THE PEOPLE OF 
 TIPI SAPA 
 
 TIPI SAPA MITAOYATE KIN 
 
 SARAH EMILIA OLDEN 
 
TIPI SAPA 
 
TIPI SAPA 
 
 THE REV. P. J. DELORIA 
 
The People 
 
 OF 
 
 Tipi Sapa 
 
 (The Dakotas) 
 TIFI SAPA /VUTAOYATE KIN 
 
 By 
 SARAH EAILIA OLDEN 
 
 With Foreword by 
 
 HUGH LATIAER BURLESON 
 Bishop of South Dakota 
 
 Aorehouse Publishing Co. 
 Milwaukee, Wis. 
 

 If* 
 
 COPYRIGHT BT THB 
 
 MOEBHOUSB PUBLISHING Co. 
 1918 
 
IN 
 
 LOVING MEMORY 
 
 OF 
 MY MOTHER 
 
 i 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 FOREWORD. Rt. Rev. H. L. Burleson, D.D xi 
 
 PREFACE xv 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TIPI SAPA ... i 
 
 I. THE ADVENT OF THE INDIANS .... 24 
 
 II. THE CIRCLE, ETC 33 
 
 III. THE TRAINING OF CHILDREN ... 40 
 
 IV. HONORING CHILDREN 45 
 
 V. BOYS 52 
 
 VI. MARRIAGE 58 
 
 VII. MARRIAGE (Continued) 65 
 
 VIII. THREE KINDS OF FIGHTING ... 75 
 
 IX. GHOSTS 82 
 
 X. COMMUNICATING WITH SPIRITS ... 88 
 
 XL BUFFALO HUNTING ....... 97 
 
 XII. SOCIETIES 1Q5 
 
 XIII. SOCIETIES (Continued) 115 
 
 XIV. GAMES J25 
 
 XV. BANDS (Wicoti) 135 
 
 XVI. A BUNDLE OF TOBACCO 141 
 
 XVII. THE SUN DANCE 146 
 
 XVIII. THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE . . 153 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 TIPI SAPA. REV. PHILIP JOSEPH DELOBIA . Frontispiece 
 
 A DAKOTA VILLAGE Opp. p. 24 
 
 BUSTS OF DAKOTA INDIANS 32 
 
 A SCALP DANCE 34 
 
 A DAKOTA WOMAN [Two views] 42 
 
 AN INDIAN RATTLE 44 
 
 VINE DELOBIA, SON OF TIPI SAPA 52 
 
 A DAKOTA WOMAN 60 
 
 CAPE FOB A MAN. DAKOTA INDIANS 62 
 
 THE ENEMY Is COMING! Gary 74 
 
 FUNEBAL SCAFFOLD OF A DAKOTA CHIEF .... 82 
 
 CBOW CHIEF ON HOBSEBACK 90 
 
 CALLING THE BUFFALO BACK. Gary 94 
 
 IN THE NICK OF TIME. Gary 98 
 
 BUFFALO THBOWING THE HUNTEB. Gary ... 100 
 THE BUFFALO HUNTEB S RETUBN. A CBOW HUNTING 
 
 CAMP. Gary 102 
 
 A DAKOTA WABBIOB 120 
 
 PIPE POUCHES 128 
 
 DAKOTA SHIELDS 134 
 
 FEAST GIVEN TO "GBEAT WHITE CHIEFS" . 144 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 0HE people of Tipi Sapa, known to the world 
 as Sioux, but whose true title is "Dakotas" 
 (The Federation of Brothers), are among the 
 most interesting and virile of our aboriginal 
 Americans; and among them none exercises 
 greater leadership than the man whose reminis 
 cences have been gathered into this volume. It 
 was fortunate that, during an entire winter, one 
 who had time and appreciation was able to get 
 from him the material which is to be found in rich 
 variety in the following pages. Far too little is 
 known about the home life, the social customs, 
 and the religious sanctions of our Indian races. 
 It is in these things that the character of a people 
 has its root. Therefore those who read this vol 
 ume will find in it much that is revealing and 
 stimulating. It does not purport to be an ex 
 haustive, or even an orderly, treatise, but rather 
 the familiar "reminiscings" of a man who, looking 
 at the years behind him, tries to interpret their 
 significant features that he may help to reveal his 
 people to another race. 
 
 Tipi Sapa, the Rev. Philip J. Deloria, now past 
 sixty years of age, has for twenty-six years been 
 
THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 our priest on the Standing Rock Reservation. As 
 the son of a chief he took his share in the conflicts 
 of his tribe, and was a warrior of no mean renown. 
 It was the Rev. Joseph W. Cook who, in 1870, 
 won the attention of Tipi Sapa to the teachings of 
 the Gospel. It is interesting to know that the 
 music of an old hymn was a potent factor in his 
 conversion. In speaking of it he says : 
 
 "One day I passed the little church. Out of 
 the open window I heard the sound of voices. 
 The tune they sang was pleasant to hear, so I 
 went to the church for three successive Sundays, 
 but that tune was not sung. On the fourth 
 Sunday I heard the hymn I longed for. The man 
 next me sang it from a book. I listened and 
 got the words of the first verse and learned them 
 by heart. When I left the church I could carry 
 the tune and sing the first verse of the Dakota 
 translation of Guide me, O Thou Great Jehovah , 
 and I felt that I was the possessor of a great 
 treasure." 
 
 It was not long afterward that Philip Deloria 
 made his decision to enlist as a soldier of Jesus 
 Christ, and he was baptized on Christmas Day, 
 1870. From that time until his ordination to the 
 priesthood he served the Church in the capacity 
 of lay reader and of deacon. 
 
 Of Tipi Sapa himself there is little trace in this 
 volume; at least in any ordinary biographical 
 form. He tells the story of his people very simply, 
 very humbly, and very effectively. In this there 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 is a value and a loss. The atmosphere of the 
 race will be felt by those who read ; but they will 
 not know because, being what he is, he could 
 not tell how his own life has blessed and helped 
 his own people. For that, one must read between 
 the lines. 
 
 HUGH L. BURLESON. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 3T was my good fortune to spend the winter of 
 1916-17 at the Industrial School for Indian 
 boys and girls, connected with St. Elizabeth s 
 Mission, Wakpala, on Standing Rock Reserva 
 tion, in the northern part of South Dakota. I 
 found myself in the heart of the prairie land, in 
 that wild country, the home of the "First People", 
 and the former haunt of the buffalo ; the country 
 whose grandeur thrills and whose air exhilarates, 
 and which possesses an atmosphere not to be per 
 ceived elsewhere in the whole world. We cannot 
 begin to realize the greatness of this United States 
 until we have seen the prairies broad, vast, limit 
 less, with innumerable "cattle upon a thousand 
 hills", with herds of horses grazing on the plains 
 and in the picturesque valleys; and with camps 
 nestling in the bits of timber that fringe the edges 
 of creeks and rivers. They extend into space on 
 every hand as far as eye can reach ; and, just as 
 they blend with the circle of the horizon, present 
 the appearance of countless blue billows rolling 
 over some mighty ocean. 
 
 As the firmament here especially "showeth the 
 handiwork of God, so do the heavens declare most 
 
xvi THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 abundantly His glory" ; for the brilliant gold, deep 
 crimson, and cold green of the sunset sky are 
 never to be forgotten, neither is the starry frame 
 that succeeds them. On account of the clearness 
 of the atmosphere, the moon and stars seem close 
 at hand and of exceptional brightness. Then, in 
 a moment, the dark, angry wind clouds gather to 
 gether, streaked with a lightning that flashes 
 from pole to pole, and, bursting with a volley 
 of sound, pour forth their treasures of rain and 
 hail. Whether these prairies are buried beneath 
 several feet of drifted snow, when earth and 
 sky and all things therein seem frozen solid; 
 whether they are covered with the fresh green 
 garment of the opening spring or with the dried 
 yellow-brown grass of the summer and autumn, 
 they have a charm, a power, a fascination, pecu 
 liarly their own. 
 
 This is the land of Tipi Sapa, and his home 
 is a white cottage situated between the School 
 buildings and the Church of St. Elizabeth s Mis 
 sion. I was afforded many a pleasant and profit 
 able hour in conversation with him, in reading 
 various books, and in taking the notes contained 
 in this little volume. I was also regaled with 
 hearing him sing all the songs in this book. A 
 winter spent on the Dakota prairie lands in such 
 society was favorable for one s intellectual as well 
 as spiritual development, and an unusual as well 
 as an intensely interesting experience. 
 
 On December 14, 1916, Mr. Deloria held a 
 
PREFACE 
 
 xvn 
 
 service in St. Elizabeth s Church at the exact time 
 of Bishop Burleson s consecration in the Cathe 
 dral of St. John the Divine, New York City. He 
 made a beautiful address, and translated part of it 
 into English for the benefit of the teachers at the 
 school. He spoke of God s watchful providence 
 in the past over the District of South Dakota, and 
 continued : "Now the consecrating Bishop is lay 
 ing his hands on the head of Dr. Burleson, and 
 the Spirit is working. He is no longer the former 
 Dr. Burleson, but a new man. He has been 
 facing the East as the service goes on. Now he 
 is turning around towards us in the Great West, 
 in South Dakota. He will soon be with us, and 
 we must give him our loyal support." 
 
 The Indians retain very few of their old 
 customs, but they still hold, every Christmas 
 night, a great "Dakota Feast". 
 
 The teachers of St. Elizabeth s School and I 
 were fortunate enough to be invited to this enter 
 tainment. We had been looking forward to it for 
 weeks, hoping that nothing would interfere ; but 
 on Christmas eve there was a tremendous wind 
 and heavy snow almost a blizzard. The next 
 afternoon Tipi Sapa came over and said : "Miss 
 Olden, I don t think you had better go to the 
 Feast to-night. It is dark and the walking is very 
 bad drifts and hollows. You might take a 
 tumble on your nose. I am just advising you ; so 
 if you go and anything should happen, do not 
 blame me." 
 
THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 Our disappointment knew no bounds. We 
 were settling down in the office for a long, dull 
 evening, when a joyful sound greeted our ears. 
 Sleighbells! We rushed to the door and there 
 found good Samuel Cadotte with his sleigh, ready 
 to take us to the Feast. In five minutes we were 
 off, with the bitter cold wind and the snow beating 
 against our faces. 
 
 The Feast was held in the guild house below 
 the hill, not very far away. We arrived between 
 five and six and were ushered into the great place 
 of meeting, to chairs placed for us by the stove. 
 Indians from all over the Reservation were 
 present, the men sitting on the floor in rows on 
 one side of the building, the women and children 
 on the other.* The meeting had been in session 
 for sometime, and the melodeon was in full 
 swing. Hymn singing and speech making were 
 the order of the evening. Three or four Indians 
 from Standing Rock Reservation made addresses. 
 All the Indians, both men and women, speak well 
 in public. Homer Clark, an Indian from Crow 
 Creek Reservation, seemed to be most entertain 
 ing in his remarks. 
 
 Next day, I inquired as to what it was all 
 about, and learned that Mr. Clark had been telling 
 his audience they were especially fortunate on 
 this (Standing Rock) Reservation, far more so 
 
 * in church the men are seated on one side, the women on 
 the other. The tiny children creep about on the floor. The dogs 
 walk in unconcernedly, but depart with much yelping, being 
 forcibly ejected by the sexton. 
 
PREFACE xix 
 
 than on any of the others. They had St. Eliza 
 beth s School with its staff of teachers and its far- 
 reaching influence. Above all, they had Mr. 
 Deloria (Tipi Sapa) constantly going about and 
 doing good, inspiring and uplifting them, and 
 comforting them in time of trouble. They ought 
 to be storing away all this good, making the most 
 of it, for when he is taken away, his place will 
 be a most difficult one to fill. 
 
 Paul Yellow Bear and his family from North 
 Dakota were present, as they were visiting St. 
 Elizabeth s Mission during the holidays. His 
 wife made a little speech. After he had in 
 terpreted the Arickara into Dakota to Ella 
 Deloria, she in turn translated for us.* Mrs. 
 Yellow Bear said: "I feel very humble when I 
 see you, and all that you do. We have greatly 
 enjoyed our stay with you. We have never seen 
 more beautiful kindness, generosity, and hospi 
 tality. When we go away, we shall love to think 
 of you all at Standing Rock," and much more 
 to the same effect. 
 
 The time for refreshments had arrived. A 
 crier appeared and announced the names of those 
 who were to dine first. The people had to go in 
 detachments, as the new log house in which the 
 meal was served was not large enough to accomo- 
 date such a crowd at one time. Everything 
 throughout was conducted in the most orderly 
 
 * The Arickaras occupied the land now called Dakota before 
 the Sioux. 
 
THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 and dignified manner. The room was nicely 
 decorated in white and green. The long tables 
 were neatly set, and there was food in abundance 
 chicken soup, stewed chicken, bread and butter, 
 tea and coffee, canned fruits, stewed June ber 
 ries, cake, and innumerable pies. It is won 
 derful how well these Indian women prepare 
 such a sumptuous and good repast, and for so 
 large a gathering, as they have so few con 
 veniences. They have to carry wood and water 
 a long way, and their cooking utensils are few in 
 number. 
 
 While the companies of people were being 
 served in turn, those who had finished repaired to 
 the guild house and joined together in singing 
 hymns once more. This and the speeches con 
 tinued for some hours longer. We waited for 
 the crowning act of a Dakota Feast the hand 
 shaking. A vigorous Christmas hymn was 
 played, and a few grouped themselves about the 
 melodeon to sing, while the rest of the people 
 lined up around the building. The person at the 
 end of the line then started to shake hands with 
 his or her neighbor ; and so on all the way along, 
 until each individual had shaken hands with 
 everyone else to the music of the hymn. Then 
 we drove off, in the crisp air, beneath the deep 
 blue, brilliantly illuminated heavens; for the 
 storm had cleared away. Upon reaching our 
 respective abodes, we found it was past one 
 a. m. ! The poor little babies must have been so 
 
PREFACE \ 
 
 glad to find themselves in their sleeping places! 
 They see a great deal of life, those Indian babies. 
 
 Every Sunday, the Indians living in the nearer 
 portions of the Reservation flock to church.* 
 They come in "buggies", then turn their horses 
 loose outside. It is a joy to hear the hearty re 
 sponses and the vigorous singing (unknown at 
 our services elsewhere). 
 
 There is a large and flourishing branch of the 
 Woman s Auxiliary. Meetings are held every 
 week, from ten to three. The members make 
 quilts and sell them at good prices among them 
 selves, and in that way bring in quite an amount 
 of money for missions. f They give liberally to 
 war work also, and were among the first to con 
 tribute to the Belgians and Armenians. They 
 are very poor, but go without food and deny 
 themselves in other ways in order to be able to 
 give money to different objects. At the times of 
 the San Francisco earthquake, and of the flood 
 in Ohio, they responded generously to the call 
 for help from these stricken people. 
 
 The school was founded nearly thirty years 
 ago by Bishop Hare and Mr. Deloria, making 
 great progress under the guidance of the compe 
 tent principal and her staff of teachers. J The 
 
 * Mr. Deloria is responsible for four other Mission churches : 
 St. Thomas, St. John the Baptist, Good Shepherd (in Sitting 
 Bull s country), and one at Grand River Station. 
 
 t Last year, the Indians of Standing Rock Reservation took 
 one thousand dollars to Indian Convocation. 
 
 t The present principal of St. Elizabeth s School is Deacon 
 ess Gertrude J. Baker. 
 
THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 members, both boys and girls, of the Junior Aux 
 iliary, meet every Sunday evening, and conduct 
 their business according to parliamentary law. 
 Letters of thanks and appeals from missionaries 
 are read, and talks about missions are given. 
 This little auxiliary has made contributions for 
 various objects needed in St. Elizabeth s (Mis 
 sion) Church, and sends off a box every year. It 
 also pays for the education of a girl at St. Hilda s 
 School, Wuchang, China. 
 
 There is no work in the whole Church more 
 worthy of support than St. Elizabeth s Indian 
 School; and it is sorely in need of assistance 
 during these difficult war times. This whole 
 ecclesiastical establishment is having a wonderful 
 influence for good in our far-away Westerb 
 country, and asks for our help, sympathy, and 
 prayer. 
 
 There are five thousand Dakota Indian boys 
 in the United States army, all eager to act well 
 their part in the great War. One of them, in a 
 letter to Bishop Burleson, written from a southern 
 camp, says: "Well, Bishop, I try to do every 
 thing they tell me, but it seems to me it s awful 
 bloodthirsty"! How strange a comment to 
 emanate from a Sioux Indian ! 
 
 All the Indians, men, women and children, on 
 Standing Rock Reservation, in Mr. Deloria s 
 jurisdiction, are members of the Red Cross. In 
 spired by his energy and fervent zeal, they are 
 working and giving with vigor and enthusiasm. 
 
PREFACE xxiil 
 
 The Star-Spangled Banner is floating in the 
 chancel of their dearly loved church. 
 
 Throughout this book Dakota will be used for 
 Sioux, except in relating incidents where the 
 Indian tribes are fighting among themselves. 
 These people object, now, to the latter term. 
 Sioux means a snake, an enemy; Dakota signifies 
 allied, friendly. 
 
 The cover represents a good conventional 
 Dakota design such as is used in their bead work, 
 in red, black, brown, and white, the four primitive 
 colors of the Indians, as mentioned in the peace- 
 pipe story in chapter one. The sketch within 
 is an exact copy of a pipe of peace given to the 
 author by Tipi Sapa. He also gave her a hand 
 some elk-skin pipe pouch worked in beads and 
 porcupine quills, similar to the largest of those 
 shown opposite page 128. The two sketches were 
 executed by Jean Mitchell Lawrence, Princeton, 
 N. J. The illustrations, other than the portraits, 
 are reproductions of photographs kindly supplied 
 by the American Museum of Natural History, 
 New York. The written material has been care 
 fully revised by Dr. Wm. C. Sturgis, head of the 
 Educational Department of the Church Missions 
 House, New York City, for whose assistance the 
 author is deeply grateful. 
 
 New York City, August, 1918. 
 
A SHORT BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 
 
 OF TIPI SAPA 
 PHILIP JOSEPH DELORIA 
 
 IPI SAPA, who has furnished the material 
 for this little book, was born over sixty years 
 ago, some three miles from what is now the city 
 of Mobridge, South Dakota. His mother s father, 
 Bear Foot, belonged to the Black Foot Indians, 
 and was a noted chief of the Dakota Nation. 
 He gave his daughter the poetical name of 
 Siha Sapewin. This girl was held in great honor 
 by her tribe, and married a Yankton Dakota, 
 Saswe, who afterward became a famous medicine 
 man. The husband bought his wife with horses, 
 and so they were united honorably and lawfully, 
 according to the first form of marriage mentioned 
 in Chapter IV. Their first three children were 
 girls, and the parents were sad because no boy 
 came to cheer the home. Siha Sapewin was a 
 noble type of woman pure, truthful, upright, in 
 telligent, and possessing great ability. She ex 
 celled in kindness, especially in her care for the 
 neglected little ones of other people, and brought 
 up three or four children that were left in camp. 
 She cooked nice food, and was given to hospital- 
 
THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 ity. When she was about to hold a feast, she 
 sent a crier around to invite a great many women ; 
 but the invitation was for those women only who 
 had but one husband, and who intended to keep 
 themselves without another until death. 
 
 When all were assembled for the feast, a rock, 
 painted red, was placed among them, and, by it, 
 an arrow was driven into the ground. A long 
 prayer was made to the rock, as through this 
 natural object the Great Spirit could be reached. 
 A man of good standing in the tribe, appointed to 
 perform this ceremony, called the women forward, 
 one by one, to make the vow in regard to having 
 one husband only all their lives. He had to reveal 
 any untruthfulness on the part of the women, and 
 in that case be absolutely truthful himself. He 
 pulled the arrow from the ground and drew it 
 across his lips. If he pronounced a woman un 
 truthful, she could not stay for the feast. She 
 ran the chance, also, of being killed by an arrow ; 
 and if he himself erred in that respect, he was 
 liable to meet his death either in that way or by 
 stumbling over a rock. Out of the several hun 
 dred invited, five or six women, perhaps, could 
 remain for the feast ! This was the only kind of 
 meeting that Siha Sapewin enjoyed, and she made 
 all the arrangements for them herself. She did 
 not care to belong to any societies. 
 
 "Once upon a time, this woman made a prayer 
 and vow to the Great Spirit. The result of this 
 prayer was a baby boy to gladden the mother s 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TIPI SAPA 3 
 
 heart, and the happy woman fulfilled her vow by 
 a performance of the Thanksgiving Ceremony ." 
 This beloved son, named Tipi Sapa, has told the 
 story of the ceremony, and of many other im 
 portant events in his life, in an article published 
 in the "Spirit of Missions" for August, 1915, 
 which, by courtesy, we are allowed to reprint here. 
 
 "The offering consisted of a buffalo robe richly 
 worked with porcupine quills, a peace-pipe, and 
 a small bag, also embroidered in porcupine quills, 
 containing a lock of the mother s hair and a 
 lock of the child s and carefully sealed. All these 
 articles were tied into a small bundle and fastened 
 to the tip of a pole which was erected within 
 the tipi. 
 
 "When all these preparations were accom 
 plished, Blackfoot Woman called together the in 
 fluential people of the tribe to her tipi and gave 
 them a feast. At the conclusion of the feast, she 
 lighted a pipe of peace, presented it in turn to 
 heaven, to the four winds, and to the earth, and 
 said: 
 
 Great Spirit, I asked thee for a boy. Thou 
 hast given him to me. I am happy. I pray thee 
 accept my thanks and these gifts which I have 
 prepared and am offering to thee. May my son 
 grow up. May he be useful. May he observe 
 faithfully those laws and those customs which we 
 have observed, and our fathers before us. 
 
 "When she had ended, her guests with one 
 accord cried Ha ye (so be it). Then the pole, 
 
THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 with the offering still tied to it, was carried to a 
 hill and planted there. People going by saw it, 
 but did not touch it, for it was the Great Spirit s 
 property. 
 
 "Thus my life began. 
 
 "When I was old enough to talk and unde 
 stand my mother began to teach me those laws 
 and customs which she wished me to bear in mind. 
 Out of all her lessons I remember three things 
 she emphasized. She said : 
 
 "i. Never forget the Great Spirit and you 
 will be able to do all you attempt/ 
 
 "2 To hunt and obtain food to sustain 1 
 is your duty. The Great Spirit alone can help 
 
 you in this. 
 
 "3 In your tribe, do not think evil things. 
 Say nothing wrong. Be kind to the poor and to 
 the orphans. In time of war, be brave and ac 
 complish those things which a man should ac 
 complish. Thus will the tribe think well of you 
 and you will become a great chief/ 
 
 "I was taught that before going to war I must 
 publicly pray to the Great Spirit for help in my 
 undertakings. I must cut out in rawhide the 
 figure of a man and tie it to the little finger of my 
 left hand and take part in the sun-dance where 3 
 must gaze steadily at the sun, with my hands 
 raised up in prayer as I danced. My prayer must 
 be addressed to the sun, who was expected 
 carry my petition to the Great Spirit. 
 
 "After appealing in this way to the Great 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TIPI SAPA 5 
 
 Spirit, and not until then, might I go to war. If 
 the prayer had found favor in his eyes, I would 
 be victorious in battle. In that case, on my 
 return it was my duty to paint my face black and 
 carry the enemies scalps where all could see them, 
 as I entered the camp. These signs would tell 
 the people that the Great Spirit had been with me ; 
 that I was brave, and able to protect and guide 
 my people. Then would the pipe of peace be con 
 ferred on me and a seat be given me with the other 
 chiefs. 
 
 "If I were unsuccessful, and both failed to get 
 an enemy s scalp and lost some of my own men, I 
 must cover my body with dirt, and run some 
 sticks (the number of sticks to correspond to the 
 number of men lost) into the flesh of my forearm, 
 and enter the camp of my people wailing my 
 death-song. These signs would show that I had 
 failed because I had displeased the Great Spirit, 
 but that I was penitent. My tribe would then 
 forgive me and I might be allowed to try again 
 at the time of the next party. 
 
 "My mother had said I would be given a peace- 
 pipe if I were worthy. She taught me how to use 
 a peace-pipe, should I ever be the custodian of one 
 as a chief. One of the times to use it was at the 
 acquittal of a murderer. 
 
 "To kill an enemy in battle was a noble thing. 
 But to take the life of a man of one s own tribe 
 through hatred was a crime deserving severest 
 punishment. Thus it was that if a man com- 
 
THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 mitted a murder in the tribe, he was judged by the 
 Great Spirit. The council of chiefs and leaders 
 met in the council-tent, and sent for the body of 
 the murdered man, which was brought and laid 
 in the rear of the lodge. The warriors then went 
 after the murderer. He was tied to a wild, un 
 broken horse and forced to ride over to the council 
 in this manner. If he succeeded in reaching his 
 destination, he must stop the horse at the right 
 place so as to jump from the horse over a hor 
 izontal bar four feet high, into the council-tent. 
 If his feet touched the bar, he was killed outright 
 by the soldiers, because he was considered con 
 demned by the Great Spirit. If his feet did not 
 touch the bar, he entered in safety. 
 
 "Then he was made to undress and lie down 
 on the dead man s body and kiss his lips, and eat 
 food, and drink water which had first been taken 
 into the mouth of the dead. If he did all these 
 things without flinching, the chiefs solemnly said 
 Ha ye (so be it), and the head chief, taking the 
 peace-pipe, performed the ceremony described be 
 fore, of presenting it to heaven, the four winds, 
 and the earth, saying : 
 
 " Our Father, it has pleased thee to forgive 
 this man. Let the heaven, the four winds, and the 
 earth now witness that this man is pardoned/ 
 
 "The pipe was then smoked by the chiefs, the 
 relatives of the murdered man, and lastly the 
 murderer, after which a crier was sent out to pro 
 claim that the man had been forgiven by the Great 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TIPI SAPA 7 
 
 Spirit himself. Then only was he taken back by 
 the people." 
 
 The boy s father, Saswe, was a man of peculiar 
 powers. It was reported that he could swallow 
 a red-hot poker, and the people around were 
 assured that it could be heard sizzling in his 
 mouth and down his throat. It happened once, 
 according to popular belief, that when he was off 
 in the mountains he found himself in the midst of 
 a multitude of snakes. The writhing creatures 
 encircled themselves about him, and completely 
 covered his body. They tried to creep into his 
 mouth, but he closed his teeth ; then they sought 
 an entrance into his nostrils and his ears. Saswe s 
 courage in resisting them was supernatural. All 
 the people in camp said that he must have been 
 killed by the snakes, when, to their amazement, 
 he appeared among them unharmed. 
 
