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diff --git a/43399-0.txt b/43399-0.txt index 6a5acfe..ebadda3 100644 --- a/43399-0.txt +++ b/43399-0.txt @@ -1,39 +1,4 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Blackfeet Tales of Glacier National Park, by -James Willard Schultz - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Blackfeet Tales of Glacier National Park - -Author: James Willard Schultz - -Release Date: August 4, 2013 [EBook #43399] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKFEET TALES--GLACIER NAT. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Blackfeet Tales of Glacier National Park - -Author: James Willard Schultz - -Release Date: August 4, 2013 [EBook #43399] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKFEET TALES--GLACIER NAT. PARK *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Bergquist, Sam W. and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - -Transcriber's Note - -A few names in this book include an i with breve above. This has been -replaced with î in this version of the book, as the i with breve is -not available in this file encoding. - - - - - Blackfeet Tales of - Glacier National - Park - - BY - JAMES WILLARD SCHULTZ - - _With Illustrations_ - - - [Illustration] - - - BOSTON AND NEW YORK - HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY - The Riverside Press Cambridge - 1916 - - - COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY JAMES WILLARD SCHULTZ - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - - _Published April 1916_ - - - The Riverside Press - CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS - U . S . A - - - - - [Illustration: THE NARROWS, UPPER ST. MARY'S LAKE, WITH BARING'S - BASIN IN THE BACKGROUND - _Page 214_] - - - - - TO - LOUIS WARREN HILL, ESQ. - - TRUE FRIEND TO MY BLACKFEET PEOPLE, AND - THE ONE WHO HAS DONE MORE THAN ANY OTHER - INDIVIDUAL, OR ANY ORGANIZATION, TO MAKE THE - WONDERS OF GLACIER NATIONAL PARK ACCESSIBLE - TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED - BY - - THE AUTHOR - - GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, - SEPTEMBER 10, 1915. - - - - -Contents - - - I. TWO MEDICINE 1 - HUGH MONROE 1 - THE WOMAN WHO EARNED A MAN'S NAME 12 - THE STORY OF THE THUNDER MEDICINE 23 - - II. PU-NAK´-IK-SI (CUTBANK) 43 - HOW MOUNTAIN CHIEF FOUND HIS HORSES 49 - WHITE FUR AND HIS BEAVER CLAN 59 - THE STORY OF THE BAD WIFE 85 - OLD MAN AND THE WOMAN 98 - - III. KI-NUK´-SI IS-SI-SAK´-TA (LITTLE RIVER) 110 - OLD MAN AND THE WOLVES 112 - NEW ROBE, THE RESCUER 129 - - IV. PUHT-O-MUK-SI-KIM-IKS (THE LAKES INSIDE): ST. - MARY'S LAKES 146 - THE STORY OF THE FIRST HORSES 158 - ONE HORN, SHAMER OF CROWS 182 - THE ELK MEDICINE CEREMONY 199 - NA-WAK´-O-SIS (THE STORY OF TOBACCO) 216 - - V. IKS-I´-KWO-YI-A-TUK-TAI (SWIFT CURRENT RIVER) 226 - THE JEALOUS WOMEN 227 - - VI. NI-NA US-TAK-WI (CHIEF MOUNTAIN) 233 - THE WISE MAN 235 - - - - -Illustrations - - - THE NARROWS, UPPER ST. MARY'S LAKE, WITH - BARING'S BASIN IN THE BACKGROUND _Frontispiece_ - - UPPER TWO MEDICINE LAKE AND RISING BULL MOUNTAIN 8 - - PI´-TA-MAK-AN (RUNNING EAGLE) FALLS 12 - - AT UPPER TWO MEDICINE LAKE 20 - Showing Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill, - Yellow Wolf, and the author - - MOVING CAMP FROM TWO MEDICINE 42 - - OUR CAMP ON CUTBANK RIVER 46 - Showing Wonderful Runner and Little Plume - Mountains - - STREAM FROM UNNAMED GLACIER POURING INTO CUTBANK - CANYON 52 - - THE BEAVER DAM 60 - - BIGHORN COUNTRY. HEAD OF CUTBANK RIVER 80 - - CUTBANK RIVER. A GOOD TROUT RIFFLE 84 - - BLACK BULL AND STABS-BY-MISTAKE NEAR LOWER END - OF CUTBANK CANYON 96 - - STABS-BY-MISTAKE, SUN WOMAN, AND HER SON, LITTLE - OTTER, IN CUTBANK CANYON 106 - - BIG SPRING PAINTING AUTOBIOGRAPHY ON THE FLESH - SIDE OF A TANNED ELK-SKIN 110 - - SUN WOMAN 128 - - CAMP NEAR LOWER END OF UPPER ST. MARY'S LAKE 146 - - AT THE NARROWS, UPPER ST. MARY'S LAKE 152 - - GOING-TO-THE-SUN MOUNTAIN 156 - - GOING-TO-THE-SUN CHALET, UPPER ST. MARY'S LAKE 180 - - OPENING OF THE ELK MEDICINE PIPE CEREMONY 206 - - ELK MEDICINE PIPE DANCE 210 - - TAIL-FEATHERS-COMING-OVER-THE-HILL PROPITIATING - THE DREADED UNDER-WATER PEOPLE AT UPPER TWO - MEDICINE LAKE 212 - - ICEBERG LAKE 226 - - EN ROUTE TO ICEBERG LAKE 234 - - GLACIER ON TRAIL TO ICEBERG LAKE 240 - -_From photographs by R. W. Reed_ - - - - -BLACKFEET TALES OF GLACIER NATIONAL PARK - - - - -I - -TWO MEDICINE - - - -_July 12, 1915._ - - -HUGH MONROE - -After an absence of many years, I have returned to visit for a time my -Blackfeet relatives and friends, and we are camping along the mountain -trails where, in the long ago, we hunted buffalo, and elk, and moose, -and all the other game peculiar to this region. - -To-day we pitched our lodges under Rising Wolf Mountain, that massive, -sky-piercing, snow-crested height of red-and-gray rock which slopes up -so steeply from the north shore of Upper Two Medicine Lake. This -afternoon we saw upon it, some two or three thousand feet up toward -its rugged crest, a few bighorn and a Rocky Mountain goat. But we may -not kill them! Said Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill: "There they -are! Our meat, but the whites have taken them from us, even as they -have taken everything else that is ours!" And so we are eating beef -where once we feasted upon the rich ribs and loins of game, which -tasted all the better because we trailed and killed it, and with no -little labor brought it to the womenfolk in camp. - -Rising Wolf Mountain! What a fitting and splendid monument it is to -the first white man to traverse the foothills of the Rockies between -the Saskatchewan and the Missouri! Hugh Monroe was his English name. -His father was Captain Hugh Monroe, of the English army; his mother -was Amélie de la Roche, a daughter of a noble family of French -_émigrés_. Hugh Monroe, Junior, was born in Montreal in 1798. In 1814 -he received permission to enter the employ of the Hudson's Bay -Company, and one year later--in the summer of 1815--he arrived at its -new post, Mountain Fort, on the North Fork of the Saskatchewan and -close to the foothills of the Rockies. - -At that time the Company had but recently entered Blackfeet territory, -and none of its _engagés_ understood their language; an interpreter -was needed, and the Factor appointed Monroe to fit himself for the -position. The Blackfeet were leaving the Fort to hunt and trap along -the tributaries of the Missouri during the winter, and he went with -them, under the protection of the head chief, who had nineteen wives -and two lodges and an immense band of horses. By easy stages they -traveled along the foot of the Rockies to Sun River, where they -wintered, and then in the spring, instead of returning to the -Saskatchewan, they crossed the Missouri, hunted in the Yellowstone -country that summer, wintered on the Missouri at the mouth of the -Marias River, and returned to Mountain Fort the following spring with -all the furs their horses could carry. - -Instead of one winter, Monroe had passed two years with the tribe, and -in that time had acquired a wife, a daughter of the great chief, a good -knowledge of the language, and an honorable name, Ma-kwi´-i-po-wak-sîn -(Rising Wolf), which was given him because of his bravery in a battle -with the Crows in the Yellowstone country. - -During Monroe's two years' absence from the Fort, another _engagé_ had -learned the Blackfeet language from a Cree Indian, who spoke it well, -so that this man became the interpreter, and Monroe was ordered to -remain with the Piegan tribe of the Blackfeet, to travel with them, -and see that they came annually to the Fort to trade in the winter -catch of furs. And this exactly suited him; he much preferred roaming -the plains with his chosen people; the stuffy rooms of the Fort had no -attractions for a man of his nature. - -How I envy Hugh Monroe, the first white man to traverse the plains -lying between the Upper Saskatchewan and the Upper Missouri, and the -first to see many portions of the great stretch of the mountain region -between the Missouri and the Yellowstone. He has himself often told me -that "every day of that life was a day of great joy!" - -Monroe was a famous hunter and trapper, and a warrior as well. He was -a member of the Ai´-in-i-kiks, or Seizer band of the All Friends -Society, and the duty of the Seizers was to keep order in the great -camp, and see that the people obeyed the hunting laws--a most -difficult task at times. On several occasions he went with his and -other bands to war against other tribes, and once, near Great Salt -Lake, when with a party of nearly two hundred warriors, he saved the -lives of the noted Jim Bridger and his party of trappers. Bridger had -with him a dozen white men and as many Snake Indians, the latter -bitter enemies of the Blackfeet. The Snakes were discovered, and the -Blackfeet party was preparing to charge them, when Monroe saw that -there were white men behind them. "Stop! White men are with them! We -must let them go their way in peace!" Monroe shouted to his party. - -"But they are Snake white men, and therefore our enemy: we shall kill -them all!" the Blackfeet chief answered. However, such was Monroe's -power over his comrades that he finally persuaded them to remain -where they were, and he went forward with a flag of truce, and found -that his friend Jim Bridger was the leader of the other party. That -evening white men and Snakes and Blackfeet ate and smoked together! It -was a narrow escape for Bridger and his handful of men. - -Monroe had three sons and three daughters by his Indian wife, all of -whom grew into fine, stalwart men and women. Up and down the country -he roamed with them, trapping and hunting, and often fighting hostile -war parties. They finally all married, and in his old age he lived -with one and another of them until his death, in 1896, in his -ninety-eighth year. We buried him near the buffalo cliffs, down on the -Two Medicine River, where he had seen many a herd of the huge animals -decoyed to their death. And then we named this mountain for him. A -fitting tribute, I think, to one of the bravest yet most kindly men of -the old, old West! - - * * * * * - -At the upper east side and head of this beautiful lake rises a -pyramidal mountain of great height and grandeur. A frowse of pine -timber on its lower front slope, and its ever-narrowing side slopes -above, give it a certain resemblance to a buffalo bull. Upon looking -at a recent map of the country I found that it had been named "Mount -Rockwell." So, turning to Yellow Wolf, I said: "The whites have given -that mountain yonder the name of a white man. It is so marked upon -this paper." - -The old man, half blind and quite feeble, roused up when he heard -that, and cried out: "Is it so? Not satisfied with taking our -mountains, the whites even take away the ancient names we have given -them! They shall not do it! You tell them so! That mountain yonder is -Rising Bull Mountain, and by that name it must ever be called! Rising -Bull was one of our great chiefs: what more fitting than that the -mountain should always bear his name?" - -"Rising Bull was a chief in two tribes," Yellow Wolf went on. "In his -youth he married a Flathead girl, at a time when we were at peace -with that people, and after a winter or two she persuaded him to take -her across the mountains for a visit with her relatives. Rising Bull -came to like them and all the Flathead people so well that he remained -with them a number of winters, and because of his bravery, and his -kind and generous nature, the Flatheads soon appointed him one of -their chiefs. When he was about forty winters of age, some young men -of both tribes quarreled over a gambling game and several were killed -on each side. That, of course, ended the peace pact; war was declared, -and as Rising Bull could not fight his own people, he came back to us -with his Flathead wife, and was a leader in the war, which lasted for -several years. When that was ended, he continued to lead war parties -against the Crows, the Sioux, the Assiniboines, and the far-off -Snakes, and was always successful. Came the dreadful Measles -Winter,[1] and with hundreds of our people, he died. He left a son, -White Quiver, a very brave young warrior, and two years after his -father's death, he was killed in a raid against the Crows." - - [1] The winter of 1859-60. - - [Illustration: UPPER TWO MEDICINE LAKE. RISING BULL MOUNTAIN - ON RIGHT] - -"Ai! Rising Bull was a brave man. And oh, so gentle-hearted! So good -to the widows and orphans; to all in any kind of distress! We must in -some way see that this mountain continues to bear his name," said -Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill. - -And to that I most heartily agree. - - - -_July 15._ - -We are a considerable camp of people: Yellow Wolf, my old uncle-in-law; -Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill, another uncle-in-law; Big Spring; -Two Guns; Black Bull; Stabs-by-Mistake; Eagle Child; Eli Guardipe, or -Takes-Gun-Ahead. And with them they have their eleven women and fourteen -children. All are my especial friends, and all the men have been to -war--some of them many times--and have counted _coup_ upon the enemy. -Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill has many battle scars on different -parts of his body. I was with him when he got the last one, in a fight -with the Crees. The bullet struck him in the forehead, ripped open the -scalp clear to the back of his head, but did not penetrate the skull. He -dropped instantly when struck, and we at first thought that he was dead. -It was some hours before he regained consciousness. - -With all these men, and especially Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill -and Guardipe, I hunted and traveled much in the old days. Naturally, -we spend much of our time telling over this-and-that of our -adventures. Meantime the children play around, as happy as Indian -children ever are, and their mothers do the lodge work, which is -light, and gather in groups to chat and joke. The boys have just been -skipping stones on the smooth surface of the lake. The number of skips -a stone makes before it finally sinks, denotes the number of wives the -caster will have when he reaches manhood. - -Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill and Two Guns are medicine men. The -former has the Elk medicine pipe, the latter the Water medicine pipe, -both ancient medicines in the tribe. They are spiritual, not material, -medicines. In fact, they are the implements used in prayers to the sun -and other gods, and each carries with it a ritual of its own. -Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill has just told me that we will have -some prayers with his pipe a few days from now. I shall be glad to -take part in it all once more. - - - -_July 16._ - -Again my people are filled with resentment against the whites. I told -them this afternoon that the falls in the river between this and the -lower lake had been given a foolish white men's name. I could not tell -them what it was, for there is no Blackfeet equivalent for the word -"Trick." But what a miserable, circus-suggesting name that is to give -to one of the most beautiful of waterfalls, and the only one of its -kind in America, and in all the world, for all I know! A short -distance below the outlet of the upper lake the river sinks, and a -half-mile farther on gushes into sight from a jagged hole halfway up -the side of a high and almost perpendicular cliff. - -"In the long ago we named that Pi´tamakan Falls," said -Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill. - -"Yes? And who was he?" I asked, although I had a fair recollection of -the story of that personage. But I had forgotten the details of it, -and wanted them all. - -"Not he, but she!" he corrected me. - -"But Pi´tamakan (Running Eagle) is a man's name," I objected. - -"True. But this woman earned the right to bear a man's name, and so it -was given her. She was the only woman of our people to receive that -honor, so far as I know. Listen! You shall hear all about it." - - -THE WOMAN WHO EARNED A MAN'S NAME - -"As a girl, her name was Weasel Woman. She was the eldest of two -brothers and two sisters, and when she had seen fifteen winters both -their father and mother died. But unlike children in such circumstances, -they did not give up their lodge and scatter out to live with -relatives and friends. Said Weasel Woman: 'Somehow, some way, we can -manage to live. You boys are old enough to hunt and bring in meat and -skins. We three sisters will keep the lodge in good order, and tan the -skins for our clothing and bedding, and other uses.' And as she said, so -it was done, and the orphan family prospered. - - [Illustration: PI´-TA-MAK-AN (RUNNING EAGLE) FALLS - The greater part of the stream gushes from the orifice a third - of the way up the cliff] - -"But Weasel Woman was not satisfied. Many young men and many old and -rich men wanted to marry her, and to all she said 'No!' so loudly, and -so quickly, that after a time all knew that she would not marry. -Wherever a party of warriors gathered for a dance or a feast, there -she was looking on, listening to their talk, and giving what help she -could. And when a party returned from war, she was loudest in praising -them. All she talked of, all she thought about, was war. - -"On an evening in her twentieth summer a large party of warriors -started out to cross the mountains and raid the Flatheads. They -traveled all night, and when daylight came found that Weasel Woman was -with them. - -"'Go back! Go home!' the war chief told her. But she would not -listen. - -"'If you will not let me go with you, I shall follow you,' she said. - -"And then spoke up the medicine man of the party: 'Chief,' said he, 'I -advise you to allow her to go with us; something tells me that she -will bring us good luck.' - -"'Ah! As you advise me, so shall it be,' said the war chief; and the -woman went on with them. No man of that party teased her, nor bothered -her in any way: every one of them treated her as they would a sister. -It was the strangest war party that ever set forth from any tribe of -the plains! - -"It was at the edge of Flathead Lake that they discovered the enemy, a -large camp of the Flatheads and their friends, the