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Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont fllmfo en commenpant par la premiere pcge qui comporte une empreinte d'impresslon ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernidre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparattra sur la derniire image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols — ► signlfie "A SUIVRE", le symbols V signlfie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent fttre filmte A des taux de reduction diff^rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour §tre reproduit en un seul cliche, 11 est film6 d partir de I'angle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le r^mbre d'images n6cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants lllustrent la mtthode. 1 2 3 32X 6 § 4) THE INDIANS OF CANADA: ^hcir ^Xmmts m\b Customs. BY JOHN McLEAN, M.A., Ph.D. (ROBIN RUSTLER.) ^" " ->J T///7^n EDlTIOiV. With Eighteen full-page Illustrations. LONDON : CHARLES H. KELLY, 2, CASTLE ST., CITY RD., E.C. ; AND 66, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C. 1892. as t [ENTEko AT STATIONERS' HALL. J Ti-i:: pR:.Pi,-;rY of SCARB3RO TO HORATIO HALE, WHOSE EMINENT LABORS AS A PHILOLOGIST AND ETHNOLOGIST HAVE i;een admired by the scientific world, the FOLLOWING PAGES ARE WITH SINCERE AFFECTION AND RESPECT. JPRKFACE. INE years spent among the Blood Indians of the Canadian North-West, studying their language, cr. atoms, mythology and traditions, have given me oppor- tiinities of learning much that may prove interesting to young and old. After three years' residence among the Indians, I was requested to send information on the North- West tribes to the British Association, the Smithsonian Institution, and other learned societies. I then begun earnestly to collect a good library of books on the Indians, and to study with enthusiasm among the lodges everything pertaining to the life and labor of the Red Men of the West. I soon found that many of the books written were of a sensational character, and at once determined to try to write something that would be reliable and, at the same time, interesting to all. The strange life of the dwellers VIU I'UEFACE. in tlio lodges, the wonderful mythology and traditions, and the peculiar customs which are essentially their own, reveal to us a civilization that is fascinating, and yet but little understood. As I sat in the wigwams and lodges of the Indians listening to their strange stories, I thought I could not do better than record them for the benefit of the young ; and as tales of adventure among cowboys in the Far West were recited as we were camped upon the prairie, they were preserved for the good of young and old. Herein are written stories of missionary heroism, episodes of every-day life in the camps of the red men, records of life among the cowboys, and facts and fancies of the Bedouins of the Western Continent. May the readers of these pages have their ideas changed as mine have been, by coming into closer contact with our dusky brethren, through their languages, literature, native reli- gion, folk-lore, and later Christian life. JOHN McLean. hOUDONj February^ 1892. if" ■ ■i '■ CONTBNTS. •f^ CHAPTER I. PAGE Indian Customs: — Potlaches — Indian Names — Indian Women — Indian Telegraphy — Indian Burial Customs — Superstitions of the Blackfeet — Indian Marriage Cus- toms — The Red Orator — War Customs — The Peace- Pipe — Scalps and Scalping — Prisoners in the Camp — Inaian Charms — Camp Socials 13-75 CHAPTER II. Camp and Wigwams : — The White Savages— The Minnesota Massacre— Indian Paintings— Picture- Writing — Medi- cine-Men — The Home of the Red Men — Native Reli- gions — An Indian Camp — Footprints of the Red Man — Asokinuki — Indians and Buffalo — Indian Oratory — Primitive People — Native Americans — The Blood In- dians 77-135 CHAPTER III. Indian Heroes :— Tecumseh— Glikkikan— Red Jacket — The Swarthy Hero — Button Chief— Captain Joseph Brant. . 137-163 CHAPTER IV. Indian Traditions:— Legends of the Red Men— Kutoyis— Traditions of the White Man's Superiority — Myth of the Pacific and Legend of Qu'Appelle — The White Stone Canoe — Indian Traditions — Legends of the Hydahs and Ottawas 163-187 'II ll • X CONTENTS. CHAPTER V. TAOE The Land of the Red Men :— The Canadian Wondcrlantl— Landmarks — VVostem Americaniams — Tho Iron Stone —The Chinook Winds— Frontier Religion- Tho Old- Timer 189-216 CHAPTER VI. Frontier Tales:— The Three Captives— The Doctor's Ride —The Long Hair— The White Chief 217.233 CHAPTER VII. Indian Languages and Literature: — American Indian Literature — Eskimo Literature — Indian Syllables — The Cree Language 235-258 CHAPTER VIII. The Indian Problem: — The Civilizing of the Indian — Move On — Bible and Plough — Red and White — Among the Lodges— The Lazy Indian 261-285 CHAPTER IX. Christianity and the Red Race:- The Gospel in the Wigwams — Language-Study — The Antagonism of Races — Environment and Religion — Light on the Prairies.. 