs to furnish him "lour men, — one from the jVor//i, one from the Soui/i, one from the Fast, and one from the West, whose hands and feet were clean and Avould not profane th(> sacred temple while labouring Avithin it during that day." These four men Avere soon i)roduccd, and they Avcre eniph)yod 12 O-KEE-PA, OF THE MANDANS. h i (luriiiij: tlio (lay in swoopiiii; and rl(>anin<; cvory part of tlio tcMtiplo, and strt'wiiiij,' the floor, wliii'li was a cnncvcto of i;Tav(d and clay, and ornament inf>' tlio sidos of it, -with willow boughs and aromatic l)('rl)s which they gathered in the })rairi(>s, and otherwise prej)aring it for the " Ccrcn/oiiirs."' to commence on the next morning. During Oie n-mainder of that day, while all th(> ^Vfandans wore shnt np in their wigwams, and not allowed to go out, Xa-mohk- nuH'k-a-n(th (the jirst or oul/j man) visited alone (^ach wigwam, and, while crying in front of it, th(> owntn* aj^peared and asked, '" Who's ther(>?'' and ""Wliat was wanting'?'' To this Xn molik-))u'(c/>--a- iKili replied hy relathig the di-struction of all the human family hy the F/ooiI, i>xcepting hims(>lf, who had Inn^n saved in his '']iig Canoe." and now dwelt in the AVest; that he had come to open tlie Jft'(/ic/ti(' Lo(I water, and for this purpose it was reipiisite that ho shtndd receive at tlu^ dot>r of every ^Mandau's wigAvam some* edged tool to he given to the watt>r as a sacritice, as it was with such tools that tlu> "/?/y Canoe'' was Imilt. 1I(> then demanded and received at the door of every ]\[andau wigAvam, s(nne edged or jxiiiited tool or instrument made of iron or steel, which seemed to have been i>rocured and held in readiness for the occasion; with these he returned to the Jfolirii/c L()(/(/i' at even- ing, where he (h^posited them, and where they remained during the foiu" (lays of the ceremony, and were, as will he seen, on the last day at sundown, in the pn'S(>nce of the chiefs an 1 all the tribe, to b(; thrown into ae(^p water from the top of the rocks, and thus madt> a sacriiice to the Avater. yit-inohlc-))ii(ck-<(-nnIi rested alone in the !^[edi(;in(> Lodrro durinc that night, and at sunrise the next m(.rning, in front of the l()dg(^, called out lor all tin young nun who were candidates for the 0-/>t'i'-pu graduation as warri- rs, to conu' forward, — the rest of the \ illagers still enclosed in their wigwams. 0-Ki;i:-I'A, OF THK MAXD.VX8. 13 In a foAV iiiinut(>a about fifty yount? mon, wlioni I learned wore all of those of tlie tribe who had aiTiv(>d at maturity during tlio last year, appeared in a beautiful group, their gracH'ful lind)s entirely d(>nud(Hl, but Avithout exeeption eovered with clay of ditferent colours from head to foot, — somc^ white, sonu^ red, souio yellow, and oth(>rs blue and green, each (me carryiug his shield of bull's hide (m his left arm, and his bow in his left hand, and his nwd/ciiw bat/ in the right. In this plight th(>y followed Ku-niohk-niiick-d-nah into the Medi- cine Lodge in " Indian file," and tnking their positions around the sidi^s of the lodge, cnieh one hung his bow and (piiver, shield and mc(h'ciiu'-baij over him as he r(>elin(>d upon the fioor of tln^ wigwam. Nu-niolik-nn'ick-a-ndh then called into the Malicinc Lodr/e the priucii)al medicine nuin of the tribe, whom he appointed 0-kec-pa- kft-sce-hi (Keeper or Conductor of the Cereuu)nies), by passing into liis hand the large pi])(^ Avhich he had so carefully brought with him, "which had been saved in the big canoe with him," and on which it will appear tlu^ whole of thes(> mysteries hung. Nu-molik-viitek-a-ttah then took leave of him by shaking hands with him, and left the Medicine Lodge, saying that hcAvould return to the West, Avhere he liv(>d, and be back again in just a year to re- oi)en tlu> ]\L(-dicine Lodg(>. lie then passed through the village, shak- ing hands with the chiefs, and in a few moments Avas seen disappear- ing over the hills from wIicuch' 1u> came the day pr(>vious. Xo more was ^tcoi of this extraordinary personage during the ceremonies, but more will be learned of him before this description is finished.* * HiTo the (iiu'stion ai^iiiii arises, If the Indian tradition of the Uolugc was not of Mos.iic orijfin, wliy was tlu' "lirst or only man" roproscnted by the IMaiidann as a wliitc man? and tlio answer is tlio same as iliat already i^iven as to the " willow-bouf,dr' and the "l)i^' eanoe." Tlie same leacliers liave made these people believe that the first man was a white man, and they conseiiuently so represent him,— a peculiarity of the Mandans, not practised or t!iouf,'iit of in any other tribe of the American continent. T 14 O-KEE-PA, OF THE MANDANS. Ilcrc is the proper place to relate the manner in which I plained adniistiiou into this sacretl temple, and to <;ive the credit that was due, to tlie man who kindly gave me pc>rmission to witnc'ss what was pro- bably never seen before by a m hite man, the secret and sacred trans- actions of the interior of the ^Mandan ^ledicinc Lodge, so sacred that a double door, with an intervening passage and an armed sentinel at each end, positively denying all access except by permission of the Conductor of the CiTcmonies, and strictly guarding it against the approach or gaze of Avomen, M'ho, I was told, had never been allowed to catch the slightest glance of its interior. This interior had also been too sacred a place for the admission of Mr. Kipp, the fur-trader, who had lived in the village eight or ten years ; but luckily for me, I had completed a portrait the day before, of the renoAvned doctor or '''■ mu^tcnj ?>?««," to whom the superin- tendence of the ceremonies had just been committed, and whose vanity had been so much excited by the painting that he had mounted on to a wigwam with it, holding it up by the corners and haranguing the villagers, claiming that "he must be the greatest man among the ]\Iandaus, because I had painted his portrait before 1 had painted the great chief; and that I was the greatest ' medicine'' of the Avhites, and a great chief, because I could make so perfect a duplicate of him thai it set all the women and children laughing !" This man, then, in charge of the Medicine Lodge, seeing mo with one of my men and ^Ir. Kipp, the fur trader, standing in front of the door, came out, and passing his arm through mine, politely led me into the lodge, ami allowing my hired man and Mr. Kipp, with one of the clerks of his establishment, to follow. We took our seats, and were allowed to resume them on the three following days, oc- cupying them most of the time from sunrise to sundo-sni ; and there- fore the following description of those scenes, and the paintings which I then made of them, and to all of which Mr. Kipp and the other two men attached their certificates, whicl. arc here given. \ O-KEE-PA, OF THE MANDANS. F' " Wc hereby certify that we witnessed, with Mr. Catlin, in the Mandan vilhif^e, the ceremonies represented in the four paintings to wliieh this cer- tificate refers, and tliat he has tlicrein represented those scenes as we saw them enacted, without addition or cxnggcration. "J. Ku'P, Aijcid iif Missouri Fur Cvmjmnij, "J. Ckawi'oud, cirri: "Abraham Bogakd. "Mainlaii ril/nffc,2S//iJiiIi/,lS52." The Conductor or Master of tlio Corcmonios then took his posi- tion, reclining on tho ground near tlie fire, in the centre of the lodge, with the medicine-pipe in his hand, and commenced crvinn- and continued to cry to the Great Spirit, while he guarded the younn- candidates who were reclining around the sides of the lodge, and for four days and fom- nights were not allowed to cat, drink, or to sleep. (This interior, which they called ^^Mce-nc-ro-h(-IId-sh<(," — the waters settle down, — sec in Plate III.) By such denial great lassitude, and even emaciation, was pro- duced, pr(>paring the young men for the tortures which they after- wards went through. The Medicine Lodge, in which they were thus resting during the four days, and which I have said was seventy-five feet in diameter, presented tho most strange and picturesque appearance. Its sides were curiously decorated Avith willow-boughs and aromatic herbs, aiul its floor (covered also with willow-boughs) with a curious arrangement of buffalo and human skulls. There were also four articles of veneration and importance lying on the ground, which were sacks, containing each some thi'ce or four gallons of water. These seemed to be objects of great super- stitious regard, and had been made with much labour and ingenuity, being constructed of the skins of the buffalo's neck, and sewed together in the forms of largo tortoises lying on their backs, each having a sort of tail made of raven's quills, and a stick like a drum- ::;>n k; (t-ivKi;-r.v, OF Tin: max dans. stick lying on it, witli wliicli, as will l)o seen in a subsequent part of the ceivniony, the musicians boat upon tlio sacks as instruments of music for their strang(> dances. ]iy the sides of tlieso sacks, which they called Ech-hr-ka (drums), there Aven^ two other articles of etpial importance, Avhich they called Evh-U((-iJc (rattles), made of (b'ied undressed skins, shaped into the form of gourd-shells, Avhich they also used, as will be seen, as another l)art of tile nuisic for their dauci^s. The siicks of water had the appearance of great antiquity, and the Mandaiis pr(>tended that the wati>r had been contained in them <'vcr since the Deluge. At what time it had been originally put in, or when replenished, I conse([iu>ntly could not learn. I made several etforts to i)urcliase one of these tortoise drums, so elaborately and curiously wore they embroidered and ornamented, offering them goods at the Fur C'ompany's trading-house to the value of one hun- dred dollars, but th(^y said they were medicine (mystery) things, and therefore could not be sold at any price. Such was the api)earanco of the interior of the Medicine Lodge during th(> three i'.rst (and i)art of the fourth) days. During the three iirst days, whil(> things remained thus inside of the ;Medicinc Lodge, there W(»r(> many curious and grotesque amusements and ceremonies transpiring outside and around the "Big Canoe." The principal of tlu^se, which they called Bel-lohk-na-pkJc (the bull dance), to the strict observance (.f which they attributed the comhig of buftaloes to sujjply them with food, was one of an exceed- iiigly grotesque and amusing charact(>r, aiul was danced four times on the first day, eight times on the S(>cond day, twelve times on the third day, and sixteen times on the I'ourth day, and always around th(> " Big Canoe," of Avhich I have already spoken. (See the " ]iull Dunce," Plate lY.) The chit'f actors in these strange scenes were eight men, with the entu-e skins of buffaloes thrown over them, enabling them closely ...I i ()-Ki;i;-r\, nr tiii; manhans. 