Pend d'Oreilles. -When night came they went close up to it, and the woman said to the -war chief: 'Let me go in first. Let me see what I can do. I feel that -I shall be successful in there.' - -"'Go!' the chief told her, 'and we will wait for you here, and be -ready to help you if you get into trouble.' - -"The woman went into the camp, where all the best horses of the -people--their fast buffalo runners, their racers, and their -stallions--were picketed close to the lodges of the different owners -of them. If she was afraid of being discovered and killed, she never -admitted it. The dying moon gave light enough for her to see the size -and color of the horses. She took her time and went around among them, -and, making her choice, cut the ropes of three fine pinto horses, and -led them out to where the party awaited her. There she tied them, and -went back into camp with the chief and his men and again came out with -three horses. Said she then: 'I have taken enough for this time. I -will await you here and take care of what we have.' - -"The men went back several times, and then, having all the horses that -they could drive rapidly, the party struck for the mountains, and in -several days' time arrived home without the loss of a man or a horse. - -"A few days after the party came into camp the medicine lodge was put -up, and on the day that the warriors counted their _coups_, and new -names were given them, an old warrior and medicine man called Weasel -Woman before the people, and had her count her _coup_--of going twice -into the enemy's camp and taking six horses. All shouted approval of -that, and then the medicine man gave her the name, Pi´-ta-mak-an, a -very great one, that of a chief whose shadow had some time before gone -on to the Sand Hills. - -"After that Pi´tamakan, as we now may call her, did not have to sneak -after a party in order to go to war with them: she was asked to go. -And after two or three more successful raids against different -enemies, the Crows, the Sioux, and the Flatheads, she herself became a -war chief, and warriors begged to be allowed to join her parties, -because they believed that where she led nothing but good luck would -come to them. She now wore men's clothing when on a raid. At home she -wore her woman clothing. But even in that dress she, like any man, -gave feasts and dances, and the greatest chiefs and warriors came to -them, and were glad to be there. - -"On her sixth raid, Pi´tamakan led a large war party against the -Flatheads, and somewhere on the other side of the mountains fell in -with a war party of Bloods, one of our brother tribes of the North. -For several days the two parties traveled along together, and then one -evening the Blood chief, Falling Bear, said to Pi´tamakan's servant: -'Go tell your chief woman that I would like to marry her.' - -"'Chief, you do not understand,' the boy told him. 'She is not that -kind. Men are her brothers, and nothing more. She will never marry. I -cannot give her your message, for I am afraid that she would be angry -with me for carrying it to her.' - -"On the next day, as they were traveling along, the Blood chief said -to Pi´tamakan: 'I have never loved, but I love now. I love you; my -heart is all yours; let us marry.' - -"'I will not say "yes" to that, nor will I say "no,"' the woman chief -answered him. 'I will consider what you ask, and give you an answer -after we make this raid.' - -"And with that the Blood chief said no more, but felt encouraged: he -thought that in time she would agree to become his woman. - -"That very evening the scouts ahead discovered a large camp of -Flathead and Kootenai Indians, more than a hundred lodges of them, and -when night came both parties drew close in to it. Pi´tamakan then -ordered her followers to remain where they were and told the Blood -chief to say the same thing to his men. She then told the Blood chief -to go into the camp and take horses, and he went in and returned with -one horse. - -"'It is now my turn,' said Pi´tamakan, and she went in and brought out -two horses. - -"The Blood chief went in and brought out two horses. - -"Pi´tamakan went in and brought out four horses. - -"The Blood chief went in and brought out two horses. - -"Pi´tamakan went in and brought out one horse. And then she said to -the Blood chief: 'Our men are becoming impatient to go in there and -take horses. We will each of us go in once more, and then let them do -what they can.' - -"So the Blood chief went in for the fourth and last time, and came -back leading four horses, making nine in all. And then Pi´tamakan went -in and cut the ropes of eight horses, and safely led them out, making -in all fifteen that she had taken. The warriors then went in, making -several trips, and then, with all the horses that could be easily -driven, the big double party headed for home. - -"On the next day, as Pi´tamakan and the Blood chief were riding -together, he said to her: 'I love you so much that I can wait no -longer for my answer. Give it to me now. I believe that you are going -to say, "Yes, I will be your woman."' - -"Said Pi´tamakan: 'I gave you your chance. It would have been yes had -you taken more horses than I did from the camp of the enemy. But I -took the most; therefore I cannot marry you.' - -"That was her way of getting around saying 'no' to the chief. She had -beaten him, an old, experienced warrior, in the taking of the enemy's -horses, and he could not ask her again to become his woman. It is said -that he felt very badly about it all. - -"Pi´tamakan now carried a gun when she went to war, and used it well -in several fights with the enemy, counting in all three _coups_, each -one of them the taking of a gun from the man she herself killed. And -then, _haiya_! On her ninth raid she led a party against the -Flatheads, and while she and all her men were in the camp, choosing -horses and cutting their ropes, the Flatheads discovered them and -began firing, and she and five of her men were killed. And so passed -Pi´tamakan, virgin, and brave woman chief of our people. She died -young, about seventy winters ago." - - * * * * * - -Okan, his vision, is the name the Blackfeet have for the great lodge -which they annually give to the sun, and for the four days of ceremonies -attending its erection and consecration. In our vernacular it is the -medicine lodge. I asked Yellow Wolf this afternoon why this river was -named Nat´-ok-i-o-kan, or, as we say, Two Medicine Lodge River, and he -replied that when the Blackfeet first took this great country from the -Crows, they built a medicine lodge on the river, just below the buffalo -cliffs. The next summer they built another one in the same place, and -owing to that the river got its name. - - [Illustration: AT UPPER TWO MEDICINE LAKE - Left to right: Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill, Yellow Wolf, - and the author, relating his killing of a grizzly at this - particular place, in the long-ago] - -Yes, this was once the country of the Crows. But the Blackfeet saw and -coveted it. It was about two hundred years ago, as near as I can learn, -that they came into it from their original home, the region of Peace -River and the Slave Lakes, and little by little forced the Crows -southward until they had driven them to the south side of the -Yellowstone, or Elk River, as it is known to the various Indian -tribes of the plains. - -Perhaps, in the first place, the Blackfeet coveted more than anything -else the cliffs on the Two Medicine,--just above Holy Family -Mission,--where the buffalo were decoyed in great numbers and stampeded -in a huge waterfall of whirling brown bodies to death on the rocks -below. - -The Blackfeet call such a place--there were several of them--a -_pi´skan_, a trap. Extending back from the cliff, for a mile or more -out on the plain, were two ever-diverging lines of rock piles, like a -huge letter V. Behind these the people concealed themselves, and the -buffalo caller, going out beyond the mouth of the V, by certain antics -and motions aroused the curiosity of the herd until it finally -followed him into the V. Then the people began to rise up behind it, -and the result was that, unable to turn either to the right or left, -from fear of the two lines of shouting, robe-waving stampeders, it was -driven straight to the cliff and over it. - -When I first saw the place, there were at the foot of the cliffs tons -and tons of buffalo horn tips, the most time-resisting of any portion -of a buffalo's anatomy. - - * * * * * - -Last night, while the pipe was going the rounds, I asked what had -become of old Red Eagle's Thunder Medicine Pipe, and was told that it -was still in the tribe, Old Person at present being the owner of it. -Said Two Guns: "That is one of the most ancient and most powerful -medicines we have. Do you know how it came into our possession?" - - -THE STORY OF THE THUNDER MEDICINE - -"It was in the long ago. Our fathers had no horses then, but used dogs -to carry their belongings. - -"One spring, needing the skins of bighorn to tan into soft leather for -clothing, the tribe moved up here to the foot of the Lower Two -Medicine Lake, and began hunting. Many men would surround and climb a -mountain, driving the bighorn ahead of them, their dogs helping, and -at last they would come up to the game, often several hundred head, -on the summit of the mountain. The dogs were then held back, and the -hunters, advancing with ready bow and arrows, would shoot and shoot -the bighorn at close range and generally kill the most of them. - -"One day, while most of the men were hunting, three young, unmarried -women went out to gather wood, and while they were collecting it in -little piles here and there, a thunderstorm came up. Then said one of -them, a beautiful girl, tall, slender, long-haired, big-eyed, 'O -Thunder! I am pure! I am a virgin! If you will not strike us I promise -to marry you whenever you want me!' - -"Thunder passed on, not harming them, and the young women gathered up -their firewood and went home. - -"On another day these three young women went out again for firewood, -one ahead of another along the trail in the deep woods, and Mink -Woman, she who had promised herself to Thunder Man, was last of the -three. She was some distance behind the others and singing happily as -she stepped along, when out from the brush in front of her stepped a -very fine-looking, beautifully dressed man, and said: 'Well, here I -am. I have come for you.' - -"'No, not for me! You are mistaken. I am not that kind; I am a pure -woman,' she answered. - -"'But you can't go back on your word. You promised yourself to me if I -would not strike you, and I did not harm you. Don't you know me? I am -Thunder Man.' - -"Mink Woman looked closely at him, and her heart beat fast from fear. -But he was good to look at, he had the appearance of a kind and gentle -man, and--although thoughtlessly--she had made a promise to him, a -god, and she could not break it. So she answered: 'I said that I would -marry you. Well, here I am, take me!' - -"Her two companions had passed on; they saw nothing of this meeting. -Thunder Man stepped forward, and kissed her, then took her in his -arms, and, springing from the ground, carried her up into the sky to -the land of the Above People. - -"But the two young women soon missed her. They ran back on the trail, -and searched on all sides of it, and called and called to her, and of -course got no reply: 'She may have gone home for something,' said one -of them, and they hurried back to camp. She was not there. They then -gave the alarm, and all the people scattered out to look for her. They -hunted all that day, and wandered about in the woods all night, -calling her name, and got no answer. - -"The next morning Mink Woman's father, Lame Bull, made medicine and -called in Crow Man, a god who sometimes lived with the people. 'My -daughter, Mink Woman, has disappeared,' he told the god. 'Find her, -even learn where she went, and you shall have her for your wife.' - -"'I take your word,' Crow Man answered him. 'I believe that I can -learn where she went. I may not be able to get her now, but I will -some time, and then you will not forget this promise. I have always -wanted her for my woman.' - -"Crow Man went to the two young women and got them to show him where -they had last seen Mink Woman. He then called a magpie to him, and -said to the bird: 'Fly around here and find this missing woman's -trail.' - -"The bird flew around and around, Crow Man following it, and at last -it fluttered to the ground, and looked up at him, and said: 'To this -spot where I stand came the woman, and here her trail ends.' - -"'Is it so!' Crow Man exclaimed. 'Well stand just where you are and -move that long, shining black tail of yours. Move it up and down, and -sideways. Twist it in every direction that you can.' - -"The magpie did as he was told, and Crow Man got down on hands and -knees, and went around, watching the shifting, wiggling, fanning tail. -Suddenly he cried out: 'There! Hold your tail motionless in just that -position!' and he moved up nearer and looked more closely at it. The -sun was shining brightly upon it, and the glistening black feathers -mirrored everything around. They were now spread directly behind the -bird's body, and reflected the tree-tops, and the sky beyond them. -Long, long, Crow Man stared at the tail, the people looking on and -holding their breath, and at last he said to Lame Bull, 'I can see -your daughter, but she is beyond my reach: I cannot fly there. She is -up in sky land, and Thunder Man has her!' - -"'_Ai! Ai!_ She did promise herself to him the other day, if he would -spare us,' one of the two wood gatherers said, 'but she did not mean -it; she was only joking. It is no joke!' - -"Lame Bull sat down and covered his head with his robe, and wept, and -would not be comforted. - -"Thunder Man took Mink Woman to sky land with him, and somehow, from the -very first she was happy there with him; she seemed to forget at once -all about this earth and her parents and the people. It was a beautiful -land up there: warm and sunny, a country just like ours except that it -had no storms. Buffalo and all the other animals covered the plains, and -all sorts of grasses and trees and berry-bushes and plants grew there as -they do here. - -"But although Mink Woman was very happy there, Thunder Man was always -uneasy about her, and kept saying to his people, 'Watch her constantly; -see that she gets no hint of her country down below, nor sight of it. If -she does, then she will cry and cry, and become sick, and that will be -bad for me.' - -"Thunder Man was often away, and during his absence his people kept a -good watch on Mink Woman, and did all they could to amuse her; to keep -her interested in different things. One day a woman gave her some -freshly dug _mas_,[2] and she cried out: 'Oh, how good of you to give -me these! I must go dig some for myself!' - - [2] _Mas._ I know not the English name for this edible root. The - French voyageurs' name for it was _pommes blanches_. - -"'Oh, no! Don't go! We will dig for you all that you can use,' the -women told her, but she would not listen. - -"'I want the fun of digging them for myself,' she told them. 'Somewhere, -some time back, I did dig them. I must dig them again.' - -"'Well, if you must, you must,' they answered, and gave her a digging -stick, and cautioned her not to dig a very large one, should she find -it, for that _mas_ was the mother of all the others, and was constantly -bringing forth new ones by scattering her seed to the winds. She -promised that she would not touch it, and went off happily with her -digging stick and a sack. - -"Well, Mink Woman wandered about on the warm grass and flower-covered -plain, digging a _mas_ here, one there, singing to herself, and thinking -how much she loved her Thunder Man, and wishing that he would be more -often at home. He was away the greater part of the time. Thus wandering, -in a low place in the plain she came upon a _mas_ of enormous size; -actually, it was larger around than her body! 'Ha! This is the mother -_mas_; the one they told me not to dig up,' she cried, and walked around -and around it, admiring its hugeness. - -"'I would like to dig it, but I must not,' she at last said to herself, -and went on, seeking more _mas_ of small size. But she could not forget -the big one; she kept imagining how it would look out of the ground; on -her back; in her lodge, all nicely cleaned and washed, a present for -Thunder Man when he should return home. She went back to it, walked -around it many times, went away from it, trying to do as she had been -told. But when halfway home she could no longer resist the temptation: -with a little cry she turned and never stopped running until she was -beside it, and then she used the digging stick with all her strength, -thrusting it into the ground around and around and around the huge -growth and prying up, and at last it became loose, and seizing it by its -big top leaves, she pulled hard and tore it from the ground, and rolled -it to one side of the hole. - -"What a big hole it was! And light seemed to come up through it. She -stepped to the edge and looked down: upon pulling up the huge _mas_ -she had torn a hole clear through the sky earth! She stooped and -looked through it, and there, far, far below, saw-- - -"Why, everything came back to her when she looked through it: There -it was, her own earth land! There was the Two Medicine River, and -there, just below the foot of its lower lake, was the camp of her -people! She threw away her digging stick, and her sack of _mas_, and -ran crying to camp and into Thunder Man's lodge. He was away at the -time, but some of his relatives were in the lodge, and she cried out -to them: 'I have seen my own country; the camp of my people. I want to -go back to them!' - -"Said Thunder Man's relatives to one another: 'She has found the big -_mas_, and has pulled it up, and made a hole in our sky earth! Now, -what shall we do? Thunder Man will be angry at us because we did not -watch her more closely.' Thinking of what he might do to them in his -anger, they trembled. They tried to soothe Mink Woman, but she would -not be comforted; she kept crying and crying to be taken back to her -father and mother. - -"Thunder Man came home in the evening, and upon learning what had -happened, his distress was as great as that of Mink Woman, whom he -loved. When he came into the lodge she threw herself upon him, and -with tears streaming from her eyes, begged him to take her back to -her people. - -"'But don't you love me?' he asked. 