 Saswe possessed an extraordinary gift of heal 
 ing. In those days there was a man in camp who 
 had a deep-seated rheumatic affection. His joints 
 were swollen, and he was constantly in pain and 
 doubled up with the disease. The medicine man 
 told him that he should never again eat the en 
 trails of an animal or the gizzard of a bird ; if he 
 did he would surely die. The man obeyed and 
 was completely cured. A long while afterward, 
 when the insides of an animal and of a bird were 
 being prepared, this man thought he would like 
 some to eat. His wife said to him : "Did not the 
 medicine man tell you that if you ever again ate 
 
THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 any of this you would die?" "Oh," replied her 
 husband, "that was many years ago." Then he 
 himself roasted a part of the entrails and the 
 gizzard ; shortly after eating them he died in great 
 agony. 
 
 Saswe seemed to have the power to travel, in 
 spirit, over long distances, even to the Big Water* 
 in the Sunrise, perhaps to New York; and he 
 visited many other places. 
 
 One day, while he was meditating in the fields, 
 he saw a vision. Some figures appeared and 
 motioned to him to go with them ; but he could 
 not move, as he had become quite helpless in body. 
 His spirit accompanied them to a black house, a 
 dreary place, in which was "all manner of sickness 
 and all manner of disease". Of the many people 
 lying about in such distress, some were dying; 
 but when Saswe touched them they sat up, quite 
 reanimated and revivified, and many of them were 
 permanently recovered. This black house or 
 lodge appeared, afterward, to be a dark cloud 
 filled with strange figures. 
 
 When a son was born to Saswe and Siha Sape- 
 win, he was named Tipi Sapa (Black Lodge) on 
 account of the power given to his father in the 
 black house. Saswe was the possessor of a 
 famous and swift black horse, also a war bonnet 
 and a handsome skin robe worked in beads and 
 porcupine quills. He tied these articles in front 
 of the horse, then sent for an old man to come and 
 
 * The Atlantic ocean. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TIPI SAPA 9 
 
 get them because the boy was born. When the 
 old man arrived Saswe said to him : "Take your 
 knife and prick the child s ears on both sides, and 
 put sharp lead against his ears every night until 
 they are pierced through. That is the first thing 
 done in honoring a son. He is to wear earrings. 
 Tell the people this boy is to have the name of 
 Tipi Sapa Black Lodge." The old man took the 
 horse, with the war bonnet and robe attached to 
 him, and rode around in the circle, proclaiming 
 the boy s name ; then, every night for a time, he 
 put sharp lead in the lobes of his ears. (Tipi 
 Sapa says he is ashamed of those holes when he 
 goes among white people !) 
 
 So carefully had all these beliefs and customs 
 been taught to Tipi Sapa, that they were fixed in 
 his heart firmly, and he thought no power on earth 
 could move them. Then he tells us of the coming 
 of Christianity to him and his people. 
 
 "In 1870, I saw the Rev. Joseph W. Cook for 
 the first time. He came, a pioneer missionary, and 
 prayed and preached in a log cabin near the camp. 
 A great many of my people went to hear him. 
 
 "One day, at the request of one of my com 
 panions, I, with my face painted, my hair in long 
 braids, clad in the blanket and leggings of my 
 rank, entered the little log chapel and sat me 
 down. The hymn : 
 
 Guide me, O Thou Great Jehovah , 
 was sung. It caught and held me like a rope 
 around a bronco. I have felt wild many times 
 
10 
 
 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 since, but never could get away from those words. 
 "Presently Mr. Cook, talking through an in 
 terpreter, said: My friends, you are living in 
 great darkness. I bring you true light. When 
 you shall see it you will love it and walk in it. 
 
 "That hurt my heart as if an arrow had shot 
 and pierced it. You white man, do you know 
 what you say? We are not blind. We see the 
 same light-producing body that you see. It is the 
 sun. Where is your true light? If this is what you 
 talk about, I, for one, will never come near you. 
 "Weeks passed by. One day it must have 
 been Sunday I was following a path which led 
 past the little church. Out of the open window 
 I heard the sound of voices. The tune they sang 
 was pleasant to hear. I wanted to hear it again 
 to learn it if possible. So I went up to the church 
 on three successive Sundays but that tune was 
 not sung. On the fourth Sunday, however, I was 
 happy to hear the hymn I had longed for. I stood 
 next to a man who sang out of a book. From him 
 I caught the words of the first verse and learned 
 them by heart. When I left that church, able 
 to carry the tune and sing the first verse of the 
 Dakota translation of 
 
 GUIDE ME, THOU GREAT JEHOVAH 
 Yus amayan ye, Jehovah, 
 
 Oniya waun kin ded, 
 Qa nape umakiya ye 
 Heced on wani kta ce. 
 
 Wodmayan ye, 
 O Aguyapi wakan. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TIPI SAPA 1 1 
 
 Mni wiconi kin etanhan 
 
 U kin he yuhdoka ye ; 
 Qa matin kte cin hehanyan 
 
 Christ iyoyanhmayan ye; 
 
 O Itancan, 
 Woekdaku he Niye. 
 
 Ded hewoskand hcin waun kin, 
 
 Manna kin yudmayan ye ; 
 Qa wahacanka mitawa 
 
 He Niye kin ee kta: 
 
 Ohinniyan, 
 Christ, icidowan kta ce. 
 
 Jordan ohuta kin he ed, 
 
 WikopeSnimayan ye; 
 Qa wiconte kin ohiya 
 Canaan ed wai kta ce: 
 
 Hed wiconi, 
 Ed ciyatan kta, O Christ. AMEN. 
 
 I felt that I was possessor of a great treasure. 
 From that day on I attended the services with 
 regularity, hoping to learn other things as beauti 
 ful as that hymn. 
 
 "One day after a service, Mr. Cook asked all 
 the young men in the congregation to remain. 
 After a few general remarks, he dismissed all of 
 them but asked me to wait behind. 
 
 f You are to cut your hair short, dress like a 
 white man and go to school. What is your feel 
 ing about it? I replied, very decidedly: No! 
 Again and again he asked me, and as often I gave 
 him the one answer. 
 
 "In their teachings my father and mother had 
 said so often : A scalp-lock of beautiful long hair 
 
12 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAP A 
 
 is a most desirable thing for a warrior to possess. 
 Take care of your hair. Be brave, and if an 
 enemy gets your scalp-lock, die like a man. He 
 who dies uttering a cry is not a man, and is a 
 disgrace to his people. 
 
 "I wanted to keep my hair long and beautiful 
 as became a warrior. 
 
 "Meantime Mr. Cook did not grow weary of 
 talking to me, and finally I compared the two 
 courses which lay ahead, the heathen life and the 
 Christian life, and after much deliberation, I made 
 my decision. 
 
 "Going to Mr. Cook I gave myself up, had my 
 long hair cut off, and assumed the dress of the 
 white man. It was far from easy to go back and 
 face my people, many of whom were disappointed 
 and jeered at me. Coward! He fears warfare/ 
 See, he chooses an easy life/ and many similar 
 taunts were flung at me." 
 
 When Tipi Sapa cut off his braids and adopted 
 the white man s dress and customs, he was fol 
 lowed by his father, who took the name of 
 Fransois des Lauriers. The latter had three 
 wives, one of them a young girl of whom he was 
 very fond. He returned her to her own people at 
 Fort Bennett, and another to her family on the 
 Santee Reservation. He was then married in 
 church to his legal wife, Tipi Sapa s mother. She 
 also was baptized and confirmed, and remained a 
 faithful and true Churchwoman until her death. 
 Bishop Hare officiated at her funeral. Tipi 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TIPI SAPA 13 
 
 Sapa himself had been baptized on Christmas Day, 
 1870, taking the name of Philip Joseph Deloria 
 (des Lauriers had been changed to Deloria) ; and 
 he goes on to tell of his work as a Christian 
 soldier and servant. 
 
 "In the spring of 1871, Bishop Clarkson con 
 firmed me. Afterward I went to Nebraska Col 
 lege for two years and the Shattuck School at 
 Faribault, Minnesota, for one year. In spite of 
 my ambition to get ahead, I was held back by 
 pneumonia two successive years, so that I did not 
 have three full years of school. 
 
 "In 1874 I returned to my people, equipped 
 with the knowledge of reading, writing, and figur 
 ing, which I had been able to acquire. Almost 
 immediately I became a lay-reader in the Church, 
 and at the same time assumed my duties as chief 
 in the place of my father, having been given by 
 the Indian Department a medal signifying my 
 authority. 
 
 "During the next few years a great many 
 temptations of various kinds came to me, which 
 I tried to overcome by my own power and cour 
 age. I generally failed. At length I put to my 
 self the question: Why? Why can t I over 
 come my tempter? Gradually I came to realize 
 that all this time I had been feeling that my own 
 strength was sufficient for me. 
 
 "After that, I trusted to a higher power and 
 found help. When I saw my way a little clearer, 
 I decided to lay aside my chieftainship and work 
 
14 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 for the spiritual uplift of my people. Accord 
 ingly, Bishop Hare admitted me deacon on June 
 24, 1883. 
 
 "While I was in deacon s orders Bishop Hare 
 would say : Tack up and go to such and such a 
 place/ I would go each time, and do the work I 
 found there to be done. When in two or three 
 years the work progressed, quite unexpectedly, 
 he would ask me to go elsewhere. 
 
 "One day the Bishop said: Tack up your 
 things and go to Standing Rock/ I came, and I 
 have been here ever since, through a period of 
 twenty-six years. At that time the few Indians 
 who were at all friendly towards the whites were 
 either Roman Catholic converts, or members of 
 the Congregational body. Here and there an in 
 dividual or a family showed an interest in my ef 
 forts. But Sitting Bull and his people had very 
 recently been brought in from wild life and their 
 hostility and influence were strong. My work 
 was therefore a very difficult one. 
 
 "Feeling that I needed wisdom and guidance, 
 I wrote to Bishop Hare for advice: Tlease ad 
 vise me what to do here/ 
 
 "He wrote back : I cannot advise you. I am 
 a poor mortal like you, and can see no better. The 
 One who can best counsel you is right beside you. 
 Go to the Holy Spirit/ 
 
 "I have followed that suggestion from that day 
 
 to this. 
 
 "On September 4, 1892, I was ordained priest. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TIPI SAPA 15 
 
 "The work here on the Standing Rock has 
 grown steadily, so that now we have five chapels, 
 whereas, at the first we had only one. In these 
 chapels lay-readers conduct the services every 
 Sunday. The priest visits each chapel once a 
 month, and the Bishop once a year." 
 
 Mr. Deloria can testify as to the character of 
 our first missionaries the spiritual power and 
 fervent zeal, the earnestness, steadfastness, de 
 voted self-sacrifice, and saintliness of such a 
 man as Bishop Hare ; and the noble examples and 
 elevating influence of the Rev. Joseph Cook, Mr. 
 Cleveland, and the many others both men and 
 women, who have given and are giving their lives 
 to the cause. The affection which Bishop Hare 
 felt for the Indians, and his solicitude for their 
 spiritual welfare, are widely known. He never 
 ceased to pray for his dear Indian people, or "to 
 desire that they might be filled with the knowl 
 edge of His will, and delivered from the power of 
 darkness". 
 
 He and others were deeply appreciative of the 
 justice, mercy, and truth, contained in the final 
 moral code of the Indians of the old days. They 
 did not, and could not, believe that the simple, 
 honest, brave, noblehearted Red men "would be 
 eternally lost unless they professed a particular 
 form of their hydra-headed faith, or force them to 
 adopt this faith." (Vide Foreword: "The Soul 
 of the Indian", Eastman). "They were gentle 
 among them, and affectionately desirous to im- 
 
16 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAP A 
 
 part, not the Gospel only, but also their own 
 souls, because they, the Indians, were dear unto 
 them." They were merely in deep earnest in 
 their desire to guide these their brothers, who 
 were dwelling in a cloudy spiritual atmosphere, 
 into the true Light which lighteth every man 
 that cometh into the world." 
 
 Mr. Deloria is an admirable exponent of their 
 guidance. He knows the Bible by heart and is 
 deeply imbued with the spirit of its message. He 
 is a prophet as well as a priest. In speaking of 
 his father s marvelous power, he said : "I wonder 
 why I have none of that power?" One of his 
 friends replied : "You have it, Mr. Deloria, only 
 in a different way. Your father was a healer of 
 bodies ; you are a healer of souls." 
 
 Mr. Deloria is a born leader, and a tower of 
 strength in the Church. He said to Bishop Hare 
 and also to Bishop Biller at his consecration : "I 
 will give you my invisible shoulder"; a promise 
 that he kept most faithfully, and in the perform 
 ance of it, rendered invaluable assistance to these 
 men through their pastorates in South Dakota. 
 When these noble bishops entered into their 
 rest, Mr. Deloria on each occasion was among 
 those summoned to carry the casket upon their 
 shoulders to the final burying place. He is a man 
 of wide influence and is called upon to aid in 
 carrying on the work, not only on other reserva 
 tions in his own district, but in other districts as 
 well. Recently he has been of great assistance to 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TIPI SAPA 17 
 
 the Bishop of North Dakota. He preaches and 
 makes addresses at various convocations and 
 synods. He has been a delegate, more than 
 once, to the General Convention of the Church; 
 and in such capacity attended that gathering 
 in New York City in the fall of 1913. At 
 that time he was called upon to address large 
 audiences in Philadelphia, Boston, and other 
 cities. He has also been called to Washington to 
 give counsel and advice in regard to settling diffi 
 culties that have arisen between his people and 
 the government. 
 
 He has a talent for friendship, having a regard 
 for honor and a respect for a promise far exceed 
 ing that of most white mem. 
 
 In the summer of 1916, after a long and pain 
 ful illness, his beloved wife died. She was a 
 beautiful woman, possessing much sweetness and 
 gentleness of character, and was a most efficient 
 helper in the work of the Church, through the 
 many happy years of their wedded life. On the 
 lectern of St. Elizabeth s Church a memorial to 
 Mrs. Deloria the inscription reads: "Blessed 
 are the peace makers; for they shall be called 
 the children of God". Mr. Deloria s married 
 daughter, Mrs. Lane, lives a few miles distant 
 from St. Elizabeth s Mission. Another daughter, 
 Ella, is a graduate of All Saints School, Sioux 
 Falls, South Dakota, and of Columbia University, 
 New York City. She received from Columbia 
 the degree of B.S. While studying there she was 
 
18 THE PEOPLE OF TIP1 SAP A 
 
 held in high esteem by her associates, both pro 
 fessors and classmates, as one who, though pos 
 sessing unusual intellectuality, was, with it all, 
 most pleasing and unassuming. For the last two 
 years Ella Deloria has been one of the staff of 
 teachers at All Saints School, Sioux Falls. This 
 is an institution of "godly and sound learning", 
 founded some thirty years ago by Bishop Hare. 
 During all that time it has had but one principal, 
 Dr. Helen S. Peabody a woman of remarkable 
 culture, refinement, and spirituality. Dr. Pea- 
 body, with the marvelously efficient assistance of 
 her sister, Miss Mary Peabody, has been a great 
 power in directing for good the lives of hundreds 
 of girls, Indian and white, throughout the West. 
 Susie Deloria, the youngest daughter, was 
 graduated from All Saints School in 1916, and 
 ever since then has kept house for her father. 
 Last, but not least, is Vine, a bright and attractive 
 boy of sixteen, who is receiving his education at 
 the Military Academy, Kearney, Nebraska. 
 
 Mr. Deloria considers that if a thing is worth 
 doing at all it is worth doing well. He uses all his 
 force, energy, and ability, in whatever he under 
 takes, from chopping wood or driving a team, to 
 catechizing and addressing little children, who are 
 devoted to him, or preparing or preaching a ser 
 mon.* He visits the sick or anyone who needs 
 
 * When Mr. Deloria is thinking out his sermons he lies flat 
 on his back on the ground and gazes up at the sky; this, of 
 course, in favorable weather. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TIPI SAPA 19 
 
 him, in sunshine or blizzard, drenching rain or 
 searching blast. He drives for miles over the 
 prairies to his various missions in whatever 
 temperature the thermometer may be registering 
 in that great western land from 56 below, to 
 no above, zero. He is constantly called upon 
 to settle difficulties and to give advice. What 
 impressed me beyond all else, is his marvelous 
 patience in the midst of numerous trying and 
 perplexing occasions and circumstances. In spite 
 of many and great provocations and discourage 
 ments, he always maintains his spirit, poise, 
 and tenacity of purpose. It is more than mere 
 patience ; it is grit, the true definition of patience, 
 as St. Paul uses the word when he tells us how 
 to run the race that is set before us. Such pluck 
 and resolution, such repose and confidence are to 
 be found only in a man whose soul is anchored in 
 truth and principle. He is full of solicitude for 
 the welfare of his flock and deeply troubled in 
 spirit over any of their shortcomings. 
 
 As a preacher Mr. Deloria is most dramatic in 
 gesture, remarkable in vigor and fluency of lan 
 guage, and full of inspiration. Those who hear 
 him are impressed at once with his deep spirit 
 uality. His sermons abound in striking story, 
 allegory, and vivid illustration. On account of 
 being so gifted in the art of preaching, he has been 
 styled the "Phillips Brooks" of the Indian people. 
 He is a great reader. Among some of his favorite 
 works after the Bible, including the Apocrypha, 
 
20 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 are the lives of the Fathers, Shakespeare, "The 
 Vision of Hernias", "Hiawatha", "The Toiling of 
 Felix", and some of John Oxenham s poems. In 
 conversation he is exceptionally interesting and 
 original, and can entertain people for hours at a 
 time with legends and true tales of his own people 
 and with many thrilling personal experiences. 
 On account of his winning personality, consisting 
 in a certain sweetness of nature combined with a 
 strong masculinity and force of character, a wide 
 sympathy and knowledge of human nature, lofty 
 principle and purity and simplicity of heart and 
 conduct, he is "a man greatly beloved" and held in 
 high esteem by all who know him. He is always 
 endeavoring to put himself in accord with 
 God s will, and is ever listening for the Voice that 
 will tell him what to do. He believes firmly in the 
 deep personal interest of the Almighty concern 
 ing all who trust in Him, and is convinced that 
 everything is right, in small or great matters, if 
 ordered by Him, even though seemingly unjust 
 and wrong, to an extent quite beyond our finite 
 understanding. As is characteristic of all mag 
 nanimous men, he is "clothed with humility", and, 
 like St. Paul, implies, when praised for well-doing, 
 that "we are not sufficient of ourselves to think 
 anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is 
 of God." 
 
 In the narrative that follows, concerning the 
 manners and customs of the Sioux nation, I have 
 not endeavored to treat of the subject scientifi- 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TIPI SAP A 21 
 
 cally, neither have I made the slightest attempt 
 at literary style. It is the story told to me in, 
 as nearly as possible, the exact words of Tipi 
 Sapa, Mr. Deloria, and I have studied to adhere 
 to the childlike simplicity in his manner of re 
 lating the incidents to me. I have also used many 
 terms peculiarly his own. It is well, for another 
 reason, to adhere to this plain, unadorned ex 
 pression of Mr. Deloria s thoughts, for he is 
 hoping, when his little book appears in print that 
 it will have a wide circulation among all those 
 of his own people who can read the English 
 language. The English vocabulary of the ma 
 jority of Indians is naturally limited, and they 
 would not readily understand a book written in 
 elaborate diction ; any more than those of us, ex 
 cepting scholars, could read off-hand Russian or 
 Scandinavian literature in highly wrought style. 
 It is only within the last few years that the 
 Indians have known at all of any written lan 
 guage, even their own; so they prefer to read 
 books that are simple, clear, and intelligible to 
 them. 
 
 Mr. Deloria is extremely accurate, and has 
 taken any amount of trouble in verifying the 
 facts about his people that are stated in this little 
 book. As we have already seen in the bio 
 graphical sketch, he has been a participant in 
 many of their practices and usages himself. 
 Others he has learned about from his father and 
 from various "sacred" and wise men in the tribe. 
 
22 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 Mr. Deloria has seen the birthright of his 
 people taken from them; he knows them to be 
 grossly corrupted by the intoxicating liquors 
 handed over to them by the white men, and that 
 they are decreasing in numbers from the diseases 
 contracted from our civilization. He himself, 
 with them, has had to give up the delight and the 
 support derived from the chase and to see his 
 people frequenting saloons and pool halls and 
 barely subsisting on the wretched rations fur 
 nished them by the government. He knows they 
 are in a transition state, and as yet quite unable 
 to carry on farming and other industrial pursuits, 
 with any degree of success; not only on account 
 of their nomadic habits, to which they have been 
 accustomed for centuries, but on account of their 
 having been brought up to regard work with the 
 greatest contempt. He sees the women idle a 
 good part of the time, and deteriorating in their 
 morals on account of their indulgence in gossip 
 and scandal of the grossest kind. He thinks the 
 crying need is more schools Church industrial 
 schools, farm schools, schools with courses of 
 training for boys who want to enter the ministry ; 
 for nothing is more important than a staff of 
 strong native clergy. 
 
 In spite of all discouragements, Mr. Deloria 
 goes on his way rejoicing, full of hope for his 
 people; and, "forgetting those things which are 
 behind, and reaching forth unto those things 
 which are before, he presses towards the mark 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TIPI SAPA 23 
 
 for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ 
 Jesus." 
 
 KEY TO PRONUNCIATION 
 
 a a as in car 
 
 e e as in they 
 
 i i as in machine 
 
 o o as in boat 
 
 u u as in boot 
 
 ?, s 
 
 c ch 
 
 d 1 
 
 q n 
 
 S . . sh 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 The Advent of the Indians Wanderings- 
 Customs Reckoning Time Religion 
 Peace-Pipe 
 
 ACCORDING to Indian tradition, in the old 
 days all the Indian peoples crossed some 
 great river; but whence they came originally, 
 they cannot say. It was their custom to travel in 
 the night time, and they wandered at random over 
 wild, unknown lands. In the early dawn they were 
 able "to see the nakedness of the land," the count 
 less hills and valleys, fertile plains, the lakes, 
 creeks, and winding rivers, and beautiful bits of 
 timber. They then spied out ways over which 
 they could have travelled far better if they had 
 only known of them at the time, but they had been 
 able to perceive nothing under cover of night. 
 
 They wandered from the West the Darken 
 ing Land towards the Sunrise. Some were able 
 to reach the Big Water in the Sunrise (the 
 Atlantic Ocean). One tribe, the Cheyennes, 
 strayed into the country now named Minnesota. 
 The Cheyennes are now found only in Montana.* 
 
 * in their cemeteries the Cheyennes used for marking their 
 graves, figures nailed on boards with arms outstretched, re 
 sembling crucifixes. 
 
THE ADVENT OF THE INDIANS 25 
 
 The Indians are a very old people. They 
 lived in tents, journeyed from place to place as 
 did the nomadic tribes of the Orient, and camped 
 wherever they found water and good pasture for 
 their horses. In war, they thought it most im 
 portant to take from the enemy as many horses 
 as possible. They traded, bought and sold, with 
 horses, as we do with money. Even now, they 
 often pay their debts, among themselves and to 
 the white man, with horses. 
 
 In reckoning time, the Indians counted from 
 sunrise to sunrise as a day ("the evening and the 
 morning were the first day") and three hundred 
 and sixty-five days as a year. Some of them 
 noted the occurrence of an extra day occasionally. 
 They talked about it a great deal, but were never 
 of one mind on the subject. Nevertheless, 
 several of them maintained that every few years 
 the extra day occurred. The record of the days 
 in a year was kept by carving notches on thick 
 sticks of wood. 
 
 From the earliest times, the Indians believed 
 in a Supreme Being who ruled the Universe. 
 They prayed to visible objects, especially the sun, 
 moon, and stars; and reverenced even the trees 
 and the rocks. They did not actually worship 
 the objects themselves, but looked upon them 
 as instruments of power through which their 
 prayers reached the Great Spirit. 
 
 The religious code of the Sioux Indians, the 
 special tribe treated of in this book, was similar, 
 
26 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 in many respects, to the Ten Commandments. 
 The Above, the Supreme Being, the Mysterious 
 One, "Wakantanka," was held in awe and venera 
 tion. He was all-powerful. He could give them 
 whatever they wanted if they were good; and 
 could keep them from getting anything they de 
 sired if they were bad. Children must honor and 
 obey their parents and help them in every way 
 possible. All the young people had to observe the 
 precepts and teachings of the old men, the chiefs 
 and leaders. In them was vested the civil author 
 ity. The people were to use no deceit in their 
 tongues; they were to hurt nobody by word or 
 deed. Lying and slandering were disreputable. 
 We shall see, further on, the evil effects of gossip 
 upon girls and women, even forcing them some 
 times to commit suicide. The untruthful and the 
 backbiters were held in no respect whatever. 
 
 They were urged on almost every occasion 
 to care for the poor, the weak, and the little ones ; 
 and generosity and kindness were always highly 
 commended. 
 
 Murder in one s own circle was considered a 
 terrible crime and deserving of death. Stealing, 
 except in war, or in certain kinds of ceremony 
 and play, was disgraceful. To covet and go off 
 with another man s wife was a great evil and, 
 as will be shown later, one worthy of severe 
 punishment for both offenders. The men and the 
 women acted the parts in life which they con 
 sidered were severally allotted to them. The 
 
THE ADVENT OF THE INDIANS 27 
 
 bearing of the burden seemed to be shared by 
 both sexes to an almost equal degree. 
 
 The Dakota Nation was divided into twelve 
 bands, namely: the Cheyenne, Crow Creek, 
 Devil s Lake, Flandreau, Lower Brule, Pine 
 Ridge, Poplar, Rosebud, Santee, Sisseton, Stand 
 ing Rock, and Yankton bands. In the days of 
 long ago, there was another division of the Sioux 
 called the Sans Arcs, which has preserved the 
 beautiful legend of the Pipe of Peace. This 
 Calumet, or Peace-Pipe, in use from the earliest 
 times, occupied a position of peculiar importance 
 and was held in the deepest reverence. It was 
 entrusted to the care of a highly honored man, 
 and brought out and smoked with much ceremony 
 on great and solemn occasions. 
 
 In the smoke that rolled around him, 
 The Great Spirit, the Creator, 
 Smiled upon his helpless children! 
 
 (Hiawatha, Pipe of Peace.) 
 
 THE PIPE OF PEACE STORY 
 
 Years ago, within the Dakota Nation, there 
 was a band known as the (Itazipco) Sans Arcs. 
 Out of this band of Indians, two especially 
 favored and handsome young men were, on one 
 occasion, selected and commissioned to ride out 
 and find where the buffalo were. 
 
 While these young men were riding in the 
 wild country, bent on their mission of finding 
 the buffalo, they saw, in the distance and drawing 
 near to them, someone who walked. 
 
28 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 As always, they were on the alert lest some 
 enemy should surprise them and take their scalps. 
 The most natural thing for them to do was to 
 hide in the wayside bushes. There they sat and 
 waited for the figure to come in sight. Finally, 
 up the slope it came. It proved to be a Beautiful 
 Woman. At a distance she halted and looked 
 towards them in their hiding place, and they 
 knew that she could see them. On her left 
 arm she carried what looked like a stick, bundled 
 up in bunches of sage brush. She was fair to look 
 upon. 
 