287-325 CHAPTER X. Do Indian Missions Pay: — The Church and the Indians — The Red Aliens — Success of Indian Missions — The Cross in the Camp — The Lord's Prayer in the Cree Syllabic Characters 327-351 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. American Indians . . Indian Woman and Child . . An Indian Grave An Arctic Funeral Indians Drying Meat Indian Chief An Indian Village An Eskimo Village Captain Joseph Brant Indian Warriors Shooting the Rapids Crossing the Rockies Hunting in the West A Red River Cart . , A Pawnee Chief Indian Woman Carrying Wood Making a Portage An Eskimo Traveller Camping Out An Indian Boy Indians Fishing through the Ice An Indian Missionary Indian Brush Lodges TAC.l Frontispiece 23 34 I m 70 92 116 130 154 164 184 188 200 208 216 228 234 246 260 266 282 286 326 THE INDIANS THE P^^^P^^ m^ADA. SCARBORO PUBLIC L13P5ARY, ^^^ CHAPTER I. INDIAN CUSTOMS. POTLACHES. N Indian accepts and gives freely, he remembers a kindness and never for- gets an injury. There has never ex- isted a more hospitable race of people, when they had anything to grant, to the wayfarer on his journey. They gave without stint, and did not expect any thanks for extending their hospitality and friendship. When they received gifts from friends, they thanked them not for this dis- play of friendship and love, and when they bestowed help on others, they waited not for any token of gratitude. i t if I t ill \\i \ I if ■ : 1 § 14 THE INDIANS. We are thus apt to speak of them as lackinjr in appreciation of what has been received, but though prizing the gifts, they bestow freely, and thus an equality is made. This seems strange to the members of civilized races, who are very profuse in giving thanks for favors, but with the Indian it is " give and take." In some Indian languages there is not a single expression for " I am grateful to you," but they will say, "You have a good heart." For all favors received, they expect to give as much in return. When this principle is applied to them in their relation to the white people, they accept without thanks and do not expect to pay again, as they think that the white people have received in land more than they can ever repay in gifts to their red brethren. Hence it savors of ingratitude to us, who do not expect anything in return, to see them accept benefits without a word of thanks. Among the Indians of the Pacific Coast, there exists a festival known as " Potlach." It is a Chinook word meaning " to give," from the fact that the chief object is to make a distribution of gifts to friends. A chief desiring honor, or an Indian wishing to obtain a good name for himself, will call the people of his own and other tribes to enjoy the abundant provision made for them. Many of the adult members of the tribes will spend years of hard toil, live in poverty, denj'ing themselves the necessaries of life, that they may be able to save a sum sufficient to hold a Potlach. At these festivals a single Indian has been known to distribute, in money and various kinds of articles, to the amount of fifteen hundred dollars. At the INDIAN CUSTOMS. 15 beginning of the Potlach, the names of the persons to receive the gifts are called aloud, and they come for- ward in a very indifferent manner to receive a blanket or a gun, but when nearing the end of the distribution there is a general scramble for the property to be given away. The Canadian Government has very wisely pro- hibited these festivals, as they are the cause of retard- ing the progress of the Indians. The industrious and thrifty alone can hold them, because of their wealth ; and the evil becomes a serious one, when such persons will labor for years that they may be honored with a Potlach. The same thing, in principle at least, is practised among other tribes. I have gone through the Blood Indian camps and listened to their chief, or a person wishing to be held in high esteem among his fellows, calling upon the male members of the lodges to come to his lodge to enjoy his hospitality and spend the evening with him. In some half-breed settle- ments, the aristocratic members will save their funds that they may purchase the good things of life, and enjoy a season of feasting, lasting several days. The Potlach is sometimes given by a few persons in com- bination, who will invite the members of other tribes to assemble and share in the distribution to the number of several thousand persons. Fortune or fame is not confined to the ambitious pale-face, and the desire for honor and a place among the illustrious ones of the camps dwells in the hearts of the red man. "W \ [li !l! t ! I'll 16 THE INDIANS. WAMPUM. Readers of Longfellow's "Hiawatha" will find many striking references to wampum, as when Hiawatha went forth from his lodge " Drcssod in deerskin shirt and leggings, Richly wrought with quills and wampum," and old Nokomis spake unto him about " The great Pearl Feather, Megissogween, the magician, Manito of wealth and wampum," who was " Clad from hpad to foot in wampum," which protected him when he fought with Hiawatha, so that he would have proved to be invulnerable had not Hiawatha struck him upon the head with a stone as he stooped to the ground, and thus slew him. At Hiawatha's wedding with Minnehaha, the guests came clad in *' Robes of fur and belts of wampum." Oweenee, the youngest daughter of a hunter of the North-land, rejected all the " Handsome men with belts of wampum," and chose the " Son of the evening star, Osseo ! " Chibiabos sang of the maiden's love for an Algon-k-in who had given her "As a pledge, the snow-white wampum," It INDIAN CUSTOMS. 