'Haven't you been happy here? -Isn't this a beautiful--a rich country?' - -"'Of course I love you! I have been happy here! This is a good -country! But oh, I want to see my father and mother!' - -"'Well, sleep now. In the morning you will likely feel that you are -glad to be here, instead of down on the people's earth,' Thunder Man -told her. But she would not sleep; she cried all night; would not eat -in the morning, and kept on crying for her people. - -"Then said Thunder Man: 'I cannot bear to see--to hear such distress. -Because I love her, she shall have her way. Go, you hunters, kill -buffalo, kill many of them, and bring in the hides. And you, all you -women, take the hides and cut them into long, strong strips and tie -them together.' - -"This the hunters and the women did, and Thunder Man himself made a -long, high-sided basket of a buffalo bull's hide and willow sticks. -This and the long, long one-strand rope of buffalo hide were taken to -the hole that Mink Woman had torn in the sky earth, and then Thunder -Man brought her to the place and laid her carefully in the basket, -which he had lined with soft robes: 'Because I love you so dearly, I -am going to let you down to your people,' he told her. 'But we do not -part forever. Tell your father that I shall soon visit him, and give -him presents. I know that I did wrong, taking you from him without his -consent. Say to him that I will make amends for that.' - -"'Oh, you are good, and I love you more than ever. But I must, I must -see my people; I cannot rest until I do,' Mink Woman told him, and -kissed him. - -"The people then swung the woman in the basket down into the hole she -had torn in the earth, and began to pay out the long rope, and slowly, -little by little, the woman, looking up, saw that she was leaving the -land of the sky gods. Below, the people, looking up, saw what they -thought was a strange bird slowly floating down toward them from the -sky. But after a long time they knew that it was not a bird. Nothing -like it had ever been seen. It was coming down straight toward the -center of the big camp. Men, women, children, they all fled to the edge -of the timber, the dogs close at their heels, and from the shelter of -thick brush watched this strange, descending object. It was a long, long -time coming down, twirling this way, that way, and swaying in the wind, -but finally it touched the ground in the very center of the camp circle, -and they saw a woman rise up and step out of it. They recognized her: -Mink Woman! And as they rushed out from the timber to greet her, the -basket which had held her began to ascend and soon disappeared in the -far blue of the sky. - -"All the rest of that day and far into the night, Mink Woman told her -parents and her people about the sky gods and the sky earth, and even -then did not tell it all. Days were required for the telling of all -that she had seen and done. - -"Not long after Mink Woman's return to the earth and her people, -Thunder Man came to the camp. He came quietly. One evening the door -curtain of Lame Bull's lodge was thrust aside, and some one entered. -Mink Woman, looking up from where she sat, saw that it was her sky god -husband. He was plainly dressed, and bore a bundle in his arms: -'Father!' she cried; 'here he is, my Thunder Man!' And Lame Bull, -moving to one side of the couch, made him welcome. - -"Said Thunder Man: 'I wronged you by taking your daughter without your -permission. I come now to make amends for that. I have here in this -bundle a sacred pipe; my Thunder pipe. I give it to you, and will -teach you how to use it, and how to say the prayers and sing the songs -that go with it.' - -"Said Lame Bull to this man, his sky god son-in-law, 'I was very angry -at you, but as the snow melts when the black winds[3] blow, so has my -anger gone from my heart. I take your present. I shall be glad to -learn the sacred songs and prayers.' - - [3] The "Chinook" wind. It is generally accompanied by dense black - clouds that obscure the mountains. - -"Thunder Man remained for some time, nearly a moon, there in Lame -Bull's lodge, and taught the chief the ceremony of the medicine pipe -until he knew it thoroughly in its every part. 'It is a powerful -medicine,' Thunder Man told him. 'It will make the sick well; bring -you and your people long life and happiness and plenty, and success to -your parties who go to war.' - -"And as he said it was, so it proved to be, a most powerful medicine -for the good of the people. - -"Thunder Man's departure from the camp was sudden and unexpected. One -evening he was sitting beside Mink Woman in Lame Bull's lodge, and all -at once straightened up, looked skyward through the smoke hole, and -appeared to be listening to something. The people there in the lodge -held their breath and listened also, and could hear nothing but the -chirping of the crickets in the grass outside. But Thunder Man soon -cried out: 'They are calling me! I have to go! I shall return to you -as soon as I can finish my work!' And with that he ran from the lodge -and was gone. And Mink Woman wept. - -"Who can know the ways of the gods? Surely not us of the earth. -Thunder Man promised to return soon, but moons passed, two winters -passed, and he came not to Lame Bull's lodge and his woman. But soon -after he left so suddenly, Crow Man returned from far wanderings and -heard all the story of the god and Mink Woman. He made no remark about -it, but spent much time in Lame Bull's lodge. Then, after many moons -had passed, he said to the chief one day: 'Do you remember what you -once promised me? When your daughter so suddenly disappeared you -promised that if I would even find her, or tell you whither she had -gone, you would give her to me when she was found. Well, here she is: -fulfill your promise!' - -"'But she is no longer mine to give. She now belongs to Thunder Man,' -the chief objected. - -"'Let me tell you this,' said Crow Man: 'You promised to give her to -me if I would even tell you where she had gone. I did that. And now, -as to this Thunder Man, he will never return here because he knows -that I am in the camp, and he fears me. So you might as well give me -your daughter now, as you will anyhow later.' - -"'Ask her if she will marry you. I agree to whatever she chooses to -do,' Lame Bull answered. - -"Crow Man went outside and found Mink Woman tanning a buffalo robe: 'I -have your father's consent to ask you to marry me. I hope that you -will say yes. I love you dearly. I will be good to you,' he told her. - -"Mink Woman shook her head: 'I am already married. My man will soon be -coming for me,' she answered. - -"'But if he doesn't come, will you marry me?' Crow Man asked. - -"'We will talk about that later. I will say now, though, that I like -you very much. I have always liked you,' she replied. - -"More moons passed, and as each one came, Crow Man never failed to ask -Mink Woman to marry him. She kept refusing to do so. But after two -winters had gone by, and Thunder Man still failed to appear and claim -her, why, her refusals became faint, and fainter, until, finally, she -would do no more than shake her head when asked the great question. -Then, at last, in the Falling Leaves moon of the second summer, when -Crow Man asked her again, and she only shook her head, he took her -hand and raised her up and drew her to him and whispered: 'You know -now that that sky god is never coming for you. And you know in your -heart that you have learned to love me. Come, you are now my woman. -Let us go to my lodge, my lodge which is now your lodge.' - -"And without a word of objection Mink Woman went with him. Ai! She -went gladly! She was lonely, and she had for some time loved him, -although she would not acknowledge it. - -"It was a good winter. Buffalo were plentiful near camp all through -it, and Crow Man kept the lodge well supplied with fat cow meat. He -and Mink Woman were very happy. Then came spring, and one day, in new -green grass time, Thunder Man was heard approaching camp, and the -people went wild with fear; they believed that he would destroy them -all as soon as he learned that Mink Woman had married Crow Man. They -all crowded around his lodge, begging him to give her up, to send her -at once back to her father's lodge. - -"But Crow Man only laughed: 'I will show you what I can do to that sky -god,' he told them, and got out his medicines and called Cold-Maker to -come to his aid. By this time Thunder Man was come almost to camp; was -making a terrible noise just overhead. But Cold-Maker came quickly, -came in a whirling storm of wind and snow. Thunder Man raged, shooting -lightning, making thunder that shook the earth. Cold-Maker made the -wind blow harder and harder, so that some of the lodges went down -before it, and he caused the snow to swirl so thickly that the day -became almost as dark as night. For a long time the two fought, -lightning against cold, thunder against snow, and little by little -Cold-Maker drove Thunder Man back: he could not face the cold, and at -last he fled and his mutterings died away in the distance. He was -gone! - -"'There! I told you I could drive him away,' said Crow Man. 'Mink -Woman, you people all, rest easy: Thunder Man will never again attempt -to enter this camp.' And with that he told Cold-Maker that he could -return to his Far North home. He went, taking with him his wind and -storm. The sun came out, the people set up their flattened lodges, and -all were once more happy. - -"And Lame Bull, he retained the pipe, and found that its medicine was -as strong as ever. And from him it had been handed down from father to -son and father to son to this day, and still it is strong medicine. - -"Kyi! That was the way of it." - - [Illustration: MOVING CAMP FROM TWO MEDICINE - The end of the procession] - - - - -II - -PU-NAK´-IK-SI (CUTBANK) - - - -_July 18._ - -Down came our lodges this morning, and to-night we are camped in -Cutbank Canyon, just below the great beaver ponds some six or seven -miles from the head of the stream. When I first saw these ponds, years -and years ago, they were dotted with beaver houses, and at dusk one -could see the busy woodcutters swimming from them in all directions to -get their evening meal of willow or quaking aspen bark, preparatory to -beginning their nightly work of storing food for winter use. I never -killed a beaver, but I have torn down beaver dams in order to watch -the little animals repair them. Beavers have a language as well as -men: there was always a chief engineer who told the workers just what -to do, and he himself rectified their mistakes. - -We are encamped right on the main war road of the Blackfeet into the -country of the West Side tribes. Once, when camped here with the Small -Robes (I-nuk´-siks), the band, or gens, of which I was a member, I saw -a party of our young men make their preparations and start westward on -a raid. They gathered in a sweat lodge with an old medicine man, who -prayed earnestly for their success while he sprinkled the hot rocks -with water, and dense steam filled the place. And at dusk, carrying in -painted rawhide cylinders their war finery, and in little sacks their -extra moccasins, awl and sinew for repairs, and their little paint -bags, they stole out in single file from the camp and headed for the -summit of the range. - -Every evening, during their absence, the old medicine man rode all -through the camp, shaking his medicine rattles, singing the song for -the absent, calling over and over each one's name, and praying for his -safe return. - -And then, one morning some two weeks later, they came into camp with a -rush, driving before them sixty or seventy horses that they had taken -from the Kootenais. And two carried a slender wand from which dangled -a scalp. They came in singing the song of victory; and then the war -chief shouted: "A multitude of the enemy are on our trail. Break camp, -you women, and move down river. Take your weapons, you men, and turn -back with us!" - -We took our weapons. We mounted our horses and rode like mad up the -old war trail, and within a half-hour sighted the enemy, forty or -fifty of them, strung out in a long, straggling line, according to the -strength and speed of each one's horse. We exchanged a few shots with -the lead riders; one fell; the rest took their back trail, and how -they did go up the steep incline to the summit, and over it. We did -not pursue them: "Let them go!" Bear Chief shouted. "We have many of -their horses; we have scalped three of them; let them go!" - -We "let them go!" and, indeed, that was the wiser way: they could have -made a stand at the summit and shot us down as fast as we came on. - -The old war road! How many of my people have traveled over it, some -of them never to return. It was along this road that Pi´tamakan, -virgin woman warrior, led her warriors in what was to be her last -raid! But how many, many times our people have come rushing homeward -over it, singing their songs of victory, waving the scalps they have -taken, and driving before them great bands of the horses of the Pend -d'Oreilles, the Snakes, the Nez Percés, and other tribes of the -Columbia River watershed. - -The names the Blackfeet have given to the four world directions are -most significant of their entry into this Missouri River country. -North is _ap-ut´-o-sohts_: back, or behind direction. South, -_ahm-ska´-pohts_, is ahead direction. East is _pi-na´-pohts_: -down-river direction; and west is _ah-me´-tohts_: up-river direction. -I have told why the Two Medicine was so named, when the Blackfeet came -into the country from the Far North, and drove the Crows before them. -This river they named Pu-nak´-ik-si (Cutbank), because its narrow -valley for a long way up from its junction with the Two Medicine is -walled in by straight-cut cliffs. - - [Illustration: OUR CAMP ON CUTBANK RIVER - On left is O-nis-tai´-mak-an (Wonderful Runner), and on right, - Ki-nuk´-sa-po-pi (Little Plume Mountain)] - -The Cutbank River Valley, like those of all the other streams of the -country, has been the scene of many a fight between the Blackfeet and -their enemies, in which the Blackfeet were generally the victors. A -remarkable instance of an old woman's bravery occurred just below here -some forty years ago. - -A few lodges of the Kut´-ai-im-iks, or Never Laughs band of the -Blackfeet, in need of the skins of elk and bighorn for making -"buckskin" for light clothing and moccasin tops, were here hunting, -and one evening all the men gathered in old Running Crane's lodge for -prayers with his beaver medicine. An old woman, named Muk-sin-ah´-ki -(Angry Woman), was sitting in her lodge by herself because there had -not been room for her in the crowded beaver medicine lodge. But she -was listening to the distant singing, and saying over the prayers at -the proper time, her heart full of peace and love for the gods. - -As she sat there at the back of the lodge, she suddenly noticed that -the doorway curtain in the upper part was being slowly pulled aside to -the width of a hand, and in that small space an eye glared at her for -a time, and then the curtain dropped back to place. - -"That was the eye of an enemy," she said to herself. Her heart -throbbed painfully; and for the time her thoughts were confused. Then, -suddenly, some one, perhaps the sun himself, told her to take courage. -She took courage: she stole out of the lodge to see what that enemy -was doing. There was a moon; bright starlight; the night was almost as -light as day; and she had no more than left the lodge than she saw the -man walking here, there, examining the buffalo runners, the best and -swiftest horses of the people, all picketed close to the lodges of -their owners. Whenever the man's back was toward her, she hurried her -steps; got closer and closer to him; and then, suddenly, she sprang -and seized him from behind and shouted: "Help! Help! I have seized an -enemy!" - -In the beaver medicine lodge the men heard her and came running to -her relief. She had the man down; he was struggling to rise; but the -sun must have given her of his power: she held him firmly until they -came, and they seized him, and White Antelope stabbed him to death. He -was a Gros Ventre. - - -HOW MOUNTAIN CHIEF FOUND HIS HORSES - -"Nephew, listen! Magic took place here in the long ago," said Yellow -Wolf as we sat around his lodge fire this evening. - -"The Ah´-pai-tup-i[4] were hunting on this Cutbank stream, every day -or two moving nearer and nearer to the mountains. At one of their -camping-places some distance below here, Mountain Chief lost his two -fast buffalo runners, and although all the young men of the camp -scattered out to look for them, they could not be found. Camp was -moved nearer to the mountains, and after a few days moved again, this -time to this very place where we are now encamped. - - [4] Ah´-pai-tup-i (Blood People). One of the twenty-four gentes of - the Pi-kun´-i, or "Piegan" Blackfeet. - -"The loss of the two buffalo runners was all that Mountain Chief could -think about. As they could not be found, he felt sure that some enemy -had stolen them. - -"There was a Kootenai Indian visiting in camp, and one day he entered -Mountain Chiefs lodge, and said to him: 'You are grieving about the -loss of your two fast horses. Now, if you will do as I say, perhaps I -can find them for you.' - -"'Whatever you ask, that shall be done,' Mountain Chief told him. - -"'First, then, you must give me a robe, a good bow, and a quiver of -arrows,' said the Kootenai. - -"'They are yours; there they are: my own weapons, that robe. Take them -when you want them,' said the chief. - -"'I will take them later,' said the Kootenai. 