 One of the men said to his companion: "I 
 covet her; she is lovely beyond anyone I ever 
 saw. She shall be mine." "But hold," said the 
 other, "how can you dare to entertain such 
 thoughts when she is so wondrously beautiful and 
 holy, so far above our race ?" 
 
 The woman, standing over in the distance, 
 heard them, and laid down her bundle. "Come," 
 she said. "What is it you wish?" And he went 
 to her and laid hands on her, as though to claim 
 her, when, Lo! from somewhere in the above, 
 came a whirlwind, and after it, a mist. The mist 
 enveloped the man and the Beautiful Woman, 
 then cleared away, leaving the Woman standing 
 there with the bundle on her left arm, and the 
 man, now a heap of bones, at her feet. 
 
 The companion, who stood wrapped in wonder 
 and awe, was now addressed by the Beautiful 
 Woman. She said : "I am making this journey 
 
THE ADVENT OF THE INDIANS 29 
 
 to your tribe, the Sans Arts. Among your people 
 there lives a good man. His name is Tatanka- 
 Woslal-Mani (Bull-Walking-upright). To him 
 especially I am come. Go home and tell your 
 tribe I am on my way. Have them move camp 
 and pitch their tents in a circle, leaving an opening 
 towards the north. In the centre of the circle, 
 opposite the opening, they are to erect a large tipi, 
 also facing the north. There I will meet Tatanka- 
 Woslal-Mani and his people." 
 
 (There is no further record of her approach. 
 The narrative goes on with her teaching.) 
 
 To Tatanka-Woslal-Mani she gave the gift 
 she carried. On taking away the sage-branches 
 which surrounded it, she revealed a small pipe 
 made of red pipe-stone. (This, later, became 
 universally the material for Indian pipes.) On 
 the pipe was carved, most ingeniously, a tiny little 
 outline of a calf ; hence the name Calf-pipe, which 
 is sometimes applied to the original Peace-pipe. 
 
 With this pipe, the Beautiful Woman gave 
 them a code of morals by which they must live 
 with one another in the tribe. Moreover, she gave 
 them forms of prayers to be said when invoking 
 the "One Above". When they prayed to Him 
 they must use their pipe in the ceremony. When 
 they were hungry they must undo the pipe and 
 lay it bare to the air. Then the buffalo would 
 come near, to a place where the men could easily 
 hunt and kill them ; and the children, women, and 
 men, could have food and be happy. 
 
30 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 In the lesson that the tribe received on that 
 day, everything was good and true. In observing 
 the moral code just received, they knew they 
 would be happy. By invoking the aid of the 
 Strong One above, and using the Peace-pipe in 
 the ceremony, they would be certain of blessings 
 asked. 
 
 The Woman completed her message, turned, 
 and departed. Slowly she walked away while all 
 the tribe watched in awe. Outside the doorway 
 of the circle she stopped for an instant, lay down 
 on the ground, and rose again in the form of a 
 beautiful black buffalo-cow. Again she lay down, 
 this time to arise in the form of a red buffalo-cow ! 
 A third time she lay down, and arose a brown 
 buffalo-cow! The fourth and last time, she ap 
 peared as a spotlessly white buffalo-cow. In this 
 form she then turned to the north and walked into 
 the distance, finally vanishing over the far-off hill. 
 
 During her strange visit, the Beautiful Woman 
 instructed the people how to decorate their bodies 
 when they were happy. The earth, she said, was 
 their mother, for the earth nursed them and cared 
 for them. Hence, when they wanted to dress, 
 they must decorate themselves as their mother 
 did, in black and red and brown and white,* the 
 same colors which the buffalo-cow assumed in 
 her different appearances. The earth dressed 
 herself in white, for did not the people find white 
 
 * These four primitive colors are represented in the cover 
 of this book. 
 
THE ADVENT OF THE INDIANS 31 
 
 earth in certain places? (Gray clay.) Was she 
 not somewhere clad in red (Vermilion, South 
 Dakota), and in brown, as the brown earth on the 
 hillsides? The black earth, found in the bad 
 lands of South Dakota, was well known to the 
 Indians who used it as paint and dye. They were 
 authorized to use these colors when they "made 
 up" for festal occasions. But when any of the 
 people had done wrong or had taken human life 
 in the tribe, then they were wrong in the sight of 
 the Great Spirit and must cover themselves with 
 common mud. Hence arose the custom for a 
 murderer to cover his body with ordinary dirt and 
 clay. For many years these four colors white, 
 black, red, and brown were the only ones in use 
 among the Indians. 
 
 Tatanka-Woslal-Mani taught, in turn, to his 
 people, the many good things the Beautiful 
 Woman taught to him. Always carefully 
 wrapped and laid away was the sacred pipe she 
 brought them, the White Calf-pipe. Fashioned 
 after it were other pipes which were used in dif 
 ferent sorts of Indian ceremonies, and these 
 ceremonial pipes gradually became known as 
 pipes of peace. 
 
 The legend runs that Tatanka-Woslal-Mani 
 had the pipe until he was over one hundred years 
 old. Every little while he called the people to 
 gether, untied the bundle, and communicated the 
 lessons which had been taught to him. When he 
 grew feeble he made a great feast and handed 
 
32 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 over the pipe and the lessons to Wi-hi-na-pa 
 (Sunrise) a worthy man, who used the pipe in the 
 same way, and finally passed it on, at the time of 
 his death, to one Pehin Sapa (Black Hair) with 
 instructions to use it in the same manner. He 
 gave it to Heraka-pa (Elk s Head) who, at 
 his death, left it to Mato-nakpa (Bear s Ear). 
 Tatanka Pteson (White Buffalo-Bull) was the 
 next to receive it. After him, Herlogeca (Hollow 
 Horn) was the custodian; and in recent times 
 Hollow Horn gave the Pipe to Heraka-pa (Elk s 
 Head) the Second, who died a few years ago, 
 leaving the Pipe and its teachings to his daughter, 
 whose husband is Zuya Sica. Heraka-pa had a 
 son, but preferred to give the pipe to his daughter, 
 because his son had married a Standing Rock 
 woman and had left the Sans Arcs band. It was 
 this son, who came from the western part of the 
 Cheyenne Reservation where the Sans Arcs are 
 located, who told this story to Tipi Sapa. He 
 remained to dine with Tipi Sapa and his family. 
 
c/) 
 
 < 
 5 
 
 I 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 The Circle The Wearing of Feathers Leaders 
 
 Scalps Victory Defeat A Chief 
 f5f HE Circle was the emblem of eternity. The 
 W middle tent, or large tipi in the middle of the 
 circle, was a sacred place. The ground was 
 levelled, and braided sweet grass laid upon it. 
 The end opposite the door was held in as much 
 regard as the chancel of a church. On solemn 
 occasions, one of the chosen men in the circle 
 occupied this place of honor, and conducted cer 
 emonies with the pipe of peace. Taking it in his 
 hands, he pointed it to heaven, to the four corners 
 of the winds, and to the earth, and prayed, saying : 
 "Great Spirit or Great Father, send me the Spirit 
 of the buffalo" (or any other spirit he desired). 
 After smoking it, he said to those present : "These 
 prayers of mine will be carried in this smoke to 
 the Supreme Being or Creator." If any bad men, 
 such as liars and murderers or dishonorable or 
 unclean persons (i.e., those who had gone off with 
 the wives of other men) came near the middle 
 tent, they were driven away at once. It was too 
 sacred a place for that kind of people. If they 
 should enter, they might drive away the spirit of 
 
34 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 the buffalo, as they themselves were possessed 
 of evil spirits. Such characters had to wear 
 mourning, and wander about outside of the circle. 
 
 In a Circle of Indians camping, things, tradi 
 tions, were always kept in memory. These were 
 called "old men s instructions", and were intended 
 for girls as well as boys. The old men were 
 obliged to prove themselves worthy of handing 
 on traditions, according to the ones that had been 
 before them. 
 
 A young man was taught to be loyal to the 
 Supreme Being and to his circle. He was never 
 to tell any secrets or to disclose any weaknesses 
 about his Circle. He was obliged to be always 
 preparing himself for two forms of action hunt 
 ing and righting. Above all else, he was to be 
 brave go out of the Circle and kill, if possible, 
 four men belonging to the enemy. He was then 
 to have four feathers given him as marks of 
 distinction. These feathers were to be worn in 
 different ways or directions in the hair at the top 
 of his braid. 
 
 The man who first took aim and killed one of 
 the approaching enemy did not receive a feather. 
 It was given to the one who went forward and hit 
 him after he was down. This required greater 
 bravery, as it was done in the face of the enemy ; 
 and if not managed quickly and skilfully, exposed 
 one making the attack to capture and a terrible 
 death. The feather he received for performing 
 this act for the first time, was worn straight ; the 
 
THE CIRCLE 35 
 
 second, sloping; the third, on quite a slant; the 
 fourth, flat (horizontal). If, in such an exploit, 
 the man was wounded, he received red feathers. 
 
 When a warrior had won four feathers, and 
 had acted according to "the old men s instruc 
 tions", he had the honor of being called a leader. 
 He was chosen by the vote of the old men, and 
 remained a leader for some years. During that 
 time he had the care of some of the poor and the 
 orphans in his Circle. There were several leaders 
 in a Circle. They were expected to have many 
 horses which they had taken from the enemy; 
 also, one or more scalps. 
 
 The Indians in fighting took the scalps of their 
 enemies ; very often when their victims were yet 
 alive. If done skilfully, with a sharp knife, the 
 scalp peeled from the head like the skin from a 
 banana. It was soaked in water for some time, 
 scraped carefully inside, and dried thoroughly. 
 It was then painted red inside and well oiled to 
 make it soft. Scalps with long hair were of great 
 value and highly respected. 
 
 The man who had taken a scalp carried it home 
 with great pride and gave it to his sister if he had 
 one. She was very proud of it, too, and carried 
 it about with her at the next dance she attended. 
 The scalp was kept in the family, and when war 
 was going on, it was brought out and used. It 
 was attached to the lower part of the bridle of the 
 horse ridden in the fight, and, waving about, 
 looked ghastly and horrid. This trophy showed 
 
36 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 the enemy that its owner could kill, could take 
 scalps ; therefore he was to be greatly feared. 
 
 After they returned from fighting and were 
 in the Circle once more, the leaders were to be 
 honored. The feathers they had won they placed 
 in their hair, according to the proper mode of 
 wearing them. They then took off their clothing, 
 and rubbed their bodies all over with the soft fat 
 obtained from around the tail of a buffalo mixed 
 with the black from charred wood. Those who 
 received straight feathers sang this song: (Tona 
 wiyaka owotanna aopazanpi Kin on.) 
 
 SONG. ODOWAN KIN. 
 
 Why have I done this? Tokae un hecamon he? 
 
 Because I want the right to Aopazan manica eon. 
 
 wear a feather. Tokae un hecamon he? 
 
 Why have I done this? Itisabya manica eon. 
 
 Because I have not, as yet, 
 
 the right to wear black 
 
 paint on my body. 
 Dakota music. 
 
 Perhaps some man in the Circle went forward 
 to take the clothing and weapons laid aside by 
 one of these brave men, and succeeded in getting 
 everything away from him. A number of young 
 girls jumped on horses, rode about and helped 
 them sing. After going around the circle once, 
 the leaders broke away and went to their own 
 tipis. They did not remain in them long. They 
 were brought out and taken to a large tent which 
 had been put up for them in the middle of the 
 
THE CIRCLE 37 
 
 circle. This they were supposed to occupy for 
 four days. 
 
 A tree was provided and set up also in the 
 middle of the circle. The bark was removed and 
 the trunk painted black, and the scalps that were 
 brought home hung upon it. 
 
 The old chiefs announced that there must 
 be a dance around the tree. The young women 
 made great preparations. They blackened their 
 faces and dressed themselves in their soft, beauti 
 ful, buckskin gowns worked with designs in 
 colored beads and porcupine quills. The wives, 
 daughters, and sisters of the warriors represented 
 them in the dance and wore eagles feathers with 
 some of the web stripped off. These were colored 
 red, signifying thereby the wounds inflicted on 
 the enemy and the flowing blood. The bows, 
 arrows, lances, spears, or any other weapons used 
 in fighting were held by the women and carried 
 aloft in the dance, as a symbol of the bravery of 
 the warriors. 
 
 While the dance was going on, and the 
 weapons shown off by the women, they sang: 
 (Tohand wacipi canhan wipe kin winyau kin 
 deyapi eca). 
 
 SONG (FOB THE WARRIORS). ODOWAN KIN (WAKTE). 
 
 The Above (Supreme Being) lye (Wankata kin de maqu, 
 
 gave me this. So (that is Heon (etan han) deced 
 
 why) ecamon. 
 
 I have done this. 
 
 At this point the braves came from the large 
 
38 THE PEOPLE OF TIPISAPA 
 
 tent with their feathers arranged in their hair. 
 The man who had acquired the clothing and 
 weapons of one of the braves came forward and 
 said that though he had been known heretofore 
 by a certain name, he now intended, upon receiv 
 ing his first feather, to give it up and to assume 
 a new one Chasing Bear, perhaps, or something 
 of the kind. He then called some old woman 
 forward and presented her with a horse; next 
 he gave one to an orphan boy ; and so on until he 
 gave away all the horses brought home by him 
 from the enemy. He thought this a fitting time 
 to retire, but the old men called him forward 
 again on account of his good deeds. The women 
 and others danced holding aloft their weapons, 
 and singing: 
 
 SONG. ODOWAN KIN. 
 
 Somewhere a Crow (Indian) Kangi (Wicasa) bed wan- 
 lies dead kedo, e 
 
 Chasing Bear has done it. Mato Wakuwa he econ we. 
 
 He is well named. He tanyan otaninze. 
 
 He has done well! He tanyan econ we! 
 
 This is equivalent to: 
 
 Saul has killed his thou- Saul kokto pawinge kte. 
 
 san d8. David kokto pawinge wik- 
 
 David his tens of thousands ! cemna. 
 
 These dances were kept up for two months 
 after the warriors had returned. 
 
 If defeated, the leader, when he came back, 
 pierced his arms through with sticks, one for each 
 
THE CIRCLE 39 
 
 man lost, and with these sticking in his flesh, 
 went around the circle crying. This showed his 
 deep sorrow and repentance, because the Great 
 Spirit had not been on his side. When the other 
 leaders decided that he had done sufficient pen 
 ance, they allowed him to remove the sticks. He 
 was then let go with respect, that is, he was held 
 in as much esteem as before he went out to fight. 
 If a leader came home from fighting, badly de 
 feated, without any sorrow or crying, he was no 
 more held in respect, but counted the very lowest 
 man in the tribe. 
 
 If a leader, then, had done in war all that was 
 required of him, that is, if he had met the enemy 
 and killed four men in the presence of both sides 
 as witnesses, thereby winning his four feathers, 
 he was supposed to be qualified for behaving him 
 self rightly in his Circle. He was obliged to love 
 and respect his wife as he did himself. As was 
 said before, he was called upon to give an old 
 woman a horse that would enable her to get 
 about, and he was to care for the orphans. In 
 fact he was expected to provide for and defend in 
 general, the needy, the old, the weak, and the 
 little ones. When the old men all were fully con 
 vinced that he was living as he should, and that he 
 had done and was doing everything in his power 
 without and within for the welfare of the Circle, 
 they made him a chief. He was never supposed 
 to seek this high office for himself. Self-seeking 
 was held by the Indians in great contempt. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 THE TRAINING OF CHILDREN 
 
 Tattoo Ears Pierced The Training of Girls- 
 Various Incidents 
 
 N the preceding chapter we were introduced 
 into the Circle the environment in which all 
 Indian children were brought up. We are now 
 to learn something relating immediately to the 
 children themselves. 
 
 All Indian children were tattooed, the girls on 
 the chin or forehead^ the boys sometimes on the 
 body, but more frequently on the wrist or some 
 other part of the arm. This custom was care 
 fully observed because of an old tradition. 
 Through the days of the wisest men, the "Milky 
 Way" was thought to be the high road of the 
 Spirits, which led them either towards the happy 
 hunting grounds or to the abode of punishment. 
 An old man sat along the way to watch them as 
 they approached. When he saw the spirits of 
 tattooed children draw near, he directed them to 
 the right; but turned the poor little wanderers 
 without tattoo towards the left-hand road. 
 
 While a boy was yet a tiny baby he was taken 
 
THE TRAINING OF CHILDREN . 41 
 
 by his father to some man to have his ears pierced. 
 Fairly good sized slits were cut with a sharp knife 
 in the lobe of the ear and pieces of lead inserted, 
 which prevented the holes from growing together 
 until the boy was large enough to wear earrings. 
 A girl had her ears pierced at the top as well as in 
 the lower part ; and wore large earrings in each of 
 the openings. 
 
 The children were instructed by their parents 
 entirely by word of mouth, and were supposed to 
 remember all that was said to them. It was 
 especially impressed upon their minds never to 
 tell a lie, and they were counselled as follows: 
 "You may live to be old, you may reach middle 
 age, you may die young, we do not know ; that is 
 in the hands of the Giver; but in any case, be 
 truthful as long as you live. Then you must be 
 pure and modest and honorable so that people 
 will respect you." 
 
 In those days the girls appeared to have paid 
 attention to all the precepts taught them by their 
 parents, and to have obeyed them without a 
 murmur. Very often the poorer class of girls 
 followed the instruction of the old people better 
 than those in the upper classes. The daughters 
 liked to be with their mothers and always re 
 mained with them until they were married. As 
 a rule the Indian girls became good wives pure, 
 true, and upright. They were kept very busy, 
 as they made the tipis, their own dresses, and the 
 fighting and hunting outfits for the men in the 
 
42 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 family. They trimmed all this clothing with 
 beautiful work in beads and porcupine quills. 
 
 The girls who paid attention to the good teach 
 ings as well as those who did not the bad, dis 
 obedient ones had the gift of healing, and were 
 equally successful. There were many medicine 
 women, who sucked the disease from the skin of 
 anyone that was ill. Both had, also, the gift of 
 con jury, and were eagerly sought after as fortune 
 tellers. Tipi Sapa could not understand why 
 the bad as well as the good should be endowed 
 with these gifts and meet with success. He 
 thought the former should have been punished 
 with failure at every turn. 
 
 The Circle was not free from gossip. Often a 
 girl was made very unhappy by hearing some 
 thing that had been said against her character. 
 At such a time she brought a dish of food from 
 her tipi and took a seat in the circle. She invited 
 all the other girls of good standing to bring their 
 dishes and join her in camp. They dared not go 
 if they were of doubtful reputation. A large 
 crowd assembled to witness the test called Inno 
 cent s Fire. An arrow and a knife were plunged 
 into the ground and a small rock was placed near 
 them. This was painted red or yellow or any 
 color that happened to be chosen. As we have 
 already learned, a rock was sacred among the 
 Indians and one of the means by which prayers 
 reached the Great Spirit. A certain young man 
 was called upon to step forward. He perhaps re- 
 
A DAKOTA WOMAN 
 
A DAKOTA WOMAN 
 
THE TRAINING OF CHILDREN 43 
 
 marked : "Well, this girl promised to marry me, 
 but she lied," or something to that effect. Then 
 he was obliged to take the arrow and the knife out 
 of the ground, and draw them across his lips and 
 place his hands on the rock. If he, himself, has 
 been telling an untruth in speaking ill of the girl 
 in question he was likely to meet his death very 
 shortly afterward in one of three ways. He 
 might be killed by an arrow, stabbed with a knife, 
 or injured fatally in stumbling over a rock. This 
 seldom failed to happen. By going into the circle 
 in such a manner the girl proved her innocence. 
 
 Sometimes a young woman of fine character 
 called a meeting at her tipi of all the choice girls 
 in camp and gave them a feast. There was much 
 talking back and forth on these occasions. "How 
 many times have you been through Innocent s 
 Fire ?" one asked. Perhaps somebody answered 
 "Twice", another, "Three times", another "Five 
 times", and so on. They spoke beautifully of 
 their mothers, and said that any virtue in them 
 selves was owing to the good teaching they 
 had received from them. These girls generally 
 remained a long while at the meeting, exhort 
 ing one another "to love and to good works". 
 They laid great stress upon being kind to the 
 poor; and also agreed to look after their weaker 
 sisters in the Circle, to try to keep them from go 
 ing astray. These meetings were bound to have 
 good results in that their influence was direct 
 and far-reaching. 
 
44 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 It was especially harmful for a brother, cousin, 
 father-in-law, or mother-in-law to think any evil of 
 a girl belonging to the family ; it did not matter so 
 much about the opinion of the other relatives and 
 connections. By way of illustration, such an in 
 cident as the following has happened many a time. 
 A certain young man heard by chance, an un 
 pleasant story about his sister. When he went 
 home he found the poor, innocent girl, contented 
 and happy, singing over the beadwork with which 
 she was busily engaged. "You are bad! I am 
 ashamed of you !" he declared, bluntly. The girl, 
 not being able to endure such remarks, ran off 
 without saying a word. She was absent so long, 
 that her mother, becoming alarmed, started out 
 to look for her. The poor woman had not gone 
 far before she met someone running, in great 
 haste, towards the camp. It proved to be a friend 
 of her daughter s, who had just come through the 
 timber, and she reported that she had just seen 
 the unfortunate girl, with a lasso around her neck, 
 hanging from the branch of a tree. Tipi Sapa had 
 several sisters besides other women in his family, 
 and his constant care was to avoid making 
 thoughtless, unkind remarks about them for fear 
 of the consequences. 
 
AN INDIAN RATTLE 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 HONORING CHILDREN 
 
 Honoring Girls Honoring Boys "Keeping a 
 Ghost" 
 
 3T was the custom of a father to declare that he 
 wanted his children "honored" on a certain 
 day. After he had made choice of the right man 
 to perform the ceremony, he said to him : "Will 
 you honor my daughter? If you do, I will give 
 you fifteen head of horses." The man, after 
 thinking the matter over, might finally agree to it. 
 This decision reached, he went about his duties at 
 once. First he tried to find some goodly clothes 
 for the girl that was to be honored. If possible, 
 he procured a buckskin suit trimmed with beads, 
 also several rows of elks teeth. These, in the 
 eyes of the Indians, were considered both beauti 
 ful and valuable. Then (from under the wing of 
 an eagle) he took a soft feather and tied it with 
 a strip of antelope skin, thus making an ornament 
 for the hair. A girl could be honored more than 
 once; and she sometimes had as many as four 
 eagles feathers. 
 
 After securing these things, the man who was 
 
46 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 appointed to do the honoring erected a special tent 
 for the ceremony, and chose seven men to take 
 part in the performances. Two of these were to 
 carry, in either hand, an imitation pipe of peace 
 and a rattle.* Five other men were also selected, 
 besides drummers and singers. 
 
 They all met together and went towards the 
 lodge of the man who was to have his daughter 
 or daughters honored, shaking the rattles, beating 
 the drums and singing : 
 
 SONG. ODOWAN KIN. 
 
 "Where are they living?" "Tukted tipi he?" 
 
 (They knew where it was.) 
 
 All this was intended to show that the girls 
 were good and worthy of being held in honor. 
 
 The men who were appointed to carry the 
 clothing went, with the honoring man, into the 
 tipi. There they were likely to find a war-bonnet, 
 and a shirt made of weasels skins hanging over 
 the entrance. In those days a weasel shirt was 
 very valuable; being worth fully five hundred 
 dollars. The men could not touch these articles, 
 because they had never before given away things 
 of this kind on such an occasion. There might 
 be a man among the others outside who remem 
 bered having given away such things at a time of 
 honoring ; therefore, he would have a right to go in 
 
 * An Indian rattle was made by wrapping a piece of raw- v 
 hide around a ball of clay as a mold. When dry the clay was 
 removed and some pebbles were placed inside the rawhide form. 
 
HONORING CHILDREN 47 
 
 and get them. If, several years after, the man, 
 whose children were being honored, should be 
 present at a similar ceremony for the children of 
 someone else and should find valuable things of 
 this sort hanging over the entrance to the lodge, 
 he could take them himself, because he remem 
 bered that in times past, he had done the same 
 thing. 
 
 The door of the tipi was then opened and the 
 five men who had been selected went in. The 
 weasel skin shirt and the war-bonnet were taken. 
 Each of the five men placed a child on his back 
 and all went out towards the large tent in the 
 middle of the circle. Around this a great crowd 
 was assembled. The girls were carried inside the 
 tent and the entrance was closed. A man came 
 forward and painted red lines up and down on 
 their foreheads. This meant that they should try 
 to be good. They were dressed in their fine cloth 
 ing and the eagles feathers were placed in their 
 hair. The tent was then opened so that everyone 
 could see them. The two men with the imitation 
 pipes of peace and the rattles in their hands, 
 waved the pipes over their heads, shook the rattles 
 and sang : 
 
 SONG. ODOWAN KIN. 
 
 The West Wind knows Wiyorpeyata kin sdodya 
 
 These people are blessed. Dena wicaya wastepi kin. 
 
 The North wind knows Waziyata kin sdodya 
 
 These people are blessed. Dena wicaya waStepi kin. 
 
 The South Wind knows Itokaga kin sdodya 
 
 These people are blessed. Dena wicaya wastepi kin. 
 
48 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 The East Wind knows Hinyanpata kin sdodya 
 
 These people are blessed. Dena wicaya wastepi kin. 
 
 The Earth knows Makata kin sdodya 
 
 These people are blessed. Dena wicaya wastepi kin. 
 
 The Creator knows Wankata kin sdodya 
 
 These people are blessed. Dena wicaya wastepi kin. 
 
 ANoriiiuiJ FORM OF THE WANKATA KIN ED OECON 
 
 ABOVE. TOKECA WAN YUKAN. 
 
 Bless the West Wiyorpeyata kin waste 
 
 Bless the North Waziyata kin waste 
 
 Bless the East Hinyanpata kin waste 
 
 Bless the South Itokaga kin waste 
 
 Bless the Earth Makata kin waste 
 
 Bless the Creator Wankata kin waste. 
 
 After the songs, the girls turned around tow 
 ards the open door. Then the singers pounded 
 their drums quickly, while the two men danced 
 furiously, keeping time to the music. This was 
 the finishing touch to the ceremony. 
 
 A great deal was expected of the young people 
 who had been honored and blessed. They were 
 supposed, from henceforth, to live up to all that 
 they had been taught ; to do all the good that was 
 in their power; to be true, just, pure, honorable. 
 They had, as well, the right to put on their fine 
 clothes whenever they wished, and to decorate 
 themselves with the same paint marks. All these 
 things proved that they had been honored ; but it 
 was considered far better for them to show the 
 honoring by the lives they led. Anyone who at 
 tempted to dress and paint in this way, without 
 having gone through the ceremony of being 
 honored, was held in great contempt. 
 
HONORING CHILDREN 49 
 
 Boys were honored in the same manner, ex 
 cepting that on such occasions, four men were 
 chosen to represent the four winds. The man 
 who talked to the boys said in addition-to what 
 had been told the girls: "Now you mus honor 
 the Earth, as it is the footstool of the Great Spirit, 
 and His floor that you walk upon. The Great 
 Spirit will guide you. Live as you have been 
 directed before these witnesses the Great Spirit, 
 His footstool, and the four Winds."" 
 