17 to iinitatc tlx' iii)i)riirii""(' jiikI motions orilmsi' iiiiimiils, as (ho ImcUcs ol' tlic (lain . were kept in a horizontal ])osit''on, tlio lionis and tailH of tlu' animals rcmaininf;' on tlir skins, and tlio skins of tlic uninuds' heads served as masks, llin)n;;li the cyvH of wlii(!li tliu dan('(>rs w*'i'e lookint::. The ei.yht nieii were all naked and i»;iinted exactly alike, and in the most extraordinary manner; their bodies, lindis, and faces bein;^' everywhere covered with hkick, red, or white paint. Each joint was marked with two white rin^s, (.ne witiiin the other, even to th«> johits in th<' un(h'r jaw, the tinf;vrs and the toes; and the alxh.mens were painted to represent the face of an Infant, tlii^ navel represent- in«' its mouth. (See "A I'.uffalo Bull," I'late V.*) Each Olio of thes(^ <'haracters also had a lock of buffalo's hair tied urouud the ankles, in his right hand a rattle {shv-sln'r-iiuolit), and a sh'uderstalf nix feet in lenj-'th in the other; and carried on his back, above the bntfalo skin, a bundle of willow-bou-hs, of the or- dinary size of a bundle of wlu>at. (Se(^ " A lUitfalo ]Udl " dancing", Plate VI.) These eight men repr(\senting eight buffalo bulls, being divided into four pairs, took their positions on the four sides of the Ark, or "IJig C'iuioo" (as seen in the general view, Plato IV.), repre- senting thereby the four cardinal points; and between each couplo of these, with his back turned to the " Jiig (\moe," was another figure engag(>d in the same dance, keeping stci) with the eight buttalo bulls, with a staff in one hand and a rattle in the other : and being four in number, answered again to the four cardinal points. The bodies of these four men were also entirely naked, with the exception of beautiful kilts of eagles' quills and ermine, and head- dresses made of the same materials. * Wliilst the handsome warrior was Ktmidinc; f stript^s up and doAvn over tlieir bodies and lind)s, AV(u-e called the mommf/ >w^s (-symbols of day). (See one of them, Plate YII.) These tAvelvc were the only figures actually engaged in the Bull dance, which was each time repeatcnl in the same manner without any apparent variation. There were, however, a great number of cliaracters, many of them representing various animals of the coun- try, engaged in giving the whole eflect to this strange scene, and all of which are worthy of a few remarks. The bull dance was conducted hy the old master of ceremonies {0-Jcec-pa Kn-see-ht) cixvYymr^ liis medicine pipe; his body entirely naked, and eovered, as \\(A\ as his hair, Avith yelloAv clay. For each timt^ that the \m\\ dance Avas repeated, this man came out of the Medicine Lodge with the medicine jvpc in his hands, bring- ing with him fnu- old men carrying the tortoise drums, their bodies painted red, and head-dresses of eagles' (piills, and with them another •>ld man with the two she-shee-qiwins (ratth^s). These took their seats by the side of the "Pig Canoe," and commenced drunnning and rattling and singing, Avhilst the conductor of the ceremonies, with his medicine pipe in his hands, Avas leaning against the ''Pig Canoe," and crying in his full voice to the Great Spirit, as seen in the general view, Plate lY. S(piatt(>d on the ground, on the oppo- site side of the " Pig Canoe," were tAvo men with skins of grizzly bears thrown over them, using the skins as masks cov(>ring tlieir faces. Tlieir bodies were naked, and painted Avith yelloAy clay. These characters, Avhom they called l'A, OF TlIK JIAXDAXS. from those of tlicir own tribo, except those who have been regularly initiated into their medicines (mysteries) at an (>arly age, and at an exorbitant i)rice ; and I therefore failed to get u translation of them. At the elose of each of these bull dances, these r(>presentatives of animals and birds all s(>t up the hoAvl and growl peculiar to their species, in a deafening chorus ; some dancing, some jumping, and others (apparently) flying; the heavers clapping with th(Mr tails, the ruttlesnakes shaking their rattles, the hears striking ^\\{\\ their paws, the wolves howling, and the buffaloes rolling in the sand or rearing upon their hind feet ; and dancing off together to an adjoin- ing lodge, where they remained in a curious and picturesque group until the master of ceremonies came again out of the Medicine Lodge, and leaning as before against the " 13ig Canoe," cried out for all the dancers, musicians, and the group of animals and birds to gather again around him. This lodge, yrhich was also strictly a Medicine Lodge during the occasion, and used for painting and arranging all the characters, and not allowed to be entered during the four days, except by the persons taking part in the ceremonies, was shown to me by the conductor of the ceremonies, who sent a medicine man with me to its interior whilst the scene of painting and ornamenting their bodies for the lull dance was taking place ; and none but (ho most vivid imagination could ever conceive anything so peculiar, so wild, and so cuiious in effect as this strange spectacle then presented to my view. Ko man painted himself, but, standing or lying naked, submitted like a statue to the operations of other hands, who were appointed for the purpose. Each painter seemed to have his special department or peculiar figure, and each appeared to be working with great care and with ambition for the applause of the public when he turned out his figure. It may be thought easy to imagine such a group of naked figures, and the effect that the rude painting on their bodies would have; but 0-KEE-l'A, OF TlIK MAXDANS. 21 I am ready to doclaro that the most creative imagination cannot appr(>eiate the singular l)cauty of these graceful figures thus decorated with various colours, reclining in groups, or set in rapid motion ; it was one of those few scenes that must be witnessed to be fully ajipreciated. Th(^ first ordeal they all went through in this sanctuary was that of Tali-ke-vmy Jca-ra-Jca (the hiding man), the name given to an aged man, who was supplied with small thongs of deer's sinew, for the purpose of obscuring the fjlans secret, which was uniformly done by this operator, with all the above-named figures, by drawing the pn^puce over in front of the glans, and tying it secure with the sinew, and then covering the private parts with clay, which he took from a wooden bowl, and, with his hand, plastered unsparingly over. Of men performing theii* respective parts in the bull dancc^ representing the various animals, birds, and reptiles of the country, there were about forty, and forty boys representing antelopes, — making a group in all of eighty figures, entirely naked, and painted fi'ora head to foot in the most fantastic shapes, and of all colours, as has been described ; and the fifty young men resting in the Medicine Lodge, and waiting for the infliction of their tortures, were also naked and entirely covered with clay of various colours (as has been described), som{> red, some yellow, and others blue and green ; so that of (probably) one hundred and thirty p rsons engaged in these picturesque scenes, not one single inch of the natural colour of their bodies^ their li)nbs, or their hair could be seen ! During each and every r ne of these bull dances, the four old men who were beating on the sacks of water, were chanting forth their supplicati(ms to the Great Spirii for the continuation of his favours, in sending them buffaloes to supply them with food for the ensuing j'car. They were also exciting the courage and fortitude of the young men inside of the Medicine Lodge, who were listening to their prayers, by telling them that " the Great Spirit had opened his ears 22 O-KEE-rA, OF TIFR MAXDANS. in their bolialf ; that tho very atiiiosplioro oiit-of-doors was full of l)('aie and happinoss iWr them when thoy j^'ot thr'»np;li ; that tho women and children could hold the months and paAvs of tho g-rizzly hears; that they had invokc^d frf)m day to day tho Evil Spirit ; that they Avere still cliallen<'ing him to com(>, and yet ho had not dannl to make his appearance." Jlut, in th(> midst of the last daneo on tho fourth daj^, a sudden alarm throuj^hout tho group aniKmnced the arrival of a strango eharact(>r from tho Wc^st. AVomen Avero crying, dogs Avoro hoAvling, and all (>yes Aver(> turned to tho prairie, Avhero, a milo or so in dis- tance, AA'as seen an individual man making his a^jproach toAA'ard.s tho A'illage ; his colour Avas hlack, and ho AA'as darting ahont in different directions, and in a zigzag course approached and ent(>r(>d tho village, amidst th(> givatest (ajiparont) imaginable fear and consternation of tlu^ A\-omen and children. This strange and frightful character, Avhom they called 0-ke- Iu'r-(/e (tho oAvl or Evil Spirit), dart(>d through th(> croAvd Avhero tho huffalo dance Avas proceeding (as seen in Plato IV.), alarming all ho came in contact Avith. His ^ody Avas painted jet hlack Avith pulA-eriz(>d charcoal and grease, Avith rings of white clay oA'or his limbs and body. Indenttitions of white, like huge teeth, surrounded his mouth, and Avhit(> rings suiTomided his eyes. In his tAA^o hands ho can-x.'d a sort (»f wand — a slender rod of ciglu feet in hnigtli, Avith a red ball at the end of it, Avhich \iv slid about upon tho ground as ho ran. (See " 0-ke-heo-do," Plate IX.) On entering tho crowd Avlierc tho buffalo danco was going on, he directed his steps toAA'ards the groups of Avomen, who retreated in the greatest alarm, tumbling over each other and screaming for help as ho advanccnl upon them. At this moment of increased alarm the screams of the Avomen had brought by his side O-kec-jKi-hi-soe-ka (the conductor of the ceremonies) with his medicine pipe, for their protection. This man had left tho "Jiig Canoe," against Avhich ho X-it»ii •■"*JrVi. L. .