'And now, call in your -leading men.' - -"Mountain Chief went outside and shouted the names of the men he -wanted: a medicine man; several old, wise men; some warriors of great -name. They came and were given seats in his lodge, each man according -to his standing in the tribe. Said the Kootenai then: 'I have a sacred -song that I want you all to learn. I will sing it over three or four -times, then you sing it with me.' - -"He sang the song. It was low in tone, and slow; a strange and beautiful -song that gripped one's heart. But it was not hard to learn; after the -Kootenai had sung it over four times, all there could sing it with him. - -"Then the Kootenai told Mountain Chief to have the women build for him a -little lodge there inside the big lodge. This they did by leaning the -sticks of two tripods against one of the poles of the lodge, their lower -ends making a half-circle, and then covering them with buffalo leather. -Into this little enclosure crept the Kootenai, taking with him a bird -wing-bone whistle, and a medicine rattle, and as soon as he was inside -he ordered the women to smooth down carefully the leather coverings so -that he would be in the dark. He then said to the people, sitting there -in the big lodge: 'We will now sing the song four times. It is a call -song to all living things: the birds, the animals, the trees, the -rocks--yes, even they have life. All will come when we sing this song, -and we will question them as to the whereabouts of the two missing -horses.' - -"They sang the song four times, and then the Kootenai, alone in his -dark little lodge, sang another song, keeping time to it with his -rattle, and the people, listening, heard outside the sighing of the -wind through a big pine tree, although no such tree was near; and the -Kootenai questioned the pine tree, and it answered that it had no -knowledge of the missing horses. - -"Then, at his summons, came the different birds and the animals; one -could hear outside the flutter of their wings, the tread of their -feet; and the Kootenai questioned them, and one by one they answered -that they had not seen the horses. Came then a big rock, hurtling down -through the sky and through the smoke hole of the lodge right into -the fireplace, scattering ashes and coals all around the lodge, and -frightening the people sitting there. And the Kootenai questioned it, -and it answered that it knew nothing of the lost horses. - - [Illustration: STREAM FROM UNNAMED GLACIER POURING INTO CUTBANK - CAÑON] - -"'Let us sing the sacred song again,' the Kootenai called out from his -dark little lodge, and the people sang it with him, not once, but four -times. The Kootenai then blew his whistle four times, four long, loud -whistles. At the time there was no wind, but soon they heard, far off, -the roar of an approaching wind of terrible force. Said the Kootenai -then: 'I have called him, he is coming, Old-Man-of-the-Winds: be not -afraid; he will not harm you.' - -"He came with dreadful whirlwinds of his making. Winds that shook the -lodge, and made the lodge ears hum with the noise of that of a hundred -swarms of bees. And then, suddenly, the wind fell, and outside the -people heard this wind god ask: 'Why have you sung--why have you -whistled for me--what is it you want to know?' - -"The Kootenai answered: 'Mountain Chief, here, has lost his two best -horses. Fast buffalo runners they are; both black; one with a white -spot on his side. I called you to ask if you have seen them anywhere?' - -"'No, I have not seen them,' Old-Man-of-the-Winds answered. 'As you -know, I belong on the west side of this Backbone-of-the-World. It is -from there that I start the winds that blow over your country. I have -been no farther out than here. No, I have not seen the horses.' - -"'Now I am depressed,' the Kootenai exclaimed. 'I did not expect to -learn much about this from the birds, the animals, trees, and rocks, -even the bumblebee could tell me nothing; but I felt that you would -surely know where the two horses are!' - -"'Well, I have a friend who can tell you what you want to know,' said -Old-Man-of-the-Winds. 'He is Red-Top Plume. He lives in the clouds; he -can see the whole country; undoubtedly he can tell you where those -horses are.' - -"'He is a stranger to me. How shall I find him--this Red-Top Plume?' -the Kootenai asked; and all the people held their breath, waiting to -hear the answer. Here was sacred talk; talk of a man with a god, and -about gods: they could hardly believe that it was real, that which -they were hearing. - -"Answered Old-Man-of-the-Winds: 'Watch the clouds. When you see one of -them turning from white to red, as the sun goes down to his lodge on -his island in the great sea, you will know that Red-Top Plume is there -above you. That red cloud is his plume. Yes, when you see that, sing -your song again four times; blow your whistle again four times, and he -will answer you.' - -"And with that the wind suddenly started to blow from the east, and -Old-Man-of-the-Winds went with it back to his western home, and they -heard him no more. - -"From his dark little lodge in the big lodge, the Kootenai called out -to Mountain Chief: 'Go, stand outside your lodge, watch for a cloud -turning red, and when you see it, come inside and tell me that it is -there above us.' - -"Mountain Chief went outside. He looked up and saw but a few small, -white, slowly drifting clouds in the sky. There were four of them -straight above him. These drifted toward one another, and he cried -out: 'A sign! A sacred sign! Four small clouds are getting together -to make one large cloud!' - -"And at that all the people in the lodge cried out: 'The sacred number! -Oh, sun! Oh, Above People all! Pity us! Pity us all! Allow us to survive -all dangers! Give us long life and happiness!' - -"And then, as the sun was setting, Mountain Chief cried out: 'The four -are now one large cloud, and its edge is beginning to turn red! Ai! -The red, the sacred color, spreads over it!' - -"His voice trembled. Himself, he trembled; for he knew that he was -looking--not at an ordinary cloud, but at Red-Top Plume himself, the -great cloud god! - -"'Come in! Come in!' the Kootenai cried to him. And he went back into -the lodge and joined in the singing of the sacred song. Four times -they sang it, oh, how earnestly! The Kootenai then blew his wing-bone -whistle four times. Followed a silence; the people scarcely daring to -breathe. And then they heard outside, in a deep and beautiful voice: -'I am Red-Top Plume! Why have you called me here?' - -"'Red-Top Plume! God of the clouds! Pity us!' the Kootenai answered. -'It is a matter of horses; of two fast buffalo runners; both black; -one with a white spot on its side. We have lost them. Have you--oh, -have you seen them anywhere?' - -"'That is a small thing to call me down about,' the sky god answered; -'but, since I am here, I will tell you what I know: Yes, I have seen -them. I saw them just now as I came down to earth. They are standing -beside the spring just up the hill from where you camped when you lost -them.' - -"'Ah! Ah! Ah!' the people exclaimed in hushed voices. And the Kootenai, -questioner of gods and unafraid, cried out: 'Red-Top Plume! Sacred -plumed god of the clouds! You are good to us. Tell us, now, what we can -do for you--what sacrifice to do?' - -"But he got no answer. Red-Top Plume had gone--gone back to his home -in the sky, and the people, rushing out from the lodge, looked up and -saw him moving slowly eastward, his beautiful plumes redder than ever. -And while the Kootenai and Mountain Chief and the other warriors made -sacrifice to him, some young men mounted their horses and rode back to -the camping-place where the two horses had been lost, and lo! they -found them near the spring where Red-Top Plume had told that they were -standing." - - - -_July 22._ - -Even in my day the many beaver dams in this wide canyon were in good -repair, and the ponds were dotted with inhabited beaver lodges. There -are few of the little woodcutters here now, but in time to come, under -the sure protection of the supervisor of this Glacier National Park, -they will become as numerous as they were before the white man came. - -Talk about beavers to-night brought out a most interesting story by -Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill. Said he: "Beavers build a great -dam, often working moons and moons to complete it. Then, when it is -finished, and a great pond created, they build their lodges in the -backed-up water, and cut their winter supply of cottonwood, willow, -and quaking aspen, which they tow out in convenient lengths and sink -in deep water around the lodges. - -"Now, after a few winters, they have to move on and build another -dam-and-pond, for they will have used up all the available trees and -willows around the first pond. But that is still their pond, the clan -that built it, and in time, when a new growth of food trees has sprung -up around it, they return there, repair the dam, build new lodges, and -remain as long as the young trees last." - - -WHITE FUR AND HIS BEAVER CLAN - -"Away back in the ancient days, when our first fathers were able to -talk with the animals, a beaver chief named White Fur, with his -family and his relatives, built a big dam on this river. You can -still see the remains of it, willow-grown, and it still backs up some -water, a pond as large in extent as the camp of our tribe. But in the -old days that dam extended from one side to the other of the valley, -and the water it backed up was more than a pond: it was a small lake. -Above here, there is a swift stream of white water rushing down the -north side of the valley from great ice banks in the mountains. Well, -just below its junction with the river is where White Fur built the -dam. - -"Time passed. The sons of other beaver clans came and married the -daughters of White Fur's clan, and took them off, and the sons of his -clan went out and found wives and brought them home. The clan -increased; the pond became full of lodges; the trees were cut in -greater number each succeeding summer. So it was that, when the ice -went out one spring, White Fur went around and around the pond, -examining the remaining food trees, and saw that there remained only a -few more than enough for the coming winter. It was no more than he -expected; his last hurried look around, just before the freeze-up in -the fall, had warned him that the food supply was getting small. - - [Illustration: THE BEAVER DAM] - -"He went home, and called a council, told what he had learned on his -round, and then said:-- - -"'We must move out from here as soon as the ice breaks up next spring, -and when we go we must know just where we are going; we cannot afford -to lose time hunting for a good place to make a new home. Now, who -will start out on discovery?' - -"'I will!' his eldest son, Loud Slap, first answered. He was so named -because he could tail-slap the water louder than any one else in the -whole gens. - -"Now, Loud Slap was White Fur's favorite son, and next to himself the -best, the wisest dam-builder in the gens. The chief wanted to keep him -at home, for going on discovery was very dangerous. But for very shame -he could not order him to remain and let some other take the risk. So, -with sinking heart, he said: 'You spoke up first, my son, so you shall -be the first one to look for a new home for us. I have had a dream, and -I want you to find out if it told me truth: Go down this river a little -way beyond the edge of the pines, look north, and you will see a big -ridge with a low gap in it. Go up through that gap, and down the other -side, and you will soon come to a small branch of a good-sized stream; -look at all the branches of that stream for a good home for us, and come -back and tell us all about it. Make that crossing through the gap in the -daytime, for then the most of our enemies, the mountain lion, the fisher -and the wolverine, the wolf and the coyote, are generally asleep. Night -is the time that they do their murdering work.' - -"'As you say, so I will do,' Loud Slap answered. - -"And the next morning, some time before daylight, he started down -river on his dangerous trail of discovery. Below his pond there were -other ponds; and as he swam through them many of the beavers living -in them asked him where he was going. - -"'Out on discovery; our food trees will last us only this coming -winter; we have to find a new home,' he answered them all. - -"On he went, through the last of the ponds, down the river, swimming -fast, so very fast that his big webbed hind feet, swiftly kicking, -made the water foam past his breast. He had started out too early; -when he passed the last of the pines, daylight was still some time -off, so he dived under a pile of driftwood, then crawled up into it, -found a good resting-place on one of the logs and went to sleep, sure -that none of the prowlers could reach him there. - -"The sun shining down through the little openings in the driftwood -pile awakened him. He slipped down into the water, made a dive, and -came up out in the middle of the river. Near by was a high, sloping -bank bare of trees and brush; he swam to shore, climbed it, looked -north, and saw the big ridge and the big, low gap in it. He looked all -around; no animals were in sight except a few elk, and he knew that -they would not harm him: he began waddling toward the gap. - -"The sun was hot. Loud Slap's legs were short; his body fat and heavy; -there was no water; he soon became very tired and thirsty, and the top -of the gap seemed to be a long way off. More and more often he had to -stop and rest, but he kept saying to himself: 'I will not give up! I -will not give up!'--and at last he arrived at the top of the gap. -Close up to the top on the other side were thick, cool groves of -quaking aspen and willows; as far as he could see, the valley below -him and its far side was one green growth of trees, and he knew that -somewhere down there was water, plenty of it. Down he went, oh, how -easily, on the steeper places just pushing a little with his hind feet -and sliding along on his belly. He soon came to a small stream of -running water and drank and drank of it, rolled over and over in its -shallowness until wet all over, and then he followed it down. Other -little streams came into it, and at last it became so deep that he -could swim. After a time he came to where this stream joined a much -larger one, and he turned and went up it, and away up in the timber -found where a dam could be built that would form a very large pond, -and best of all the quaking aspens and willows were everywhere there -growing so closely together that they formed a food supply that would -last a number of winters. - -"That night Loud Slap slept in a hole that he dug in a bank of the -stream. This is the one which we long ago named Ki-nuk´-si -Is-si-sak´-ta. I understand that the white people have another name -for it.[5] - - [5] Ki-nuk´-si Is-si-sak´-ta (Little River). By the whites named - Milk River. - -"Early next morning Loud Slap came out of his hole, cut down a small -quaking aspen, and ate all he wanted of its bark. He then swam down -the stream, turned up its little fork, and before the sun was very -high left it and took his back trail up through the gap, and before -noon was going down the long slope to Cutbank River. The going was -easy. But one thing troubled him: the risk that he ran traveling there -in that open, waterless country. Whenever he came to a patch of buck -brush or a clump of tall grass, he would sit up and look all around to -see if any enemy was near; and then he would go on, keeping as close -to the ground as possible. Twice he saw a coyote in the distance, and -sat motionless until the animal moved on out of sight. And then, when -almost to the river, sitting up and looking out from a brush patch, he -saw a wolverine coming straight toward him. He trembled; he shivered. -'Now is my end come!' he said to himself, and imagined how it was -going to feel to be bitten and clawed and torn to death. Because of -his helplessness, because he could in no way defend himself, he wept; -but silently. - -"On came the wolverine, sniffing the ground; sniffing the rocks; the -weed growths; and once, when he turned and looked back, Loud Slap -threw himself flat there in the brush; he had not dared move before. -The wind was from the southwest; the wolverine was coming from the -west, and that was one thing in Loud Slap's favor. But on which side -of that patch of brush would he pass? If to the north, then he would -scent the beaver-odor trail, follow it, and all would be over. If he -passed to the south of the patch, and not too close, then all would be -well. From where he lay, flat on the ground in the brush, Loud Slap -could see nothing but the brush stems in front of his nose; but -presently he heard, close to the patch and to the west of it, the -sniff! sniff! sniffle! of his enemy. He closed his eyes; his body -shook with fear; he could almost feel strong, sharp-fanged jaws -closing upon his neck! The suspense was terribly hard to bear! And -then, after what seemed to be a whole moon of time, he heard the -sniffling close in front of him; then faint and fainter off in the -direction of the river; and presently he opened his eyes, little by -little rose up, and looked out from his hiding-place. Lo! Wolverine -had come close, _close_ to the brush patch, and south of it, and then -had turned, and was now walking slowly toward the river! 'My enemy -passes! I survive!' Loud Slap said to himself, and would have sung had -he dared. Oh, yes, beavers sang in those days, as you shall learn. - -"Loud Slap watched the wolverine go on down the valley, and then -waddled to the river as fast as he could work his legs. How good it -felt, that plunge into the cool water from the bank! and, once into -it, he made it foam as he swam homeward against the swift current. -Long before night he climbed the dam of the upper pond, and a little -later entered his father's lodge. 