 Another way of honoring boys will be told in 
 the chapter on Buffalo Hunting. 
 
 The man who had done the honorings received, 
 as has been stated before, horses or valuables of 
 some kind in consideration of his services. 
 
 When a girl reached the age of sixteen, she was 
 put in a tipi by herself, and remained there four 
 days. Her mother carried food and water to her. 
 The best woman in the tribe gave her advice and 
 talked to her of such things as were said to those 
 who were publicly honored. Only girls of good 
 standing received these honorings. 
 
 There was still another way of honoring a 
 daughter. The father made a number of balls 
 and painted them red. (When there was no 
 fighting, red was a sign of peace.) The daughter 
 threw ten or fifteen of them from the door of her 
 tipi into a crowd assembled in the circle. Who 
 ever caught a ball would receive a horse. If one 
 man was fortunate enough to catch two or three 
 of the balls, he received as many horses. 
 
50 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 Sometimes a man wished to honor a daughter 
 who had died ; and such honoring took place only 
 in the best families. He desired to keep her spirit 
 near him as long as possible. Selecting some 
 thing that had belonged to her perhaps her 
 work-bag containing needles, beads, and porcu 
 pine quills he tied it up in a very fine skin, and 
 placed it on a tripod in one corner of the closed 
 tipi. Part of any food that was cooked was put 
 aside for her. When he had done this for three 
 or four months, he took a stake and drove it into 
 the ground. At the top of the stake he fastened 
 a picture, as nearly as he could reproduce it, of 
 the daughter s face. Then, having placed all her 
 good clothes and other belongings near the stake, 
 he opened the tipi and invited his friends and 
 neighbors to the feast on the stored food. 
 
 Meantime he had selected a friend to represent 
 him on this occasion. He sat there quietly, while 
 a third man acted as master of ceremonies. The 
 latter told the people who had assembled that now 
 the soul of the daughter was leaving the tipi and 
 going to the spirit world. He said that all present 
 must ever remember this day. They must try to 
 be pure, true, merciful, humble; to lead upright 
 lives as long as they were in this world. They 
 had witnessed all that had been done by this 
 family to make people good, and it was their duty 
 to teach these things to their children. 
 
 The man who represented the "doings" took 
 the first prize, which was likely to be the finest 
 
HONORING CHILDREN 51 
 
 horse. Then the master of ceremonies received 
 a handsome gift, and all the others in turn. The 
 father of the girl whose memory had heen held in 
 honor was bound, after this ceremonial, to be a 
 helpful man in his tribe. It made him of much 
 more importance in the circle, and gave him a 
 wider influence. The young women as well as 
 the men sought his advice. If anything went 
 wrong, it was his duty to set it right. A certain 
 party in the tribe might be preparing to fight with 
 some others who did not wish to be drawn into the 
 contest. The people would say : "Why do you 
 not call in this wise man to make the decision?" 
 It was then the duty of the latter to persuade the 
 disputants to forget their differences and to try to 
 live in peace. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 BOYS 
 
 Hardships to be Endured Cold Fasting 
 Dragging the Buffalo Skull 
 
 3NDIAN boys were carefully instructed by 
 their fathers in regard to the Great Spirit and 
 all the lesser gods who were his helpers. It was 
 their first duty to try to gain the friendship of one 
 of these minor gods. 
 
 They had to be trained to endure hardness- 
 bitter cold and terrible fatigue. They were com 
 pelled to walk with the men for miles through 
 heavy snowdrifts in the face of a biting wind. 
 Sometimes they would be caught in a raging 
 blizzard, such as Tipi Sapa himself encountered. 
 When he was a little boy, he went with a number 
 of men a long distance from camp to help bring 
 back some buffalo that had been killed. The 
 party battled with the icy wind and blinding 
 snow, and floundered about in the huge drift for 
 two days and two nights. Suddenly Tipi Sapa 
 discovered that he had lost his moccasins ! This 
 made no difference to him, however. He con 
 tinued on his way for a distance of four miles 
 
VINE DELORIA 
 
 SON OF TIP1 SAPA 
 
BOYS 53 
 
 with bare feet. They were not frost bitten, 
 which seemed almost a miracle. The rapid 
 circulation caused by the constant and violent 
 exercise must have been the cause of preventing 
 the mishap. 
 
 The most important and difficult step in a 
 boy s life was that of learning to fast. For this 
 purpose he was taken by his father to a high hill 
 or butte, far away from all his people. He carried 
 with him, tied in a large sheet, an offering of food 
 and various other things for the Great Spirit. 
 This sheet was spread upon the ground on top of 
 the hill, with its four corners towards the four 
 points from which the wind came and the offering 
 was presented. The boy was obliged to remain 
 in this place, without food or drink, for two days 
 and two nights; and sometimes twice as long. 
 Perhaps he would become so weary that he would 
 lie down a few moments upon the sage brush; 
 but he was supposed to stand all the time, and 
 to call without ceasing upon the Great Spirit to 
 help him. 
 
 During such a prolonged fast, he was likely to 
 see a vision. Something having the appearance 
 of a man would stand before him and tell him 
 when he would receive help. This vision itself 
 would always remain somewhere within reach. 
 No matter in what part of the world the boy 
 happened to be, if he were in any trouble all he 
 needed to do was to sing the following song, then 
 he would find relief at once. 
 
54 
 
 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 The boy heard a voice. It was the vision 
 singing: 
 
 SONG (OF THE VISION) 
 ( 1 ) "I come here to you 
 
 first; 
 I come because you are 
 
 calling me. 
 
 I come from the Nation 
 of Crows. (East 
 Wind.) 
 
 (3) 
 
 (2) I came here to you 
 
 first 
 I came because you are 
 
 calling me, 
 
 I came from the na 
 tion of Iron. (South 
 Wind.) 
 
 I came here to you 
 
 first; 
 I came because you are 
 
 calling me, 
 I came from the nation 
 
 of Rocks people of 
 
 stones. (West 
 
 Wind.) 
 
 I came here to you 
 
 first; 
 I came because you are 
 
 calling me, 
 I came from the nation 
 
 of Wolf. (North 
 
 Wind.) 
 
 (4) 
 
 WOMANYAKE ODOWAN KlN. 
 
 (1) Miye tokaheya wa- 
 
 hiye; 
 
 Miye co kin on wa- 
 hiye, 
 
 Kangimoyate e miye 
 
 tokaheya wahi 
 Hinyapata wahi. 
 
 (2) Miye tokaheya wa- 
 
 hiye 
 Miye co kin on wahiye. 
 
 Itokaga maza oyate 
 e miye tokaheya wa 
 hiye. 
 
 (3) Miye tokaheya wa 
 
 hiye; 
 
 Miye co kin on wa 
 hiye, 
 
 Wiyorpeyata tunkan 
 Oyate e miye tokaheya 
 wahiye. 
 
 (4) Miye tokaheya wa 
 
 hiye; 
 
 Miye co kin on wa 
 hiye, 
 
 Waziyata sunka oyate 
 e miye tokaheya wa 
 hiye. 
 
 "If you should find yourself among any of 
 these nations and in need of help, sing these songs. 
 
BOYS 55 
 
 You will be told what will happen. Crows, iron 
 men, rocks or stones or wolves, will be your 
 friends in each place." The vision then dis 
 appeared with a loud noise. 
 
 ("The lad was filled with thankfulness for this 
 encouraging sight. He called upon the Great 
 Spirit, told him he had seen a vision, and that the 
 future was as clear as the day. 
 
 It was stated before that the boy went quite a 
 distance from his people, to a solitary place, in 
 order to have a revelation from the Great Spirit. 
 ("Then will I get me afar off and remain in the 
 wilderness.") He was in much danger, all alone, 
 of being surrounded by enemies and killed. A 
 story is told among the Sioux Nation of one 
 of these young people who was fasting on a 
 mountain. He was praying and crying aloud to 
 the Great Spirit. Someone from the tribe hap 
 pened to be wandering about in that neighbor 
 hood; and heard him say as he prayed: "I see 
 the enemy coming ; I shall be attacked and killed." 
 The man went home as quickly as possible and 
 told his people. They gathered themselves to 
 gether and hastened to the place where the young 
 boy was. They found it true enough that the 
 enemy was approaching, and there was a sharp 
 fight before the boy could be reached. His people 
 were victorious and saved his life. 
 
 It sometimes happened that one of these 
 fasters could not endure the strain and would run 
 away. Possibly in the evening of the second 
 
56 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 night he would fancy that the hill or butte was 
 shaking, but did not realize that it was himself. 
 He thought that it would tumble to pieces and 
 that he would be killed. Perhaps a terrible wind 
 would come up. He imagined the full force of it 
 was blowing directly upon him, and was struck 
 dumb with fear. He could stand it no longer, but 
 would run like lightning down the zigzag path 
 and across the prairies. Worst of all would be 
 the rattlesnakes crawling out of their holes, and 
 drawing nearer and nearer. He dreaded lest they 
 should coil themselves around him and sting him 
 to death. No power on earth or in heaven could 
 induce him to stay a moment longer, and off he 
 would go as fleet as a deer. 
 
 The boy who ran away would never have any 
 power from the Great Spirit. He could not try 
 the fast again, so his opportunity was lost forever. 
 He was also held in great contempt by his people. 
 Some experienced man told the boys how difficult 
 this "doing" was, and exhorted them to be brave 
 and never to run away. It very seldom happened. 
 
 The "following" was another method em 
 ployed for cultivating the endurance of hardness, 
 and it was, besides, a practice in praying. A 
 young man started out with a friend of his to look 
 for the skull of a buffalo. One carried a pipe of 
 peace, the other, a lasso. When they found the 
 skull, they fastened the lasso firmly around it and 
 one of them placed it several yards away. Then 
 the young man lay on the ground while his 
 
BOYS 57 
 
 companion pulled up the skin from his back 
 across the shoulders, cut four holes in it with a 
 knife, ran the lasso through them and tied it. The 
 youth was now ready to start, and was obliged to 
 drag the buffalo s head all the way back to camp. 
 Sometimes it got caught in rough places, on 
 stones, twigs, and branches and had to be jerked 
 away. He turned around every little while, with 
 the pipe of peace in hs hand and prayed to the 
 skull. The rope fastened in the holes of his 
 shoulders, probably by this time broke through 
 the flesh. If not, he was obliged to drag the skull 
 to the distant place in which he found it. 
 
 The young man often had visions during this 
 performance (and well he might!). It was sup 
 posed to make him successful in buffalo hunting. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 MARRIAGE 
 
 Engagements First Form of Marriage Second 
 
 Form Third Form Fourth Form 
 
 Woman s Work 
 
 JPNGAGEMENTS and marriages among the 
 1C Indians were simple in form and lacking in 
 ceremony. In connection with love-making the 
 following incident is given by way of illustration. 
 A man had been riding a long distance on 
 horseback and, being weary, was in a quiet, 
 meditative mood. Lifting up his eyes he saw a 
 comely maiden bending over a stream about to 
 draw water; just as Isaac s servant beheld Re- 
 bekah as she was standing by the well. He 
 alighted from his horse and stood silently gazing 
 at the damsel. She looked at him but said 
 nothing. They remained a long time in breath 
 ing, speaking, ominous silence. Then the man 
 wandered off a little way and returned with two 
 small sticks. One of these was thinner than the 
 other, but both were exactly the same length. 
 He handed the slender one to the young girl. 
 She took it, and after breaking off a small piece, 
 
MARRIAGE 59 
 
 gave it back to him. This was a proposal of 
 marriage and an acceptance. He placed the two 
 sticks carefully together and made several strange 
 signs, which meant that in the new of the moon 
 or at full moon, he would come to bring her to his 
 tent and make her his wife and love her ever after. 
 
 A certain young man and young girl were in 
 love, and on the eve of being married. He talked 
 the matter over with her and suggested that they 
 had better wait until he had been out to fight, 
 had killed four men, and had won his four 
 feathers. To all this she reluctantly agreed. He 
 had been away a long time and required only one 
 more feather to complete the coveted number. 
 At last an opportunity offered. His people were 
 expecting any moment to be attacked. He with 
 a band of men went to a very high cliff and built 
 up all the loose rocks they could find into a 
 breastwork to protect themselves against the ad 
 vancing enemy. In spite of all- this, the latter 
 rushed upon them in great numbers and over 
 powered them. The young man with many 
 others, was forced over the edge of the precipice, 
 and perished on the rocks below. 
 
 The young girl, when she learned that her 
 lover was dead, put on mourning and "went 
 about softly in the bitterness of her soul". After 
 three or four years had elapsed, her parents 
 urged her to marry a young man who appeared 
 to be very desirable. She seemed to agree to it. 
 The tipi was prepared and the young man, 
 
60 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 when he went home in the evening, fully ex 
 pected to find his bride awaiting him. To his 
 surprise the tent was empty. He asked several 
 people about her, and was told that she was 
 last seen going towards the bluff. That was 
 where the fierce fight had taken place some years 
 before, in which her former lover had met his 
 death. 
 
 The young man, almost frantic by this time, 
 rushed with some friends towards the spot. They 
 saw the maiden standing on the edge of the cliff 
 and heard her singing : 
 
 SONG. ODOWAN KIN. 
 
 I love a young man, Eca kos Kanaka wan te- 
 
 And am going to be with warinda qon 
 
 him in Spirit. Deya wanwekdake ga 
 
 Wanagiyata kici waun kta 
 hunSe. 
 
 As she saw the party eagerly and swiftly ad 
 vancing towards her she jumped over the preci 
 pice. The body was mingled with the bones of 
 the loved one she had mourned so many years. 
 The remains of both were taken up, bound firmly 
 and strongly together in a buffalo hide, then 
 buried in the same spot with solemn funeral rites. 
 
 The following story illustrates the second form 
 of marriage : the story of Standing Rock, told by 
 Paul Yellow Bear s people of North Dakota. 
 
 There was a popular young girl in camp who 
 
A DAKOTA WOMAN 
 
MARRIAGE 61 
 
 was greatly desired for a wife by several young 
 men, but she did not respond to the advances of 
 any of them. One of her admirers was brave 
 enough to propose a second time. He had met 
 with encouragement from the girl s brother, who 
 was strongly in favor of him. The maiden grew 
 weary of this persistent love-making and wan 
 dered off among the hills. The ardent lover 
 pursued and found her, but she paid no atten 
 tion to his earnest pleadings. When the girl s 
 mother realized that her daughter had run away, 
 she went immediately in search of her. She 
 found the disdainful, cold-hearted maiden a long 
 distance away, on a hillside. She was reclining 
 on her right leg, and had what was called "the 
 right sitting". In a faint voice, she murmured: 
 "Mother, my body is turning into stone." The 
 woman examined her, and discovered that her 
 legs and the lower part of her body were already 
 petrified. In a little while, every part of the girl 
 became perfectly rigid, and all her clothing as 
 well, including her buffalo robe. This was 
 painted, and the colored stripes red, white, and 
 yellow showed in the stone. That is the story 
 of Standing Rock. The figure was set up at the 
 Agency Fort Yates and called : "The Woman 
 Turned into a Rock." 
 
 In choosing a wife mere beauty was not al 
 ways a consideration, since many of the pretty 
 girls were often of doubtful character. Young 
 women that were known to be good and highly 
 
62 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 respected were the most acceptable. It was also 
 most desirable for them to be strong and healthy 
 and able to do plenty of work. 
 
 Parents had little to do with selecting hus 
 bands for their daughters. A brother or a cousin 
 sometimes decided who was eligible for the girls 
 in their family. Being all the time associated 
 with the other young men in the circle they had 
 a fairly good knowledge of their character and 
 social standing. One of these young men would 
 be discussed at home. He may have met the 
 sister of his friend before and liked her ; or he may 
 not be personally acquainted with her. The girl 
 would be told to dress in her finest clothes, and 
 would then be sent with a present of a number of 
 horses to the young man s tent. This was the 
 first and best form of matrimony, and was called 
 "marriage with horses". It was true and lasting. 
 Nothing but death ever parted the couple united 
 in this manner. 
 
 Again, a young man and a girl may have 
 talked to one another at different times, and if 
 they fancied themselves in love, they went to his 
 tipi and lived together. To this second form, 
 which was also true marriage, belonged the 
 couples who engaged themselves with sticks. 
 
 Under the third form was the case of a bad 
 man taking a girl of ill repute to live in his tipi. 
 She remained with him as long as she had no one 
 else in view; but was likely to run away with the 
 next man who noticed her and asked her to go 
 
MARRIAGE 63 
 
 with him. Such people were not held in any 
 respect, but were despised in the circle. 
 
 Sometimes a girl visited the tent of a young 
 man she especially liked. The parents met her 
 at the door and said: "What do you want?" 
 She replied : "I wish to marry your son." The 
 favored youth who had been listening came for 
 ward and said: "Very well, I accept you." It 
 occasionally happened that a girl was refused. 
 In that case, she set out to look for someone else. 
 Such marriages, of the fourth form, were often 
 happy and prosperous. 
 
 An Indian woman was busy all the time. Her 
 husband said to her: "Go and do your own 
 work. I cannot touch it. If I do I shall be pulled 
 down, and become a woman just like you." She 
 replied: "I do not want you to do any of my 
 work. Just attend to your own business hunt 
 ing and fighting." 
 
 The women had to cut wood, carry water, 
 cook the food, and take care of the children. 
 They made the tipis, which were beautiful ; also 
 the handsome buckskin garments trimmed with 
 beads and porcupine quills. It took a long time 
 to manufacture all the war accoutrements, shirts, 
 bonnets of eagles feathers, belts, knife sheaths 
 and cases, tobacco bags, and many other articles. 
 The women trimmed the spears, lances, clubs, 
 and various weapons with beads and quills. 
 They tanned the hides of buffalo, deer, and cattle. 
 The tanning of buffalo hides was a long and 
 
64 THE PEOPLE OF T1PI SAPA 
 
 difficult process. First the thick fat was scraped 
 from the inside with a horn, and a mush or paste 
 made of the brain, liver, and gall was rubbed 
 over it again and again. The hide was turned 
 towards the sun for a day or two, then soaked 
 in an infusion of sage brush. After a certain 
 length of time, it was taken out, dried thoroughly, 
 and rubbed all over with a large stone, 
 careful preparation of the hide made it soft am 
 
 pliable. . 
 
 The women had entire charge of everything 
 connected with moving camp from one place to 
 another. They were obliged to care for the tents, 
 the medicines, and the war outfits; to saddle the 
 horses for the men, and to carry the meat and 
 other provisions. No wonder it is so impressed 
 upon our minds that the Indian woman di< 
 
 the work ! 
 
 The parents of the first or true wife sometim 
 thought she ought to have more help. They sug 
 gested that a sister should go to live with her in 
 order to share the burden of the work. In this 
 way, the latter became a wife as well. 
 
 Even with two wives, the amorous spirit o 
 the Indian was not always contented. In roving 
 about, he would meet some girl he fancied, talk 
 with her a little while, and finally ask her to go 
 to his tipi to live with him and his family, 
 arrangement generally seemed acceptable to her. 
 Second and third wives were looked upon merely 
 as helpers. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 MARRIAGE (Continued) 
 
 Other Stories Punishments Divorce Widow 
 hood Relations-in-law 
 
 A MAN and woman married according to the 
 first form, were as a rule, true to one another 
 till death parted them. An exception happened, 
 however, in the case of Chief Charge, who lived 
 on Standing Rock Reservation. Some man ran 
 off with his wife, and was living in constant 
 dread of the Chief. It was the opinion of the 
 young men of the tribe that, at such a time, the 
 husband should seek out the offender and fight 
 him ; in that way he would prove himself to be a 
 true brave. The advice of the old men was 
 just the opposite. They thought that a higher 
 courage would be shown by the husband, were 
 he to go to the man who had wronged him, and 
 talk to him quietly, some what as follows : "You 
 need not be afraid of me ; keep my wife ; perhaps 
 she loves you ; and you love her." Chief Charge 
 followed the latter course and not only surren 
 dered his wife at her desire but also gave to the 
 man who had wronged him a number of horses 
 
66 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 and other gifts, among them and more difficult 
 to part with, his war bonnet and his coat of finest 
 buckskin trimmed with hairs. 
 
 The following story is told of a woman married 
 according to the second form. She had for a 
 long time been badly treated by a brutal husband. 
 Not having the patience and courage to endure 
 it any longer, she ran away from home. She 
 wandered about, up hill and down dale, for many 
 months, until her moccasins were worn to rags 
 and her feet were badly swollen. She finally 
 became so exhausted from suffering, but chiefly 
 from want of food, that she lay down on a 
 hillside expecting to die. After a little while she 
 noticed that something was sniffing about her, 
 but felt too weak to turn her head to see what it 
 was, or to offer any resistance if she were in 
 danger. Presently without lifting her head, she 
 perceived that a wolf was slinking off into the 
 distance. A few minutes later, she saw this same 
 wolf coming back with three others. They crept 
 up softly and stealthily and examined her closely. 
 Finding that the woman s blanket was wrapped 
 about her very loosely, they dragged it off and 
 spread it flat on the ground. They placed her 
 upon it, "by bite," and each one of them took a 
 corner of the blanket in his mouth. Then the 
 wolves trotted away bravely with their burden 
 to some rocky cave in the timber land. 
 
 In those days people were near to the animals 
 and on friendly terms with them. This woman 
 
MARRIAGE 67 
 
 seemed to understand the nature of the wolves, 
 and to know that they were not to be feared ex 
 cept when they were driven mad in times of 
 famine with hunger or prolonged snow. Her 
 captors treated her with great kindness. When 
 ever a fine sheep or calf was brought home, it 
 was torn open at once, and the liver and kidneys* 
 were taken out and given to her to nibble upon. 
 After a while, the woman regained her strength. 
 She made friends with the families of wolves 
 living in these rocky caverns, and she used to 
 enjoy playing with the fluffy little cubs as 
 much as they did with her. She got to know 
 the language of the wolves and liked to see 
 them smile and laugh. She remained with 
 them a long time and began to feel quite at 
 home. One day, she received a formal visit 
 from some of them. They said to her: "Your 
 people are about. They will find out our dens 
 and attack and kill us for our skins; so we 
 are going away, and shall leave you behind." She 
 made motions to them, trying to ask them what 
 she could do in return for all their kindness. 
 They understood, and replied : "See that we get 
 something fat to eat." Then they left her and 
 went their way. 
 
 The woman wandered back to her own people, 
 and sought out her mother s tipi. She told the 
 story of her troubles and of all the kindness she 
 
 animals "nsidered 
 
68 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 had received from the wolves. She also ex 
 pressed a strong desire to give them what they 
 had asked for. A crier was told to proclaim it 
 in camp. After the next buffalo chase, a great 
 pile of fat was collected and handed over to her. 
 The woman had it carried a long distance away, 
 to some little hills or buttes. Then she called, 
 or howled, something like a wolf. The wolves 
 recognized her voice and knew what it meant to 
 them. They all came forward, had a delicious 
 meal, and carried the remainder of the fat to their 
 homes. The woman continued to give them 
 food at intervals for many years ; and she and the 
 wolves were fast friends. She was called Living- 
 in-the-Rocks Woman, and died about thirty 
 
 years ago. 
 
 The following story is an illustration of the 
 punishment inflicted upon those who disregard 
 the second form of marriage. A certain young 
 couple had been living together about four months 
 and were apparently happy. The husband was 
 called away for a little while, and, upon his return, 
 in the evening time, was surprised not to find 
 his wife in the tipi. He soon learned that she 
 had run away with another man. He pondered 
 over the matter, but resolved not to do anything 
 until the next morning. Then, rising early, he 
 painted his face with various colors, armed him 
 self with a gun, bow and arrows, mounted his 
 horse and rode off in search of the guilty pair. 
 The injured man had not gone far before he 
 
MARRIAGE 69 
 
 discovered their tracks. He followed these with 
 great rapidity and soon caught up with his wife 
 and her lover. The latter upon seeing him asked 
 him what he wanted. The husband replied : "I 
 have come after my wife. We will fight. If I 
 kill you I will take her back ; if you kill me, you 
 can have her for your own." They fought first, at 
 some distance apart, with guns; then with bows 
 and arrows, taking aim, drawing, and coming 
 nearer and nearer to one another. The guilty 
 man was sorely wounded, being pierced through 
 the lungs with an arrow, the blood gushing from 
 his mouth. His honor satisfied, the woman s 
 husband took his wife home, cut off her hair 
 close to her head, and ordered her to walk away 
 from him with her clothes partly removed. 
 When she had gone a certain distance, he shot 
 at her, wounding her in the upper part of the leg. 
 After this disgraceful conduct and its ensuing 
 punishment, the woman never went again inside 
 of the circle; none of the other women would 
 associate with her, and she was obliged to wander 
 about "all her years in the bitterness of her soul". 
 She died seven or eight years ago. After a time, 
 her lover was brought home, He suffered ter 
 ribly from his wound for several months and 
 finally died in agony. A piece of buffalo fat was 
 placed in the mouth of such a man, and he was 
 buried face downward. His spirit was bad and 
 must not disturb the tribe again as it had while 
 he was in the world. This would be impossible 
 
70 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 if he were facing downward towards the centre 
 of the earth. The husband of the wretched 
 woman had committed murder. He was obliged 
 to paint himself mud-color, and for a long time 
 afterward was not allowed to go into the circle. 
 If the men happened to be smoking the pipe of 
 peace, and he suddenly made his appearance, they 
 did not hand it to him ; but if, by any chance, he 
 got hold of it to smoke, he had the humiliation of 
 seeing the next man who handled it wipe off the 
 stem of the pipe in his presence. It would have 
 been far better for the unfortunate individual who 
 lost his wife in such a way to follow the advice 
 of the old men: "Let her go; leave her alone. 
 If you follow her, and try to be avenged, you 
 make yourself wicked, too." 
 
 There was a more simple and, perhaps, less 
 painful method than those just mentioned of rid 
 ding one s self of a wife or a husband; and it 
 constitutes absolute divorce among the Dakota 
 Nation. This was carried into effect when a great 
 crowd assembled in the circle for a dance. The 
 thrilling and enjoyable sport might be at its 
 height, when some man would step forward, and, 
 pointing to a woman standing beside him, shout : 
 "There is the woman who has been my wife! 
 After this, she can carry water for any of you. 
 She is free !" This man was obliged to keep his 
 word and was never to try to get his wife back 
 again. If he did, he was looked upon with great 
 contempt. (He was not held in "respection".) 
 
MARRIAGE 71 
 
 A husband was freed in a similar manner. 
 The wife, assisted by another woman, sang the 
 following song: The "friend" to whom she re 
 ferred was of course her husband. 
 
 SONG. ODOWAN KIN. 
 
 My friend, go away! Koda, iyayao! 
 
 I shall follow thee no more ! Wau kte sni ye do ! 
 