__. !!! O-KEE-PA, OF THE MANDANfS. 23 WHS Iciiiiiii^jj and crying during tlio dunoo, and now tlirust his mctlmne pipe before tliis liideous monster, and, looking him full in the eyes, liold him motionless under its cJiann, until the women and children liud withdrawn from his reach. The awkwardness of the position of this bhuncened demon, and the laughal)l(> appearance of the two, frowning each other in the face, Avhih^ the women and children and the whole croAvd were lau«>hinn- at them, were amusing beyond the power of description. After a round of his.H's and groans from the crowd, ond the women had retired to a sfife distance, the vmlicine pipe was gradually withdrawii, and this Aulgar monster, whose wand was slowly lower- ing to the ground, gain(-d power of locomotion again. The conductor of the ceremonies returned to the "Big Canoe," and r(\sumed his former position and crying, as the buttalo dance was still proceeding, without interruption. The Evil Spirit in the meantime had wandered to another part of the village, wher(> the screams of the women were again heard, and the conductor of the ceremonies again ran with the medicine pipe in his hands to their rescue, and arriving just in time, and holding this monster in check as before, enabled tli(>m again to escape. In s(n'eral attempts of this kind the Evil Spirit Avas thus defeated, after Avhicli ho canu> Avandering back amongst the dancers, apparently much fatigued and disappointed ; and the Avomen gradually advancing and gatlun-ing around him, evidently less apprehensive of danger than a foAV moments before. In this distressing dilemma he was approached by an old matron, AA'ho came up slily behind him AA'ith both hands full of yellow dii't, which (by reaching around him) she suddenly dashed in his face, covering him from head to foot and changing his colom-, as the dirt adhered to the undried bears'-grease on his skin. As he turned around he rcceiA'cd another handful, and another, from different cpuirtcrs ; and at length another snatched his wand from his hands, lit ()-Ki;i:-i'A, (»r Tin; m.vxd.vxs. and broke it across licr knee ; otlicrs grasped the bntkcn ])arts, and, snappinf^ tin in into Huudl bits, tliri'W tliciii into his face. His power was thns j^'onc, and hia colour ohan^, and the area wIktc the cen-mony was transpiring, in triumph, and the fortunate one who had dei)riv(>d him of his power was escorted by two matrons on each side. She was then lifted bj' her four female attendants on to tlio front of the Mcdicini" Lodge, directly over its door, where slie stood and harangued the multitude for some time ; claiming that " sho held the powc^r of crmfinn, and also the powc^r of life and death over them ; that she Avas the father of all the buffaloes, and that she could make them com(» or stay away, as sho phased." She then ordered the bull dance to be stoppt>d — the four musicians to carry the four tortoise-drums into the Medicine Lodge. The assist- ant dancers, and all the other characters taking parts, were orderc^d into the dressing and painting lodge. TIk^ buffalo and human skulls on the floor of the Medicine Lodge (as seen in Plate III.) she ordered to b(! hung on the four posts (as seen in Plate X.). Sho invited the chiefs to enter the Medicine Lodge, and (being seated) to witness the voluntary tortures of the young men, now to commence. She ordered the conductor of the ceremonies to sit by the fire and smoke the medicine pipe, and the operators to go in with their knife and splints, and to commence the tortures. l»iirtH, 1111(1, II is 1)()U'(T fry, and, rics, mImto < (no (l(»ul)t rtlio Imilt'd rliilst tlioy n'jiirif, unci onion, Avlio 1 over tlio wlicro tlio ) ono who ns on oiioh on to tho she stood that "sho :lc>ath over she could i musicians Hie assist- 'o ordiTcd lan skulls 10 ord(>red 10 invited to witness ICO. She nd smoke mife and IT. ! wmmnmm^^tmrn \ 0-KEE-PA, OF THE MAXDAXS. 25 She then cjiILhI out for and demanded the handsomest woman's dress in tlie Mandan village, which Avas duo to her who had disarmed 0-ke-hce-ih and had the power of making all the buffaloes which the Mandans would require^ during the coming year. Ili^r demand for this beautiful dr-ss was pevcmptortj^ and she must have it to load the dance in the Fead of the Buf aloes, to be given that night. The beautiful dress was then presented to h(>r by the conductor of the ceremoui(^s, who said to li(>r, "Young Avoman, you have gained great fame tliis day ; and the hcmour of leading the dance in the Feast of the Biif aloes, to be given this night, belongs to you." Thus {^nded the bull (lanc(> {bel-lohk-nd-pick) and other amuse- ments at midday on the fourth day of the 0-Ue-pa, preparatory to the scenes of torture to take place; in the Medicine Lodge ; and the pleasing moral I'roni these strange (and in some respects disgusting) modes, at onee suggests itself, that in the midst of theii- religious ccrenumy the Y.\\\ Spirit had made his entvee for the purpose of doing mischief, and, having b(>en defeated in all his designs by the magic poAvcr of the medicine pipt>, on Avhich all those ceremonies hung, he had been disarnuHl and driven out of the village in disgrace by the very part of the community ho came to impose upon. The hull dance and other grotesque scenes b(>ing finished outside of the Medicine Lodge, the torturing scene (or pohk-honrj as they called it) commenced within, in the folloAving manner. (S(>e Plate X.) The young men reclining around the sides of the Medicine Lodge (before shown in Plate III.), avIio had nov*^ rc>ached the middle of the fourth day without eating, drinkmg, or sleeping, and conse- qu(>ntly w(^aken(>d and emaciated, commenced to submit to the operation of the knife and other instruments of torture. Two men, Avho Avere to inflict the tortures, had taken tlieir posi- tions near the middle of the lodge ; oni>, Avith a la:'g(> knife Avith a sharp point and tAVo edg(\s, Avhich Avere hacked Aviih another knifo in order to i)roduce as much pain as possible, Avas ready to make the 26 O-KEE-rA, OF THE MANDANS. incisions tlirongh the flosli, and the other, prepared with a handful of splints of the size of a man's finger, and sharpened at both ends, to be passed through the wounds as soon as the knife was withdraA\Ti. The bodies of these two men, who were probably medicine nien, were painted red, with their hands and feet black ; and the one who made the incisions with the knife wore a mask, that the young men should never know who gave them their wounds ; and on their bodies and limbs they had conspicuously marked with paint the scars which they bore, as evidence that they had passed through the same ordeal. To these two men one of the emaciated candidates at a time crawled up, and submitted to the Imife (as seen in Plate X.), which was passed under and tlu'ough the integuments and flesh taken up between the thumb and forefinger of the operator, on each arm, above and below the elbow, over the hmchialis extcrmis and the extensor radialis, and on each leg above and below the knee, over the vastus externus and the j)C)'oneiis ; and also on each breast and each shoulder. During this painful operation, most of these young men, as they took their position to be operated upon, observing me taking notes, beckoned me to look them in the face, and sat, without the apparent change of a muscle, smiling at me whilst the knife was passing tlu'ough their flesh, the ripping sound of which, and the trickling of blood over their clay-covered bodies and limbs, filled my eyes with irresistible tears. When these incisions were all made, and the splints passed through, a cord of raw hide was lowered down through the top of the wigwam, and fastened to the splints on the breasts or shoulders, by which the young man was to be raised up and suspended, by men placed on the top of the lodge for the purpose. These cords having been attached to the splints on the breast or the shoulders, each one had his shield hung to some one of the splints : over w I I h 1 0-KEE-PA, OF THE MANDANS. 27 it ■ his medicine hag "vras held in his left hand, and a dried buflFalo skull was attached to the splint on each loAver leg and each lower arm, that its weight might prevent him from struggling ; when, at a signal, by striking the cord, the men on top of the lodge conimenccd to draw him up. He was tlius raised some three or four feet above the ground, until the buffalo heads and other articles attached to the wounds swung clear, when another man, his body red and his hands and feet black, stepped up, and, with a small pole, began to turn him around. The turning Avas slow at first, and gradually increased until ftiinting (^nsued, when it ceased. In each case these young men submitted to the knife, to the insertion of the splints, and even to being hung and lifted up, without a perceptible murmur or a groan ; but when the turning commenced, they began crying in the most heartrending tones to the Great Spirit, imploring him to enable them to bear and survive the painful ordeal they were entering on. This piteous prayer, the sounds of which no imagination can ever reach, and of Avhicli I could get no translation, seemed to be an established form, ejaculated alike by all, and continued until fainting commenced, when it gradually ceased. In each instance they were turned until they fainted and their cries were ended. Their heads hanging forwards and down, and their tongues distended, and becoming entirely motionless and silent, they had, in each instance, the appearance of a corpse. (See Plate XL) In +liis view, Avhich was sketched whilst the two young men were hanging before me, one is suspended by the muscles of the breast, and tlie otlu>r by the nniscles of the shoulders, and two of the young candidates are seen reclining on the ground, and waiting for their turn. When brought to this condition, without signs of animation, the lookers-on pronounced the word dead ! dead ! when the men who had turned them struck the cords with their poles, which was the signal for the men on top of the lodge to lower them to the ground. 