17 and the fjhosts pleaded with Hiawatha not to lay " Such weight of fura and wampum " \ upon those he buried. Wampum was made in early times of wood and shells, of various colors, but similar in size. The white wampum was wrought from the great concho into the form of a bead, and the purple from the inside of the mussel shell. It is thought, by some writers, to have belonged solely to the Indian tribes, but it has been found in mounds, thus proving its use among the mound builders. It was used as a kind of currency among the tribes, as an ornament of dress, a means of sending communi- cations, a token of friendship or precursor of danger, a record of historical events, and a pledge at the making of treaties. The shells being made into the form of beads were perforated, strung on leather thongs, and used as wampum stringS; or woven into belts of vari- ous sizes and designs. The peace belt given to indi- viduals, and tribes, as a token of friendship, was made of white shells, and the war belts were woven with those of a dark color. When a war belt was sent to a tribe and accepted, it denoted that common cause in war was to be made by both. A curious custom pre- vailed among some tribes, of adoption by force. When a family had lost a son or daughter, the parents hired a captain with a black wampum belt to secure a sub- stitute. Taking his band with him, he went out, as if going to war, and took a prisoner, who, if he were a white man, had his head shaved and painted. Who- 18 THE INDIANS. llU I'iii li 'i ever he might be, the belt was hung about his neck, and he was brought to the family, who received him with much affection. Through the influence of Zeisberger, the Moravian missionary, and his colleagues, the Delawares, during one summer, three times rejected the war belt. When messages were sent, if they portended danger, black belts were sent, but if they betokened peace, they were white. Sir William Johnson, during the troublous times in Pennsylvania in 1768, sent runners out with peace belts, and kept the tribes from going to war. Belts were given as a pledge at treaties, some of which were received by Sir William Johnson. They were of several rows, black on the sides, and white in the middle. Wampum strings, known as mourning wampum, were given to the friends of deceased persons as re- membrances. The Indians who had been Christianized through the labors of the Moravian missionaries, pre- pared belts of a peculiar kind. The Christian Dela- wares sent belts to the Wyandots as an acknowledg- ment of lands ceded to them. These were half a fathom long, had no devices, except through the middle, and a white cross at one end. They denoted their national equality with the Delawares, and their religious distinction from them. Wampum strings were given as pay to the per- formers at the Indian feasts. Among the Iroquois, wampum strings were employed for narrating his- torical records. They served as guides to each topic or subject of address. There was a keeper of these < > m ^ INDIAN CUSTOMS. 19 strings, who thus became the keeper of the Iroquois archives. When Peter Jones had his audience with the Queen, he presented a petition and some wampum from the Ojibways of Canada. In speaking of Her Majesty in his journal, he records : " I then proceeded to give her the meaning of the wampum, and told her that the white wampum signified the loyal and good feeling which prevails amongst the Indians toward Her Majesty and her government ; but that the black wam- pum was designed to tell Her Majesty that their hearts were troubled on account of their having no title-deeds to their lands ; and that they had sent their petition and wampum that Her Majesty might be pleased to take out all the black wampum, so that the string might be all white." Several belts have become notable, because of the perons and facts connected with them. When Count Zinzendorf was in America, he met a delegation of Iroquois Sachems, who gave him a fathom of wam- pum, consisting of one hundred and eighty- six pieces, which was taken to England, brought back to America by Bishop Spangenburg, and used oftentimes by the Moravian missionaries in their negotiations with the Iroquois. After the treaty of Pittsburg between Congress and the Delawares, including some Senecas and Shaw- anese, a deputation of Americans went into the Indian country, bearing to the tribes the " Congress Belt," six feet long, and more than half a foot wide. Then there is the Penn treaty belt, supposed to have been given 20 THE INDIANS. * Ml r^ ■ f!' by the Leni-Lenape Sachems in 1682, at Shackamaxon. It is composed* of eighteen strings of wampum, has in the centre white wampum, and the device of an Indian grasping in friendship the hand of a white man. The various designs have their own meaning known to the Indians, and interpreted by the wampum keepers of the tribes. INDIAN NAMES. It seems strange to a pale-face that when an Indian is asked his name, generally he will appeal to