 It was the sad fate of many a woman to lose 
 her husband in war. She probably loved him 
 very dearly, and became a sorely afflicted widow. 
 She proceeded at once to lower her dress in the 
 neck and to shorten it at the bottom. She then 
 cut off her hair and made gashes in her neck and 
 legs. These signs of deep mourning signified 
 that she intended to be true to her husband and 
 never marry a second time. In order to make 
 this known, she walked repeatedly around the 
 circle, and stirred up the sympathy of the people 
 by her forlorn appearance. 
 
 Tipi Sapa knew of a woman whose husband 
 was killed in battle. She was about twenty 
 years old at the time and was left with a 
 little daughter. He said that whenever her hair 
 grew out she sheared it off, and she gashed her 
 neck and legs over and over again. There came 
 a time, however, when she ceased to do these 
 things. She allowed her hair to grow to quite a 
 length, and parted and arranged it very neatly. 
 Then she put on her best shawl and went to talk 
 with some of her friends. Upon seeing her im- 
 
72 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 proved appearance, they looked at her in surprise. 
 She said to them : "You suppose I am thinking 
 of some man ; but I am not. Things are now to 
 be just as I want them. I dreamed last night 
 that my husband was talking to me, and he said : 
 You and the daughter will soon be with me/ 
 That means I shall die soon." She then went to 
 her log house. A night or two afterward a 
 cousin came to visit them. The widow gave her 
 a bed in the corner, and made up one for her 
 little daughter and herself directly in the center 
 of the room. During the night, the heavy ridge 
 pole that supported the log house fell, and 
 brought down the roof with it. Both mother and 
 daughter were instantly killed. The dream had 
 come true. The sorrowful widow and the little 
 daughter were once more united to the husband 
 and father. 
 
 A woman s father-in-law and mother-in-law 
 were obliged to be most careful not to say any 
 thing that would offend, or hurt the feelings of 
 their daughter-in-law. Great evil and sorrow 
 might be the result ; such as we have seen in the 
 case of a brother making unkind remarks to a 
 sister. 
 
 A son-in-law was supposed never to see or 
 to look towards his mother-in-law. If he did he 
 was considered a bad man. Neither must a 
 woman ever look at her son-in-law. They may 
 have seen one another before they became con 
 nections, but they must never let it happen 
 
MARRIAGE 73 
 
 again. As was said before, it was most impor 
 tant that a brother should respect his sister, and 
 that a girl in a family should rather die than have 
 unkind reflections cast upon her by a brother; in 
 the same way was a son-in-law obliged to respect 
 his mother-in-law. 
 
 The following story is an illustration of the 
 regard shown by a son-in-law for his mother-in- 
 law. It deals with an Indian named Bone Club, 
 who is now living in the neighborhood of Wah- 
 pala on Standing Rock Reservation, South Da 
 kota. He had his tipi, at one time, very near 
 that of his wife s parents ; but the opening faced 
 in the opposite direction. A little way beyond 
 and almost between the tipis was a corral made 
 of cottonwood trees. In this corral were the 
 horses of both families. Some warrior, called a 
 prophet but not a fighter, predicted that a horse 
 would soon be taken from this corral by a Crow 
 Indian. The same man would be seen falling 
 from the horse with bloods (i. e., with drops of 
 blood falling down). That very night, a noise 
 was heard outside the tipis. The father-in-law, 
 thinking that it was his son, Black Bear, return 
 ing home, called out, "Is that you, my Son?" 
 Immediately there was a shot ; and the old man, 
 with a groan, fell back dead. The son-in-law, 
 Bone Club, felt that it was his duty to die, rather 
 than have his mother-in-law harmed. On hear 
 ing the shot he rushed from the tipi, just in time 
 to see a Crow Indian ride away on one of her 
 
74 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 horses. Bone Club ran after him and shot at him 
 several times. The next morning the horse was 
 seen as prophesied, and the man falling from him, 
 with blood drops staining the snow. It was the 
 Crow Indian who had ridden between the tipis 
 and stolen the horse. He also had shot down the 
 old man when the latter had called out on hear 
 ing the noise in the corral. , 
 
 The following story also illustrates the re 
 spect of sons-in-law for mothers-in-law. A man 
 named Big Head, hearing a noise in the night, 
 rushed from his tipi and found that his mother- 
 in-law s horse had been stolen. He saw a man 
 riding away at full speed, and followed him very 
 closely. Then Big Head drew arrow after arrow 
 from his bow until he had stuck the object of 
 pursuit full of the deadly weapons. The man was 
 overcome and fell down from the stolen horse. 
 The night was intensely dark with not even a 
 star to be seen. Big Head took flint and steel ; 
 and, with the soft wood which he carried in his 
 leathern belt, made a light. He found that his 
 victim, though bristling with arrows, was still 
 alive. Big Head seized him by the hair, and with 
 a great sharp knife carved off his head right 
 around the throat. Carrying the grim trophy 
 home in triumph, he placed it on a pole outside 
 of his tipi. 
 
THE ENEMY IS COMING ! 
 From a Painting by Wm. de la Montague Cary 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 THREE KINDS OF FIGHTING 
 
 (i) Stealing Horses at Night (see Chapter VII). 
 
 (2) Fighting on Horseback. 
 
 (3) Fighting on Foot. 
 
 3N the last chapter, in connection with the 
 respect shown to the relations-in-law, one 
 mode of fighting has been partially considered, 
 namely, that of stealing horses at night. There 
 was a certain system in the performance of this 
 method. 
 
 Sometimes a number of men set out to steal 
 horses, and halted at some point a safe distance 
 from the enemy s camp. Then they gathered 
 several small sticks, sharpened them, and placed 
 them sloping in the ground, / / / /, a stick for 
 each man. After some of the men had returned 
 from their dangerous errand, they learned who 
 was missing from their number by the arrange 
 ment of these little pieces of wood. One, point 
 ing towards camp, indicated that the 
 
 man whom it represented had gone home. A 
 stick broken and crossed showed that one had 
 been killed. Perhaps one stick out of the whole 
 number happened to remain as it was first placed. 
 
76 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAP A ^_ 
 
 This served as a sign that its owner had not yet 
 returned. He was either dead or else badly 
 wounded. 
 
 Another and more important mode of fighting 
 consisted in carrying on a regular and sometimes 
 prolonged warfare between bands of men 
 mounted on horses. The true braves of the hos 
 tile tribes were chosen to take part in such a 
 conflict. It was the custom, before fighting, to 
 send out spies in order to learn exactly how the 
 enemy was situated. These men always went 
 and came in the daytime. If one of them had 
 seen the enemy and wished to let his people 
 know, he did not take the time to return to them. 
 He climbed the nearest hill, stood on the summit 
 and kicked backward. That meant, "The enemy 
 is there, get ready for him !" Or, he took off his 
 blanket and waved it at them. This signified that 
 there would be a fight at once. 
 
 Parties of men were often out in the night; 
 and as they came back to camp, one of them gave 
 a call, or a prolonged yell. It was similar to the 
 howling of a wolf, with two short barks at the 
 end. The men in camp answered: "All right, 
 you belong to us." Occasionally, someone came 
 along and howled, without the two little barks. 
 This proved to those in camp that it was an 
 
 enemy. 
 
 The best warrior and also a prophet (another 
 name for warrior) among the Sioux was a man 
 named Red Leaves. He was very handsome 
 
THREE KINDS OF FIGHTING 77 
 
 with yellow hair, and nearly six and a half feet 
 in height. His people were on the verge of war 
 with the Pawnees, a neighboring tribe. The chief 
 and leaders held a council to decide what was best 
 to be done. At this meeting Red Leaves was 
 called upon to speak, and talked a long time. 
 Among other things he said: "There is a man 
 among our enemies, the Pawnees, that we have to 
 look out for. He has one white eye, and is also 
 left-handed. His nature is something like that of 
 a wild cat fierce, sly, and cruel." 
 
 Next day, when the Sioux rode into the fight, 
 they kept in mind what Red Leaves had said to 
 them. They determined to watch for this dreaded 
 Pawnee and make him their target. A Sioux 
 named Running Amidst, acting according to his 
 name, rushed ahead with his people, and made a 
 furious attack upon the enemy. He tried to hit 
 the Pawnee and all the others around him, but in 
 vain, owing to the uncontrollable restiveness of 
 his horse. Finally, Running Amidst managed to 
 turn the beast around and to attack the enemy, 
 taking aim right and left, until he reached the 
 Pawnee with the white eye. This man forth 
 with drew an arrow at Running Amidst and shot 
 him through the body. The latter rode on with 
 the arrow sticking in him. Upon seeing his com 
 rades gather about him he said : "Friends, do all 
 you can to them. They have now killed me." 
 Shortly after that he fell to the ground. The 
 Sioux jumped from their horses and rushed 
 
78 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 savagely on foot upon the Pawnees. The left- 
 handed man was fighting so desperately that no 
 one dared to go close to him. Finally a little 
 Sioux named Brazo came along and rode di 
 rectly up to him. The Pawnee immediately took 
 aim at Brazo. The latter making an effort to 
 protect himself, held his arm tightly against his 
 body and face, but without avail. The arrow 
 of the white-eyed man went directly through 
 Brazo s arm and penetrated his left side. The 
 latter then fought the Pawnee with fury. He 
 struck him with his bow over and over again 
 violently and so quickly, that he did not give 
 him the slightest chance of pulling any arrows 
 from his quiver. Upon seeing the situation, 
 Brazo s friends gathered around and soon put an 
 end to the dreaded Pawnee. The left-handed 
 man with the white eye had, however, managed 
 to do a good deal of harm, as foretold by Red 
 Leaves, in killing one of the bravest warriors 
 among the Sioux, and badly wounding another. 
 His enemies secured the necklace of the 
 Pawnee, and brought it back to camp. The 
 necklace was made of white corn with some blue 
 grains here and there, and a bundle of medicines 
 was attached to it. As the men were passing the 
 necklace from one to the other and examining it 
 by the camp fire, some of the grains of corn fell 
 to the ground. At that moment, Red Leaves, 
 who had partially recovered, came in. Upon see 
 ing what the braves were about, he remarked, 
 
THREE KINDS OF FIGHTING 79 
 
 "Why did you not leave the necklace on the 
 dead man? It is bad luck that those grains have 
 dropped off. It means that seven of our next war 
 party will be killed." 
 
 The following spring a band of warriors went 
 out, on foot, led by a young man who carried a 
 bell on a stick. They were accompanied by Red 
 Leaves part of the way. After marching for 
 some distance, they came to a place which seemed 
 favorable for camping over night. After they 
 were seated around the fire, they were startled 
 by a strange noise. It was the leader s bell, 
 ringing violently of itself. Red Leaves, who had 
 just come in, told his friends that this was a 
 sign of danger. A number of the party were 
 frightened and returned home at once.* A man 
 named Walking Crane said that he would not go 
 back for any reason whatever; that he had come 
 out to fight ; and that he fully expected either to 
 be killed or wounded. 
 
 This brave man, with twenty-two others, set 
 out, the next day, to fight the whole tribe of 
 Pawnees. As they drew near the timber of the 
 enemy, they saw two women carrying wood into 
 camp. One of the Sioux, Short Haired Bear, said 
 to Walking Crane : "Let us go and kill those 
 
 * If a man started out with a war party, and after a time, 
 wished to return home because his courage gave out, he was 
 allowed to go, but was held in great contempt. All his com 
 panions barked like dogs at him. The barking was a curse. They 
 wanted him to feel that he was disgraced. If he left the party 
 on account of being ill, he was not barked at, but permitted to 
 depart in peace. 
 
80 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 women, they are enemies". Walking Crane re 
 plied : "I fight only men. Kill them, if you wish. 
 You are just like them." Short Haired Bear and 
 a man named Little Soldier ran towards the 
 enemy s camp, the latter arriving first. They 
 killed the two women, and then went back to their 
 party. The Sioux were, by this time, surrounded 
 by the whole tribe of Pawnees. Walking Crane 
 thought it best to fight in the open, away from 
 the timber. He placed men at intervals along the 
 river. These twenty-three Sioux fought the 
 enemy a whole day, until they were overtaken by 
 darkness. Then the chiefs of the Pawnees came 
 forward and stopped it. Seven of the Sioux were 
 killed, as Red Leaves had predicted, and eleven 
 were injured. Five only remained uninjured. 
 Little Soldier had his heels nearly shot off. He 
 hobbled a long way, on foot. Finally he could go 
 no further and lay down by the roadside. 
 
 Red Leaves, who had returned long before, 
 and the other Sioux in "the home camp" saw a big 
 crow with white on its throat flying overhead and 
 imagined that they heard it say, as it was flying 
 high, "Seven of your men have been killed. The 
 others will be back by to-morrow night." Next 
 day a war party came home as the crow had said. 
 They were hungry and had no clothes. The 
 spring nights in their country were intensely cold, 
 too. They told the people in camp that they had 
 left Little Soldier behind. He was terribly 
 wounded in the feet and had nearly lost his heel. 
 
THREE KINDS OF FIGHTING 81 
 
 His relatives, supposing that by this time he must 
 be surely dead, wept, cut themselves with knives, 
 and put on mourning. About four months after 
 wards Little Soldier came home, a perfect skel 
 eton. His experiences are narrated in the next 
 chapter. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 GHOSTS. 
 
 The Experiences of Little Soldier The Story of 
 Ash 
 
 N a certain occasion in the year 1876, Tipi 
 Sapa invited Little Soldier and six other men 
 to his lodge. They came; and all heard the fol 
 lowing incidents related by Little Soldier himself. 
 When his companions were about to leave him 
 for dead, he called to them: "Make me a little 
 wigwam by this stream, in the shade of the wil 
 lows, and let me have some bullets and powder." 
 They did as he asked, then went on their way. 
 Little Soldier remained there about ten days. He 
 had scarcely any clothing, and no blanket to wrap 
 around him those cold nights in the springtime. 
 The only way in whch he could keep warm was 
 by rolling himself about. He had little to eat, 
 too, sand turtles and small bi rds being the only 
 kind of food he could get in that neighborhood. 
 He was not far from the camp of the Pawnees, 
 and could plainly hear the music and the shouts 
 of the dance. Every night, when he lay down, he 
 
GHOSTS 83 
 
 expected they would come over and put an end 
 to him. 
 
 One evening as he was sitting at the door of 
 hig wigwam, he heard some one talking in a very 
 loud voice. He recognized the voice of Walking 
 Crane, one of the seven men who had been killed 
 in the last fight. He seemed to be saying: "I 
 thought they had all gone home, but here is one 
 of them. We will go along with him" (meaning 
 Little Soldier). Suddenly they all appeared and 
 went into the wigwam with him, The pipe of 
 peace was lighted, handed around, and smoked. 
 Then they started out and travelled the rest of 
 the night; but as soon as day began to dawn in 
 the east, the seven spirits disappeared. Little 
 Soldier said to himself: "Well, I never thought 
 these people had been killed." (They seemed so 
 real.) When daylight came, causing them all to 
 grow dim and vanish away, he said: "Oh, yes, 
 now I remember they were killed." 
 
 These same figures appeared again the next 
 night, and took Little Soldier a long distance with 
 them. At the first streak of dawn they passed 
 out of view once more, leaving him alone. This 
 went on for some time, until Walking Crane said 
 to him: "To-morrow, in the daylight, you will 
 see some hills with a growth of sage brush at the 
 foot of them. Coming out of the brush will be a 
 deer; just fire at him and kill him." The next 
 day, after the ghosts had left him, Little Soldier 
 found the things exactly as Walking Crane s spirit 
 
84 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 said. He killed the deer, opened him, took out 
 the liver and kidneys, and ate them. Then he 
 peeled off the skin and thus provided himself with 
 a warm covering. 
 
 Little Soldier remained in this place about 
 thirty days. Then the spirits came back and 
 asked him to go along with them again. Finally, 
 after all this travelling, he found he had reached 
 a place where there were fresh tracks of animals 
 and people. He was evidently near camp, but 
 could hardly believe it. He dragged himself 
 along for a little way, but soon grew tired, and 
 sank down just outside of the circle. Some men 
 who were walking by saw him lying there, and 
 said to him, "Are you Little Soldier?" He said, 
 "Yes." The men hurried back and told the 
 people ; they got a blanket, placed Little Soldier in 
 it, and carried it by the four corners into camp. 
 His heel was quite well again but he looked and 
 seemed like a ghost. 
 
 A story is told of a Yankton Sioux, named Ash, 
 who was taken ill and died. His body was neatly 
 dressed in his best clothing ; and instead of being 
 buried, was placed in the cemetery in a tipi on 
 high poles. Everything was carefully arranged, 
 and the little door was securely fastened. The 
 people in camp were about to move their quarters, 
 as they needed better pasture for their horses. 
 The wife and the mother-in-law wished to see 
 Ash before they left, so one night they went to the 
 burying ground. The mother-in-law became very 
 
GHOSTS 85 
 
 tired and fell asleep. The wife sat there a long 
 time crying bitterly. After a while, she thought 
 she heard some one breathing heavily. She 
 opened the door of the tipi and found Ash turned 
 over on his side. He motioned to her to give him 
 some water from a cup that was hanging on a 
 pole. She handed it to him at once, but saw that 
 he did not drink well. His face was badly swollen 
 as in death. Then the wife awakened the mother- 
 in-law, and hastened back to camp with her to tell 
 the people. On hearing the news, some of them 
 went quickly to the cemetery, and took with them 
 a bed on poles swung over a horse. They put 
 Ash on the bed and took him towards the camp. 
 He refused to go into the circle, as he said he 
 could not stand the smell of the people, and 
 wished to be kept out of the way of the wind that 
 blew over from them. They took him to a place 
 some little distance away, and the people went 
 to see him there. After a while the swelling went 
 down, and he became more natural. Ash finally 
 consented to go into the circle. He was led to 
 the middle of the tent and questioned by the lead 
 ing men. The pipe of peace was taken by one of 
 them and then pointed to heaven, to the four 
 corners of the winds, and to the earth. "We want 
 you to tell us, Ash," he said, "all that you can 
 of the spirit world. God is your witness that you 
 will tell nothing but the truth about what you 
 saw." He agreed to do this and smoked the pipe 
 of peace with them. 
 
86 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 He related, first of all, that he walked along a 
 path, and saw a man and his wife and a girl in 
 front of him. He tried to overtake them, but 
 could not, and lost sight of them altogether. He 
 thought he was walking on the earth, but soon 
 discovered that he was mistaken. He had reached 
 a great height, and, on looking down, saw the 
 earth far below him; also the path, that was 
 visible, leading upward. Then he came to the 
 bank of a river, and perceived the foot-tracks of 
 the three people mentioned before, in the bed 
 (bottom) of the river. He could not tell whether 
 he himself had walked through it or not. When 
 he reached the other shore, he noted the traces of 
 three people, from the water sprinkled on the 
 sand. They may have been the same ones, but 
 he did not know. 
 
 A great crowd was gathered on the other side. 
 He saw, in a tipi, his brother-in-law, sister, and 
 father. His sister brought something out, and 
 put it in a kettle over the fire to cook. As it 
 boiled, it emitted a dreadful smell. At that 
 moment his brother-in-law threw something tow 
 ards him, a lasso, made of buffalo hairs. He 
 called to Ash, and said that he wanted him to give 
 him his best horse. Ash replied that he would 
 send him his fine bay horse, and then went on his 
 way. He met some people who told him about 
 an island that he was passing. He watched 
 beings on it who cried and sang all the time about 
 death. They were murderers, undergoing the 
 
__^^ GHOSTS 87 
 
 horrors of everlasting punishment. He listened 
 to the distressing sounds, then went on and on, 
 a very long distance. Finally, he came to the tipi 
 in the burying ground. He saw a man in it, lying 
 on his back, and recognized himself. His ears 
 burst open with a wh-wh-wh-sh. His wife was 
 standing by his side, trying to make him drink 
 some water. Then he remembered that he was 
 placed on a horse and carried to camp : that he re 
 fused to go into the circle on account of the odor, 
 and until the swelling was gone down. Finally, 
 there he was, among them. 
 
 When Ash had finished his story, he told the 
 leading men that he took the lasso made of buf 
 falo hairs, and wanted to secure his best horse for 
 his brother-in-law. Just then, all the horses be 
 longing to camp took fright, and ran away from 
 the water which they had been drinking. Ash s 
 fine bay horse, which he had promised as a gift, 
 fell and broke his neck ; so the spirit of this animal 
 went to his brother-in-law in the far-off world 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 COMMUNICATING WITH SPIRITS 
 The Spirit of the Buffalo 
 
 HE Indians had various ways of communicat 
 ing with the spirits in order to obtain their 
 help in sickness or in fighting and in hunting. 
 The men in the circle who were supposed to know 
 "secret things" were chosen for this purpose. 
 
 The medicine man in olden times was called 
 for all kinds of diseases of mind, of body, and of 
 spirit. He would bring his drum, made by stretch 
 ing a dry hide over a wooden plinth, and would 
 bring his medicine ball. This, too, was made of 
 cowskin with pebbles inside and fastened to a 
 wooden handle. As the Pejuta Wicasa (medicine 
 man) beat the drum with it, the rattling pebbles 
 helped to frighten away the spirit of disease. 
 Pejuta Wicasa would smoke his pipe of kin- 
 nikinick, offering the first smoke to the spirits, 
 would pray for their help and would sing and 
 dance to scare the spirit of sickness away. 
 
 He would use roots and herbs in some cases, 
 but his faith and skill were dependent upon the 
 spirits, good or evil. 
 
COMMUNICATING WITH SPIRITS 89 
 
 Among the Yankton Dakotas was a famous 
 medicine man named Saswe, the father of Tipi 
 Sapa, who, as a youth, had a wonderful vision. 
 Three years in succession, at just the same time, 
 he heard a voice calling him. The fourth year he 
 listened for the voice and heard it for the last 
 time. In answer to its call he made a rug of 
 buffalo skin, flung it about him, and going far 
 away from all his people, fasted for four days. 
 On the fourth night his spirit was beckoned off to 
 the black clouds and the gift of healing and the 
 control of evil spirts was bestowed. The presence 
 of snakes, thunder, and darkness all deepened the 
 solemnity of this experience. 
 
 After Saswe returned to his home, he, with his 
 son whom he named Black Lodge (Tipi Sapa), 
 would visit the afflicted. Once he was called to 
 help a woman with a wandering mind. He had 
 her placed alone in a tipi, while her relatives in 
 sured perfect silence by keeping the dogs still. 
 All night long he sang to the spirits, praying for 
 their help. The evil spirit fluttered about the 
 tent-poles all night. In the morning he sent a 
 spirit of thunder and lightning around the inside 
 of her tent and her mind was restored. 
 
 Fever and broken bones were treated similarly. 
 Sometimes he would smoke his pipe, hold a red 
 hot iron in his mouth, and then breathe upon his 
 patient. This would effect a cure. 
 
 At other times he would be called, and, after 
 smoking in the patient s presence, would say, "I 
 
90 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAP A 
 
 can do nothing." Then no one could persuade 
 him to try to do anything. 
 
 One time a body of men started out to fight, 
 but, as they drew near the enemy s country, they 
 became very fearful. They could not rid them 
 selves of the thought that they might all be killed. 
 Having found a good place for camp, they shot 
 two buffalo cows, roasted the sweet, tender meat 
 and made a splendid feast. ("Let us eat and 
 drink, for to-morrow we die.") In the midst of 
 making merry over their food, the warriors 
 discovered that their horses had taken fright 
 at something and had run away. This piece 
 of ill luck was most alarming. They felt that 
 they might be attacked at any moment, and 
 were quite unprepared to meet the enemy. 
 Next morning, they resolved to ask help from 
 Little Brave, one of their number who was 
 supposed to have some knowledge of the Spirits. 
 He said he did not want to interfere with the 
 man who was with them (Walking Crane), who 
 knew all about the spirits and "secret things", 
 but since they had consulted him, he would try to 
 do what he could. On hearing this, they at once 
 dug a grave, wrapped the wise man in a buffalo 
 robe as though he were dead, and let him down 
 into the ground. While he was there, Little 
 Brave called the spirits about him and talked with 
 them. After a time he came out of the grave and 
 said to the people who were anxiously waiting for 
 him : "You know we had a feast last night and 
 
COMMUNICATING WITH SPIRITS 91 
 
 gave nothing to the spirits. They are much of 
 fended at us because we neglected them ; and it 
 was they who drove our horses off to that lake we 
 passed. The fine, black horse has broken one of 
 his forelegs at the ankle. Our people will find 
 them soon and bring them back. Perhaps you 
 remember that a certain man with us who knew 
 some secrets ( had hidden power ) told you that 
 you would get some horses. My spirits that were 
 just now talking with me, said : You and your 
 people will soon have thirty-six head of horses 
 including two black mules ; also, that a man wear 
 ing a long red coat and carrying a bow, arrows, 
 and revolver, will be killed/ 
 
 The party went without delay into the enemy s 
 country. They soon saw a man who wore a long 
 red coat and who carried a bow, arrows, and re 
 volver, driving to pasture, directly towards them, 
 and a herd of horses, including two black mules. 
 As he belonged to the enemy, they killed him, 
 jumped on the horses and rode away. 
 
 The following story in regard to calling forth 
 spirits is told by Joshua Low Dog. The Uncpa- 
 pas, or Sitting Bull s people (a branch of the 
 Sioux), started out, on one occasion, to fight the 
 Crow Indians. The latter came upon them un 
 expectedly, chased them, and killed twelve of their 
 number. When this news was brought to the 
 Uncpapas by the rest of the party, the whole tribe 
 put on mourning. They felt that something must 
 be done at once. They visited one of their 
 
92 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 prophets and asked him to find out where the 
 Crow Indians were. While the prophet went 
 through the performance of calling upon the 
 spirits, the Uncpapas all seated themselves on the 
 ground, with bowed heads, took their pipes and 
 held them by the bowls with the stems pointing 
 straight outward, and begged the "sacred ones" 
 or "gifted men" to help the prophet. After this, 
 the latter sang a song according to the spirit, and 
 the other men turned their pipes around and 
 smoked. He told them where the Crow Indians 
 were, and just how many of them would be killed : 
 
 THEY SING A PRAYER. ODOWAN WAN AHIYAYAPI. 
 
 When I call to the above Wankatakiyi hoyewaya can 
 
 I sing for a Spirit, Nagi-Ksapa e wakidowanye. 
 
 I sing for him to come to Wakidowan canhan tiyata 
 
 me! hi! 
 
 Finally a party, including the prophet, and led 
 by Low Dog, himself one of the "sacred men", 
 went forward, mounted on horses, attacked and 
 fought the Crow Indians, and killed twenty-five of 
 them. 
 
 In those days the men that Low Dog killed 
 and scalped in war weighed heavily on his mind. 
 He saw them in his dreams. He is now baptized 
 and a good Christian, and this change of heart has 
 given him 
 
 "A peace above all earthly dignities, 
 A still and quiet conscience." 
 