28 O-KKE-l'A, OF THE MANDANS. it — the time of their suspension having been from fifteen to twenty minutes. The excessive pain produced by the turning, which Afas evinced by the increased cries as the rapidity of the tm-ning increased, was no doubt caused by the additional weight of the buffalo skulls upon the splints, in consequence of their centrifugal direction, caused by the rapidity with wliicli the bodies were turned, added to the sicken- ing distress of the rotary motion ; and what that double agony actually was, every adult Mandan knew, and probably no human being but a Mandan ever felt. After this ordeal (in which two or three bodies were generally hanging at the same time), and the bodies were lowered to the ground as has been described, a man advanced (as is seen in Plate X.) and withdrew the two splints by which they had been hung up, they having necessarily been passed under a portion of the tmpezius or pectoral muscle, in order to support the weight of their bodies ; but leaving all the others remaining in the flesh, to be got rid of in the manner yet to be described. Each body lowered to the ground appeared like a loathsome and lifeless corpse. Xo one was allowed to oft'er them aid whilst they lay in this condition. They were here enjoying their inestimable privilege of voluntarily entrusting their lives to the keeping of the Great Spirit, and chose to remain there until the Great Spirit gave them strength to get up and walk aAvay. In each instance, as soon as they got strength enough partly to rise, and move their bodies to another part of the lodge, wli(>re there sat a man Avitli a hatchet in his hand and a dried buftalo skull before him, his body red, his hands and feet black, and wearing a mask, they held up the little finger of the left hand (as seen in Plate X.) towards the Great Spirit (offering it as a sacrifice, as they thanked him audibly, for having listened to their prayers and protected their lives in what they had just gone through), and laid it on the buffalo ig w p ' I • o-Ki;i;-i'A, OF Till-; jiaxdaxs. 29 skull, where the man with the mask, struck it off at a blow with the hatchet, close to the hand. In several instances I saw them offer immediately after, and give, the forrfincpcv of the same hand,— leaving only the tAVo middle fingers and the thumb to hold the bow, the only weapon used in tliat hand. Instances had been known, and sev(>ral such were subsequently slioAvn to me amongst the chiefs and wari-iors, where they had given also the little fing(T of the /vV//// hand, a much greater sacrifice; and several famous men of the tribe were also shown to me, who proved by the corresponding scars on their breasts and limbs, which they exhibited to me, that they had been several times, at theii- own option, through these horrid ordeals. The y(>ung men seemed to take no care or notice of the wounds thus made, and neither bleeding nor inflammation to any extent ensued, though arteries were severed,— owing probably to the checked circulation caused by the reduced state to which their four days and nights of fasting and other abstinence had brought them. During the v/liole time of this cruel part of the ceremonies, the chiefs and other dignitaries of the tribe were looking on, to decido Avho amongst the young men were the hardiest and stoutest-hearted, who could hang the; longest by his torn flesh without fainting, and who was soonest up after he had fainted, — that they might decido whom to appoint to lead a war party, or to place at the most im- jwrtant posts, in time of war. As soon as six or eight had passed firough the ordeal as above described, they were led out of the Medicine Lodp-e, with the weights still hanging to their flesh and cbagging on the ground, to undergo another and (perhaps) still more painful mode of suffering. This part of the cercmcmy, which they called Ech-hc-nuh-ka Na-pick (the last race) (see Plate XII.), took place in presence of the whole tribe, who were lookers-on. For this a circle was formed by the bufRilo dancers (their masks thrown off) and others who had 3(1 <)-KKi:-l'A, OF TIIK MAXDANS. takon parts in the bull duiicc', now AVi'arin^' hcad-drossos of ( splints, and (lra<;',i;ing' on the i;r(»un(l, v\'er(^ placed at etpial distances, with two athletic younn' men assigned to each, one on each side, their bodies painted one half red and tlu' other blu(>, and carry insi; a bunch of willow-bouf'hs in one hand, (s(>e one of them, riate XIII.,) who to(jk them, by leather strai)s fast(Mied to tho wrists, and ran with them as fast as they could, around tlio '' Big Canoe;" the buft'alo skulls and otlu>r Aveights still dragging on the ground as they ran, amidst the deafening shouts of the bystanth-rs and tho runners in the inner circle, Avho raisi'd their voices to tho highest key, to droAni the cries of the poor fellows thus sullering by the violeuco of their tortures. The aiid)ition of the young aspirants in tliis part of tho ceremony was to docido who could run the long(>st under these circumstances without fainthig, and who could be so(mest on his feet again after having been brought to that extremity. So much -were they ex- hausted, however, that the greater portion of them fainted and settled down belVtre they had run half the circle, and W(^re then violently dragged, even (in some cases) with their faces in tho dirt, until everv weiuht attached to their tlesh was left behind. This )}iust be done to produce honourable scars, which could not be ctfecti>d by withdrawing the splints endwise ; the tit^sh nuist bo hroken out, leaving a scar an inch or nun-e in length : and in order to do this, there were several instances where the buti'alo skulls adhered so long that they were jumped upon by the bystanders as tlu^}' were being dragged at full speed, which forced the s})lints out of the wounds by breaking the flesh, and the buffalo skulls Avere lt>ft behind. Tho tortured youth, when thus freed from all Aveights, Avas left T 1 « I not 1)0 to V(l cro the 11(1. 'ft **^i.%k-^yi I I O-KEE-PA, or TlfE M.VXDANS. 81 upon tlio fen-ouna, appctrin. like a mau-^od corp.o, whilst lu« two orlum. lutvin,^ droHuHl th.ir willow-bou^Ls, w.ro ..on running, tin-ou,. the cnnvd toward, the pmirioH, as if to .s.apc, the puui.h- ment tlmt Avould follow tho .onnni.Hsion „f a lu^iiious crin,,. In tins pitiable condition oa.h sntfrr.-r was loft, Ins life a<^aiu ontrustod to tho keopin. of tho Givat Spirit, tho saorodnoss of whioh Fiv.loo,. „o one had a right to infrino,. upon l.y otforin,^ a holpin^^ hand. l,aoh one in his tnrn lay in this conditi.ai nntil " tho Groat Spirit ;,avo hi,n stron-^th to riso npon Ids foot," whon ho was soon coverod with marks of trioklin,. hlood, stao..ovi„. through tho crowd and ontorn.n. his wigwani, wlu>ro Ins wonnds wore probably drossod and with food and sh«op his .strongth was rostorod. Tho ehiofs and othor dignitaric^s of tho tribo wore all spoc-tators hero also, deciding who amongst tho young nion woro tho strongest and coTdd run tlio longest in tho last race without fainting, and whonl to apponit and in-oinoto accordingly. As so(m as tho six or eight thus treated wore off from the- ground, as many more were led out of the Medicine Lodge and pas.c.l through the same ordeal, or took some other more painful mode- at tlKur own option, to rid thou, selves of the splints and woi.'hts attached to their limbs, until tho whole number of candidates wore disposed of; and on tho occasion I am describing, to tho whole of which I was a spectator, I should think that about fifty sutfered in succession, and in the same manner. The number of wounds inflicted required to bo the same on each and the number of weights attached to them tho same, but in both stages of the torture the candidates had their choice of being, in the first, susp(>ndod by tho breasts or by tho shoulders ; and in the ^^hist r«.e" of being dragged as has been described, or to wander about the prairies from day to day, and still without food, until suppuration of the wounds took place, and, by the decay of tho flesh, the tb-aggi„.v weights were left behind. "'^ ° I ; i ' i If 0,a O-KKK-r.V, OF TIIK JIAXDANS. It was natural for mc to iiiqiiir(>, as I did, wlu>thor any of tlioso young men cvc^r died in tlu> c xtronie part of this ceremony, and thoy could tfU nio of but one instance Avitliin their reeoHection, in Avliich case the yoinig man Avas k^ft for tliree dtn's upon the ground (un- approached b}' his rehitives or by jiliysicians) before thc^v Avero (piitc certain tliat tlie Great Sjtirit did not intend to lielp him away. They all stenu'd to speak of this, however, as an enviabl(> fate I'ather than as a misfortune ; for "the Great Spirit had so Avilled it for some especial purpose, and no doubt for the young man's benetit." After the Medicine Lodge had thus been cleared of its tortured inmates, ihe master or conductor of ceremonies returned to it ah)ne, and, gathering up the edged tt)ols Avhich I have said were deposited there, and to be sacrificed to the Avater on the last day of the cere- '.aony, he proceeded to the bank of the river, 'iccompanied by all the tribe, in Avnose presence, and AA'ith much form and ceremony, ho sacrificed them by tlnoAving them into de(^p Avater from the rocks, from .vhicli they could never bo rt>covered : and then announced that the Great Spirit must be thanked b}- all — and that the 04-ec-j)a (religious ceremony (tf the Mandans) Avas finished. The sequel ^"0 this strange aft'air, and Avhich has been briefly aiiuded to, and is yet to be described, Avas the " Feast of the Bueialoes." At the defeat of 0-/i('-Ii<'e-(h (the Evil Spirit) it Avill be remembered that