his In- dian friend to answer for him. The reason for this lies either in shame or modesty, as the names given them relate to honor or dishonor. Some Indians have two or three names. Among some tribes the name of a deceased person is never mentioned. The names of children are sometimes given by the mother, and at other times by other persons, from some strange circumstance that has happened in connection with the child, or from some peculiar characteristic. Some are very pretty and others detestable. A Dakota mother allowed her babe to lie with its head outside the tent when the rain was pouring down. She thought it was dead, but another woman saw that the rain had revived it, and the child was called "Rain in the Face." Indian names of persons sound strangely to civilized ears, as Eagle, Black Hawk, White Calf, Morning Star, Red Crow, Seeing Afar Off, Bull's Head, Old Sun, Three Suns, and White Antelope. Generally these names arc changed at manhood for others more appropriate, pjod serve to remind the owner and his INDIAN CUSTOMS. 21 friends of some deeds of honor or shameful actions. Tall Man, Old Woman, Beggar and Thief, are names oftentimes given to men. Who does not remember the beautiful Winona and Minne-ha-ha — laughing water — immortalized by Longfellow in his poem upon Hiawatha. Some of the names given to places in the Indian languages are very significant. Many, however, have lost their beauty in being translated. High River does not sound so well as Spitsi (pronounced Spitze). Montana is preferable to its Indian name of which it is a translation of Tayabeshockup, meaning the " country of the mountains." A better name has been found for the capital of the North -West than its former Indian one, " the Creek where the Bones Lie." Belly River received its name from the fact that the Gros Ventres at one time lived there, and Bow River from the wood found on its banks suitable for making bows. Many of the Indian names of places have been retained, but these have oftentimes been sadly changed by persons entirely ignorant of Indian language as almost to lose their meaning. The first name that comes up is Canada, said to be from the Iroquois lan- guage, meaning a village of tents or huts ; some think it comes from the Cree word Kanatan, which signifies something neat and clean. There is, however, another explanation that I have not yet seen proposed by any writer upon the subject, and which I think is worthy of consideration. The mountain gorges were called, by the emigrants to California in the famous '49, 'Ill ijiil THE INDIANS. Canadas, the Canada or gorge being often spoken of, especially by the Mexicans who went to San Francisco at that time. Many places have been named after Indian tribes and bands, as Lakes Erie and Huron, the former after the Indians also known as the Chat or Cat tribe. Then we have Ottawa, Seneca, Onondaga, Cayuga, Kansas and Utah. There are names made from Indian words relating to some characteristic of the places to which they are attached. The following will explain themselves : Miramichi, the Happy Retreat ; Couchiching, the Lake of Many Winds ; Muskoka, from Musquotah, the Red Ground; Maganetawan, the Smooth Flowing Water; Manitoulin, from Manito, the Ojibwa for a god, and L'ile, the French for island, hence the Island of the Spirit; Manitowaning, waning, signifying a cavern, thus it becomes the Cavern of the Spirit ; and Mani- toba from Manito, spirit, and waba, a strait, the Strait of the Spirit, so called from the many mysterious thinf;s seen and heard in the strait of Lake Manitoba by the Indians ; Saskatchewan received its name from the Cree Kisiskatjiwan, the Swift Flowing River ; Keewatin, the North Wind ; and Assiniboine is an Ojibwa word meaning the Sioux of the Stones, from Assin a stone, and bwan, an Indian, hence we have the Stone or Stoney Indians, a tribe of the great Sioux or Dakota confederacy. These people used heated stones for cooking their food, and thus received their name, from which we have the district Assiniboia. Quebec is called by the Indians of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Kepec, which means, being shut, from the fact that in INDIAN CUSTOMS. 23 looking up the river at some distance it appears as if it were closed ; and Winnipeg is the term used by the Indians for Lake and the Sea, although it is properly unclean water. In Alberta we have Okotoks from the Blackfoot Oqkotokists, stones or rocks. In the United States the Indian has left an indelible mark in the names given to places in his language. When Henry Hudson discovered the river which bears his name his men made the red men drunk, and this circumstance has been preserved in Manhattan, the place where they got drunk. Then we have Wilmette, from Ouilmette ; Winnetka, the Dakota for Beautiful Land ; Pewankeeweening, the Lake of Shells ; Owa- tonna, from Ouitunya, Straight River, and Waseca, the Dakota for the Land of Plenty. From the Cree lan- guage there are such names as Michigan, from Mishi- gamaw, the big lake; and Chicago, from Chicag, a skunk. From the Ojibwa there are Milwaukee, from milo or mino, good, and akki, earth, the good land ; Mississippi, from Mishisipi, the big