COMMUNICATING WITH SPIRITS 93 
 
 In a former chapter, reference has been made 
 to honoring boys; but in connection with "the 
 spirit of the buffalo" there was a special way of 
 showing them distinction. A boy belonging to 
 one of the best families in camp was called to the 
 middle tent, or place of honor, in which the lead 
 ing people lived. The principal man then asked 
 him to go out and hunt buffalo. Perhaps five or 
 six others were sent with him, but he was ap 
 pointed as leader. They went through all the sur 
 rounding country. As they returned towards 
 camp, and were as much as five miles away, they 
 flashed a mirror. If they had no mirror and 
 happened to be on a high butte or hill, they made 
 one of the party ride up and down so as to be 
 plainly seen. All this meant that they were 
 bringing good news. Then the people in the 
 middle tent began to sing gaily the song of the 
 wolves (Wolf Society) : 
 
 SONG. ODOWAN KIN. 
 
 "Friend, behold me! Koda, wanmayakeye 
 
 I am the man who looks Sumka wakita qon 
 
 As the wolves look at Miye yedo! 
 things!" 
 
 It sometimes happened that two or three of 
 those who went out with the boy leader, deter 
 mined to go on ahead and tell the people they had 
 seen buffalo. When they reached camp they 
 were not received by the older men. The honored 
 boy had to appear first, and tell them the exact 
 truth. 
 
94 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 When the party arrived, either on horseback 
 or on foot, they went at once to the middle tent. 
 There sat the leader, with possibly as many as 
 twelve other men in conclave with him ; for all 
 the good men had to be present. The questioner, 
 or leading man, was always to the right of the 
 boy. He then said to him: "You know all the 
 country; where did you go? What did you see 
 beyond?" Upon this, he took the pipe of peace, 
 pointed it to heaven, to the four corners of the 
 winds and to the earth, and handed it to the youth. 
 The latter touched it with his lips but did not 
 smoke it. For him this act meant an oath. He 
 gave it back to the leading man, who smoked it, 
 and passed it along to the others. The time had 
 come for the boy leader to make an absolutely 
 truthful statement of what he had seen in the way 
 of buffalo. He was about to point with his fore 
 finger to indicate the place, but was told to use 
 his thumb instead. * 
 
 The boy then had to point with his thumb in 
 three directions, in front, to the right, and to the 
 left, and was obliged to tell what he had seen in 
 the places indicated. Then he was asked if he 
 had seen some other things, but could do what he 
 pleased about relating anything more. He was 
 compelled to answer the first three questions only. 
 He had brought back with him "the spirit of the 
 buffalo", and all the men present must receive it ; 
 
 * The thumb was also used, and is now, for making an 
 impression or mark, as in signing a paper or endorsing a 
 cheque. 
 
COMMUNICATING WITH SPIRITS 95 
 
 then they will be successful in the next chase. If 
 there was a bad man among them "the spirit of 
 the buffalo" went away, for it could not remain 
 where evil was present. The boy leader was sent 
 out again, perhaps several times. A note was 
 made of the first time, the exact day being re 
 corded. Perhaps he set out in the new moon of 
 spring or the full moon of autumn ; but whenever 
 he went, the fact of his going was preserved by 
 the cutting of a notch on a heavy stick of wood. 
 He may have had the misfortune to find 
 nothing; then, on his return to camp, he was 
 obliged to say: "I have not seen a buffalo, or 
 even his tracks, anywhere." In that case, none of 
 the performances with the pipe of peace took 
 place ; but as he was truthful in his statement, he 
 was likely to be sent out again. 
 
 Tipi Sapa was well acquainted with a Yankton 
 Dakota Indian named Crazy Walker. When the 
 latter was about twenty-four years old, he pre 
 tended to be a buffalo man, and was supposed to 
 have "the spirit of the buffalo". He went into the 
 circle carrying a buffalo hide with the skin tanned. 
 He asked two young girls to help him in what he 
 was about to do, and to one of them he gave a 
 wooden basin with some water in it, to the other, 
 a pipe. The water in the bowl signified that the 
 buffalo got strength from water; the pipe, as we 
 have seen, was always used in praying to the 
 spirit, just as the man, when dragging the buf 
 falo s head, turned towards it every little while, 
 
96 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 with the pipe, and prayed for help. Walker 
 then called four young men to him, one of them 
 having a gun, another a bow and arrows. He 
 asked them what they would like to have most, 
 for he had the power to give them anything they 
 wanted; and they all said that they wished to 
 get married. Having put on his buffalo hide, he 
 went over to a plot of soft ground some distance 
 beyond his tipi, and made buffalo tracks in the 
 soft earth so that the people could see them 
 plainly. He then got down on his hands and 
 knees, and cried out to the man with the gun, or 
 the one with the bow and arrows, whichever he 
 happened to see first, to shoot him at once. The 
 youth obeyed and shot him directly through the 
 body. The blood flowing out, made Walker at 
 first seem weak and faint; though after a while 
 he got up and walked away. Many people did 
 not believe he had been shot through and 
 through; but he told them to come to examine 
 him after he reached his tipi. Then he took some 
 dirt or mud from the ground, rubbed it into the 
 wounds and healed them. Having "the spirit 
 of the buffalo", he was now able to grant any 
 requests. He asked the four young men if they 
 had obtained what they wanted. They an 
 swered : "Yes, we have seen the girls we should 
 like to marry." Walker said: "Will you keep 
 them until they die?", and made them promise 
 faithfully to do it. The last one of these 
 women died about three years ago. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 BUFFALO HUNTING 
 
 "The Spirit of the Buffalo" Continued Buffalo 
 Hunting Deer Hunting 
 
 HEN TIPI SAPA was a little boy, he actu 
 ally saw a spirit. The whole band of Yank- 
 tons started out to hunt buffalo, but went a long 
 way and found none. The wind, too, was un 
 favorable. It was from the south, and blowing 
 behind them instead of towards them ; whereas a 
 north wind only is favorable for hunting buffalo. 
 They resolved to select a man who would call up 
 a spirit to help them out of their difficulty. One 
 young man named Little Brave pretended to be 
 a spirit. He was bedecked with paint and 
 feathers and had a drum tied to one arm and 
 rattles on the other; while over his head and 
 face was the skin or bag which covers the heart 
 of a buffalo. He ran hither and thither, and cried 
 and sang. All the dogs of the band rushed out 
 and barked at him, but were afraid to come near 
 him. He told the people that the wind would 
 turn to the north by night, and that there 
 
98 THE PEOPLE OF TIP1 SAP A 
 
 would be two herds of buffalo very near them. 
 What Little Brave predicted proved to be 
 true. The next day brought them two herds 
 of buffalo, right at hand, and no end of fine 
 hunting. ^ . tt 
 
 There were two special ways of "doing 
 peculiar to the Sioux Nation. The people were 
 all hungry, for they had nothing to eat, and 
 no prospect of anything. * There was a man 
 among them named Little Wooden Dish, who 
 was called upon and was requested to help them. 
 He sang and prayed and went through several 
 performances. Then he told the people that 
 the buffalo would come with a big blizzard, 
 and that after the storm was over, they 
 would be thick all around the camp. The 
 people waited patiently for the storm to cease. 
 When it was over, they looked about, and, 
 surely enough ! saw the buffalo crowding around 
 so thickly that they could shoot them from their 
 
 tipis! . . 
 
 There was still another way of "doing . Tipi 
 Sapa s father, Saswe, a famous medicine man 
 among the Yankton Sioux, as before mentioned, 
 was in camp in a large piece of timberland near 
 Skinner s store, just beyond the Missouri river. 
 The people had nothing to eat, so they sought 
 
 * The buffalo was the principal source of food and cloth 
 ing Others were deer, rabbits, prairie chickens, and prairie dogs 
 The last, to be good, had to be well washed and cleaned and 
 boiled at least three times. The fruits used were buffalo-, June-, 
 and chalk-berries, and wild cherries, plums, and apples. 
 
BUFFALO HUNTING 99 
 
 out Saswe and begged him to help them. He 
 went into his tipi * and sang : 
 
 SONG OF SASWE. SASWE, ODOWAN KIN. 
 
 "I send my voice upward, Tohand pteatan wau cau- 
 
 Telling the Good Spirit to han aliyeya ecee kin dee, 
 
 come down; Waukankiya hoye wayacan, 
 
 So he comes down and tells Nari ksapa e wakidowan ye, 
 
 me Wakidowan cauhan tiyata 
 
 What I want (him to tell hiye, 
 
 me). Na taku wau waein kin he 
 
 hosi hi ecer 
 
 Then he called the people and said to them: 
 "There are two hills near a place named Eureka, 
 with a lake lying south of them. There will be 
 two herds of buffalo there, coming down between 
 the hills. If you want to get them, start right 
 away, for in the afternoon a big blizzard will 
 come up and seven men beyond that point will 
 be frozen to death." The men went off at once, 
 and, exactly according to the words of Saswe, 
 found the two herds of buffalo. They killed them 
 and brought back the meat. At Cheyenne Creek, 
 off to the south, another party was hunting these 
 same buffalo, and seven men in it were frozen 
 to death. 
 
 The following was an Assiniboine way of 
 "doing". There was one person especially among 
 these people who knew something about a 
 certain kind of medicine. He gave it to a young 
 
 * It was by praying in this way that these men received 
 power, and became prophets and seers among their people. 
 
100 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 man who was a good runner, and said to him: 
 "You go out and stand on that hill" (pointing 
 in the direction) "and rub some of this medicine 
 on your arms and body. There is a herd of 
 buffalo near the hill, and they will see you and 
 come forward. As they advance towards you, 
 run, but do not let them overtake you. If you do, 
 we shall lose them. When you can run fast no 
 longer, hide; and another man must be on the 
 spot to begin where you leave off. Then he must 
 have some one stationed at the point where he 
 leaves off, and so all along the line." The young 
 man adopted this advice, the herd followed each 
 runner, and was brought into camp, a distance 
 of about four miles. 
 
 As we have seen, each band of Dakotas had 
 men with these powers, which were very remark 
 able, and seemed like some sort of providence. 
 Such men were always held in great honor. 
 
 When the men in the middle tent had news 
 brought to them about buffalo by the honored 
 boys, or if, in any way, they found out that a 
 herd was within reach, they had to decide upon 
 the time for the hunt. In most cases it was 
 thought better to start at once, or very shortly. 
 A crier was sent through the camp, urging all the 
 men to get ready, to sharpen their arrows and 
 their knives, to have their horses saddled, and to 
 assemble. It was a most thrilling sight, and 
 one never to be forgotten, to see a whole band 
 of men in feathers and war paint, bearing knives, 
 
Z 
 
 3 
 
 H -5 
 
 *l 
 
 I- 
 
 OQ P 
 
BUFFALO HUNTING 101 
 
 clubs, bows, and arrows, and mounted on their 
 lively, knowing little horses, rush out of camp, 
 to the beating of drums and the singing of songs, 
 for a wild buffalo chase. 
 
 There were two or four men, sometimes more, 
 who acted as leaders, as it often took quite a 
 number to control such an excited crowd. 
 Sometimes a few women were allowed to go 
 along; either because they wished to, or on ac 
 count of their being needed to help with the meat 
 and the hides. When the band reached the place 
 where the herd of buffalo were grazing, the 
 leaders called a halt. Then they looked about 
 and chose the ground from which to start. They 
 divided up the men, placing some on the right 
 and the others on the left. If anyone happened 
 to go ahead and make a run towards the buffalo, 
 or if he disobeyed orders in any way, he was 
 severely whipped and driven back. On these oc 
 casions obedience was insisted upon. No man 
 was allowed to shoot at anything, the use of a 
 gun* being especially forbidden. Any infraction 
 of this rule was followed by a sound beating and 
 often by the destruction of the offender s tipi. 
 When the signal was given by the leaders, it was 
 time for the men to rush forward upon their prey. 
 The buffalo saw them coming, but at first made 
 no attempt to run. They stood quietly, as 
 if dazed, looking straight at the enemy. Then, 
 all of a sudden, the whole herd turned tail and 
 
 * On account of the noise. 
 
1 02 i ! / flhfe; F?felO LE .OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 ran, with the Indians in hot pursuit. They did 
 not stop the chase till every buffalo was killed. 
 It was magnificent sport and most exciting. 
 Sometimes a buffalo, driven to fury, turned and 
 charged, killing one or more men. 
 
 A number of extra horses were always brought 
 along and left behind on the plain or in the 
 valley, till needed. At the close of the hunt the 
 meat and hides were loaded on them, and the 
 whole party returned to camp. The old men 
 who had no horses and were no longer able to 
 hunt, were each presented with a buffalo, by the 
 younger men. Those who received them were 
 very grateful, and sang pleasing songs about the 
 hunters who were kind to them. The women 
 were kept very busy with jerking and drying the 
 beef. If there were not a sufficient quantity, all 
 started off again to the scene of slaughter, got 
 more meat, brought it back, and prepared it. The 
 night after a good hunt was most agreeable. The 
 men sat outside of their tipis, watched the meat 
 roasting over the blazing fires, then ate to the full 
 the sweet delicious food. What remained was 
 taken down below the hills and stored away for 
 future use. Large holes were dug in the sides of 
 the hills and in them, wrapped in the great hides, 
 were placed the backs and other parts of the 
 carcases ; then the openings to the cavities were 
 carefully filled up with earth. The meat, in 
 this way, was well preserved, and when used 
 later on, was sweet and good. 
 
BUFFALO HUNTING 103 
 
 The days of the buffalo-chase are past and 
 gone. Nothing was more exciting, exhilarating, 
 and charming to the Indian than hunting the 
 buffalo and feasting on the flesh. Tipi Sapa 
 said to me : "I have a terrible longing for it. 
 You white people have come and have taken it 
 all away from us, and expect us to follow your 
 ways. It is very hard for a people to change 
 their whole mode of life. Now, we just sit around 
 in camp and talk back and forth. There is 
 nothing to do in the way of amusement, and no 
 fun for anybody!" How sad and how true it 
 all is! 
 
 When no buffalo were to be found anywhere 
 the fact still remained that the people must have 
 something to eat. A certain young man, who 
 seemed to have wonderful power, and possessed 
 "the spirit of the deer" as others did "the spirit 
 of the buffalo", was chosen to call the deer to 
 him. He selected a high, level place, and at one 
 end where it sloped down, ordered a corral to be 
 built. Heaps of earth were placed at intervals 
 along two lines which formed the letter V, the 
 point being at the corral. Between each of these 
 heaps of earth were willow twigs sharpened at 
 either end, and bent or curved by having both 
 ends stuck into the ground. The young man, 
 after painting himself in different colors, wrapped 
 his buffalo hide around him with the fur outside 
 and stood on the high, level piece of ground. He 
 held a pipe of peace in his hand, which he pointed 
 
104 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAP A 
 
 towards heaven, to the four corners of the winds, 
 and to the earth. Then he yelled out four times, 
 and sang, over and over again : 
 
 "See, those deer are coming now!" 
 
 True enough, a whole herd of deer came 
 galloping by, and went straight down the avenue 
 into the corral. This was followed by another 
 herd, and another, until the entire corral was 
 filled with the frightened animals. Then the 
 people, who had been in hiding, rushed out and 
 killed them with clubs. (Tipi Sapa s father saw 
 this done, and declared it to be true.) 
 
 After the deer had been slaughtered, not one 
 remaining alive, but before they were skinned 
 and the meat cut up and made ready for use, the 
 young man told the people to take all the males 
 and arrange them in rows by themselves, and the 
 females in rows by themselves. When this was 
 done, they were obliged to cut off the tip end of 
 the tongue of each deer and give them all to him. 
 If just one were overlooked, it would cause him 
 to lose his power, so he went around and ex 
 amined each animal with great care. He kept 
 the ends of the tongues, dried them, and made a 
 powder of them. This powder he mixed with 
 another medicine made of some kind of roots, 
 then put it in a little bag and tied it in his head 
 dress of feathers. The only occasion on which he 
 wore the little bag was when he went out to call 
 the deer. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 SOCIETIES 
 
 Doings Inside the Circle The Society of Braves 
 The Society of Owls Feathers The 
 Society of Foxes The Grass Society 
 
 AMONG the men in the Circle were many 
 societies, and those who did not belong to 
 some one of the different groups had no stand 
 ing whatever. They were somewhat alike in 
 their offices and duties. The Society of Braves 
 Cante Tinza Okadaicize held a large meeting 
 every year in the middle tent. Seven principal 
 men represented this society, and there were be 
 sides, a doorkeeper and a crier. The last pro 
 claimed a dance, a feast, or any other doings. 
 The seven chief officers gave their decision as to 
 new members and sent men through the camp 
 to pick them up. If the young men desired 
 were found in their tipis they were taken by the 
 arm and brought out. Four or six girls of fine 
 character were selected in the same way to help 
 with the singing. All went in procession, with 
 song, to the place of meeting, where they were 
 received by the seven principal men. The new 
 
106 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAP A 
 
 members were presented with various articles. 
 Two were given bonnets, with feathers so ar 
 ranged as to reach to the ground, two received 
 whips, two others clubs, and one, a drum. Then 
 the officers talked to them, and related what they 
 had done with these same things. Each new 
 member was compelled to live up to the high 
 standard of the society. He had to be generous 
 and good, give horses to the poor, to the orphans, 
 and to the old people, and to be pure and true. 
 If it were found out that one of them had done 
 wrong such as going off with the wife of 
 another man he was dropped from the Society. 
 Above all else, each one must be brave, go out 
 to fight, and probably lose his life. 
 
 SONG. ODOWAN KIN. 
 
 One of the members does not Opapi kin etanhan 
 return home alive. Wanjj kdi Sni. 
 
 The Society of Owls Feathers Mawatani 
 Okadakiciye like that of the Braves, had seven 
 chief officers, a doorkeeper, and a crier. It was 
 composed of older and more experienced men of 
 a very high order. The members wore plumes 
 of owls feathers in their hair. They made these 
 plumes by taking the long feathers from the 
 wing (arm) or tail of the owl, pulling off the 
 little webs from the middle stem, and tying them 
 in bunches on sticks. Two of the seven principal 
 men had bonnets made of owls feathers, two 
 others had spears, two had whips, and one a drum. 
 
SOCIETIES 107 
 
 They held office twelve months at a time, and 
 if they had done well, were re-elected. New 
 members were chosen after the same manner as 
 in the Society of Braves, and also the few young 
 women who helped with the singing. The fol 
 lowing song was sung by two men as the new 
 members were marched to the middle tent : 
 
 SONG. ODOWAN KIN. 
 
 I hear there are hard things Wicoran qeya terikedo 
 
 to be accomplished. Eyapi e hena awakita yedo. 
 I seek them. 
 
 When the time had come for the election of 
 officers, the name of a new member was called. 
 He was told to stand at some distance until asked 
 to go forward by one of the leading men. Then 
 another man placed a coal of fire in his hand. 
 With this he was obliged to walk slowly and 
 steadily toward the officer, who was to present 
 him with a war-bonnet, spear, or whip, and so 
 did each one in turn. When the new members 
 had received their respective belongings, they 
 were addressed by the former officers. It was 
 expected of them to maintain the high moral 
 standard of the society. They were never to 
 scold or whip their wives, as anything of that 
 kind was an indication of weakness. If they 
 lowered themselves to fight with women they 
 were just like them. Should the wife of one of 
 these men run away with someone else, her hus 
 band was not to go after her to bring her back. 
 
108 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 She was to be left alone, as her character was 
 gone, and she could never again take her former 
 place in the circle. When it happened that the 
 wife of a member of this society did run off with 
 another man, but came back of her own accord, 
 her husband had to receive her and treat her 
 kindly, as before. This was the song that was 
 sung by a man when his wife left him. 
 
 SONG. ODOWAN KIN. 
 My daughter s (or son s) Micunksi (nais micin ksi) 
 
 mother Hunjuako eyaya yo, 
 
 Goes away from me. Nanjenunna warm we! 
 
 I have but a short time to 
 live. 
 
 SECOND SONG. ODOWAN INONPA KIN. 
 
 You will never be buried Tukted nunke cinhan 
 
 With your wife s body; Kici nunkin kte sni 
 
 Only dogs fight over a fe- Sunka ecena win okicize cin 
 
 male; Winica yedo. 
 You are a man. 
 
 This song was a curse upon the woman who 
 ran away. The man was far better than a dog, 
 and not supposed to fight with the wretch who 
 went with her. Only dogs got mad and fought. 
 The afflicted husband was marched in procession 
 around the circle while the songs were sung. 
 All this was intended to give him strength and 
 comfort to lighten his burden and relieve his 
 distress. 
 
 The members of the Society of Owls Feathers 
 were supposed to give liberally to the poor, the 
 aged, and the orphans. As we have seen, they 
 
SOCIETIES 109 
 
 were most enduring in hardships. They had to 
 go out and fight, and do everything in their 
 power outside the Circle for the welfare and 
 advancement of the tribe. The newly elected 
 officer sang: 
 
 SONG. ODOWAN KIN. 
 
 See me! I am trying Mawatani okodakiciye kin 
 
 To follow the teachings of the Hecel eyapi e, 
 
 Society of Owls Feathers. Econ uwata nunwe. 
 
 Because I do not want Icin wicarcapi kin he 
 
 To reach old age. Tamon ka sni yedo. 
 
 A big dinner or feast was held at the annual 
 meeting, followed by a dance, so as to give the 
 people the opportunity of getting acquainted 
 with the new members. 
 
 Another group was called the Society of 
 Foxes. The members wore their hair in a very 
 peculiar manner. The hair was pulled out by the 
 roots, leaving the scalp bare, except in patches or 
 tufts in front, on either side, and in the middle. 
 The last was allowed to grow very long so that 
 it could be braided to hang down the back. 
 Ornaments consisting of two sticks, each about 
 a foot in length, with bright red feathers glued 
 on them, were worn in the hair at the top of the 
 braid. The long locks of hair on either side of 
 the head were drawn through a cylinder of bone 
 that had been cleaned thoroughly within and 
 without. Below, where the hair came through, 
 they were decorated with weasels skins. Orna 
 ments were made of the heads of foxes, the faces 
 
110 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 only being used, from which the skin was pulled 
 off so that the bones and teeth showed plainly. 
 These, painted red or blue, were fastened in rows 
 on buckskin or some kind of leather bands, and 
 worn around the forehead in the dance. 
 
 The Society of Foxes was conducted in much 
 the same way as those of the Braves and the 
 Owls Feathers. At the yearly meeting, the offi 
 cers sat in the place prepared for them in the 
 middle of the circle, and the new members, with a 
 few women, were gathered together and marched 
 into their presence with singing, as follows : 
 
 SONG. ODOWAN KIN. 
 
 My friend has passed his life Mitakoda taku econ 
 
 doing his duty before me; Kta iyececa kin econ 
 So I will follow him. Unmitokam iyaya e 
 
 Ehakenan waun we! 
 
 When they were seated they were called for 
 ward by the principal men and presented with 
 the marks of office. Two received bows with no 
 strings, but trimmed with bead work and porcu 
 pine quills. These bows had also spearheads 
 fastened on one end, and were used as weapons. 
 Two others had pipes of peace given them, two 
 more received whips, and another a drum. If the 
 former office-holders were re-elected, they re 
 ceived the same articles again. The doorkeeper 
 and crier had no marks of office. After this, the 
 new men were instructed in their duties. They 
 were obliged to be liberal and very brave. They 
 had to do everything possible outside for the 
 
SOCIETIES 1 1 I 
 
 welfare of the Circle. If they failed in their 
 duties, within or without, they were dropped 
 from the society 
 
 There was still another group called the Grass 
 Society of which the members were all warriors. 
 They placed dried grass in their moccasins to keep 
 their feet warm, and carried it in their clothing, 
 to be used when they wanted to build a fire 
 quickly. They wore their hair cut off on either 
 side, straight back to the middle part, which was 
 left long for the braid. Added to the braid was 
 another fastened in at the end, so as to make it 
 of great length. At the top were fastened vari 
 ous small objects, such as the tail of a deer, dyed 
 red, and eagles feathers, one, two, three, or four, 
 according to the number of men killed by the 
 warrior. Sometimes they were so numerous 
 that these feathers were stuck in the braid as 
 well, and often extended through the whole 
 length of it to the ground. In some cases a spear 
 with its head painted red was carried and on 
 the end of it were tied three or more feathers, 
 according to the number of enemies the owner 
 had killed. If he himself had been wounded, he 
 wore eagles feathers colored red. (Fiji mikunaka 
 okola keciye.) Other "wearings" belonging to 
 this society were necklaces and earrings ; and the 
 scalps that had been taken were worn on the arm 
 in the dance. When these men prepared for a 
 dance, they painted their whole bodies, usually, 
 of a yellow color. If one of them had stolen 
 
112 THE PEOPLE OF TIP1 SAP A 
 
 horses he showed the prints of hoofs on his legs. 
 If he had saved a man from being killed by the 
 enemy, he made the mark of a cross on his body 
 or legs. When he had been wounded by a bullet, 
 he represented bullet holes, with drops of blood 
 coming out of them. If one had teen terribly 
 wounded, he put the red paint on thick around 
 his mouth and chin, to show that the blood had 
 poured from his mouth and down in the front. 
 The way in which their enemies had been killed, 
 whether by an arrow, a gun, a club, a spear, or a 
 knife, was clearly depicted on the chests of the 
 horses which were ridden into the dance. Some 
 times all the wounded men danced together, and 
 had a special song : 
 
 SONG. ODOWAN KIN. 
 
 My friend has fallen, Mitakoda kdirpayedo 
 
 He has fallen in battle. Heciya! kdirpayedo! 
 
 The men who had captured slaves (prisoners) 
 and brought them home were painted with a 
 mark that represented a black hand over the 
 mouth. This was to show that they had done 
 the deed. They danced by themselves and also 
 had a special song. 
 
 SONG (ABOUT SLAVES). ODOWAN (WAYAKA ON). 
 
 Friends, I let these slaves Koda, wayaka dena mani- 
 
 wa lk, wica wakiya, 
 
 I let them walk in front of Mitokam mani wica wakiya ; 
 me . Sicaya wicawakuwa sni yedo. 
 
 But I do not treat them Ikceya mitokam mani wica 
 
 roughly, wakiya. 
 
 I just let them walk ahead 
 of me. 
 
SOCIETIES 113 
 
 The members of the Grass Society were 
 chosen as they were in the other societies. At 
 the place of meeting, when the time had come for 
 the yearly election of new officers, two men were 
 asked to bring them forward, and sang the follow 
 ing song: 
 
 SONG. ODOWAN KIN. 
 
 Spotted Eagle, you are a Wanbdi kde6 ka wica yedo. 
 
 man. Niyaon qon he ehan, 
 
 While you were living Wandgi wan iyecedya 
 
 You acted as though Yaun wedo. 
 
 You were a ghost. 
 
 Spotted Eagle, the son of Red Leaves, was a 
 well-known man among the Dakotas. The term, 
 "acting as though he were a ghost", meant that 
 he was bold and brave and did many daring 
 things. 
 