the young Avomau Avho retirrned from the prairie bearing the singular prize, and Avho ascended the front of the ]\Icdieine Lodge and put an end to the IjuII dance, claimed the privilege of a beautiful dress, in Avhich she Avas to lead the dance in the feasf of tlic btifaloes on that night. The 0-kee-pa having been ended, and night having approached, several old men Avith rattles in tluMi* hands, Avhich they AV(>re violently 0-TiEK-PA, OF TIFE MAXDANS. »>0 sliaking, poranibulatod the villago in various diroetions in tlio cliaractor of .r/.r., amiouncino- tluit " the whole novornmont of tlie Mandans was thon in tlio Inuids of one wonian-sho wlio luul dis- armed the Evil Spirit, and to whom they w,>re to look during tho comnig year for buffidoes to supply them with food, and keep them ahve; tl- -t all nnist repair to th(>ir wigwams and not show them- selves outside ; that the chiefs on that night were old women ; that they liad nothing to say; that no one was allowed to be out of their wigwams excepting the favoured ones whom liah-ta-en-jnil-cheo (the governing woman) had invited to be at t\m feast of the Jjutfaloes around tho 'Big Canoe,' and which was about to com .lence." " This select party, which assendded and was seated on the ground in a circle, and iacing the " Big Canoe," ccmsisted {first) of the eight men who had danced the bull dance, with the paint washed off. To them strictly the least was given, and therefore was the fmst of the t^uffaloes (and not to bo eonfound(>d with* the huffalo femt, another annual ceremony, given in the fall of the year, sonlcAvhat of a similar character, but held for a different purpose). Besides tho eight buffaloes were the old maJmne man, conductor of the ceremonies, the four old men who had beaten on the t(n-toise- drums, and the one who had shaken th.^ rattles, as musicians, and several of the aged chiefs of the tribe ; and, added to these, this new- made, but temporary governess of the tribe, had invited some eight or ten of the young married women of tlu^ village, like herself, to pay tho extraordinary respect that was due, by tho custom of their country, to the makers of bnflaloes and to reverenced old age on this extraordinary occasion. The commencement of tho ceremonies which fell under this woman's peculiar management was tho feast of the hufaloes (as all the men invited to it were called huf aloes), which was handed around in wooden bowls by herself and attc^udants. After this was done, which lasted but a few mhuitcs (appearing but a minor part of the affair), D I '• I I 34 O-KEK-r.V, or THE MANDAXS. she charged a large pipe, which was passed around amongst the men, during which a lascivious dance was perfornKMl by herself and female companions. This dance finished, she advanced to her first selected paramour, and, giving some signals which seemed to be understood, passed her nd gently under his arm, and, raisuig him up, led him through the village and into the prairie, where, as all the villagers and their dogs were shut up in their wigwams, tlu^y were free from observation or molestation.* From this excursion they returned separately, and the man took his seat again if he chose to be a candidate for further civilities, or returned to his wigwam. The other women were singing and going through the whirl of the dance in the meantime, and each one in- A'iting her chosen paramour, when she was disposed, in the same manner. Those of the women who returned from these excursions joined again in the continuous dance, and extended as many and as varied invitations in this way as they desired ; and some of them. I learned, as well as of the men, had taken several of such, promenades in the course of the evening, M'hicli may be accounted for by the relieving fact tliat though it Avould have bi'en a most prejudicial want of gallantry on the part of the man to have refused to go, yet the trilling present of a string of beads t»r an aAvl sa^•ed him from any odium which might otherwise have been cast upon him. This extraordinary scene gradually closed by tlu,' men returning from the prairie to tlieir homes, the last of them on the ground pacifying any unsatisfied fc^elings there might have been, by bestow- * In tilt' torcfi;oing ai'coimt ol' the reliL!;iouH ccrcmouics, iiotliiiiir lias bceii do- scribed but wliat I saw enacted. Here, from necessity, I am trustiiifj; to the accounts of Mr. Kipp, of the Fur Company, and .Mr. Tllton, whose letter will be Been in tlie .\ppendi.\, both of whom told me they Iiad rej)eatedly been invile(l uuestH and sliarers of these e\traordiiiarv hospitalities. 0-KEE-PA, OF THE MANDANS. 35 mg liberal presents amongst those women, and agreeing to smoke the pipe of friendship with their husbands the next day, which they were bound to offer, and the others, by the custom of the countr/ were bound to accept. ^ ' It may be met as matter of surprise, that a reli^/ous ceremon, should be followed by a scene like the one just described, but before we entirely condemn these ignorant and superstitious people, let us inquire whether it is not, more or less, an inherent propensity in human nature (and even practised n some enlightened and Christian communities) to end extreme sorrow, extr<>me penitence, and oven mourning for kindred the most loved, in Mauch? What has thus far been related has been simple and easy, as it has been but the description of what I smo and what I hmrd • but what may be cpected of me-rational and conclusive deductions' from the above premises-I approach with timidity; rather wishing to submit the materials for the conclusions of others abler than myself to explain them, and for whose assistance I will still continue a lew suggestions. That the Mandans should have had a tradition of a '^ Dehgc^^ IS by no means singular, when in every tribe I have visited I have tound that they regard some high mouninn in thc-ir vicinity on which, they say, their ancestor or ancestors uere saved, and als.i re- late other vague stories of the destruction of everything else living on the earth, by the waters. '"' But that these people should hold an amiual celel>ration of tliat event, and that the season of the year for that celebration was decided by such circumstances as the " willow-lx.ugli" and its - full-grown leaves," and the ^^ medicine bird^ and the Mc.liciiu^ Lodge opened by such a man as '' Nu-molik-muck-a-nah;' *lu, represented a white man, and some other circumstances, is .urely a very remarkable thing, and, as I think, deserves some further attention. This '^ Nu-mohk-m(ich-a-nah- i^x^i or only man) was undoubtedly w 1 1 36 0-KKF,-rA, OF TIIK MANDANS. some very agod meih'cinc man of tlio tribe, who had gone out upon the prairies on thc^ pr(>vious ev(>ning, and having dressed and paint(>d liiiusclf lor tlie oeeasion, eanie into the villa2;e at snnrise in the morning, endeavouring to keep up the semhhuice of reality; for the traditions of tlie ^'andans say, that " at an aneient periitd snch a man did actually vowu' from the "West, that his skin was white, that he was very old, that lu^ appeared in all respects as has been repre- sented ; and, as has also been stated, that he related the mamier of the d(\stru('ti( »n of every human being on the earth's surface by the waters, excepting himself, who^was saved in his '"'' Big Canoe'''' by landing on a high mountain in the West ; that the Mandans and all other nations nere his descendants, and were bound to make annual sacrifices of cnlgi'd tools to tlu> water, for with such things his "Big Canoe" was built; that he instructed the Mandans how to make their Medicine Lodge, and taught them also the forms of these annual ceremonii>s, and told them also that as lung as they made these annual sacritic(^s and pcrt'ornuMl these rites U) the full letter, they Avould be the favoured p(>ople of the Great Spirit, and Avould always have enough to eat and drink, and that so soon as they vl.parted in the least d(g'ree from these forms their race Avuuld begin to decrease and tin ally die out. Tlu^so sui)erstitious people have, no doubt, been living from time innnem(»rial under the dread of such an injunction, and in the fcvir of de]>arting from it; and as they Avere living in total ignorance of its origin, other than this vague tradition, the world will probably rcMiuiin in (Hpial ignorance of nuu'h of its meaning, as they needs nuist bo of all Indian traditicms, Avhicli soon run into fable, thereby losing much of their system by which they might www easily have been cori'ectly construed. It Avouhl seem rr(»m their tradition of the willow-bough and the dove, that these iieoi'le must have had some proximity to some i)art of the ci\ ilized world, er that missionaries or others had bt'en amung.st 0-KEE-P.\, or TIIK MANDAN.S. •)t thorn toadung tl.o Christian ,vligi„„ ,„„1 „„. Mo«.ic account „f tko M,r, ,vlnoh in in this and «o,no otl.or rc.pocts very .littoront from the he„„o., „ neh all the othor American tribes have .listinotly established of that event. There are other strong, and I think ahnost eonolusive proofs, in support of this suggestion, ,vhieh are to be d.-a,v„ fro,., the diversity of colo,,r in tl,eir hair and ecnplexions, as ,v..ll as fro,„ their fa- d.t,o„s jnst related of the "first c- only ,„an," whose body was white, ami who eamo fro,n the West, telling the,a of the destruetion of the human race by the water; and in addition to the above I will offer another tradition, related to me by one of the ohiefs of the tribe in tlie following Avay : — "At a very anoicit time O-Zre-ZMc (the Evil Spirit) eamo from the West to the Maiulaii village in company with Nu.>,o/^l:-nmc^.u. nah (the first or only man), and they, being futigued, sat do^ni upon the ground near a woman who had bnt om- eye and was hoeing corn. Her daughter, who was very beauti .1, came up to her, and the Evil Spirit desired her to go and bring some water, but wislied that before she started she would come to him and eat some buffalo meat. " !!