river, and Nipis- sing, meaning in the leaves. There are many names even in our own North-West from different Indian languages, and these become transformed by the in- fluence of the white man. As an illustration of this we have Minnedosa, from the Dakota word Minika- duza, which is sometimes contracted to Miniduza. From the language of the Indians we can learn much of their history, and many facts relating to their religious, social and political life are brought to view. In the desire for euphonious names for the new towns and villages that are certain in the near future to I!H 24 THE INDIANS. i;ji ' 111 i- I", iiii i I I ■ spring into existence, it would be well for those interested to obtain the exact pronunciation and accurate meaning of these, from Indian scholars well qualified to give such, and not to inflict upon the com- ing generations the hideous terms supposed to repre- sent the languages of the red men. The native races may become extinct, but they will live again in our history, and the nomenclature of our country will reveal the ti'aila of the red men. INDIAN WOMEN. Woman's position among the Indians is one that is supposed to be very degraded in all the tribes, and yet some of the native confederacies have given to her a position of equality, while she has become sole arbiter in those things belonging to her own sex and family. Notably among the native races, in their treatment of women, is that of the Huron-Iroquois. There existed among the Indians a natural division of labor, different from that of the white races, owing to the fact that the red men were in general a hunting and stock-raising people, while the white people were devoted to agriculture. The men of the camps erected their houses, built their canoes and procured the food for the family, while the women attended to their domestic duties, performed the light farm work that was done, hauled the wood and brought in the water. The civilizing influences of the Gospel have wrought a change among some tribes, so that some now occupy an exalted position and enjoy the fruits of peace. Some, however, have not thus been favored. Although INDIAN CUSTOMS. 25 their lords and masters no longer pursue tho labors of the chase, and dwell at ease ifi their changed mode of life, the women labor on in their former routine duties, which become degraded by comparison. Such is woman's position to-day among the Crees, BUgkfeet, Indian Woman and Child. Sarcees, Sioux, and all other tribes who have not accepted the civilization resulting from the gospel of the Nazarene. Among these tribes are to be found maidens with comely appearance, neat in their dress and active in all their movements. Having crossed the threshold of womanhood, the maiden's hand m ill 26 THE INDIANS. '^ ii hi if Hi I I'- 1 1: ' • I:. is eagerly sought by means of courtship on the part of the young men, or by a speedy marriage, with- out her consent, to some old man, and she is taken to share his lodge with several other wives. Amongst the Blackfeet, marriage is simply a bargain between the suitor and the young woman's father, for a certain number of horses. If she is fair and beauti- ful, a greater number of horses must be paid for the intended bride. From two to twenty horses have been paid for a wife by young men. In the good old days when the buffalo were abundant, the more wives a man possessed, the richer he became, as the greater number of robes dressed by them soon proved. When the husband became angry with his wife, he beat her with impunity ; when he wished her no longer, he sold her, and when she was found guilty of adultery, her nose was cut off. A life of suffering is that experi- enced by women who dwell among the tribes degraded by the civilization of the pale-face. It is sad to be compelled to say that the settlement of the country in the vicinity of Indian Reserves by white men is injuri- ous physically, mentally and spiritually to the mem- bers of the red race. The happy, active life of Indian women, when game was abundant, has given place to one of idleness, filth and pain. The joyous hours are now filled with sor- row, as they see their homes becoming desolate by the ravages of disease. The primitive virtue of Indian womanhood has been destroyed, and immorality pre- vails amongst young and old. The respect and gallan- try manifested by some tribes for the female sex has I INDIAN CUSTOMS. 27 long since departed from the Indians of the plains, if, indeed, these ever existed. Life on a Reserve is very much different from the nomadic habits of former years. There is a change in all the domestic work. The house, the food, the methods of cooking, the arrangements of the home, and the new customs have all been influenced by the civilization of the white man, and what has first been learned has been of the very lowest type. The stealing of women by the male members of the camps constitutes one of the chief causes of excitement and trouble. A young man will elope with the young wife of an aged Indian, and then there is either pursuit and capture, or reparation de- manded by the injured party. When death enters the family it is the women who suffer most. They are the chief mourners, as may be seen by the mutilated limbs, short hair and bloody hands. The aged medi- cine women are feared by the people, because of the power supposed to be possessed by them. The hard lot of the Indian mothers soon brings on premature old age, and the ruddy glow that lights up the coun- tenance of the young wife or maiden is soon replaced by the saddened look and disproportioned form. The songs of the maidens are the benisons of God, that dwell among the lodges, cheering the sick and lonely in their hours of pain and grief. ^^^;■ INDIAN TELEGRAPHY. It is a matter of surprise to those who know little or nothing of the war customs of the Indians, that despite the intelligence and activity of the white men, if 28 THE INDIANS. iliii: |:tPl 1 liil' \ II! ( it! .