 The seven principal men of the Grass Society 
 were supposed to tell at the annual meeting any 
 brave deeds that they had done during the year, 
 and then to hand over the articles belonging to 
 their office. Five of them had belts made of 
 crows feathers, one a drum, and one a stick about 
 eighteen inches in length trimmed with porcupine 
 quills. There were, as well, a doorkeeper and a 
 crier. When a feast was held, all the officers were 
 fed by the man with the stick. He picked up the 
 meat, or whatever it happened to be, on the end 
 of it, and put this food in their mouths; thus 
 signifying that being so fed, they should not fall 
 into any bad habit. Everyone of them was sup- 
 
114 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 posed to have killed one or more men. On re 
 turning from a raid, the brave washed himself, 
 and, for several days, was fed on "took" food with 
 the official stick. If, on the other hand, upon 
 his return, he slandered his neighbors or com 
 mitted other offences, or omitted to bathe or to 
 feed himself as prescribed for the allotted period, 
 then, it was held, he would never be able to rid 
 himself of the bad habit of evil speaking or of any 
 other wrongdoing. The members of this group 
 were subject to various acts of self-denial. Any 
 sign of weakness on the part of a man whose 
 wife had left him, shown in following her and 
 inducing her to return to him, was punished by 
 dismissal from the society. He had failed to do 
 the difficult thing. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 SOCIETIES (Continued) 
 
 The Crow Society The Wolf Society The 
 Society of Warriors The Horse Dancers 
 
 SESIDE the groups treated of in the last 
 chapter, there were several others, one of 
 them being the Crow Society Kanyi yuha okola 
 kick ye. The members wore the skins of crows 
 with all the feathers on, as necklaces. Two of the 
 seven principal men had war-bonnets. These 
 resembled caps or hats without brims, covered 
 with long crows* feathers. Two horns stood up 
 on either side, decorated with beads and porcu 
 pine quills. Standing between the horns and 
 covering the top of the hat, were tufts or bunches 
 of horsehair taken from the mane or tail and 
 dyed a bright red. Such war-bonnets were very 
 showy affairs. Two of the members had lances, 
 which were trimmed throughout their entire 
 length with crows feathers. Two others had 
 whips ; and one, a drum, all of which were deco 
 rated in the same manner. The doorkeeper and 
 the crier carried nothing peculiar to their re 
 spective offices. 
 
116 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAP A ^ 
 
 This society was conducted in the same way 
 as the others, the new members being collected 
 and brought to the place of meeting with song, 
 four or six women helping with the singing. 
 g ONG . ODOWAN KIN. 
 
 (There are no words.) (Zel el wiceiye wanica.) 
 
 When all were assembled, the older men in 
 structed the new officers. One of the men held 
 his war-bonnet aloft, and told how he had tried 
 to live up to all that it represented ; what he had 
 done in war, the number of men he had killed, 
 and in what way he had killed them. At this 
 point, his sister or cousin burst into a song, the 
 burden of which was : 
 
 SONG. ODOWAN KIN. 
 
 Equivalent to Saul koktopawinge 
 
 Saul has killed his thou- David kokto pawinge kte, 
 
 sands wikcemna 
 
 David his tens of thousands. Li, Li, Li, Li, Li, Li! 
 Li, Li, Li, Li, Li, Li ! 
 
 The women sang "praisings" for the noble 
 deeds of the braves. After this, the bonnet was 
 handed over to a new officer. If an owner of one 
 of the bonnets had been killed while fighting, he 
 was represented by another man, who told just 
 how he died, whether slain with spear, lance, ar 
 row, or knife, and, most important of all, how he 
 had made no outcry in his agony. The war- 
 bonnet was always taken at once, if possible, from 
 the man who had been killed, so that it should not 
 
SOCIETIES 117 
 
 fall into the hands of the enemy, and was care 
 fully brought back to camp. 
 
 The same forms were observed when the other 
 principal men handed over their lances, drum, 
 and whips. The last were used heavily on the 
 enemy in battle, and were also applied to slow, 
 lazy members in the Circle who were wanted to 
 take part in the dance. 
 
 The retiring officers talked a long time to those 
 taking their places. Again we find the same ad 
 vice given to a husband abandoned by his wife: 
 "If that should happen to you, do not go after her. 
 Leave her alone, and do not fight over her; she 
 can never again be good. Do not whip your wife. 
 A woman is weak, and if you whip her, you will 
 be just like her. It is mean and low." (The 
 speaker referred to the men in the tribe who did 
 not belong to any of these societies the very 
 lowest class, who whipped their wives and did as 
 they pleased.) "You must uphold the Circle ; do 
 everything for its honor within, and be brave 
 without in defending it from its enemies." 
 
 At the close of the meeting a dance always 
 took place. Those who participated removed all 
 their clothing except the crow-feather necklaces, 
 and, riding wildly into the dance, leaped from 
 their horses amidst a din of gun and pistol fire. 
 Mounting again with reckless speed, they dashed 
 away to some other point at which the same per 
 formances were repeated. Altogether, such a 
 dance was a very wild and exciting affair. 
 
1 18 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAP A _ _ 
 
 Of the seven principal men in the Wolf Society 
 Sunka Okolakiciye four had wolf-skins, two 
 had whips with the handles bound with wolf 
 skin, and one a drum. The doorkeeper and the 
 crier had nothing official. Those who received 
 the skins wore them, and added a bunch of crow- 
 feathers, fastened on just below the nape of the 
 neck. The members of this society travelled on 
 foot, one man carrying the moccasins of the whole 
 company in big bunches on each hip, while others 
 carried the food in kettles. When they were 
 about to go on the warpath, they all assembled in 
 the middle of the Circle, and sang the following 
 songs : (The name of the leader may have been 
 Sitting Bear.) 
 
 SONG. ODOWAN KIN. 
 
 Sitting Bear, if you see any- Mato iyotanke, taku 
 
 thin g Wandake cinhan kiyena da 
 
 You must go close to it! unnwe. 
 
 SONG ( 2 ) . ODOWAN KIN ( 2 ) . 
 
 Friends, look at me! Koda, wanmayake, 
 
 I am seeking as the wolf Sunke wakita qon miye yelo ! 
 seeks! 
 
 SONG (3). ODOWAN KIN (3). 
 
 I do not want to pay any Wioyuspapi kin 
 
 attention to girls. Waein sni yedo. 
 
 I must go and do my duty Tohantu kesa waku kte do 
 first! 
 
 An incident is related, doubtless a rare one, of 
 one member of such a war-party becoming faint 
 hearted and actually leaving his comrades and 
 
SOCIETIES 119 
 
 returning to camp. The others went forward, 
 attacked the enemy, and brought back scalps and 
 horses. 
 
 The following song greeted the deserter : 
 
 SONG. (Sarcastic) (4). ODOWAN KIN. (Wiweca 
 
 I was going to ( expected to ) kmnp ( 4 ) . 
 
 do those things. Ehanna decamon kta e, 
 
 So I sent Weasel Eagle home Hintonkasan Wanbdi 
 
 to tell you about it! Ho6ikuwai qon! 
 
 Those who belonged to the Society of War 
 riors Zuya Okodakiciye were very experienced 
 in fighting and in heroic deeds. Four of the lead 
 ing men had skirts made of buckskin trimmed 
 with porcupine quills ; two had whips ; and one, a 
 drum. The doorkeeper and crier had no dis 
 tinctive marks. At the yearly meeting, as in the 
 other societies, the former officers related what 
 they had done. In case any one of them had been 
 killed during the year, the man representing him 
 narrated it, then took the shirt that had belonged 
 to him and laid it carefully aside. It was the 
 same in the case of a man who owned one of the 
 whips or the drum. They then sang, as follows : 
 
 SONG. (While selecting ODOWAN KIN. 
 
 officers). TohandZuya Okodakiciye 
 
 Hereafter, if the Society of Wica wotinna opapi 
 
 Warriors Owasin opapi nin ecanipi 
 
 Should have a feast, Kta ea amakitapi sni yo! 
 
 And all the members 
 
 are expected to be there, 
 Do not look for me! 
 
120 THE PEOPLE OF TIP1 SAP A 
 
 The new members had it impressed upon them 
 that if they did something inside the Circle which 
 they should not have done, they would, after 
 death, be punished forever. If they protected 
 the Circle outside, by fighting, they would be 
 blessed forever. 
 
 It must not be supposed that in subjecting 
 their sons to the severe training and discipline 
 described in these notes, the Sioux fathers were 
 lacking in parental affection. On the contrary, 
 the fate of a young brave on the warpath was 
 watched by his father with the utmost solicitude. 
 When bad news came and a runner entered camp 
 with the cry, "So-and-so s son lies down there," 
 the stricken father was hard put to it to conceal 
 his grief. The crisis had to be met with all the 
 stoical calm available, but it was no less over 
 whelming. On such occasions the following 
 touching lament was used, but, oddly enough, 
 even the lament was made a test of fortitude : 
 
 SONG. ODOWAN KIN. 
 
 My son, you went off . Micink6i, nankenunna, 
 
 For a little while; you are Idade ciqon, tuwa 
 
 staying away too long! DehauS unka! 
 
 This was supposed to be repeated four times. 
 A father might get through the song once, per 
 haps, but nearly every one failed at the second 
 attempt. After the fourth repetition the mourn 
 ing one was allowed to weep but, until this was 
 finally accomplished, to be overpowered by nat- 
 
A DAKOTA WARRIOR 
 
SOCIETIES 121 
 
 ural grief was considered deplorable weakness. 
 The man who was able to reach the fourth time 
 of singing praised his son s courage, as follows : 
 
 "Yes, my son, you did well; "Ho, ems , tanyan ecanon 
 
 You did your duty. Hecanon kta iyece ca 
 
 You died fighting; Kicizapi icunhan nite, 
 
 You died without bringing Is tedmayaye 6ni nite 
 
 disgrace on me; Nitoyate is tedwicayoye 
 
 You died without bringing ni nite do." 
 
 disgrace on your tribe." 
 
 When the warriors left the Circle, they were 
 dressed and equipped for fighting. They were 
 joined by members of the other groups who were 
 ready to go out. It was a glorious sight to see 
 them gallop forth in their war paint, feathers and 
 glittering weapons; many to be killed and 
 wounded, others to return bringing home scalps 
 and horses. In all these societies, whoever first 
 killed an enemy on the warpath, secured the 
 honors. Even if others who went afterwards 
 killed a great many more than the first, they re 
 ceived little credit. Everyone despised a society 
 whose members had killed none of their enemies. 
 It was said to them : "You have not done any 
 thing; you are disgraced!" 
 
 Occasionally, in times of peace, there was a 
 parade of all the societies. They named over the 
 braves who had died doing their duty, to an ac 
 companiment of drums and the tuneless shout, 
 
 "Li! Li! Li! Li! Li! Li!" 
 
122 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAP A 
 
 The following incident narrated by Tipi Sapa 
 illustrates, in a certain way, the large part which 
 the horse plays in the life of the Dakotas. 
 
 A certain man in the tribe who had been 
 brought up with horses ever since he was a baby, 
 claimed that he knew everything about them. He 
 held that, having lived with them so long, he was 
 treated by them as one of themselves and had had 
 their ways revealed to him. On one occasion he 
 called the men who, in his opinion, had a thorough 
 knowledge of horses, to a meeting in some place 
 outside of camp, and addressed them as follows : 
 
 "Our tribe has secret powers. They have been 
 imparted to me as leader of the horse-dance, and 
 come directly from the Great Spirit. I will make 
 songs for you to learn, and you must practise hard 
 on them. I should also like you to be prepared 
 with some songs of your own." 
 
 Then the crier was told to go through camp 
 and proclaim: "There will be a horse-dance 
 to-morrow, about noon!" 
 
 Those who were to take part in the dance 
 were directed by the medicine man not only to 
 paint their own bodies, but to depict, on their 
 horses, scenes representing exactly what had 
 happened in the last fight, when they were in the 
 act of attacking and killing the enemy marks re 
 sembling hailstones, for example, indicating that 
 the last battle in which a certain brave had been 
 engaged had been fought during a storm of hail. 
 When all was ready, the horse-dancers put on 
 
SOCIETIES 123 
 
 their war-bonnets and belts, and provided them 
 selves with shields, lances, spears, knives, whips, 
 bows, arrows, and guns. Having all come to 
 gether at a certain point, they were addressed by 
 the leader, who told them that they would not be 
 hurt because he possessed great power and knew 
 they would be protected. A great crowd of men, 
 women, and children assembled for the occasion. 
 At this affair, only young girls were asked to sing ; 
 no married women, as in the societies. These 
 girls accompanied the drummers, and made up, 
 with them, a kind of band concert. The horses 
 were remarkably graceful in their movements, as 
 they stepped about and pranced and danced, keep 
 ing time to the music of the songs and the beating 
 of the drums. The noise, excitement, and wild- 
 ness grew fast and furious as the riders fired off 
 their guns, shouted, and sped their arrows, while 
 the horses danced. Sometimes there was a short 
 intermission, during which the crier went about 
 shouting : "This is all done for your amusement. 
 You must give a smoke of your tobacco or some 
 thing else to these people after all their trouble." 
 The moment the music ceased the horses all 
 stopped dancing, and, of themselves, turned 
 directly around and faced the band. This was 
 most remarkable, for many of them, though they 
 had heard the drums in battle, had never before 
 been in the dance. 
 
 During the next intermission, a great feast was 
 held. Handsome presents of war-bonnets, horses, 
 
124 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAP A 
 
 and buffalo robes were given to the horsemen and 
 to the young women who had helped with the 
 singing. Then the wild dance began again, and 
 kept up all night, or until the supply of songs 
 was exhausted. That put an end to the festivities. 
 After the people had left for their homes, the horse 
 dancers went back to the central place from which 
 they started. The leading man who conducted 
 the meeting said : "You see this man (meaning 
 the head of the horse-dancers) is very skilful in 
 the dance, and that no bad accident has happened. 
 He is the man to go to if we want this again. If 
 there had been an accident, we would never ask 
 this man who managed it to do it a second time. 
 We will have only the one who knows the horses 
 ways. He is very kind to them. No matter how 
 wild they are, they obey him directly, and do 
 whatever he wants them to do. He must be well 
 paid for all the skill and power he has shown and 
 the trouble he has taken." 
 
 Thus the meeting of the horse-dancers ad 
 journed for a much-needed rest, the leader no 
 doubt richer in reputation as well as in more 
 tangible rewards. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 GAMES 
 
 Shinny Strike the Moccasins Throwing Sticks 
 
 Using the Balls Secret Play. 
 
 (Huyoka Wozepi) 
 
 y?f HE Indians were fond of all kinds of sport, 
 \!f and enjoyed games of a mild character as 
 well as those that were more thrilling and danger 
 ous. Of the numerous games played by them, 
 only a few are given by way of illustration. 
 
 Shinny was popular and both men and women 
 entered into the contest. Perhaps as many as 
 two hundred at a time lined up for this sport, the 
 large number adding greatly to the mirth, excite 
 ment, and general interest. 
 
 The game called "Strike the Moccasins", or 
 "Han papa econpi", was for men alone. We will 
 suppose that two parties were camping two or 
 three miles apart, and one sent word to the other, 
 saying: "Let us go over and strike the mocca 
 sins." If everything seemed favorable, a large 
 tipi was prepared. The men from both camps 
 took their guns, horns, and arrows and marched 
 
126 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAP A 
 
 over to this tipi beating drums and singing as they 
 went along : 
 
 SONG. ODOWAN KIN. 
 
 Whatever widows make, Wiwazica taku 
 
 Those belong to me! Kage cin hena mita waye! 
 
 They also indulged in many songs without 
 words, a great waving of arms and various wild 
 gestures. Then they went into the tipi, and each 
 party took one side of it. A large crowd stood 
 outside and lifted up the canvas in order to see the 
 game. In winter, fires were blazing round about. 
 
 When the parties were ready to play, each side 
 chose two men. They also picked out two little 
 balls, about the size of a marble, and of the same 
 co l or _ red, black, or yellow. Then a man was 
 selected to strike and so start the game. When 
 the signal was given him by the umpire, he took 
 both of the balls in his hands, stood up, and said : 
 "I choose so and so (naming a man) in my place. 
 I am so brave (then he went on to tell what he 
 had done in former games) . Have the courage to 
 be laughed at. Take this ball and hide it so that 
 the others cannot find it." The man who received 
 the other ball was told to do the same. Then the 
 men chosen in both parties took the balls in their 
 hands, and sang, gesticulated, and threw them 
 about as slight-of-hand men do. Another man, 
 standing some seven to ten feet away, watched 
 them, and tried to guess where the ball was. He 
 was called "the striker of the moccasins". The 
 
GAMES 127 
 
 players watched him, too, very intently, as he 
 made various motions. Sometimes he closed 
 down three fingers, leaving the thumb and fore 
 finger open. That signified that he thought the 
 balls were in the outside hands of each player. 
 When he put his hand straight down, with the 
 thumb up, he thought the balls were in the right 
 hand of one man and in the left of the other. Per 
 haps he motioned with two fingers ; then he meant 
 that the balls were in the left hands of each. 
 When he made a sign with one finger, he indicated 
 that the balls were in the right hand of each man. 
 If the striker of the moccasins guessed correctly, 
 the players had to show him the balls. When he 
 found both of them at one guess, he could take 
 them from the men and would give them to 
 whomsoever he wished, on his side. The record 
 of the game was kept by the arrangement 
 of twelve sticks for each party. If the man 
 chosen to do the guessing happened to miss, then 
 his side lost a stick. One of the parties may have 
 already acquired a great many sticks; but if a 
 player on the winning side by mischance let the 
 ball drop from his hand to the ground, the other 
 side could claim all the sticks won. The party 
 who took all the sticks would win the game, 
 therefore the goods that were at stake, the war- 
 bonnets, shirts, bows, arrows, and quivers, and 
 the many other articles played for, were divided 
 among those who had taken part in the sport. 
 All of the Sioux Nation played the game in 
 
128 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 this manner, excepting the Sante band, who used 
 moccasins. As soon as the game was called, it 
 proceeded as when played with the hands. Those 
 who had the balls took off their moccasins and 
 covered them with a corner of their blankets. 
 This prevented the people from seeing whether 
 both balls were put into one, or one into each, 
 moccasin. The man who watched the play then 
 took a stick and struck the moccasins in which 
 he thought the balls were placed. 
 
 Among games for women was one called 
 Throwing Sticks Paslo hanpi unpi. Each player 
 had a stick seven feet long, with a buffalo or an 
 elk horn fastened to one end. In order to make 
 it fit very tight, the horn was boiled and placed 
 on the stick while it was still soft. In the winter 
 when the snow was hard and slippery, a number 
 of young girls went out in the open with these 
 sticks and lined up, with perhaps four, five, or six 
 on a side. Then they took turns in throwing or 
 sliding these just as far as they could over the 
 frozen snow. The side having the larger number 
 of those who threw them the longer distance won 
 the game and all the beadwork of their opponents 
 
 as well. 
 
 Another game for women was Icasdahe ki- 
 cunpi Using the Balls. Several girls, perhaps 
 as many as eight in number, went off together 
 in the winter time to a creek, or river, some 
 distance away from camp. They took with them 
 some small cylindrical pieces of wood about two 
 
-J 
 
 PIPE POUCHES 
 
GAMES 129 
 
 inches in height and the same in diameter, also a 
 few little wooden balls. After they had built 
 some fires, they spread their robes on the ice and 
 sat down for the game. Each side was about 
 twenty feet apart. One of the small, round pieces 
 of wood was put before each player. All in turn 
 tried to hit these with the little balls, each one 
 aiming at the piece in front of the girl directly 
 across from her. If she succeeded in hitting it, 
 she could compel the girl opposite to give up a 
 piece of her bead or porcupine quill work. The 
 game went on for a long time until all the goods 
 played for were handed over to the winning side. 
 The girls liked to play this game, and did so when 
 ever they could get an opportunity. As it was 
 done quite a distance from their people, no one 
 was about to watch them. The young men, how 
 ever, usually found out the place to which the girls 
 were going, and were sure to be on hand to view 
 the performance. In this way there was much 
 merriment, not to mention love-making, and a 
 charming time for all concerned. 
 
 Natural phenomena have always had a great 
 fascination for the Indians, and some among them 
 pretend to accumulate knowledge regarding such 
 phenomena. Thus, for example, thunder was ex 
 plained as the noise of people trampling around 
 in the sky, and so making the terrible noise. 
 Others professed to know about birds, which told 
 them strange, secret things. 
 
 In order that this benefit might be obtained 
 
130 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAP A 
 
 for these experts, as well as derived from them, 
 a great circle about a mile in diameter, and one in 
 which thousands could assemble, was prepared, 
 and in it was placed a huge tent. In the circle, 
 too, was a roaring fire, over which a great pot was 
 boiling. In this were thrown a buffalo s tongue 
 or a deer s tongue, or a fish. Large quantities of 
 other things, too, were boiling and steaming in 
 the pot. It was carefully watched by the man 
 who knew the secret things. Many of the people 
 rubbed themselves over with a kind of root which 
 kept them from being scalded by the boiling con 
 tents. Then, with a mad rush, they all began to 
 dance around the kettle and so sing songs. 
 
 SONG. ODOWAN KIN. 
 
 Little Wind belongs to me! Tate Ciqa yena mitawa nun 
 In this kettle they place we 
 
 A deer tongue for me! Cega de.ed taceji wan 
 
 lyorpeyapi e mitawa nunwe ! 
 
 After this a man called out : "It is not time 
 yet." It was, however, a signal that everything 
 was ready. Immediately all pressed violently 
 forward and tried to grab something from the 
 steaming contents of the pot, while they shouted 
 and yelled: "Don t come over here with that 
 boiling stuff!" meaning quite the opposite. 
 Whereupon they ran madly about, throwing the 
 hot soup and stuff all over one another. The men 
 who got the buffalo tongue or the deer tongue or 
 the fish were the ones who would know secret 
 
GAMES 131 
 
 things. As may be imagined, those who joined in 
 this sport were covered from head to foot with 
 the hot grease. A clean white sheet hung up a 
 little distance away afforded an opportunity for 
 the crowd to rid themselves, in part, of the mess, 
 until it was in the same condition itself. Where 
 upon the players took a swim in the nearby creek, 
 and in that way cleaned and cooled themselves, 
 before returning to camp. 
 
 Occasionally certain men were credited with a 
 secret knowledge of what the enemy was doing 
 outside of camp. These men tied flies nests to 
 their ears and shook them around as they danced. 
 They were told by the flies regarding the move 
 ments and the plans of the enemy ; and absorbed 
 the power, or the spirit of the flies. They were 
 in the same rank as those having the spirit of the 
 buffalo or the deer. 
 
 FLY SONG. HONAGILA ODOWAN. 
 
 The things going on Taku yukan hecin-han 
 
 Were told to me Owasin omakiyakapi ece 
 
 By these black flies! Honagina sapena kin hena 
 
 makayapaki ece. 
 
 Falling Hail, a medicine man, professed a 
 special degree of knowledge regarding secret 
 things. He dressed and acted, at all times, as 
 though he were going to, or were present at, a 
 performance of some kind. He was accustomed 
 to travel about the country dancing and telling of 
 his doings, but with an odd habit of always 
 
132 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAP A 
 
 stating the opposite of what he meant. Falling 
 Hail was tall, erect, and very fine looking. On 
 one side of his head the hair was shaved ; on the 
 other side, it grew as long as nature allowed. 
 Even in the bitterest weather he habitually took 
 off all his clothes and painted himself. Yet he 
 never was known to take cold, nor was he ever 
 frostbitten. He lived to a great age. 
 
 This odd habit of saying one thing and mean 
 ing another, had a curious illustration in one Big 
 Voice, a medicine man with whom Tipi Sapa was 
 acquainted. He wore his hair very long on one 
 side, on the other he cut it off just above the 
 shoulder. He had very handsome clothing and 
 belongings. His shirt, blanket, and drum were 
 beautifully trimmed with porcupine quill work. 
 This was done by his sister who excelled in the 
 art. Big Voice used to go into the circle, sing his 
 secret songs, and dance about. In summer, when 
 he rode his horse down to the creek for a drink, he 
 generally sat on him backward and drove him 
 forward. He often visited the girls, and if he 
 fancied one, said to her : "I hate you ! I don t 
 want to marry you ; so, don t say, yes !" The girl 
 favored with his address usually knew enough to 
 reply in the same backhanded manner, "No! I 
 don t want to marry youl" Nevertheless, Big 
 Voice had only one wife. 
 
 Once upon a time Big Voice started off with a 
 party to war. When the enemy s country was 
 reached, he sent two men ahead to learn whether 
 
GAMES 133 
 
 they were really at home. He found out that they 
 were in the country, and were preparing to make 
 an attack the next morning. His men at once set 
 to work at painting their horses and dressing 
 themselves. Meantime Big Voice had painted 
 himself all over mud color, and his horse the 
 same, but only on one side. Then he tied long 
 strings of white tape (linen) to his bridle just be 
 low the chin. After these "preparings" he said 
 to the people: "I am riding a horse of cloud. 
 You see him. I have tied black cords to him 
 (meaning the opposite of white linen strings). 
 He will run all day." Next morning the attack 
 was made. Big Voice reached the neighborhood 
 of the enemy first and seized some horses. One 
 of his men was killed and his scalp taken. As 
 they were retreating the enemy attacked them 
 with great force, whereupon Big Voice shouted 
 to his men: "Do not chase the enemy; ride 
 away from them !" Actually he appears to have 
 meant that they should turn around and give 
 chase. He himself chased the enemy a long 
 distance, but never fired a shot, because some of 
 his party never told him not to shoot. During the 
 course of the fighting he even pursued his own 
 people and fired on them, making out that they 
 were the enemy and that he was trying to defend 
 his friends. He acted in this way all through the 
 fight, until the enemy was wearied out and the 
 chase brought to an end. After it was over, the 
 people said to one another: "Why didn t you 
 
134 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAP A 
 
 tell Big Voice not to fire at the enemy? Then he 
 would have done it, and would have killed many 
 of them." 
 
 This trick of saying and doing the opposite of 
 what one meant seems to have been not unusual 
 among the Dakotas. Whatever attraction it may 
 have as a sport, it is hardly to be recommended as 
 promoting either understanding or discipline. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 BANDS (WICOTI) 
 
 Camping Doings of Friendly Bands Camping a 
 
 Little Distance From One Another 
 
 Doings of Warriors Meeting 
 
 Together 
 
 3T was said before, that whenever a move was 
 made, the women had to attend to everything 
 connected with the encampment. Besides taking 
 care of the tents and the provisions, cutting wood, 
 and carrying water, there were many other things 
 to be done. The entire charge of the "medicines" 
 and the war equipment was left to them. The 
 "medicines" were always guarded with the ut 
 most care. Tied in bundles and wrapped in skins 
 or cloths, they were suspended on tripods five or 
 six feet in height set up behind the tipis outside 
 of the Circle. It was not thought good for the 
 medicines to have people constantly passing by 
 them. They were held sacred, and were to be 
 kept free from impurity. 
 