(> then told her to take a piece out of his side, which slie did, and ate it, and it proved to be buffalo's fat. She then went for thd water, Mhieli she brought, and met th(>m in the village aaIki-c tlu-y had M-alked, and they both drank of it ; nothing more Avas done. The fri(>nds of the girl soon after endeavoured to disgrace her by telling her that she was with child, which she did not deny. She declared at the same time her innocence, and boldly defied any man m the JMandan nation to come forward and accuse her. No one could accuse her, and she therefore became great ^mcdmne,^ and she soon after went t-. the little Mandan village, where the child was born. " Great search was m;- J.- for her before she was found, as it was I ' 38 O-KEE-rV, OF THE MANDANS. } expected tlint the child also wouhl he great ' mcdicme,'' and in some ■svay he of jj;veat importance to the trihe. They were induced to this helief from tlie strange manner of its conception and hirth, and were soon conlirmed in their helief from the wonderful things which it did at an early ag(>. "Amongst the strange things which it did on an occasion when the Mandans were in danger of starving, this child gave them four huft'alo hulls, Avhich filled the hollies of the whole nation, heaving as much meat as there Avas heforc th(^y began to eat, and saying also that these four hulls would supply them for ever. " Nii-mohk'-mitcl'-a-mih (the first or only man) was bent on the destruction of this child, and after making niany fniitless searches for it, found it hidden in a dark place, and put it to death by throw- ins; it into the river. "When O-ke-Me-dc (the Evil Spirit) heard of the death of this child, he sought for Nu-moliJc-muclc-a-nah with intent to kill him. lie traced him a hmg distance, and at length overtook him at the Heart Eiver, seventy miles below the Mandan village, with the '■big medi- cine pipe'' in his hands, the charm or mystery of wliich protected him from all his enemies. They soon agre(>d however to become good friends, and after smoking the medicine pipe they returned togeth(>r to Ihc Mandan villnge. " The Evil Spirit Avas now satisfied, and Nu-mohh-muck-a-nah told the Mandans never to go beyond the mouth of Heart Paver to live, for it was the centve of the world, and to live beyond it would be destruction to tlu'in, and he named it Nat-com-pa-m-lia (the heart or centre of the world)." Such Avas one of the very vague and imperfect traditions of those curious people, and I leave it to the Avorld to judge of its similitude to the Scripture account of the Christian advent. Omitting in this place their numerous other traditions and super- stitions, 1 will barely refer to a fe-w singular deductions I have made M 0-KEE-rA, or THE mandans. 39 from the customs wliich have been doscribod, and leave them for the consideration of gentk.nen abh-r tluui myself to decide upon their imjiortance. The Mandans believed that the earth rests on the backs of four tortoisc^s. They say tliat ''each tortoise rain(>d tc-n days, making forty days in all, and the waters covered the earth." Whenever a Mandan doctor {mcdmne man) lighted his pipe, ho invariably pr<>sented the stem of it to the north, the south, 'the cast, and the Avest, i\io four cardinal points, and then upwards to the Great Spirit, before smoking it himself. Tlieir amuial religious ceremony lasted ./w^;- days ; four men were called for by Nu-mohk-muck-a-mih, as has been stated, to cleanse and pr(>pare the Medicine Lodge, "one from tlie north, one from the south, one from the east, and one from the west." Four was the number of tortoise-drums on the floor of the Medicine Lodge ; there were also four buffalo and four human skulls arranged on the floor of the Medicine Lodge. There were>«;- couples of dancers in the bull- dance, and four intervening dancers in the same dance, as has been described; the bull-dance was repeated four times on the first day, eight times on the second day, tw(4ve times on the third day, and sixteen times on the fourth day, adding y^^r dances on each of the four days, which added together maiv(3 forty, the exact number of days that it rained upon the earth to produce the Delude. There were four sacrifices of various-coloured cloths raised on poles over the Medicine Lodge. The visits of 0-ke-hec-de ^ycvq paid to four of the buffaloes in the bull-dance ; and in every instance of the young men who underwent the tortures explained, there were four splints run tlu-ough the flesh on the legs, four on the arms, four on the body, and four buffalo-skulls attached to each one's wounds. And, as has been related in the tradition above given, four was the nmnber of bulls given by the medicine child to ■ feed the Mandans when tlusy were starving. h 40 O-KKE-PA, OF THK MANDAN8. II Such Mere u portion, hut not nil, of tho pociilinr modes of the hospitahh> and friendly Manduns, who havo crasod to oxist, and loft almost the only tan^nhlo ovidonco of their havinti; existed, in my collection, which contains their portraits, their manufa(;tures, and all their modes, and Avhich I hope to preserve with success for the information of a<;'es to come. The melancholy fate of those people was caused hy the intro- duction of tlu' smallpox, hy that nefarious system of traffic which rai)i(lly increases the wealth of civilized individual adventurers and monoi)olies who introduce it, hut everywhere carri(>s dissipation, poM^rty, di>(>ase and death to the poor Indians. In tlu> fourth summer after I left the Mandans, the Missouri Fur Company's steamer from St. Louis, freighted with whiskey and mer- chandise, and with two of the partners of that concern on board, moorinl at the shore ' f the river in front of the Mandan villafjje, where a trafhc was carried on with those unsuspecting people whilst there Avere two of the vessel's hands on board sick with the small- pox ! V)\ this act of imprudence, and in fact of inhuman cruelty, the disease was communicated to those unfortunate peo})le ; and such were its aAvful results, Avith the self-destruction Avliich ensued, that in the short sjiace of three months there Avore but thirty-tAVo of these peopl(> h'ft in existence, Avith the exception of a I'eAV avI o had inter- married and Avere living Avith the Jliiialanrcs, a friendly and neigh- bouring tribe. A feAV months after the disease had subsided, the liiccanrcs, a hostih^ tribe, living tAvo hundred miles beloAV, on the bank of the same river, moved up and took possession of the Mandan village, it being a better built toAvn than their OAvn, and by the side of the Fur Company's factory, making slaves of the remaining Mandans, Avho Avere unable to resist. Whilst living in this condition in the Mandan village, and but a 0-KKE-PA, OF THE MANDANS. 41 W m„„tta utter tl,oy l,„a ,„k„„ ,„„,„3i„„_ ,^^ ^.^^^^^^^ ^^^^ at ackod by a ,vu.-i,„rty „f 8i„u.x, „„d in ,ho midst of a dcsporato battl., around tho pickets, in which the remaining Mandan. were takn,« a part, thoy sudde.dy, at a signal, passed tlu-«„gh the picket, and threw themselves under th,. horses' feet of the Sioux, and were s a,n at tlieir own seeking, rather than to live, a., they said, "dogs of the lliccaiToos." ° My authorities for those painful facts are letters wliieli I hold from Mr. K. M'lvVu.ie and Mr. J. Potts, .vi-itten in the Mandan vlU laoc am., the disease had subsided. Loth of these gentlemen .vero h-om Edinburgh, in Scotland, the former a partner in the Missouri Fur Con^pany, and the latter a clerk in the same Company. (Sec these letters in Nos. 3 and 4 in the Appendix REMAEKS. In contemplating so many striking peculiarities in an extin- guished tribe, the mind reluctantly leaves so interesting a subject witlmit raising the question as to the origin of the people; and in th.s feehng, though not within the original intention of this work, it is diiliadt for me to leave the subject without advancing my bdief, and iurnishmg some part of my reasons for it, that many of the modes of these people were purely Welsh, and that the personal appearance and customs of the Mandans had been affected by the proximity or admixture of some wandering colony of Welsh who had been thi-own at an early period somewhere upon the American coast. I am here, perhaps, advancing a startling problem, which de- mands at my hands some striking proofs, which I Avill in a few words endeavour to produce. The annual religious ceremony which has been described certainly cannot be attributed to the Welsh, nor am I able to compare it to It 42 O-KKK-I'A, OF THE MANDANS. any civilized custom, and I l(>avo it for Uw world to decide whether it bears a resembluuce to any known customs of savajj^e or civilized races in other parts of the world. It is very stranpje, as I have before said, that those people sh(»uld have been instructed how to hoUl those ceremoni(»s by a white man, and that they should be commenced and the Medicine Lodge op«ni{'d by a white man, and that the "bij;- canoe" should have been built with edj^t'd tools, if they be solely of native origin; and it would be equally or more strange if the Jesuit missionaries, who, it would seem, were the only civilized teachers we can well suppose to have reached these people, had instructed them in modes like those, though it is easy to believe that their teaching might have be(>n the cause of the last singular tradition mentioned, ■ tainly bearing a visible but very imperfect paridlel to the Ch .istian Advmit. Many of the customs and traditions of the western trilx^s convince us that those indefatigable preachers penetrated nnich further into the American AvildcTuesses than history has followed them, and in this singular tribe we iind the extraordinary custom which has been de- scribed, and others to which I shall lake a IV'W moments to allude, neither of which can Avith any propriety be attributed to the teaching of those venerable missionaries. On my arrival in their village, my first glance amongst the Man- dans forciul me, from their peculiar features and complexions, the colour of their eyes and hair, the singular mode of building and furnishing theii* wigwams, etc., to believe that they were an amalgam of some foreign with an American aboriginal stock, and every day that I dwelt amongst them furnis];ed me additional convictions of this fact, and of coiQ'se called on my part for greater endeavours to account for these singularities. And iiie information I gathered amongst them confirmed me in the opinion I have advanced, — that many of their peculiarities and customs were Welsh, and therefore that there ex- isted amongst them the remains of some Welsh colon)', however diffi- cult it might be to account for their having got there. 