-I I .n i Hi ' if li the native tribes are kept well informed of all those hostile to their interests. During the troubles in Colorado, between the American soldiers and the Indians, they were thoroughly conversant with the plans of the military, and wherever danger presented itself they were able to keep several miles in advance of their foes. Such apparent activity and keen sight- edness was due to the telegraphic communication kept up between the tribes. The small looking-glass in- variably carried by the Indian in his native state, is held toward the sun, and the reflection of the sun's rays is directed toward the persons intended to re- ceive the communication. By this means a message can be sent from biufF to bluif, and the sentinels placed there can converse with each other. I have been aroused from my writing desk by the flash from a looking-glass carried by an Indian two miles distant. One day in camp, an Indian's presence was desired, but he was fully two miles away, riding on his horse. A man standing near, took out his glass and with a single movement of his hand the rider suddenly turned on his horse and after a moment's thought rode toward us. By means of fires lighted in prominent places, the light and also the smoke were used as means of signals which could be seen at long distances. Lighted arrows were projected into the air for the purpose of imparting information. When the red men came in contact with the white traders, thev obtained from them telescopes and field-glasses of various kinds, which became very serviceable to them in hunting for lost horses, and discovering the near INDIAN CUSTOMS. 29 approach of intruders. These were called in to aid in sififnallinff. When scouts were sent out to reconnoitre, their return was eagerly watched for by those in camp. Selecting a ridge from which they could be easily seen by the anxious warriors, they conveyed information by means of their blankets, or their peculiar move- ments in riding, and these could be understood per- fectly, as they were accurately observed through the field-glasses owned by the chiefs and warriors. Due credit must, therefore, be given to the Inc^ians for the intelligence, experience and sagacity displayed in all that belongs peculiarly to their native civilization. Ignorance of native customs and language, inability through lack of training to distinguish between what is exclusively Indian and that which has been intro- duced into their civilization by contact with talents and learning of a different kind from theirs, and pre- judice arising from the fact that we belong to another race and have compelled ourselves to believe that the Indian stands in our way in securing our personal territorial success, are some of the reasons for our not appreciating the native talent shown by the Stoics of the plains. Justice demands an intelligent and im- partial study of the Indians and of the Indian question. INDIAN BURIAL CUSTOMS. When Attila, the valiant leader of the Huns, sud- denly died, his faithful warriors rode around his grave singing a funeral song. They cut off a part of their hair, gashed their faces with wounds, and then slew iff 30 THE INDIANS. ,t ,. •il' I 'IT' m :!!!f[l! Illli!. \ i! II i! ; r I i^ I If i| I ^1 ! 1 ) the captive who had dug the grave. The spoils taken in battle were thrown into the grave and then the barbarians engaged in excessive mirth. Had the name of a noble Indian chief been written instead of " Attila," the above would have been a true represen- tation of burial customs among some Indian tribes. Several modes of burial have been practised by the native tribes. There are several kinds of mounds, descriptive of the customs of the mound builders of prehistoric America. The Tshimpsheans of British Columbia in former years, and the Apaches of to-day, practise cremation. The latter place the body on some sticks of wood, and it is there consumed. Should the person die in a hut, it is consumed with all that it contains. Some of the Alaskan Indians embalmed their dead, as the mummies are still to be found in the mummy caves. Some of the native tribes erect scaffolds or place their deceased relatives in the crotches of trees and on the top of some lofty rock. Sometimes an eminence is selected, and again a secluded spot where a lodge is pitched and the corpse placed within. Graves are also made on the top of the ground and small houses built over them. Brav- ery in death was one of the characteristics of the German Barbarians, as it is of the American Indians. A life spent in arms and a glorious death in battle were held to be the best preparation for a joyous immortality. Brebcuuf, the Jesuit missionary, tells us of the tortures of an Iroquois prisoner. While his enemies feasted, and before he sang his death-song, he said to them, " My brothers, I am going to die, make INDIAN CUSTOMS. 