'Ha! Back so soon! What found you, -my son?' old White Fur asked. - -"'A fine stream there on the other side of the gap. A place to dam a -large pond. Plenty of food bark trees,' Loud Slap answered, and then -told carefully all about the place, and about his narrow escape from -the wolverine. Then his mother went swimming from lodge to lodge of -the gens, calling all the heads of the families, and when they had -gathered in White Fur's lodge he told again of his find and of the -dangers of the trail. All went home pleased that he had found such a -good place for a new home for them. - -"White Fur and his whole gens worked very hard that summer to get in -sufficient food bark sticks for the winter supply. They had to drag -the last of them a long way to water, and they kept at it long after -the snow came, and until the ice and cold weather prevented further -cutting. The trails they left in the snow, just before the pond froze -over, were a sure call to their passing enemies, and they halted and -lay in wait beside them, and killed in all five of the members of the -gens, one of them Loud Slap's oldest son. A lynx was seen to spring -upon him and carry him off, as he was going out to finish cutting down -a large tree. - -"The winter passed. When spring came, there was still considerable -food bark untouched on the underwater piles, but, oh, how glad the -beavers were to be able to swim about again, and eat fresh bark from -living tree branches. All were anxious to start at once for the new -home across the ridge, but White Fur would not permit it. From the -pressure of the winter snows the dead grass of the past summer lay -flat: 'We must wait until the new grass grows high enough to conceal -us,' he said, 'and then we will go.' - -"Of course, he meant those that would be able to go: females with -newborn young were to remain where they were until the young should be -old enough to travel, and then they were to cross the ridge and join -their mates. The new grass came, and when it was a little higher than -the top of a beaver's back, old White Fur and Loud Slap led all those -who could go, about fifty of them, down the river on the way to the -stream beyond the gap. White Fur had already talked with the chief who -lived in the next pond below, and he had promised to keep all -newcomers from occupying the pond that White Fur and his gens were -leaving for a time. - -"The travelers saw no enemy on the trail up through the gap, and, upon -arriving at the place that Loud Slap had discovered, were well pleased -with it. That very evening, after a heavy meal of bark, they began -work on the dam, and by morning had much willow brush laid, butts to -the current, across the stream. Night and day, with little rest, they -toiled to complete the dam, of sticks and stones and sod and earth, -and within two moons' time they finished it, and had a pond large -enough and deep enough for the lodges of the gens, and all the food -sticks they would need to sink for winter use. Then, one evening, came -those who had been left behind, came with their strong and half-grown -young, and all began at once to cut and bring in and sink the winter -food supply. Long before winter set in they had stored more than they -could possibly use, and from that time until the ice formed they did -nothing more than strengthen the dam, and eat and sleep, and play -about in the water. - -"The winter passed, and more young were born. Came and went another -winter, and in the spring more young were born. There were now in the -gens many two, and three, and some four-year-olds, both male and -female, and they could not mate with one another; something had to be -done for them. Old White Fur called a council, and there was much talk -about it. Some favored sending scouts away down the Little River to -learn if there were any beaver colonies along it. Others, and the -greater number, declared that the unmarried males should take the -trail through the gap down to Cutbank River, find mates in the -different gens having ponds along it, and tell the unmarried males -there to come over and take wives from White Fur's gens. It was -decided that this should be done, and one morning more than forty -young males started for Cutbank River. - -"Days passed; and yet more days, and no wife-seeking beavers came to -the pond on Little River. 'Something is wrong,' White Fur told Loud -Slap. - -"'_Ai!_ Something is wrong. If none come within four days' time, I -shall go over to the Cutbank ponds and learn what the trouble is.' - -"The four days passed, and no stranger, not one, came. On the fifth -morning Loud Slap once more took the trail for Cutbank, saying to -White Fur as he left, 'If I do not return within four days' time, then -send some one over to learn what the trouble is, for I shall be dead.' - -"Down the river went Loud Slap, and up the little fork, and thence -along the trail through the gap in the ridge. He moved along very -cautiously, keeping a sharp lookout in all directions, and seeing -nothing to alarm him. After passing through the gap he saw, on a ridge -to the east, a number of wolves following a small band of buffalo, and -that pleased him, for, seeking food there, they would not be likely to -turn and cross his trail. He hurried on down the slope. - -"Suddenly, when near the river, a whirl of wind brought a dreadful -odor to his nostrils; an odor of dead and decaying flesh. He stopped, -sat up, looked sharply ahead, saw nothing to alarm him, went on a -short distance, and came upon a scene that made him shiver; that made -him mourn: there, on the trail and on both sides of it, lay his -youthful kin who had gone out to seek wives! There they lay, their -bodies swollen and bursting, every one of them mangled and torn, -several half eaten by their enemies, wolves probably, that had -discovered and killed them all! One look at them was enough; he -hurried on, weeping, and plunged into the river. - -"Upstream he went, faster than he had ever swam before, and soon -entered the lower one of the beaver ponds. Straight to the chief's -lodge he swam, and dived down to the entrance, and went up into the -big and comfortable grass-floored home. - -"'Ha! Loud Slap! It is you! Welcome you are! Sit youth and give us the -news!' the chief cried out. - -"Loud Slap greeted him and gave the news, and both wept over the death -of so many of their kind. The chief's wife went out and spread the -news, and there was mourning in every lodge in that pond. - -"The chief then gave Loud Slap bad news. Said he: 'In the early part -of this moon came to us a visitor from the big pond at the head of the -lake on the next stream south of this river.' He meant, of course, -the great beaver pond just above Lower Two Medicine Lake. - -"'Yes?' said Loud Slap,--'yes?' - -"'Ah! He came and visited us and our kin in the other ponds, and gave -no reason for his coming, and soon went home. But in a few days' time -he returned with all his gens, and they are many, and took possession -of the upper pond, your pond, and at this time they are repairing the -dam and backing the water up into the new growth of food trees, which -are as thick as they can stand. We told him, we all told him, this -chief,--Strong Dam is his name,--that he should not take the pond, as -it belongs to you, to your father, White Fur, and his gens. But he -said that he did not care who owned it, he had taken it, and would -hold it, fight for it against all comers.' - -"'Ha! Is it so!' Loud Slap cried. 'We will see about that! Say nothing -to any one that I have been here. Tell your people to keep my visit -secret from all above here. I go to bring my kindred over, and we will -drive that Strong Dam and his gens back whence they came, or kill -them all.' - -"Loud Slap went back to his Little River home the next day, and told -all that he had seen and learned. All mourned and mourned for their -dead, and their hearts burned with anger against Strong Dam and his -gens. Said White Fur: 'I am old, old. But I can still fight! We will -go over to our pond to-morrow. I will lead you, and we will teach that -Strong Dam and his relatives something; we will send them crying back -to their pond above the lake!' - -"They started the next morning, all the males, and even females that -were without young; and they were many, those who were waiting for -males of other gentes to come and marry them. Old White Fur led them -across to the river without mishap, and up to the first pond, where -they visited, and rested, and ate their fill of fresh, green bark. And -there some of the females met young unmarried males who wanted to mate -with them; and they answered, 'We will marry you, but first you must -fight for us; you must help us drive that Strong Dam and his gens -from our pond.' - -"'And is that all you ask?' they replied. 'We are only too glad to -help you. Who would not fight for his sweetheart should not have one!' - -"This gave White Fur something to think about; and after a time he -said to Loud Slap: 'Go, now, on a secret mission: visit the ponds of -our friends above here, and say to the unmarried males that our young -females here will marry them, but they must first help us drive Strong -Dam from this river.' - -"'Ai! That is a good plan,' said Loud Slap; and he started at once to -carry it out. Late that night he returned, and reported that all the -young males had agreed to the proposal, and would join White Fur and -his kin when they came along. - -"'Let us start now,' said White Fur; and the advance began, and by the -time he reached the dam of his own old pond, he had a large following. - -"There was a young man lying there on the dam, a far-back ancestor of -ours who had gone there to get his medicine dream; his vision. He was -awake; and when, in the bright moonlight, he saw that big, old, -white-furred beaver come up on the dam, and a hundred and more beaver -following, he could not believe his eyes, and cried out: 'Am I really -and truly awake, or is this a medicine vision?' - -"'Hush! Keep still,' old White Fur told him. 'What you see is real. We -are come to fight and drive off those here who have stolen our pond -and our new growth of food trees. Just you keep still: we want to -surprise them. If you see that they are beating us, then give us help. -When all is over, I will give you a medicine that will insure you long -life and happiness.' - -"The young man--No Otter was his name--made signs that he would keep -quiet. And he sat there and watched more than a hundred beavers cross -the dam close in front of him, and slide quietly into the pond, and -even then could hardly believe that he was not dreaming. - -"As they entered the water that great war party of beavers swam out in -all directions for the shores of the pond, where, scattered all -along, Strong Dam and his kin were already cutting the young trees -for winter food. And as he watched and listened, the young man heard -suddenly a great commotion and squealing all along the shore: the -fighting had begun. Then, almost at once, the attacked and the -attackers took to the water, and the whole surface of the pond was as -if it had been struck by a tornado. It boiled, and eddied, and foamed, -and shot high in spray, and with it all was the slap! slap! slap! of -beaver tails as the animals struggled and clinched, and floundered and -bit, all over its long length and width. And soon beavers, frightened -and gasping for breath, and bleeding from many wounds, began to pass -on each side of the young man over the dam, and drop into the stream -below and disappear in its swift current. And some, unable to climb -it, and bleeding from many wounds, died there at the edge of the dam -and sank. The water was red with their blood. One of them, crawling -out, staggered right up against the young man, and gasped, and died, -and he put out his hand and felt of it, its wet coat, the warm but -now breathless body, and then for the first time was he sure that what -he was witnessing was real, and no dream. - -"The fight was over. The last of the enemy had been killed, or had -fled down river, and White Fur and his party gathered on the dam. Not -all were there: some of them lay dead on the bottom of the pond or -sorely wounded on the shore. White Fur directed that they should be -helped into the cool lodges, where they would be safe from the -prowlers, and there cared for and fed. That done, said White Fur to -the young man: 'You have seen a great sight this night. Had we needed -your help I know that you would have given it.' - -"'Yes, you had but to call, and I would have been with you,' the young -man answered. - -"'I know it,' said White Fur, 'and just for your good-will I shall -give you a strong medicine, and teach you the songs that go with it. -But I cannot do this here; you will have to go home with us, to our -pond on the next stream to the north.' - - [Illustration: BIGHORN COUNTRY. HEAD OF CUTBANK RIVER] - -"They went there the next day, leaving behind the newly married -females and their mates to care for the wounded and make them well. -And on the way up through the gap and down to the pond, White Fur and -Loud Slap told the young man the story of their lives and their -troubles, just as I am telling it to you. And upon reaching the pond -on Little River, No Otter remained there a long time with the beavers, -the old chief and his son, Loud Slap, giving him a medicine beaver -cutting and teaching him the beaver songs. It was a good medicine. He -took it home with him, and kept it, and made ceremony with it, and -sang the songs as he had been taught to do, and because of that he had -great success at war, and in curing the sick, and he lived to great -age. - -"Kyi! So ends my story." - - - -_July 25._ - -Yesterday Guardipe, or, as I prefer to call him, Aí-is-an-ah-mak-an -(Takes-Gun-Ahead), climbed with me to the top of White Calf Mountain. -There, on the extreme summit of the rough crested mountain, we came -upon five bighorn, all ewes, and not one of them with a lamb beside -her. During the lambing season here this year there was a continuous -downpour of rain and sleet and snow, in which the newborn young -undoubtedly perished. - -But how tame those five ewes were! We walked to within fifty yards of -them, and they gazed at us curiously, now and then nervously stamping -the rock with one or the other of their fore feet. And then they -circled around us, twice, and finally walked off toward the eastern -point of the mountain, often stopping to look back at us, and finally -disappeared behind some rock piles. - -At the same time Kut´-ai-ko-pak-i (No-Coward-Woman--as my people have -named my wife) was having her own experience with the game in this -Park. With Miss L----, a Boston friend, she was sitting near the edge -of a high, almost cutbank at the edge of the river, when she heard the -slow, heavy, twig-snapping tread of an animal back in the brush. She -gave her friend a nudge, and pointed in the direction of the sounds, -and the two watched and listened. And presently they saw the brush -shaking as the animal forced its way through it, and then, half -revealed and half concealed in more open brush, they saw a big grizzly -coming straight toward them! Right near where they sat a dwarf juniper -grew at the edge of the high bank, several of its limbs overhanging -it. Without speaking a word, and trembling as though they had ague, -they crept to the tree, grasped one of the limbs, and tenaciously -gripping it let themselves down over the edge of the bank. And -then--the limb broke with a loud snap and down they went along the -gravelly incline, so steep that they could get no foothold, over and -over, head first, feet first, and sideways, and landed in the river -with a loud splash. But they did not mind that: what were bruises and -a wetting compared to being mauled by a grizzly? They forded the -waist-deep stream and arrived dripping but safe in camp, and were -glad to be there! - -Although this Glacier National Park is only five years old, the game -animals within it have already become very tame. The bighorn and the -Rocky Mountain goats no longer flee from parties traversing the -mountain trails, and the deer and elk and moose have become almost as -fearless as they are. As for the bears, they are continually trying to -break into the meat-houses of the different camps. Undoubtedly these -mountains and forests within the next ten years will fairly be alive -with game. And as to trout, the supply is increasing instead of -decreasing. In this Cutbank stream alone there have been caught this -season in the neighborhood of two thousand trout, weighing from a -fourth of a pound up to four pounds, but since the 1st of April -seventy thousand young trout, from the Anaconda hatchery, have been -put into it. - - [Illustration: CUTBANK RIVER. A GOOD TROUT RIFFLE] - - - -_July 27._ - -Last night, in Black Bull's lodge, we had more tales of the long ago -in this Cutbank Valley. Would that I had the time to collect all the -Blackfeet legends of the various places in their once enormous -domain. From the Saskatchewan to the Yellowstone, and from the Rockies -between these two streams, eastward for about three hundred miles, -there are tales of adventure, of camp-life, and wonderful legends, for -every mountain, stream, butte, and spring within that great area. Said -Black Bull last night:-- - -"I will tell you a story that my grandfather told me. It happened in -the days of his fathers' boyhood, and it is called - - -"THE STORY OF THE BAD WIFE - -"One summer in that time the people, having made new lodges, moved up -here on Cutbank River to cut new lodge poles, and to gather -weasel-eyes,[6] which grew in great quantities back on the high -mountain slopes. - - [6] Ap-ah a-wap-spi. Weasel-eyes: huckleberries. - -"At that time one of the best-liked young men of the tribe was Falling -Bear. He was a very brave and successful warrior, and very kind-hearted: -he took it upon himself to keep three or four old widows and several -old and helpless men supplied with all the meat and skins they could -use, and even gave them gentle horses for packing and riding whenever -camp was moved. At the time the people moved up here on Cutbank, he had -been married but a short time. He had fallen in love with Otter Woman, -the most beautiful girl in the tribe, and with her father's and mother's -consent, and to their great joy and pride, had set up with her a lodge -of his own. No word had been so much as whispered against Otter Woman; -she was believed to be as good and pure as she was beautiful of face and -form. - -"The tribe had not been here many days when Falling Bear decided to go -to war. Many of the warriors, some of them much older than he, wanted -to go with him, but he told them all that this time, because of a -dream, a vision he had, he would take no one but his woman. He made -full preparation for the war trail, had a sacred sweat with an old -medicine man, who was to pray for him during his absence, and then, -with his woman, he took the Cutbank trail for the country of the West -Side tribes, all of them enemies of the Blackfeet. - -"Traveling with great caution, and only at night, he passed through the -country of the Flatheads, and came to the plains country of the Nez -Percés. There he struck the trail of a big hunting party of people, and -followed it, and soon found that he was gaining upon them; one early -morning he came upon their camping-place which they must have left on -the previous afternoon, for in some of the fireplaces there were still -live coals deep down in the ashes. - -"Now, on the night before he had lost his tobacco, and his desire to -smoke was strong within him. So he said to his woman, 'You go around -on that side of the big camping-place and examine every lodge site for -tobacco leavings, and I will search this side for it.' They parted and -began their quest. - -"The camp had been pitched partly in an open, grassy park, and partly in -the timber surrounding it; and because of that Falling Bear and his -woman were often out of sight of each other. At one of these times Otter -Woman was examining a lodge site and fireplace back in the timber, and, -happening to look off to one side, she saw hanging on some brush a fine -shield, some beautiful war clothes, and a large fringed and painted -medicine pouch. She well knew that these had been spread out to sun by -the campers and forgotten, and that some one would be coming back for -them, and was about to go after Falling Bear to come and take them when -she heard the tread of an approaching horse. So near was it that she had -not time to run and hide. She stood still, staring, and almost at once -there came in sight, on a black-and-white pinto horse, the handsomest -young man that she had ever seen. He was so handsome that to look at him -gave her a yearning pain in the heart for him. Just one look, and she -had fallen in love with him! She didn't want to fall in love with him; -she just couldn't help it! - -"He, this Nez Percé, checked up his horse and sat quiet, staring down -at her, and no doubt thought her the handsomest woman he had ever -seen. Suddenly she began making signs to him. What a wonderful thing -that silent language is! All the tribes of the plains know it. Just by -the use of their hands they can express their every thought to one -another. - -"Signed she: 'My man is over there! Be quiet. I will go to him, somehow -get his weapons from him, then hold him. You come quickly when I cry -out, and kill him, and I will go with you; will be your woman.' - -"Of course, nothing could have pleased the Nez Percé more than that. -To kill an enemy and take his beautiful woman, what a big _coup_ that -would be! He signed to the woman that what she proposed was good, and -slid from his horse and tied it to a tree, then signed to her to go, -and he would follow, keeping out of sight. - -"The woman crossed the big camping-ground and found her man: 'I have -made a great find,' she told him. 'On some bushes over there are -hanging beautiful war clothes, a shield, weapons, and a medicine -pouch. Leave you your weapons and things here, and come with me, and -take them.' - -"'But why should I leave my weapons? One should never be without -them,' he objected. - -"'Because from here goes the trail we are to follow, and you will have -all you can do to bring here what I have found,' she explained. - -"He didn't see any sense in leaving his weapons, but took her word and -laid them down, along with his medicine pouch, and his war clothes in -their _parflèche_ (painted cylinder), and followed her out into the -open park. 'The things are right across there in the brush,' she told -him, pointing to the place, and then gradually dropped back to his -side, and then a step behind him. Then, as they came near the brush on -the far side, she suddenly seized him, endeavoring to squeeze his arms -close to his side, so that he could not use them, and at the same time -she called out to the Nez Percé to come to her assistance. He had been -watching, and was already coming as fast as he could run. - -"Falling Bear, of course, saw at once the intentions of the two, and -as quick as a flash of lightning made up his mind what to do. He only -half struggled with the woman, now grasping his neck with one hand and -arm, and beating his eyes and face with the other hand. She was fast -blinding him, but he stood the pain of it until the Nez Percé, with -war club raised, was but a step or two away. He then broke loose from -the woman, kicked backward, his foot striking her in the stomach and -knocking her over, and then he sprang at the Nez Percé, seized the arm -and hand that held the war club high, and struggled with the man for -possession of it. He wrenched it away from him, and with it struck him -a hard blow on the head, and he fell, his skull crushed in, and died. -The victor scalped him with his own knife, took his war club and his -bow and arrows, and then turned to the woman. - -"She lay where she had fallen, trembling at what she had done, wishing -that she had not done it. 'Get up. If you spoke truth, if there are -war clothes and other things over there, lead me to them,' Falling -Bear told her. - -"She arose, still trembling, but now with some hope that he was not -going to kill her, and led him to the place. His eyes were swelling shut -so fast that one was entirely closed, but he could partly use the other. -He looked at the things there on the brush: 'Ah! Here are the war -clothes, the shield, the medicine pouch, but where are the weapons?' -he asked. - -"The woman did not answer. What could she say? There had been no -weapons left on the brush. Falling Bear laughed a laugh that made her -shiver, and told her to gather up all that was there and follow him. -He unfastened the horse and led it across the camping-place, she -following, and he had her take up his own weapons and things and -fasten them to the saddle. He then mounted the horse, and told her to -lead it and take the back trail home. Before he had ridden far his -other eye closed; he was, for the time, wholly blind; but not afraid. -He kept close possession of all the weapons, and made the woman do -everything that he wanted done. She minded his every word. - -"Traveling again at night, and hiding in the brush during the daytime, -the two passed safely through the country of the Flatheads, and crossed -the mountains. On the morning that they approached the camp here on -Cutbank, Falling Bear had partly recovered the use of one eye. The other -was still swollen shut; it seemed to have been poisoned by the woman's -fingernails. - -"When so near the camp that they could plainly see the lodges, Falling -Bear told the woman to go on in and tell her relatives to come to him; -that he would await them right where he was. They soon came out to -him, his father-in-law and his brother-in-law, and when they saw his -scarred face and swollen eyes, they cried out: 'Oh, what has happened -to you? Have you been in a fight with a mountain lion?' - -"'Worse than that,' he answered; 'this was done to me by the one I -most loved and trusted.' And then he told them all about it, and -concluded by giving them the horse and all the things that he had -taken from the Nez Percé. - -"When he finished his awful tale the two men, listening closely, were -so overcome with shame and grief that for a time they could not speak. -But at last Falling Bear's father-in-law said: 'I have made up my mind -what to do. Come! Let us go on into camp.' - -"They went in; Falling Bear to his own lodge--in which his father and -mother lived. His woman was not there; she had gone to her father's -lodge. He was glad that she had gone there; he never wanted to see her -again. His father asked him to give the story of his war trail, and he -answered that he had nothing to say. He was so sick at heart that he -could not talk. - -"Arrived in his own lodge, and finding his daughter, Otter Woman, -there, Falling Bear's father-in-law told her to go out for a time; and -when she was gone he told her mother all that she had done, and then, -calling in their son, the three agreed upon the way the bad wife -should be punished. They called her in and told her to braid her hair -nicely, and to put on her best clothes. And while she was doing that, -her father and mother and brother painted their faces black and let -down their hair. - -"As soon as Otter Woman was dressed, her father said to her: 'We will -now go outside, and you will mount the Nez Percé horse. I will lead -it, your mother and brother will follow, and we will go all through -the camp, stopping here and there to tell the people all about the -great wrong you did your man.' - -"'Oh, no, no! Not that!' Otter Woman cried. 'I am ashamed enough as it -is! I am sorry that I did it! I don't know how I came to do it; I shall -never, never do such a thing again!' - -"'You spoke the truth there,' said her father. 'No, you will never do -it again!' And he ordered her to go out ahead of them and mount the -horse. She did so and sat upon it, head cast down, looking neither to -the right nor left nor ahead: shame was with her. Holding the horse's -rope, the old man shouted: 'Listen, people, listen.' And when a crowd -had gathered he told them what his daughter had done to her good man, -and the people groaned with shame that one of their tribe could be so -bad of heart. Some even wept at the horror of it. - -"From one part of the camp to another the old man led the little -procession, stopping often to tell the shameful story, until all knew -it. And then at last he led the horse out into the center of the great -circle of the lodges, and told his daughter to dismount. She did so, -and, drawing his knife, he stabbed her in the heart and she fell and -died. Said he then to his wife: 'Get women to help you; drag that body -far off and leave it, and never let me hear again the name of her who -was once my daughter!' - -"And the women did as he said. Never again did any one mention Otter -Woman in his presence." - - * * * * * - -"Ai! A sad story! A story to give one bad dreams! Let us have one of -more cheerful nature before we go to bed," said Stabs-by-Mistake. - -"An Old Man story, then," said Two Guns. "All are laughable." - -"Elder brother, tell us the story of Old Man and the woman," said -Black Bull to Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill. - - [Illustration: BLACK BULL AND STABS-BY-MISTAKE (right) NEAR LOWER - END OF CUTBANK CAÑON] - -"Ai! That I will," the chief answered. - -But before I set down the story, I must explain Old Man. - -Old Man (Näp´-i) was the god who created the world, and all life upon -it, and he was _the_ god of the Blackfeet until, some centuries back, -they got from some southern tribe another religion, of which the sun -is the principal god. However, they still pray to Old Man, as well as -to the gods of the later religion, although in time a great many -stories have grown up about Old Man that make him appear to be more of -a buffoon than a god. An interesting point about the word _näp´-i_ is, -that, while it is the term for an old man, its real meaning is dawn, -or the first faint, white light that gives birth to the day. And so, -in common with the ancient Mexicans, various tribes of the plains, the -Aryans and other ancient races of the Old World, the original religion -of the Blackfeet was the worship of light personified. - -Let us have now, the old chief's story of - - -OLD MAN AND THE WOMAN - -"Having created the world, the animals, grass, trees, all life upon -it, Old Man realized that by having men live by themselves, and women -by themselves, he had made a mistake. He saw that they should live -together. The camps of the two sexes were far apart: the women were -living here at the foot of the mountains, in Cutbank Valley, and the -men were away down on Two Medicine River. Each camp had a buffalo -trap, and subsisted wholly upon the buffalo that were decoyed into it. - -"As I have said, Old Man saw that he had made a mistake in keeping men -and women apart. In fact, he found that he himself wanted a woman; so -he went to the men and said: 'You shall no longer live by yourselves. -Come! We will go up to the camp of the women, and each of us get one -of them.' - -"The men were more than glad to do that; it was what they had been -hoping to do for a long time; so they hurried to put on their best -clothes, and neatly braided their hair, and then started off with Old -Man for the women's camp. When they came in sight of it, Old Man told -them to stop right there, and he would go ahead and plan with the -women just what should be done. They sat down, and he went on to the -women's camp. Himself, he had on his old, soiled clothes; his fine -clothes he had left back with the men. - -"Arrived in the camp, he found only two or three women there; the -woman chief and all the others were down at the buffalo trap, -butchering the animals that they had that morning decoyed into it. -When he told the few women that he found why he had come, he greatly -excited and pleased them, and they started at once to run and tell the -others to hurry up from the trap and meet the men. - -"'But wait. Not so fast. I want a word with you,' Old Man called out; -and when they came back to him, he asked: 'What kind of a woman is -your chief?' - -"'Everything that is good, and kind and brave, that is our chief,' -one answered. And another said: 'Ai! She is all that, and more; and -she is the most beautiful woman of us all!' - -"This pleased Old Man. He said to himself, 'That is the woman for me. -I must have her.' And to the waiting women he said: 'It is right that -chief woman should mate with chief man. You women are to come to us, -and each select the man you want. Now, tell your chief woman that the -chief man is brave and kind and handsome, and that she shall select -him for her man. She will know him by the way he is dressed. He wears -buckskin shirt and leggings, embroidered with porcupine quills, and a -cow-leather robe with a big porcupine-quill embroidered sun in the -center of it. You tell her to take him for her man!' - -"'We will do so!' the women cried, and started off for the buffalo -trap as fast as they could run. - -"Old Man hurried back to the waiting men, and hurriedly put on his -fine clothes, the ones that he had described to the women. - -"Trembling with excitement, and out of breath from their long, swift -run, Old Man's messengers arrived at the buffalo trap and told their -wonderful news,--that men had come to marry them; that each woman was -to choose the man that she thought would best suit her. The butchering -of the animals ceased at once, and the women started for their camp to -put on their good clothes and recomb their hair. They wanted to appear -as neat and clean and well dressed as possible, before the men. Yes, -all ran for their camp, all except the chief woman. Said she: 'I -cannot leave here until I finish skinning this spotted medicine calf. -Go, all of you, and I will join you as soon as I can.' - -"The work took more time than she thought would be required, and when -she arrived in camp with the valuable skin, she found all the other -women dressed and impatient to go and choose their men. 'Oh, well, it -doesn't matter how I look,' she said. 'I am chief; I have a name; I -can go choose my man dressed just as I am. How did you say the man -chief is dressed?' - -"They told her again what he wore, according to what the messenger -man had told them, and she said: 'I'll choose him. Chief, I suppose, -must mate with chief.' - -"And so she went right on with the others, wearing her butchering -dress, all stiff with blood and grease from the neck down to the -bottom of the skirt; and her moccasins were even more foul than the -skirt. Her hands were caked with dried blood, and her hair was not -even braided. - -"Their chief leading, the women approached the waiting men, all of -them standing in a line, and singing a song of greeting. Old Man stood -at the head of the line, very straight and proud, and of fine -appearance in his beautiful new porcupine-embroidered clothes. By -these the chief woman recognized him from afar, and said to herself: -'He is a fine looking man. I hope that he will prove to be as good of -heart as he is good to look at.' And, leading her women, she walked -straight up to him and laid a hand on his arm: 'I will take you for my -man,' she told him. - -"But Old Man shrank back, his face plainly showing his loathing of -such a bloody and greasy, wild-haired woman. - -"'I take you for my man,' the woman chief repeated; and then he broke -away from her hold and ran behind his men: 'No! No! I do not want you, -bloody, greasy woman,' he cried, and went still farther off behind his -men. - -"The woman chief turned to her followers: 'Go back! Go back to that -little hill and there wait for me,' she told them. And to the men she -said, 'Remain where you are until I return. I shall not be gone long.' -And with that she turned and hurried to her camp. Her women went to -the hill. The men remained where they were. - -"Down at her camp the chief woman took off her old clothes and bathed -in the river. Then she put on her fine clothes, a pair of new -moccasins, braided her hair, scented herself with sweetgrass, and -returned to her women. She was now better dressed than any of them, -and they had told Old Man the truth when they said that she was -beautiful of face and form: she was the most beautiful woman of them -all. - -"Again she led her women to the line of waiting men. Again Old Man -stood first, stood at the head of them. But she passed him by, as -though she did not see him, and he, with a little cry, ran after her, -took her by the arm, and said: 'You are the woman for me. I am the -chief of the men: you must take me!' - -"She turned upon him, and her eyes were like fire. She tore his hand -from her arm, and cried: 'Never touch me again, good-for-nothing, -proud-and-useless man. I would die before I would mate with you.' - -"And to her women she said: 'Do not, any of you, take him for your -man.' And with that she turned and chose a man. The others then, one -by one, took their choice of the men. When all had chosen, there was -one woman who had no man; all had been taken except Old Man. She would -not have him, and became the second wife of one of the men. The -choosing over, all started for the women's camp. Old Man, now very -sad-hearted, was for following them; but the chief woman turned and -motioned him off. 