 The accoutrements of war shirts, bonnets, 
 shields, quivers, bows, arrows, spears, lances, 
 guns, whips, and knives, everything used in fight- 
 
136 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAP A 
 
 ing we re hung on similar poles or tripods and 
 arranged directly in front of the tipis. They were 
 so placed as to be within easy reach of the men, in 
 case of a sudden attack by the enemy. In wet 
 weather, the women covered both the medicines 
 and the war equipments with soft buffalo robes. 
 Friendly bands finding themselves encamped 
 within visiting distance of each other usually took 
 advantage of the opportunity, but even such 
 friendly visits were accompanied with much ex 
 citement and warlike show. Horses were saddled 
 and weapons assumed, as if for actual hostilities, 
 and the warriors made a furious advance upon the 
 friendly encampment, riding about it, firing their 
 guns, shooting their arrows, and imitating, as 
 nearly as might be done with safety, the proceed 
 ings of an enemy attack. Seldom was anyone 
 hurt in these friendly encounters and they served 
 not only as an opportunity for display on the part 
 of the visitors, but also as a very effective warning 
 to their hosts, to be constantly on their guard 
 lest similar incursions on the part of seemingly 
 friendly bands might find them unprepared. 
 
 Two parties of the same, or of other bands, 
 may have been camping a little distance apart, 
 and one may not have known that the other was 
 in the neighborhood. The party that was un 
 aware may have said : "Let us go on and sit with 
 them," or else, "Let us go, and walk in and sit 
 with them like Omahas." (Many years ago, the 
 Omahas had a way of entering another camp sud- 
 
BANDS 137 
 
 denly, of asking for tobacco, and making them 
 selves at home; and it was from them that the 
 Sioux got this custom.) The members of the 
 quasi-assailing party went along gaily, singing 
 songs. As soon as they saw the camp towards 
 which they were making their way, they sent a 
 crier ahead to announce their approach. When 
 he arrived, he said : "Friends, some people are 
 coming, in fact, they are right here, and they will 
 sing and amuse you. They want to smoke your 
 tobacco." Then the company walked in, and sat 
 and smoked with them. If the party visited were 
 able to do it, they gave presents of horses, cloth 
 ing, and perhaps many other articles, to those 
 who came to see them. 
 
 Sometimes it happened that two parties a long 
 way off from one another started out for a friendly 
 raid, and neither knew that the other was ap 
 proaching. As the criers of each came into sight, 
 the companies halted then and there, and seated 
 themselves on the ground. All of a sudden, they 
 both made a mad rush forward and became in 
 termingled. Amid the noise and confusion loud 
 cries were heard of: "I will give you this!" 
 "We will give you that !" They continued shout 
 ing and handing around their belongings until 
 everything on both sides was given away; as a 
 matter of fact, one party completely changed 
 goods with the other. This was called fighting 
 and giving away Ituran kicizapi. 
 
 There was still another kind of doings among 
 
138 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 the bands; that of soldiers meeting together 
 akicita ecipapi. A band started out to hunt buf 
 falo, and on the way met another bent upon the 
 same object. Then one party rushed upon the 
 other and fought desperately ; beating them hard 
 with their whips, bows, and spears. None were 
 killed, but many were quite badly injured. After 
 this, both went together and chased the buffalo. 
 When a mile away from the herd they came to a 
 standstill, and made of themselves two equal di 
 visions. Eight men, called soldiers, were chosen, 
 who took their position in front of the crowd and 
 kept them from pushing forward. Anyone who 
 dared to go beyond them toward the buffalo, was 
 severely beaten by these men; or, perhaps, had 
 his horse shot under him by an arrow from one 
 of them. If he still persisted in going, he was 
 thrashed harder than ever ; possibly killed on the 
 spot. Occasionally it happened that a man suc 
 ceeded in rushing past these soldiers ; but he was 
 brought back and flogged in such a manner that 
 he was too badly injured to go to the hunt, and 
 was obliged to return, in the best way he could, 
 to the circle. If he kept perfectly quiet and took 
 his punishment well, he was invited by the 
 soldiers to a dinner in camp after the hunt. They 
 then told him that they did not want to treat him 
 so roughly, but it was their duty to keep order, 
 and for others to obey commands. To make 
 further amends, they perhaps gave him a horse, or 
 something else of value. 
 
BANDS 139 
 
 As related before, the old men were supposed 
 to receive a good share of the buffalo meat, which 
 was given to them by the hunters. They sang 
 the praises of these young men for their kindness 
 and generosity and thus secured for them the 
 good opinion of everyone in camp. 
 
 SONG (OF THE OLD MEN). ODOWAN KIN. 
 
 A Pawnee Indian lies down: Padani wan hedwanke do; 
 
 Sunrise has killed him! Wihinape he econwe! 
 
 Sunrise is brave! Wihinape iyahahe! 
 
 Sunrise is brave! Wihinape iyahahe! 
 
 There was still another custom common 
 among the Dakotas. When one of the bands was 
 defeated in war, the members were desirious of 
 taking revenge, but felt that they would not be 
 successful by themselves. They therefore sent 
 out representatives in deep mourning to go in 
 search of help from a different band. As soon as 
 the messengers met with the friends whom they 
 were seeking, they sat on the ground with bowed 
 heads and covered their faces with their hands. 
 An old man was appointed to do the speaking; 
 and he went around and placed his hands on the 
 heads of the men in the band that was being called 
 upon for help. As he did this, he said: "My 
 friends, I am old, I want to take revenge on my 
 enemies, but cannot do much; will you help us? 
 If you do, we will give you, after the battle is 
 over, five hundred head of colts as a reward. 
 Answer me! Will you help us?" The men to 
 
140 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 whom this appeal was made pondered things for 
 awhile; then they replied: "We will go home 
 first, talk it over with some more of our people, 
 and let you know." Thereupon these same men 
 went to camp and related the affair to the chiefs 
 and leaders. When they had reached a decision, 
 they sent a message to the visiting men who re 
 quired the assistance from them. If this decision 
 were favorable to the latter, a great feast was held 
 to which they were invited. Then it was said to 
 them : "You lead the way, because you know the 
 country, but give us authority to attack the enemy 
 when we see them, and to fight them in our own 
 way. If you will agree to that, we will smoke 
 the pipe of peace with you; if not, we will give 
 you no help." In case the agreement was made, 
 those who were to furnish assistance said further : 
 "Choose the time and place of meeting." The 
 two parties met at the time and in the place ap 
 pointed and started out together for the attack. 
 After a vigorous encounter, the enemy were in all 
 probability defeated. When the fighting was 
 over, the men who had been in trouble gave, as 
 they had promised, five hundred head of colts 
 to those who had helped them in the battle; 
 and everything was arranged satisfactorily to all 
 concerned. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 A BUNDLE OF TOBACCO CANDI 
 WOPARTE 
 
 A Bundle of Tobacco in the Tribe How it is 
 Carried to a Different Tribe 
 
 SURING the winter of 1866, the United States 
 Government invited some of the Dakota 
 chiefs and leaders to go to Washington. A num 
 ber of them went, and remained until the spring 
 of 1867. The officials talked with these Indians 
 about peace and tried to come to terms with 
 them; but nothing of any importance resulted. 
 On their return to Dakota, Francis des Lauriers, 
 the father of Tipi Sapa, called a big meeting in 
 camp. He suggested that bags of tobacco be sent 
 to the different bands of Dakotas, with the re 
 quest that they should stop fighting with the 
 white people. Acting upon this advice, the Yank- 
 ton Sioux prepared a quantity of tobacco mixed 
 with kinnickinnick, and packed it in small bags, 
 which were slung by strings around the necks of 
 messengers. The latter were sent first to the 
 Uncpapas (Sitting Bull s people), but met with 
 no favor. The runners, shaking off the dust of 
 
142 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAP A 
 
 this tribe from their feet, passed on to the Minni- 
 kanwojus (Planting near the water). These people 
 having left their own reservation, were then living 
 in Montana, along the Powder river. When they 
 came into camp, the leaders who were assembled 
 around the camp fire, asked them whence they 
 came. The runners answered : "We come from 
 the Yankton band." "What do you want ?" asked 
 the leader of the Minnikanwojus. "We want you 
 to stop fighting the whites," replied the mes 
 senger of the Yanktons, "and come back to your 
 own reservation and settle down." After much 
 discussion, the chiefs and leaders finally agreed 
 to do as the Yankton leaders suggested. Taking 
 the pipe of peace, and pointing it to heaven, to 
 the four corners of the winds, and to the earth, 
 they filled it with tobacco from the bundles of 
 the Yanktons, smoked it, and made their solemn 
 oath to the Supreme Being above. So the pledge 
 was made. Then turning to the messengers, 
 they said: "Go back to your own chiefs, my 
 friends, and tell them this : You are kind ; you 
 are thoughtful; we accept your bundle of to 
 bacco ." Upon receiving the report from the 
 Minnikanwojus that the latter were willing to re 
 turn to their reservation in the neighborhood of 
 Fort Bennett and that, as a pledge of good faith, 
 their chief, White Swan, would come in the fol 
 lowing Spring as the representative of his tribe 
 to renew, with the Yanktons, the oath to which 
 his tribe had bound themselves, the Yankton 
 
A BUNDLE OF TOBACCO 143 
 
 messengers returned to their own tribe. On his 
 arrival White Swan was received most cordially 
 by the Yankton chiefs and urged with great 
 solemnity to remain faithful to the most solemn 
 oath which it was possible for an Indian to take 
 the oath sworn over the pipe of peace and the 
 bundle of tobacco. 
 
 Meantime Little Hawk, one of the leaders of 
 the Uncpapas, had reconsidered the Yankton pro 
 posal and had decided to enter into an agreement 
 with General Custer. His plea was based on the 
 ground that his people did not wish to fight 
 with the whites, but did desire liberty to roam 
 freely as heretofore and to hunt the buffalo with 
 out being disturbed. "We cannot do this", said 
 Little Hawk, "because you fire on us and trouble 
 us all the time, and we must defend ourselves. 
 Come and smoke the pipe of peace with us." 
 Custer assented, and went with Little Hawk to 
 the camp of the Uncpapas. The leader took the 
 pipe, pointed it to heaven, to the four corners of 
 the winds, and to the earth, smoked it, and passed 
 it to the white chief and to the other leaders. 
 Custer smoked the pipe with them, thereby taking 
 the oath of peace. The leader of the Uncpapas 
 then said to him : "If you break this oath, you 
 will be punished by the Supreme Being; if we 
 break it, so will we suffer." The conclave was a 
 solemn one, the oath, at least in Indian eyes, the 
 most binding possible. But Custer appears to 
 have been unimpressed. The oath was broken 
 
144 THE PEOPLE OF TIP1 SAP A 
 
 almost immediately. For two months desultory 
 fighting continued. Then came the battle of 
 Little Big Horn, and General Custer s death. 
 
 Edward, the son of Little Hawk, lives to-day 
 in Wakpala, and is a communicant of St. Eliza 
 beth s Church. 
 
 In sending a message to a different tribe the 
 Sioux observed much ceremony in connection 
 with the pipe of peace and the bundle of tobacco. 
 A buffalo-skin bag was filled with tobacco and 
 kinnickinnick, fastened securely at the top, and 
 painted blue. Several long pieces of the tobacco 
 plant and a pipe of peace were tied together with 
 this bag ; and all was placed in a handsome cloth 
 to be carried by the messenger. A man experi 
 enced in this "doing" took the pipe of peace and 
 went through the usual ceremony with it, saying 
 to the Supreme Being: "Will you help us do 
 this?" He then explained to those assembled 
 with him that the bag was painted blue, because 
 that was the color of the sky. Turning to the 
 messenger, he said: "You will want a day for 
 your errand with a clear blue sky, when God 
 (Wakantanka) has mowed away all the clouds. 
 Go to these people, and find a man who will listen 
 to you." The runner set out for the camp of the 
 other tribe, and, upon his arrival, asked for the 
 leading men. After the usual formalities, he laid 
 his bundle before them and said : "I am sent here 
 to ask you to keep the peace with the white 
 people. You may suffer great injury if you per- 
 
A BUNDLE OF TOBACCO 145 
 
 sist in fighting with them. We Yankton Dakotas 
 want to give you fair warning ; and we advise you 
 to be friendly with the whites." The leaders of 
 the other tribe talked back and forth over the mes 
 sage, and after weighing the matter well, either 
 gave or withheld their consent. If a favorable 
 answer were decided upon, the pipe of peace was 
 taken from the bundle brought by the runner, 
 the usual oath was taken, and the tobacco was 
 smoked, thus binding the tribe to their agreement. 
 On the whole, the Yankton Dakotas seem to have 
 been honestly pacific toward the whites and to 
 have used whatever influence they had with other 
 tribes to bring about a friendly attitude. It is 
 doubtful, however, how far this attitude was 
 either realized or appreciated. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 THE SUN DANCE 
 
 A Reunion of All the Bands 
 
 JJf HE annual Sun Dance of the Sioux was an 
 ill occasion of great importance and significance. 
 At the appointed season runners were sent out to 
 notify the people that they were all to assemble, 
 for certain purposes, social and otherwise, for at 
 least two months during the summer. The latter 
 part of June was a favorite time; for then the 
 Juneberries were ripe and provided a welcome 
 addition to the food-supply. When the bands 
 gathered for such an occasion, a very large circle 
 was made in the centre of which a great tent 
 was erected. This tipi was occupied, day and 
 night, by the leading men. Here they sat and 
 talked back and forth, reviewing all that had 
 been taught them, and gaining fresh ideas from 
 going over the old teachings. Upon their return 
 to their respective bands, they took with them 
 whatever of new learning or experience they had 
 acquired in the conclave. 
 
 On pleasant summer evenings, the young men 
 
THE SUN DANCE 147 
 
 put on their finest wearings, and rode their 
 horses all around outside the big circle. They 
 made as much show as possible in order to at 
 tract the attention of the girls. Another "doing" 
 at this great gathering was for both girls and 
 young men from the different bands to dress 
 gaily, assemble in the circle, and dance nearly 
 all night. 
 
 Toward the end of the purely social festivi 
 ties, one of the leaders issued a solemn call to 
 prayer. On hearing this, parties of young men 
 rode off at once to the timber and gathered leaves 
 from which to weave war-bonnets. Leafy 
 branches were torn from the trees and brought 
 to the camp, where they were rapidly put to 
 gether in the form of a green booth or shelter 
 near the large tipi in the centre of the Circle. 
 Others cut the tallest tree they could find for a 
 pole, and fetched it along swinging between 
 horses. In the middle of the booth they dug a 
 deep hole in which were placed a woman s work- 
 bag, containing needles, scissors, beads, and 
 porcupine quills, together with some fat of the 
 buffalo. The pole was then set up, and the hole 
 filled in. From the top of the pole was hung a 
 cross made of green leaves, to which was tied 
 another work-bag. These two bags signified, at 
 this special time, liberty and freedom for the 
 women. In fact, the pole, thus erected in the 
 early morning, was properly a liberty-pole, The 
 men painted themselves with the colors of the 
 
148 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAP A 
 
 earth red, green, yellow, brown, or black; 
 placed strings of otter-skins around their necks; 
 and, over their chests, decorations of eagles 
 feathers. Skirts like those of the women were 
 donned, while across their shoulders were thrown 
 buffalo robes, with the hair side out. On this 
 great religious occasion it was considered ir 
 reverent to touch any part of one s flesh with 
 the fingers. In case it were necessary to do so, 
 little sticks neatly decorated with porcupine 
 quills, and placed in the hair at the top of the 
 braid, were provided for this purpose. Thus pre 
 pared for the great ceremonial, the procession 
 began to move towards the booth. It was led 
 by a man carrying a buffalo head in front of the 
 chief dancer, the latter bearing the pipe of peace. 
 As they walked the people mourned and wept. 
 Passing into the booth they hung the buffalo 
 head over the liberty-pole. The pipe of peace 
 was laid on sticks provided for it, and was used 
 in the same solemn manner as it was on other 
 occasions. The men sat in the booth in their 
 buffalo robes, while the singers arranged them 
 selves about a dried buffalo hide stretched on the 
 ground, upon which they pounded vigorously. 
 The first tone was repeated four times, and all 
 sang to the beating of the drum and the blowing 
 of the flutes. When the chief singer threw off 
 his buffalo robe and went out, the rest of the 
 people did the same and followed him. It was 
 then that the actual dance began. A dancer pro- 
 
THE SUN DANCE 149 
 
 vided with a lasso, handed it, with a suitable gift, 
 to a selected man known to be experienced in the 
 part he had to play, i. e. } to draw up the loose 
 skin on either side of the dancer s chest, on each 
 shoulder, and frequently on the outside of each 
 arm near the shoulder, to pierce the skin, and 
 through the incisions draw the lasso and fasten 
 it securely to the liberty pole. The lasso rope 
 was drawn through all these incisions and then 
 tied securely to the liberty pole. After this, the 
 man danced furiously, and pulled until his skin 
 was broken. Sometimes, instead of the lasso, 
 four buffalo heads were attached to the slits in 
 the skin, two in front and two behind (none on 
 the arms), and, with the rapid motion of the 
 dance, caused it to part asunder. Every time a 
 break was made in his skin, the relatives of the 
 dancer had to give something to the poor. When 
 all the places were broken, the women gathered 
 around him and sang : 
 
 "Li! Li! Li! Li! Li! Li!" 
 
 meaning, What a brave man you are ! 
 
 This great ceremony lasted two days and a 
 night. During that time, not a morsel of food 
 was touched, neither was anything taken to drink. 
 After the sun went down, the dancers gazed upon 
 the moon. It was the most sacred and solemn 
 occasion of the whole year. 
 
 All the people followed the chief dancer, and 
 
150 THE PEOPLE OF T1PI SAP A 
 
 went, keeping step to the music, towards the sun, 
 which, by this time, was well up in the sky. They 
 had many petitions to make ; and offered prayers 
 through the sun to the Supreme Being. One man 
 wanted horses, and had tied small figures of them 
 to his hand. Another desired to kill some one 
 and carried a little image of his enemy. He sang 
 as follows: 
 
 SONG. ODOWAN KIN. 
 
 Great Spirit, have mercy Wakantanka onsimadaye 
 
 upon me! Tasunke koya maqu yeyo! 
 
 Give him (i. e. my enemy) 
 
 to me 
 With his horse! 
 
 After gazing steadily for hours in the direction 
 of the sun, the man who wanted horses imagined 
 he perceived a horse s head, so his prayer was 
 answered. The one who desired to kill his enemy 
 had the vision of a figure of a man appear be 
 fore him, and sang to avow the response to his 
 prayer. 
 
 SoNG . ODOWAN KIN. 
 
 The Gros Ventres Indian Eea Rewaktokta he 
 sai( l U kta keye ciqon 
 
 He was going to come to Wana hi yedo. 
 me! 
 
 He is here now in spirit. 
 
 Some one who prayed that he wished to be 
 married had his prayer answered by seeing the 
 
THE SUN DANCE 151 
 
 vision of a woman. The Yankton men had a little 
 song of their own : 
 
 SONG. ODOWAN KIN. (Akiyapapi.) 
 
 You women, keep away Winyan kin akoka 
 
 from me ! econpiye yo ! 
 
 I don t want you! Cicinpi Sni yedo 
 
 I want a woman from Sicanqu winyan ecena wacin 
 
 "The Burning Thighs"! ye! 
 
 The Burning Thighs Sicanju were the 
 Rosebud Indians, and if any of them wished to 
 marry, they sang: 
 
 SONG. ODOWAN KIN. 
 
 Go away, (you woman!) (Winyan) kin ako econpiye! 
 
 I do not want you; Cicinpi sni yedo! 
 
 I want to marry a Ihankton wan winyan e 
 
 Yankton woman! Bduza wacin yedo! 
 
 If a woman who had been living with her hus 
 band according to the first or second form of 
 marriage, had run away with another man, they 
 sang: 
 
 SONG. ODOWAN KIN. 
 
 Tall woman, why do you Winyan hanska, toka e 
 
 leave your home? Tiwahe du ha he? 
 
 Your home is here without Nita wakeya qon enna hedo 
 
 you! 
 
 Meaning: "You were respected. Why did 
 you act in such a way? You have disgraced the 
 tribe." 
 
 White Swan, of whom mention has been made, 
 
152 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 was terribly thirsty from dancing night and day. 
 Some men brought water and drank it before him. 
 He went on, without paying any attention to 
 these aggravating creatures. 
 
 SONG. ODOWAN KIN. 
 
 White Swan, do you want Magaska qon mini yacin he? 
 
 any water? Dena mini e 
 
 Here is some water; Un kiyeqe unyatkan han- 
 
 We are enjoying it. pedo. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE 
 
 HE story of this little book has been told by 
 me. I, Tipi Sapa, know that the moral code 
 as said to be given by the Woman has been care 
 fully lived up to in the Sans Arcs band, so that 
 the members of that band are powers even now 
 for their gentleness and generosity and truthful 
 ness. Just as the Pipe of Peace became universal, 
 so also did this moral code. It must be under 
 stood, however, that it was observed among the 
 bands of Dakotas only. Outside the tribe, it did 
 not hold, since men felt that it was their duty to 
 kill and rob the enemy before the enemy killed and 
 robbed them. 
 
 Many stories I know are true. Many cere 
 monies I have seen performed. Some of the 
 other stories I got from men who obtained them 
 from their ancestors ; and some of the ceremonies 
 here described were out of date before my time. 
 I write what I know to be true, and what I 
 gathered from my people. 
 
 I know full well that some of you who read 
 this will smile at a simple people s simple beliefs. 
 
154 THE PEOPLE OF TIP1 SAP A 
 
 I beg you to remember that the Dakotas saw 
 quite as far as it was given them to see in their 
 time and on that plane of their development. 
 Perhaps time was when the whites saw no further 
 and did no better. 
 
 I know that in future such beliefs and such 
 ways of living as were adequate in the past would 
 be very insufficient. But alas, many Indians do 
 not realize this fact. 
 
 Forty or fifty years ago, the Great Spirit 
 raised up His right hand and pointed the fore 
 finger westward. He said: "I want to save 
 these My children." On hearing His voice, you 
 answered : "Use us to help save them." In this 
 way, the Church was given to the Indians, and 
 has brought with he? the teachings of God s love ; 
 that love which can and does touch men s hearts 
 and bring about a better life for all. 
 
 For years the Christian white people among 
 us have maintained the work of the Church. In 
 vain ? No indeed ! Many men and women have 
 been influenced by this great Love of God as re 
 vealed by the Church all through life and now 
 they have died in the Faith. Can I count them? 
 It is a hard thing to do. 
 
 Many there are who formerly lived by, and 
 found sufficient, the old laws and customs. But 
 now, in their enlightenment, they could not go 
 back. 
 
 When the Bible came to the Dakotas, it seemed 
 most strange to them that neither their medicine 
 
THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE 155 
 
 men nor their other wise men could any longer 
 control evil spirits, or the spirit of the buffalo ; the 
 deer or the flies. They believe now that those 
 spirits are subservient to the Holy Spirit. 
 
 My people are an essentially religious people. 
 When once they understand the Christian 
 teaching, they prove to be devoted and faithful 
 followers. As an example of this I cite the 
 conversion of Chief Gall. 
 
 This man was a prominent chief, and served 
 under Sitting Bull in the Custer massacre. Be 
 cause he fought on the Indian side, the soldiers 
 were after him. One day when he came to a 
 camp friendly to the whites the soldiers sur 
 rounded the camp and caught Gall, although he 
 tried to escape. They ran their bayonets into his 
 body, one into his head and one into his back. Be 
 cause he fell in deep snow, they left him after 
 covering him up with snow, thinking he was dead. 
 
 Afterwards, Gall recovered consciousness, 
 bound his wounds with a part of his robe, and 
 walked twenty miles to another camp, where an 
 Indian doctor attended him. 
 
 Later in his life he came to live a half mile 
 away from my chapel. He used to come to the 
 services, sit in a chair in the rear of the chapel, 
 and simply listen. 
 
 One day he invited me to come and see him. 
 He said : 
 
 "Many years back I was a bad man. Soldiers 
 thought they had killed me. But God gave me 
 
156 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 power to recover. He sent me to live near this 
 church. The reason I attend the services is to 
 learn the true meaning of the services, through 
 hearing sermons * and prayers. All I hear have 
 combined to make my poor heart see a Man in 
 these services. He is called the Son of God. This 
 Man lived rightly towards God and towards this 
 earth ; His words are truth and His deeds are kind, 
 loving, and merciful. Far better this than the 
 old life. I thought old life is true life, so did all 
 I could for it, and endured many hardships for it. 
 But God sent me here to find the true life. I have 
 made up my mind to leave old life, and take unto 
 myself Jesus Christ. I will spend the remainder 
 of my life following him. I believe that at an 
 appointed time He will take my spirit away, and 
 then I want my poor body returned to dust with 
 Christian burial." 
 
 According to his wish, Chief Gall was baptized 
 and confirmed at the next visit of Bishop Hare, 
 and was given Christian burial when he died. He 
 sleeps in St. Elizabeth s Cemetery, a third of a 
 mile away from the chapel. 
 
 The church on this reservation was still young 
 at the time of the "Messiah Craze", about which 
 every one knows, doubtless. At that time, fam 
 ilies were in many cases divided, and it was as 
 sad a period as your own Civil War. Some people 
 
 * Chief Gall could recite, word for word, after having only 
 once heard them, the readings from the Bible, and the sermon 
 as well. The Indians are noted for their wonderful memories. 
 
THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE 157 
 
 were for the teachings of the "Messiah Religion", 
 while others were for the Christian Religion. 
 Those Indians who were Christians came and 
 camped about this mission for protection. 
 Through the entire trouble the work here grew 
 steadily. 
 
 These were proofs of what the Christian 
 Church could do for the Indians who accepted it. 
 
 It is a most thankworthy thing that the be 
 lievers in Missions have so helped the Indians by 
 maintaining the Church among them. I know 
 that the Church, and the Church only, is able to 
 solve the future of the Indian. Those who are 
 helping are doing so primarily because they recog 
 nize the true Love of God and are desirous of 
 living according to its teachings. By helping the 
 Indian these people are helping themselves and 
 earning for themselves blessings unspeakable. 
 
 If you could look into the corners of our hearts, 
 you could hear us saying: "We thank you, 
 Great Spirit! Never bend your forefinger away 
 from us." 
 
 If I were like the wind, so that I could go to 
 every one, I would visit the hearts of those who 
 have helped us. I would give them all a universal 
 greeting. I would say to them : "On behalf of 
 my poor race I thank you !" 
 
 I know that many people, for all their enlight 
 enment, do not as yet see that True Love of God 
 in its fullest form. If they did, they would help 
 others, and be less selfish. Would that all might 
 
158 THE PEOPLE OF TIPI SAPA 
 
 see the True Love is my sincerest prayer ! Is it 
 possible, I wonder, for us to hold fast to our 
 blessings temporal and spiritual, with never a 
 thought to help those about us, and still to enjoy 
 those blessings to the full? Christian white 
 people, I know you do not want the Great Spirit s 
 ringer to be bent. You want it to continue point 
 ing to the Indian people. 
 
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