31 merry around me with good heart; I am a man; I fear neither death nor your torments." Some tribes killed two young men when a chief died, that their spirits might accompany him by the way. Wrapped in his buffalo robe or blanket the warrior is borne to his grave, generally accompanied by very few of his friends. Beside him in the lodge, grave or coffin, are placed the relics of the deceased, pipes, tobacco, and many things of greater or less value are deposited there. Various reasons have been given by students of American antiquities, all of which are of some value and have some truth in them. These things are placed there to avoid disputes among friends, to protect the bereaved from sadness at gazing upon the relics of the departed, and to keep the conscience clear from a charge of stealing from the dead. The best explanation is that found in the native religion of the Indians. They believe that everything in nature is possessed of a spirit, and that the spirits of the articles devoted to the deceased depart with him and are used in the spirit world. Thus when you point to the goods lying at the grave after many days, the natives will tell you that the substance remains, but the spirits live on the spirit of the things. The souls of hatchets and pipes, horses and dogs, go to the " happy hunting ground " for their master's use. We find this same idea of object souls amongst the Arabs and Gauls. The camel of the Arab was tied near the grave of his master, that he might there perish and follow him to the spirit world. The Gauls oftentimes contracted debts which were made payable in the state m I I 32 THE INDIANS, ].>! ii f! 11* i I' ' i if t i i\ y, of future existence. When any person died, letters were thrown upon the funeral pile that the deceased might carry the wishes of the living to his relatives and friends in the world beyond. When a chief died, all his valuables, and sometimes his servants, were buried with him. When the daughter of Spotted Tail, head chief of the Brule Sioux, died, her two milk- white ponies were killed and their heads and tails nailed on the coffin. The Indians of our plains killed horses in like manner, but the advent of the whites has caused a change, and now along with the numerous things placed beside the deceased, part of the manes, tails and forelocks of his favorite horses is deposited there. As the Chippewa mother clipped a lock of hair from her departed daughter's head, she said : " I know my daughter will be restored to me, by this lock of hair I will discover her, for I shall take it with me." In this she referred to her own departure to the land of spirits. A striking peculiarity of some tribes is found in the existence of ossuaries, as amongst the Hurons, which were connected with the ceremony of the " Feast of the Dead," or the " Feast of Souls." At stated periods, every eight or ten years, all those who had died since the last performance of the feast were brought by friends and relations, in a very solemn manner, to the place of burial, a large circular pit or ossuary was dug, into which were cast all the bodies of the dead. Each person solemnly took up a handful of earth for preservation. After the moans and lacerations the time was spent in dancing and savage debauchery. Many of these burial pits or I INDIAN CUSTOMS. 83 ossuaries are to be found around Lake Siincoe and Georgian Bay. The Indian brave sang his death-song preparatory to death. Upon the death of a chief among the Six Nation Indians, a song of condolence was sung, which " contains the names, laws and cus- toms of their renowned ancestors, and praying to God that their deceased brother might be blessed with happiness in his other state." The Pawnee women, at sunrise and sunset, for three days, go to the graves singing the songs of the dead. The Puyallup women mourn for three or four months. Our Plain Indian women cut off their hair, one of their fingers by the first joint, and make bloody gashes on their legs. The male adults of the Apaches cut their hair short as a sign of mourning. Sad indeed is the wail of the Indian mother for the dear ones they have lost. When a chief dies among the Osages, a party of young men go out in search of hair. Formerly they sought for scalps, but when the whites became numerous in the country they became contented with taking the hair, finally they had to submit to buying it. On these occasions they were not allowed to touch food until they had returned successful from the expedition. The native tribes are very much afraid of the dead. In Siam the coffin containing the body of the deceased is taken out through a hole made specially in the wall for its exit, and it is carried thrice around the house at full speed that the spirit of the dead forgetting the place it passed through, may not return to injure the living. The Indians express a fear similar to this. They believe that the spirits go abroad at night and 3 if i it! * lit m'( 1 1 Mi !, ti Hi An Indian Grave. INDIAN CUSTOMS. 