'Go away. There is no food for you, no place for -you in our camp,' she told him; and he went away, crying, by himself. - -"And that is what Old Man got for being so proud." - - - -_July 30._ - -We break camp and move northward to-morrow. For the past two days some -of us have been riding about on this "Backbone-of-the-World," as the -Blackfeet call the Rocky Mountains, and we have ridden our horses -where, in former times, nothing but a bird could go. The Park -Supervisor and his engineers and miners and sappers have blasted out -trails over the highest parts of the range, making it easy and safe -for tenderfeet tourists to view the wonders of this sub-Arctic, -greater than Alpine range of mountains. One of the most impressive -views is from the summit of the trail from Upper Two Medicine Lake to -Cutbank River. The Dry Fork Trail, it is called. At its extreme height -the trail is along a mountain crest about thirty feet in width. Mr. -L. W. Hill graphically described the stretch the other day, when, -after crossing it, he said: "On its east side one can spit straight -down three thousand feet into a lake, and on the other side cast a -stone that will go down much farther than that!" - -Indeed, the view of the mountains and cliffs and canyons from that -height is so grand, so stupendous and impressive, that one cannot find -words to describe it all. - -On another day we went over Cutbank Pass and down the west side of -the range, far enough to get a good view of the Pumpelly Glacier, -and see the huge ice blocks break from it and drop from a cliff -more than two thousand feet in height. They strike the bottom of -the canyon with a reverberating crash that can be heard for miles. -Just below this glacier, down Nyack Creek three or four miles, is a -fine alkaline spring and clay bed where, in other days, old -Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill and I were wont to go for -bighorn, goats, deer, and elk. All these animals came to it in -great numbers, and drank the waters, and ate great wads of the -salty mud. We once killed a large grizzly there, whose late autumn -coat was as black as that of a black bear. - - [Illustration: STABS-BY-MISTAKE, SUN WOMAN, AND HER SON, LITTLE - OTTER IN CUTBANK CAÑON] - -This afternoon we have had further talk about the naming of these -mountains. For a wonder, the topographers have not taken away the -original name for the outer mountain on the north side of this Cutbank -Valley: we find on the map that it is still White Calf Mountain. It -was named for one of the greatest chiefs the Montana Blackfeet ever -had. As a young man, fresh from his first war trail, he witnessed the -signing of the treaty between his people and the representatives of -the United States, at the mouth of the Judith River, in 1855, so he -must have been born in 1836 or 1837. As a warrior, his rise to fame -was rapid, and many are the stories told of his indomitable bravery in -facing the enemy. In later years, because of his great interest in the -welfare of his people, he became their head chief. He died in -Washington, in 1903, while there on tribal business. - -The right names of the other mountains walling in this valley are as -follows: The unnamed mountain next west from White Calf Mountain is -Ahk´-sap-ah-ki (Generous Woman); Mount James is Ah´-kow-to-mak-an -(Double Runner); Mount Vorhis is O-nis-tai´-na (Wonderful Chief). The -west one of the Twin Buttes is Little Plume; the east one is -O-nis-tai´-mak-an (Wonderful Runner). And, as I have said, the outer -mountain on the south side of the valley is Muk-sin-a´ (Angry Woman). -All but the last one were named for old-time great chiefs and warriors -of my people, and we intend that they shall be so named on the -official maps, even if we have to petition the House of -Representatives and the Senate, in Washington, to make the change! And -you, my readers, lovers of these grandest mountains of our country, -will you not be with us in this perfectly proper request? - -Said Takes-Gun-Ahead to me this afternoon: "Who are these white men, -James, and Vorhis, for whom the mountains were named? Were they great -warriors, or presidents, or wise men?" - -I had to confess that I had never heard of them. - -"Huh!" he exclaimed. And "Huh!" all the others, even the women, -echoed. - - - - -III - -KI-NUK´-SI IS-SI-SAK´-TA (LITTLE RIVER) - - - -_August 2._ - -We moved over here on Little River--or, as the whites have named it, -Milk River--day before yesterday, and made camp at the lower edge of -the great body of timber in which the stream has its source. We are -here on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, and several miles from the -boundary line of the Glacier National Park. The state game laws do not -apply to the reservation, hence we have the right to hunt upon it when -and where we please. - - [Illustration: BIG SPRING PAINTING AUTOBIOGRAPHY ON THE FLESH SIDE - OF A TANNED ELK-SKIN] - -Yesterday Takes-Gun-Ahead and I oiled our rifles and started out after -meat. We went up the river, passing the old beaver dams that White Fur -and Loud Slap built in the long ago, and presently, in the dense -growth of pine, cottonwood, and willow, came upon old and fresh -tracks of deer and elk. We followed for a time the trail of four or -five elk, and left it to take the very fresh trail of a moose. -Takes-Gun-Ahead was in the lead, and within ten minutes he saw the -animal not fifty yards away, standing partly concealed behind a clump -of willows and watching our approach. Its head was in plain view, and -he fired and struck it just at the base of the ear, and it fell, gave -a convulsive kick or two, and was dead when we got to it. It was a -three-year-old bull, and carried a very ordinary set of antlers, -velvet-covered and still soft at the points. I dressed the carcass -while my companion went back for a horse, and before noon we had real -meat--_ni-tap´-i-wak-sin_--in camp. We distributed it among the -lodges, and there was great rejoicing. Later in the day, Two Guns and -Black Bull brought in a fine buck mule deer, and at sunset Big Spring -returned with the meat and skin of a yearling ram that he had killed -on the outer point of Divide Mountain. It was like old times,--the -camp red with meat,--and we all felt rich and happy. - -The killing of the moose in this particular place brought out a lot -of reminiscences of happenings here on Little River in other days, and -of them all I think that Takes-Gun-Ahead's story was the best. As the -pipe went the first round after our feast of roast moose ribs in Black -Bull's lodge, said he: "I will tell you the story of - - -"OLD MAN AND THE WOLVES - -"One day in that long ago time, Old Man was wandering along the edge -of this forest, having come over from Cutbank way. He was feeling very -lonely, and wondering what he could do to have a more lively time, -when, as he approached the river here, probably right where we are -camped, he saw a band of six wolves sitting on the bank, watching him. -He stopped short, watched them for a time, and then approached them, -whining out: 'My younger brothers! My younger brothers! I am very -lonely! Take pity on me: let me be a wolf with you!' - -"As I have said, the wolves were six: the old father and mother, -their two daughters, and their sons, Heavy Body and Long Body. The old -father wolf answered Old Man. 'Just what do you mean?' he asked. 'Is -it that you want me to change you into a wolf--that you want to live -just as we do?' - -"'I want to live with you, hunt with you,' he answered, 'but I don't -want to be changed wholly into a wolf. Just make my head and neck to -look like yours, and put wolf hair on my legs and arms, and that will -be about enough of a change. I will keep my body just as it is.' - -"'Very well, we will do that for you,' said the old wolf; and he took -a gray medicine and rubbed it on Old Man's head and neck and legs and -arms, and made the change. 'There!' said he. 'My work is done. I would -like to have made you all wolf, your body as well as the rest of you, -but you will do as you are; you are quite wolf-like. And now, let me -tell you something about our family. My old wife and I don't hunt -much. Your two younger brothers there are the runners and killers, and -their sisters help in the way of heading off and confusing the game. -Your younger brother there, Long Body, is the swiftest runner, but he -hasn't the best of wind. However, he generally overtakes and kills -whatever he chases. Your other younger brother, Heavy Body, is not a -fast runner, but he has great staying power, never gets winded, and in -the end brings down his game. And now you know them. Whenever you feel -like hunting, one or the other of them, as you choose, will go with -you.' - -"'You are very kind to me,' said Old Man. 'I am now very tired, but -to-morrow I shall want to hunt with one or the other of them.' - -"'We are also tired; we have come a long way; it is best that we all -rest during this night,' said the old wolf; and he led the way up to -the top of a high ridge on the north side of the valley, where all lay -down. - -"'But why rest out on top of this barren, windy place, instead of in -the shelter of the timber?' Old Man asked, his teeth beginning to -chatter from the cold. - -"'We never rest in the timber,' the old wolf replied. 'There enemies -would have a good chance to take us unawares. Here we can see afar -everything that moves, and as one or another of us is always on watch, -we can keep out of danger. Also, we can look down and see the -different kinds of game, and make our plans to chase what we want, -head it off, tire it out, and kill it. We always, summer and winter, -do our resting and sleeping on high places.' - -"Before the night was far gone, Old Man became so cold that he -trembled all over, and, try as he would, he could not keep his jaws -together. - -"'You annoy us with your tremblings, and your teeth chatterings; you -keep us from sleeping,' the old wolf complained. - -"'Well, I shall not annoy you long,' Old Man answered, 'because I -shall soon freeze to death!' - -"The old wolf aroused his wife and children: 'This tender-bodied elder -brother of ours is freezing. I suppose we have to protect him. Lie -down in a circle around him and cover him with your tails,' he told -them. - -"They did so, and he was soon overcome with heat: 'Take your -ill-smelling tails from my body; I am wet with perspiration!' he -gasped. They removed their tails and he soon began to shiver. 'Put -them back! I freeze!' he cried; and they did as he commanded. During -the night he had them cover him many times with their tails, and as -many times remove them. He passed a miserable night, and so did the -wolves, for he kept them from sleeping. - -"At break of day all arose, and, looking down into the valley, saw a -lone, buck mule deer feeding farther and farther away from the timber. -They made a plan for capturing it. They all sneaked around into the -timber, and then Long Body and Old Man crept down the valley until the -buck saw them and ran, and then they chased it. Long Body soon pulled -it down, and Old Man came up in time to seize and break its neck, and -felt very proud of himself. The other wolves soon came to the kill, -and all feasted. The carcass lasted them two days. - -"Again and again they went to the top of the ridge to pass the night, -and Old Man soon became so used to the cold that he did not need tail -covering. When the deer was eaten, they killed another one, and then a -buffalo bull, which lasted them some days. Then, after two failures in -chasing antelope and some hungry days, Long Body killed a big bull -elk, just outside the timber here. They were several days eating it, -but at last all the meat and the soft bones were finished, and nothing -but the backbone and the hard leg bones remained. Said the old wolf -then: 'We must be saving of what we have left, for it may be some time -before we can make another killing. To-day we will take turns chewing -the upper bone of a hind leg.' - -"They gathered in a small circle with one of the bones, noses to the -center, and the old wolf said to Old Man: 'Now, while this chewing is -going on, bone splinters are bound to fly. You must keep your eyes -tight shut until it comes your turn to chew, else you may get a -splinter that will blind you.' - -"Old Man did as he was told. The old wolf began the chewing, and -after gnawing off the end of the bone, and getting a little of the -marrow, called out to his wife that it was her turn to chew and passed -her the bone. And so from one to another it went around the circle -until Long Body got it, and Old Man's turn came next. His curiosity -now got the better of him: he just had to see what was going on, and -slowly opened one eye, the one next to Long Body. All the wolves had -their heads to the ground or resting on their fore paws, and all--even -Long Body, busily chewing the bone--kept their eyes tight shut. 'Huh! -This is a queer way to feast,' Old Man said to himself, and just then -a splinter flew from the bone and struck his open eye, not putting it -out, but causing him great pain and making him very angry. 'I will pay -him for that!' he thought, and waited his turn at the bone, becoming -more and more angry as he waited. - -"'Your turn, Old Man,' said Long Body after a time, and passed him the -bone. Old Man took it, chewed it for a time, looking sharply at all -the wolves. All had their eyes tight shut, so, raising the bone as -high as he could, he brought it down with all the force of his arm -upon Long Body's head and killed him. The other wolves, hearing his -twitching, as he died, opened their eyes, saw him dead, and Old Man -staring in horror at what he had done. - -"'Oh, what have you done! You have killed your younger brother!' the -old wolf cried. - -"'I didn't mean to,' Old Man answered. 'When he was chewing the bone -he let a splinter fly, and it struck me in this eye. I meant to punish -him a little for being so careless, but I did not mean to kill him. I -must have struck harder than I thought to do.' - -"'You had your eyes open! It was your fault that you got the -splinter!' the old wolf said; and then he and all the rest began -grieving for their dead. - -"All the rest of that day, and all through the night, they howled and -howled, and Old Man thought that he would go mad from the mournfulness -of it all. He was very sorry--he hated himself for what he had done in -his anger. - -"The mourning-time over, the wolves dug a hole in the ground and -buried Long Body, and then scolded Old Man. 'Had you killed my son -intentionally,' the old wolf concluded, 'we would have had your life -in payment for his life. As it is, we will give you one more trial: -see that such an accident as that never again occurs!' - -"'Younger brother,' said Old Man, 'I am grieving and very restless -because of what I have done. I want to be moving; to be doing -something. Let Heavy Body go with me up in this pine forest, and we -will try to kill something.' - -"The old wolf remained silent for some time, thinking, and at last -answered: 'Yes, I will allow him to go with you, and remember this: if -anything happens to him, we shall hold you responsible, and great will -be your punishment!' - -"The two started off, and Old Man said to his partner, 'In some ways I -am wiser than you. I have this to say, and you must heed it: Whatever -you start after, be it deer or elk or moose, and no matter how close -you may get to it, if it crosses a stream, even a little stream that -you can jump, stop right there and turn back. Mind, now, even if a few -more leaps will get you to the animal's throat, you are not to make -those leaps if it crosses a stream. Should you keep on, death in some -form will get you.' - -"'How do you know this?' Heavy Body asked. - -"'I may not tell you all that I know,' Old Man replied. 'I have given -you the warning; heed it.' - -"They went farther up in the timber, and after some nosing of trails -started a big bull moose, and took after it, Heavy Body running far in -the lead. He was fast gaining upon it, was almost at its heels, when -it jumped into a wide, long pond, really a widening of the creek, and -started swimming across it to an island, and from that to the other -shore. Heavy Body thought of Old Man's warning, but said to himself: -'He doesn't know everything. I must have that moose!' And into the -water he went and started swimming toward the island. And just as he -was nearing it a water bear sprang from the shore, and killed him, -and dragged him to land, and Old Man appeared at the edge of the pond -just in time to see the bear and her two nearly grown young begin -feasting upon her kill. With a heart full of rage and sorrow, he -turned back into the timber and considered how he could revenge the -death of Heavy Body. - -"Two mornings later, just before daylight, Old Man came again to the -shore of the pond, and close to the edge of the water took his stand -and gave himself the appearance of an old stump. Soon after sunrise -the old water bear, coming out from the brush on the island, saw it, -sat up and stared at it, and said to herself: 'I do not remember -having seen that stump before. I suspicion that it is Old Man, come to -do me harm. I saw him right there when I killed the wolf.' - -"She stared and stared at the stump, and at last called out her young, -and said to one of them: 'Go across there and bite, and claw that -stump. I believe that it is Old Man. If it is, he will cry out and run -when you hurt him.' - -"The young bear swam across and went up to the stump, and bit, and -clawed it, and hurt Old Man. He was almost on the point of giving up -and running away, when it left him and went back to the island and -told the old one that the stump was a stump, and nothing else. But the -old one was not satisfied. She sent the other young one over, and it -bit and clawed Old Man harder than its brother had, but he stood the -pain, bad as it was, and that young one went back and also said that -the stump was just a common old stump and without life. - -"But the old water bear was not yet satisfied. She went across -herself, and bit and tore at the stump with her claws, and what Old -Man had suffered from the others was nothing compared to what he -endured from her attack. He stood it, however, and at last, satisfied -that her children had been right, that this was a stump and nothing -else, she left it and started back for the island. Then it was that, -just as she was entering the water, Old Man picked up the bow and -arrows he had made during the two days back in the timber and shot an -arrow into her, well back in the loin; but she dove under water so -quickly that he could not see whether he had hit her or not. She swam -under water clear around back of the island, and went ashore where he -could not see her. He turned, then, and went away back in the timber, -and slept all the rest of the day and all of the following night. - -"Early the next morning he was approaching the pond by way of the -stream running from it, when he saw a kingfisher sitting on a limb of -a tree overhanging the water, and looking intently down into it: -'Little brother, what do you there?' he asked. - -"'The old water bear has been shot,' the bird answered. 