0-KEE-PA, OF THE MANDANS. a Tlio following, I bolicvo, will bo roecivcd us iutorosting and im- porttiiit facts, uiid if they fail to establish my theory, they may never- theless rc^vive the inquirv as to the dirc>ction and fate of the expe- dition which "sailed in ten ships, inider the direction of Trinco Madoc, from North Wales, in the early part of the fonrteenth ccn- tnry," and which it has been pretty chnirly shown, I beli(>ve, landed somewhere on the coast of Florida or abont tlu> month of the Missis- sippi, and, according to the history and poetry of their own country, " settled somewhere in the interior of America, where they are yet remaining, intermixed with some of the Indian tribes." I have not met in any other tribe anything in personal appear- ance or customs that would seem to account for the direction of this colony, but in se^eral of the customs of this tribe which I have already described, as well as in others which T shall name, there appeared to exist striking proofs of the arrival and settlenu>ut of that colony in the western regions of America. The Mandan mode of constructing their wiLnvams, already de- scribed, was almost precisely that of the rude modi' of building tlu«ir cabins amongst the peasantry of the mnuntains of Wales, and, as I am told, in some districts they are building them at the present day. The pot fenj made by the Maudans, to the time of their destruc- tion, was strikingly similar to that manufactured in parts of Wales at the pr(^sent time, and exactly ^milar to that fo..nd in the tumnli on the banks of the Ohio and Muskingum rivers ; strongly suggest- ing the probable fact that those peoph^ formerly inhabited the banks of those rivers, and by a great number of moves up the Missouri had arrived at the place Avhere I found them. A peculiar and very beautiful sort of Hue beads were also manu- fticturcd by the Mandans, and of which they were certainly the only known manufacturers in America; and since publishing my large work on the North American Indians, in which I gave some account of this curious manuliu;turc, I have received several letters from il '. 1 -•t M 0-Ki;i;-PA, OF TIIK MAMJANS. "Welsh gontl(^inon of scioupc, ono of whom cnclosod mo drawings from, and anotlu^r tho bcdila themselves, found in tiuniili, and also in the prcsi'ut i)rogros8 of manufacture in Wales, precisely the same in character, in shape, and in colour and c()ini)osition, us those in my collection brought from the IMandans. The mauufacturii of tlu>so blue Ixuids by the Maiulans was guarded as a profound secret until the time of their destruction, although the Fur Company had made them r(>peated and liberal offers if they would divulge it, as the Mandau bi-ads commanded a much liiglun- price amongst the Mandaus and the neighbouring trilx^s to whom they barter(>d them, than the beads introduced by the fur traders. The cf nines or boats of the Mandans, differing from those of all other tribes in America, were i)recisi'ly the Welsh coracle, made of a bull's hide stretched over a frame of willow rods, bent and inter- locked, and pulled over the water by the paddle, in the same manner as the coracle is pulled, by reaching forward with the jtaddle instead, of passing it by the side of the boat, which is nearly round, and the paddler seated or kneeling in its front. From the translation of their name, already mentioned, Nu-mah- hi-kec (pheasants), an important inference may b(^ drawn in support of the probability of their having formerly lived much farther to the south, as that bird docs not exist on the prairies of the Upper Missouri, and is nut to be met with short of the heavy forests of Ohio and Indiana, one thousand eight hundred miles south of the last residence of the Mandans. And in their familiar name of Jlandtai, which is not an Indian word, there are equally singular and important featurt^s. In the jBrst place, that they knew nothing of the name or how tlicy got it; and next, that the word Mandan in the Welsh language (it being purely a Welsh word) means red di/e, of which further mention will be made. 0-KEE-PA, OF THE MANDAN8. 46 In the brief vocubulury of Maiuluii words wliioli I published in the Appendix to my hirge work on the North Amerieiin Indians, it has be(>n discovered by sovenil Welsh schohirs that there exist tho following most striking resemblimce , which it would be difticult to account for in any other way than that which I am now attempting. Enqi-isu. Mandan. Wklsh. I mn mo you ho 110 cliwo eho ca ea it ouut liwynt , we thoy noo eonah uo hwna {mnnndvu) hona {feminine) no negosh nagosh head The Great Sinrii pan . Maho-Tcneta pen Mawr-Pennefltir From tho above evidences, and others which might be produced, I fully believe, what perhaps will for ever remain impossible (posi- tively) to prove, that the ten ships commanded by the brother of Prince Madoc, or some portion of them, entered the mouth of the Mississippi, and advanced up that noble river to the mouth of the Ohio, which could easily have been navigated by vessels of that date, and, advancing up that river, which they would natui-ally have chosen, as the broadest and most gentle stream, as far as theii* vessels could go, the adventurers planted themselves as agriculturists on its rich and fertile banks, where they lived and flourished and increased in numbers, until they were attacked, and at latt besieged, by the numerous hordes of savages who were jealous of their growing con- dition ; and as a protection against the Indian assaults built those civilized fortifications, the remains of which are so numerous on the banks of the Ohio and Muskingum Eivers. In these defences, I believe, they were at length all destroyed Mli 46 O-KEE-rA, OF THE MANDANS. hy the ov(U'powci'ing numbers of the savage liordcs, excepting those few fomilies who had intermarried with the Indians, and whose off- springs, being half-castes, were in such a manner allied to them that their lives were spared. Those, as is generally the case with the half-castes, I believe had formed a separate village in tlie vicinity of the whites, supporting thomselves by their embroidery with porcupine quills, to which they gave the beautiful dyes for which the Mandans have been peculiarly famous, and were called by their "Welsh neighbours, and in the Welsh language, the Mandans (or red dyers). These half-castes, having formed themselves into a separate community, probably took up their residence, after the destruction of the whites, on the banks of the Missouri, on which, for the want of a permanent location and right to the soil, being on the lands and the hunting-grounds of theii' more powerful enemic^s, they were obliged repeatedly to move, as the numerous marks of their ancient residences show ; and continuing their moves up the river, in time migrated to the place where I .saw them, and where they terminated their existence. Thus much of and for the character and modes of a peculiar people, who were proverbially intelligent, hospitable, and khid ; Avho, with their language, have suddenly ceased to exist; whose character, history, modes, and personal appearance, almost solely existing in my collections, I have considered essentially interesting and important to Ethnolomj, and some of the most remarkable of which (as I have said) I am here, from a sense of ilati), emphatically recording for the information of those who are to study Man and his modes after I shall be gone. Geo. Catlin. EST. TElirET. i~*4.i 47 APPENDIX. No. I.— CERTIFICATE. " Wc hereby certify that we witnessed, in company with Mr. Catlin, in the I^Iandan village, the ceremony represented in the fonr paintings to which this certificate refers, and that he has therein represented those scenes as we saw them transacted, without any addition or exaggeration. " J. Kipp, Agent of the American Fur Company. "J. Crawford, Clerk. "Abraham Bogaud. « Mandan nilage, 2Sth July, 1S32." AVitnessing scenes so extraordinary as those described in the foregoing l)agcs, and so remote from civilization, I deemed it prudent to obtain the above' certiHcates, which were given in the Mandan village, and inseparably attached to the backs of my four original oil-paintings of those four days' cere- monies, made in the Mandan village, and submitted to the examination and approval of the chiefs and the whole t.ibe, and now in my possession, entirely unchanged. No. II. "Fort Gibson, Arkansaw, Jnnc 3r(l, 1836. "To GuGRGi; Catlin, Esq. " Dear Sir, I have seen your account of the religious ceremonies of the Mandans, and no man will give you so much credit for it as myself I conducted the r I- t, ' 48 APPENDIX. American Fur Company's business with the Mandans for eight years before Mr. Kipp, and was the first white man Avho ever learned to speak the Mandau language. " Mr. Ki[.p, Mr. Crawford, and Bogard, who have given you their certifi- cates, are old acquaintauucc of mine, and I am glad you had them with you. All those parts of the ceremonies wliieh you describe as taking place outside of the Medicine Lodge, — the bull dance, the drugging scene, etc., I witnessed aiiiiaally for eight years just as you liave represented them, and I Avas every year an invited guest to the "feast of the buffaloes," but I was always unable to get admission into the Medicine Lodge to see that part of the tortures that took place inside. "TiLTON, " Sutler 1o the First Regiment of Mounted Dragoons." No. III.