35 fchey are afraid to go out When passing a grave in the darkness they will run or shout that the spirit may be driven away. Several Indian tribes burn down all the huts in the vicinity, and others remove them. This is done from a belief that the spirits will return to their former home, and if seen by any near relative, something serious will happen. They are afraid to reside in the neighborhood as the spirit will return and seek a companion among his relations, who will soon die. Superstition lingers around their belief. Upon removal to a new location, should a person die, it is attributed to something mysterious there, and they must speedily remove. Should any special medi- cine be given or any particular religious rite be per- formed, or the advent of a new class of people take place, a short time prior to an epidemic, these things are supposed to be the cause. There is an old legend of Devil's Lake (Minnewaukan — mysterious water) which states that many years ago a terrible battle was fought there. As the contending parties struggled they threw each other over the craggy walls into the deep water. The sight was so horrible, from the large number of bodies lying there, that the Indians gave it this particular name of Minnewaukan, and they said that they could hear the voices of the spirits as they passed by on the other side of the mountain. They believed that the water was possessed of a mysterious power, and they refused to eat the fish and drink the water. The name of a deceased relative is always mentioned with respect, some tribes never mentioning it and others only in a whisper. Totems and crest i M • » . 1 •< v% K n ,1 1 1 ^1 '1 1'W^ 58 THE INDIANS. mm I;:! iiiil , h: .J ■) , i i 11, shouted tho war-whoop as many times as there were prisoners. Heckewelder, the famous Moravian missionary and Indian scholar, savs in his writincrs, that the war- whoop or scalp-yell consists of the sounds of aiv and oh uttered in succession. The last syllable was prolonged until the breath was expended, and was raised an octave higher than the first. It was a terrible yell, which, when heard for the first time, made such an impression that language fails to describe it. Captain Pipe, a famous Delaware chief, was un- friendly to the Moravian missionaries and their work, and sought to frustrate all their efforts made for giving the Gospel to the Indians. H^. seized the mis- sionaries and took them to Detroit to the commandant, who had instructed him to take them there. When he entered the fort, he and his Indians shouted their war-whoop for some time. At the council held there, he made a speech and presented the commandant with a stick, on which were fastened seven scalps. He was followed by others, who presented sticks having scalps on them. The artists of the olden time, including Benjamin West and his successors, invariably painted the Indian with his traditional scalp-lock, and yet few, if any, of the present generation have seen amongst the Indians of the Dominion and the United States a single red man with his head bereft of hair, save the scalp-lock. But it is not a fiction, it is a reality. The Delawares tattooed their chests, arms and legs with fantastic figures, and the head was bald except a circle at the crown, and two twists hangrmg down on each INDIAN CUSTOMS. 59 side, ornamented with beads and various trinkets. Now, the Indians did not us3 razors for this purpose, but followed, no doubt, the practice now in use among the Crees, Sarcees, Bloods, Piegans and Blackfeet of our Western plains. These Indians carry a small pair of tweezers tastened by a> string around the neck, and with these they pluck the hair from their faces, until not a vestige of a beard is seen. By the aid of their small looking-glasses, which they always carry in a small bag, hanging from their necks, for the purposes of signalling on the prairie, according to their system of telegraphy, and for arranging their toilet, tliey will spend hours performing the process of depilation, which, though very painful, they would rather endure, than have their faces covered with hair. The Indians were always anxious to secure scalps, as the warrior who had the greatest number was held in the highest estimation by the members of his tribe, and feared by his enemies. It was impossible for a warrior to carry the body of his victim to prove his valor to his fellows, so he took the scalp, and showing it to the warriors and people of his tribe, he vaunted his courage and received their applause. The victor- ious Indian having thrown his victim, put his foot upon his neck, twisted the scalp-lock with his left hand, pulling it lightly to detach the skin, then cut- ting the skin around the crown of the head, tore the scalp off. This was done quickly, and then fastening it to his belt, or carrying it in his hand, he hastened to join his comrades or make his escape. After the expedition was over, scalp dances and scalp processions ii'i' 3 .^^p <\^-i i