— DESTRUCTION OF THE MANDANS. As to the unlucky fate of the Mandans, the following letter, enclosed to me by my esteemed friend Thomas Potts, Esq., of Edinburgh, and now in my possession, written l)y his brother, who was then a clerk in the Fur Company's employment, is worthy of being rea 1 and distinctly understood, and will be received as untlcniable authority, . s ne could have no motive for misrepresen- tation. "]\Ianclau Village, Upper Missoim, October 1, 1837. " To Thomas Potts, Esq., Edinburgh, Scotland. " Dear Brother, " The friendly and hospitable tribe of ]Mandans are nearly all destroyed Ijy the smallpox. There arc but thirty-two families remaining, and those chiefly women and children ; tlic.sc he Riccarrccs, who have moved up and taken possession, have turned out of the village, after plundering them of everything they had on earth, and tb ;, will all be destroyed by their enemies the Sioux, as they have no weapons to defend themselves with. "About sixty young warriors, who hfd recovered from the smallpox, on seeing how they were disfi^^ured, put an end to their existence by stabbing or drowning themselves. Nothing now but the name of these people remains. fi AI'l'llXDlX. " Tlio (lisotiscMvas hrouglit up l)y thi; Imu' (^.ompany's stcainhout in tin; spring- : two men on hoard wcie sick with tlic disease when the boat avi'ivcd at the ]\[andan viUage, and the ]\Iaiuians who wtnt on l)oard caught the infec- tion, hoiico tlic ahnost total destruction ol the tribe. "'I'lie Indians are much cxus|)erated against the whites; indeed, if they were not very forbearing, they wouhl (U'stroy every white man in the country, as tliey have been tlie cause of all the distress and disease, which have gone also to all the neighbouring tribes, and may periiaps dei)opulate the v.lioh; country. ... " Your ' '^'"ctionate Brother, "Anoukw Potts." No. IV.— DESTRI'CTION OF THE :M AN DANS. In the summer following the calamity of the ^Nlandans, ^Ir. Kennitii ]MMvenzie, at that time chief factor of the Fur Company, and in eliargc of Fort Union, at the mouth of the Yellow Stone Kiver, came down to St. Louis and New York, M-here I had an interview with him; and as he uas taking leave, to return to the Y'ellow Stone, i)assing tlirough the ^Mandan village, I placed in his hands the sum of fifty dollars, and begged him to procure and send to me any relics of the Mandans that he might think interesting to be preserved in my Indian Collection. In the course of the ensuing summer I received the following lett'.T, en- closed in a box containing some articles pi'ocr.'V'd for me, as descril)cd witinn it. Mr, :\I'Kenzie, who was from the city of Edinburgh, hail treatcnl me with honour and mueh kindness when I was visiting the ^landaus and ot!uT tril)es on the Tapper Missouri a few years jirevious, and I never l)elieved that iie had any motive for misrepresentation in the following letter: — "Fori Mauilau, Mandaii Milage, TppiT Missouri, ".luiir, 18;!'.t. "To Giooimi: Catlin, Esq., City of New York. " Dear Sir, " I liuve sent tins day l)y om- boat a box eoutainiug a few articles of Mandan manufacture, such as 1 thought would be of interest to E ] 5U Al'l'ENDlX. Il !K tl you for your Colloctii)ii ; l)ut tis tlic lliccarrees have taken possession of the Maiulau villafto tlioy liavc appropriated nearly everything, and it is impossible tlu'reloic to obtain what I otherwise would have procured for you. I have sent yon, however, one thing which you will peculiarly value,— the famous inir-lciiij'c ufyour old friend Muh-to-toh-pa, the war chief. This knife and its history you are familiar -with. " I have also sent a very beautiful woman's robe, with a figure of the sun l):iint(Hl on it, a grizzly bear's-elaw necklace, and several other articles, the best I could oi)tain On reaching here I learn that amongst the Assiniboins and Crecs about 7n(!0, and amongst the Blad .feet 15,000, have fallen victims to the disease, which spread to those tribes. " Of tb(> :\randans between forty and tifty were all that were left when the discas" subsided. The Kiecarrees soon after moved up and took possession of their vilhige, making slaves of the rcmaiidng Mandans, and are living in it at llu; present time. " A lew 11,011 1 lis after the Riccarrecs took possession they were attacked by a w;!f-i,arty of SiouN. and in the middle of the battle the Mandans, men, v.ouien, and children, whilst fighting for tbc lliccarrees, at a concerted signal ran tbronuh tlic pickets and threw themselves nnder the horses' feet of the Sioux, and, still fighting, begged the Sioux to kill them ' that they might not live to be the dogs of the lliccarrees.' The last of tb.c tribe were here slain. " Yours truly, "KuNNiTH M'Kenzii;." ? I might not have encumbered my work with the above certificates and (■\ tracts of lettei's in my possession, were it not that the very Company who have been the cause of the destruction of these people, to punish me for haviiiij condemned their system of rum and whisky selling, and to veil tlieir iniquities, have endeavoured to throw discredit upon my descriptions of the religious ceremonies of the ]\landans, and to induce the world to believe, contrary to my representations, that a largo proportion of the j\Ian- dans still exist, and are rapidly increasing under the /loinis/iiiH/ (inspires of the Fur Coiiipiiinj. There is no doubt whatever that a few straggling Mandans wiio fled to the ]Miuatarrees, or in ot!:er directions, are still existing, nor any doubt but that the Iti. carrees, since the destruction of the T^landans, have occupied to this (Uiv the .Mand.'iu village, under the range of the guns of thu Ihjp Compau,', s loit, and ail' exhiuiletl to the pa^sc^s-by and represented to the reading woild A"1'EN1)]X. 51 as survivhiy Mandans. Tlic policy of this is easily understood, and the reader avIio has paid attention to the foregoing certificates and extracts of letters, added to my own testimony as an eye- witness, will have no difficulty in drawing correct conclusions as to the peculiar customs and the cruel fate of the ]\Iandau Indians. Every reader of this work will have a knowledge of, and a respect for the names of Cass and Webster, who were familiar with my works and also with Indian history and Indian character. Letter from General Cass, American Ambassador to France, and since, Secretary of Slate of the United States of America. " Lugatiou dcs Etats-Uiiis a Paris. " Dear Sir, "No rnan can appreciate better than myself the admirable fidelity of your Indian Collection and Indian book, which I have lately examined. They arc equally spirited and accurate ; they are true to nature. Things that are, arc not sacrificed, as they too often are by the puintcM-, to things as (in his jiulgment) they should be. " During eighteen years of my life I was superiutendant of Indian affairs in the North-west Territory of the United States, and during more than five I was Secretary of War, to which department belongs the general control of Indian concerns. I know the Indians thoroughly, I have spent many a month in their camps, council-houses, villages, and hunting-grounds; I have fought with them and ar/a/nst them; and I have negotiated seventeen treaties of peace or of cession with them. I mention these circumstances to show you that I have a good right to speak confidently upon the subject of your drawings. Among them I recognize many of my old acquaintances, and everywhere I am struck with the vivid representations of them and their customs, of tlicir peculiar features, and of their costumes. Unfortunately, they arc receding before the advancing tide of our popuhttion, and arc probably destined at no distant day wiiolly to disappear ; but your Collection will preserve them, as far as human art can do, and will form the most perfect monument of an extin- iruislied race that the world has ever seen." To tJlilildih C'.VI'LIX. "Lkwis Cass." ff '! 1 I: II i r< il 52 Al'l'KXDIX. Erlrad from tlio Speech of the lion. Danit.i, "Wkhster, on a Mol'ioti in Ihe Senate of the United States, for the pnrrliase of Catlin'.s Indian Collection in 1819. "Mr. President,— The que.stion is, whether it does not become ns, as o nsefnl thing, to possess in the United States this collection of paintings, etc., made amongst the Indian tribes ? — whether it is not a case for the exercise of larr/e liberality, 1 will not say bounty, but policy ? These tribes. Sir, that have preceded us, to whose lands we have succeeded, and who have no written me- morials of their laws, their habits, and their maimers, are all passing away to the land of forgetfulness. Their likeness, manners, and customs, arc por- traved with more acjuraey and truth in this Collection by Catlin than in all the other drawings and representations on the face of the earth. Somebody in this country ought to possess this Collection, — thui; is my opinion; and I do not know who there is, or where there is to be found, any society or individual, who or which can with so much propriety possess himself or its^-;: of it as the Government of the United States. For my part, then, I do think that the jireservation of Catlin's Indian Collection in this country is an important p'blic act. I think it properly belongs to those accumulations of historical matters respecting our predecessors on this continent which it is very proper for the Government of the United States to maintain. As I have said, this race is going into forgetfulness; they truck the continuation of mankind in the pre- sent "age, and call recollection back to them. And here they are l)ettcr ex- hibited, in my judgment, 1)etter set forth and presented to the mind, aiul the taste and the curiosity of mankind, than in all other collections in the world. I go for this as an American subject, as a thing belonging to us, to our history, to die history of a race whose lands we till, and over wlio-c obscu.'c graves and ])ones we tread every day. I look upon it as a thing .uore ai)propriate for us than the ascertaining of the South Pole, or anything that can be discovered in the Dead Sea or the river Jordan. These are the gr-unds, Sir, upon which I propose to proceed, and I shall vote for the appropriation with great pleasure." Till-; EN'l). I. I.;. TAYl.Ol! AND CO.. mil Nl KKS, l,riTI,K (ilKF.N STIMIKT, Ilol.in-KN. T I \ /■