'She bathes in -the water, and clots of blood and pieces of fat escape from the wound, -and when they come floating along here I seize them, and eat them.' - -"'Ha! So I did hit her!' Old Man said. 'How badly, I wonder?' - -"He went on up the shore of the stream, trying to think of some way to -get complete revenge for the death of Heavy Body, when he heard some -one out in the brush chanting: 'Some one has shot the old water bear! -I have to doctor the old water bear! Some one has shot the old water -bear! I have to doctor the old water bear!' - -"He went out to see who this might be, and found that it was the bull -frog, jumping about and making the chant after every jump. He went to -him and asked if the bear was much hurt? - -"'There is an arrow in her loin,' the frog answered, 'and as soon as I -find a certain medicine plant, I shall pull the arrow out and apply -the crushed plant to the wound. I believe that I can save her life.' - -"'That you never will,' Old Man said, and fired an arrow into him, and -killed him. He then took his skin, put it on, tore up a handful of a -green plant, and swam to the island. As soon as he reached the shore -he began chanting as the frog had done: 'Some one has shot the old -water bear! I have to doctor the old water bear!' And so, chanting and -jumping, he followed a trail into the brush and came upon the old -bear and her two young. She was lying on her side, breathing heavily, -and her eyes were shut. Old Man bent over her, and, firmly grasping -the arrow, shoved it in until it pierced her heart, and she gave a -kick and died! He then picked up a club and killed the two young. -'There! That ends the water bear family. I was crazy ever to have made -her and her husband!' he exclaimed. - -"Casting off the frog skin now, he with great difficulty floated the -three bears from the island to the shore of the pond. There, a short -distance back from it, he found a bowl-shaped depression in the -ground. Into this he dragged the carcasses of the bears, after -skinning them and taking off all the fat from their meat and insides, -and then he tried out the fat and poured the oil over them, completely -covering them and filling the depression. He then called the animals. -'All you who would be fat, come bathe in this oil,' he shouted. And on -all sides the animals heard and began to come in. The bears--real -bears, the grizzly and the black--came first and rolled in the oil, -and ever since that time they have been the fattest of all animals. -Then came the skunk; next the badger; after him the porcupine, and -rolled in the oil and got fat. The beaver came and swam across the -oil. All that part of him above the water as he swam--his head and the -forward part of his back--got no fat, but all the rest of his -body--his sides, belly, and tail--became extremely fat. Last of all -the animals came the rabbit. He did not go into the oil, but, dipping -a paw into it, rubbed it upon his back between his shoulders and upon -the inside of each leg. That is why he has no fat on other parts of -his body. - -"'Well, there!' Old Man exclaimed, after the rabbit had gone. 'I have -done some good. I have avenged the death of my wolf partner and have -made fat many of my younger brothers!' And with that he started off -seeking more adventures. - -"Kyi! My story ends." - - - -_August 4._ - -Not for many years, I am sure, have my relatives and friends here been -so happy as they are just now. Instead of beef or no meat of any -kind, as is generally the case with them when at home,--some die every -winter from want of food,--they have now in every lodge real meat; -meat of moose and elk and bighorn, and so are living much as they did -in the days before the white men overran their country and killed off -their game. - - [Illustration: SUN WOMAN, DAUGHTER OF TAKES-GUN-AHEAD AND WIFE OF - STABS-BY-MISTAKE] - -A happy heart sharpens one's wits. All day yesterday, as I knew, my -two old relatives, Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill and Yellow Wolf, -were considering what other one of the tribal stories about the Little -River country would most please me. I had told them that I could not -put them all down--could use only two or three of the most interesting -ones. And so, when we all gathered in Yellow Wolf's lodge last -evening, and the pipe was lighted and started on the round of our -circle, he said that it had been decided that I should have the story -of the rescue of a boy from the Crows, and that he would tell it. It -was called, he said, the story of - - -"NEW ROBE, THE RESCUER - -"In the long ago, before our forefathers had taken this country from -the Crows, they were one summer camping and hunting on the Big River -of the North.[7] Came the evening of a long, hot day, and a boy of -eight or nine winters--Lone Star was his name--failed to return to his -parents' lodge. The chiefs ordered the camp crier out, and he went all -among the lodges, shouting the news, and asking if any one had seen -the boy? None had; so then the chiefs ordered all the men and youths -to go out and try to find him. All that moonlit night, and all the -next day, they searched the surrounding country, but got no trace of -him. Every alighting buzzard was marked down, but in every instance it -was found to be feasting upon the remains of game that the hunters had -killed. So then, although his body could not be found, most of the -people believed that the boy was dead. His beautiful sister, Red -Cloud Woman, and his father, Black Bear, thought otherwise; they -believed that he had been stolen by the enemy, and publicly, all -through the camp, the two went, the girl vowing that she would marry -whoever would find her brother, the old man adding that she had his -permission to make the vow. - - [7] Ap-ut´-o-sosts O´muk-at-ai (Big River of the North). The - Saskatchewan. - -"There was in the camp a very poor young man, named New Robe. So poor -was he that he had never owned a new robe, nor a new shirt, nor -leggins, nor even new moccasins. His father and mother were dead, and -always, as far back as he could remember, he had worn nothing but the -used clothes the charitable had given him. He had never been to war, -had never done anything to make a name for himself, but now he was -eager to start in quest of the missing boy. He had long loved the -girl, but had never even spoken to her. He now went to her and said: -'Tell no one about it. Just silently pray for me. I am going to travel -far in search of your brother.' - -"Said the girl: 'This is not a time for me to hide my heart from you. -I have watched you, loved you for a very long time. But what could I -say? Nothing. Well I knew that my people would not allow me to marry -one so poor as you. But now there is hope for us; somehow I believe -that this trouble is to be the means of bringing us together.' And -with that she kissed him, and he went quietly out from camp, -unobserved by any one, and started southward on his quest. - -"Many days later, in the valley of Old Man's River, New Robe came upon an -old camp-ground of the enemy--Crows, of course, for that was then their -country. From it he found that they had moved south, and he followed -their trail, ever along the foot of the mountains, and knew that he was -fast overtaking them. At the River-of-Many-Chiefs-Gathering[8] he found -live coals in the ashes of their abandoned fireplaces, and so, upon -arriving at the top of the ridge overlooking this stream, he was not -surprised to see the lodges of the great Crow camp here--right here -where we are encamped to-night. They were set up in a great circle, and -in the center of it was a huge lodge covered with old lodge skins: the -Crows were having their medicine lodge ceremonies! - - [8] St. Mary's River. - -"As soon as night came and before the moon arose, New Robe descended -the hill and entered the camp. The people were all of them gathered at -the medicine lodge, singing and dancing, and fulfilling their vows to -the sun, so he went from one living lodge to another, looking into -each for some sign of the missing boy. By the time he had made the -round of the lodges of half of the circle it was midnight, and the -people were beginning to go home to sleep. He left the camp and went -back on the ridge, having found no trace of the one for whom he -searched. - -"The next night New Robe descended the ridge and searched the lodges -of the other half of the circle, and found not what he sought. When he -had finished, the people were still gathered at the medicine lodge, -and, desperate, and knowing well the great risk that he would incur, -he went toward it, and stood at the outer edge of the great crowd and -watched the ceremonial dancing of the different warrior clans. He kept -his face partly concealed with his old robe, and moved from place to -place around the outer circle of the people, and none observed him, so -intent were they upon watching the dancers. - -"At last, during a quiet interval between dances, he imagined that he -heard some one groaning, but, look where he would, he could see no one -in distress, nor could he locate the exact place from which the -groaning came. It was a light-voiced groaning, such as a child would -make; he felt sure that it came from little Lone Star, somewhere in -that great lodge, and in great pain. He left the place, went outside -the circle of lodges, and lay down. - -"It was long past midnight when the people returned to their lodges. -Then, as soon as the camp became quiet, New Robe returned to the -medicine lodge, and, listening, heard faint groaning and located it. -It came from the top of the center post, where all the sacrifices to -the sun were hung. He was sure then that it was no other than Lone -Star up there, lashed to the post, a living sacrifice to the sun, and -there to die! - -"Well he knew that there, within the lodge, were sleeping the women -who had vowed to build the great structure in honor of the sun. And -there, too, in his secret, walled-off little inner lodge, slept the -medicine man whose duty it was to drive back approaching thunderclouds -and rain. He had to risk awakening them! He had at least to attempt to -rescue the boy! So, casting off his robe, he climbed the outer wall of -the lodge, and from it crawled along one of the big long poles that -slanted up to the center post. There he found Lone Star, firmly lashed -to one of its forks, and so far gone that he could no longer even -groan. - -"Silently, very carefully, New Robe unwound the lashing, and then, -fastening an end of it under the boy's arms, let him down to the -ground. He then descended, and found that the boy was so numb that he -could not walk. There was but one thing to do then. He took the -helpless one upon his back, stole out of the lodge, and started with -him across the big camp-ground. Dawn had come. As he was passing the -circle of lodges, an early riser, a woman, saw him and with her -shrieks aroused all the near-by sleepers. They rushed out, warriors -and youths, the women following, and overtook him. He made no -resistance. He could have left the boy and made his own escape, but he -would not do that. Several old warriors seized him and the boy, and -hurried them to the lodge of the head chief, the women and the youths -following and crying out that they be killed. Inside the lodge, the -chief motioned them to seats, and in signs asked New Robe what he had -to say for himself. - -"'I came not to harm you,' New Robe answered, 'nor to take from you -anything that is yours. I came to find this boy, and take him back to -his mourning father and mother and sister. And where did I find him! -Tied to the center post of your medicine lodge, there to die from -want of water and food, a living but dying sacrifice to the sun! That -were too cruel a thing to do. I ask you not to put him back there. If -he is to die, I die with him. Shoot us, stab us, kill us in any way -you choose, so that our death be quick!' - -"The chief gave him no answer to that. He counseled with the other -chiefs for a long time, and at last signed to him: 'You are so brave -that we shall give you and the boy a chance for your lives. You are to -remain here in this lodge to-day, to-night, to-morrow, and the -following night. My young men will keep watch on you, so do not -attempt to escape. On the morning following your second night here, -you are to be given your chance to leave us unharmed. I shall not now -tell you what that chance will be.' And then, turning to his men, he -gave them certain orders, and they hurried from the lodge. - -"During the two days and two nights, New Robe prayed as he never had -before, prayed for strength and courage to succeed in whatever he -should be told to do. The people of the lodge treated him and the boy -well. They did not want for food, nor anything else that would make -for their comfort. Early in the morning after the second night, the -chief signed to him: 'It is not my fault, nor the fault of my under -chiefs, that you have to undergo this trial for your life and that of -the boy this day. My people were crying for your lives; they wanted to -drag you two out from here and fill your bodies with arrows. I did not -want them to do that; my council of chiefs did not want it done; so we -counseled together and hit upon a way to give you a chance for your -lives. It is not an easy thing that you have to attempt, but I hope -you will succeed. And, whatever happens, believe this: I have done the -best for you that I could!' - -"A little later, soon after the morning meal, the chief signed the two -captives to follow him, and led them to the medicine lodge. In front -of it were seven fresh buffalo bull heads which a number of men were -skinning, and out in front of them, in a great half-circle, were -gathered every man, woman, and child of the Mountain Crow tribe. New -Robe wondered what was to be done with the seven buffalo heads; he -suspected that they were to be in some way used in his trial for life. - -"'Come!' the chief signed, and led him and the boy to the entrance of -the medicine lodge. There they stood, the mark of many flashing, angry -eyes, and presently the skinners finished their work, and an old chief -placed the shining skulls in a line out from the doorway of the lodge, -each one of them a long step distant from another. - -"Again the head chief made signs to New Robe: 'There is your trial for -life,' he said. 'You are to take the boy on your back, and step from -one to the other of those skulls until you step upon the last one; -pass from it to the ground. If you succeed in doing that, you and the -boy are free to go to your home, and none of my people shall harm you -on your way. But should you slip from a skull, and even so much as -touch the ground with your toe, to save your balance, then the -warriors standing out there will fall upon you, and kill you both.' - -"New Robe looked long at the seven skulls, considering what he should -do. Being freshly skinned, he knew that they were very slippery. And -then, which would be safest, to step slowly, carefully, from one to -another, or make a run across them touching each one quickly, lightly? -They were far apart; too far for slow, deliberate stepping; he -concluded that the thing to do was to start running from the back of -the lodge, and go along the line of them as fast as he could with his -burden. He signed to the chief that he would do that, and led the boy -to the back of the lodge. - -"While going there another thought came to him. He got back of the -boy, and stooped, and while pretending to fix the young one's belt and -leggins, kept spitting in two places upon the ground. He then stepped -squarely in each pool of the spit and then upon soft ground, and -coated his moccasin soles with the sandy earth. Then, suddenly -swinging the boy to his back, and running swiftly across the lodge, he -lit upon the first skull with his right foot, and went leaping on -from one to another as fast as he could with the weight upon his back. -The third skull began to turn with him, and he made a weak leap from -it, barely alighting upon the next. But it held firm and he made a -sure leap from it to the next, and from that to the next, and then, -stepping squarely upon the seventh, and last skull, passed from it to -the ground, and released the boy from his back. - -"The crowd stood silent, sullen, watching him. The head chief came to -his side and spoke to them, and they suddenly broke out in loud -cheers. The chief then signed to New Robe: 'There is one thing more -you are asked to do before we send you home. You do not have to do it, -but we hope that you will. Come with me!' - -"They went to the lodge of a young chief, and when they were seated, -the chief signed to New Robe: 'My father, once a great chief, is an -old man. He does not want to die of old age and long and painful -illness, and he wants a chance to kill one more enemy before he dies. -He wants to fight you. If he kills you, then that will be good. If -you kill him, then you shall have his war horse and all his weapons, -and I will give you a fine present, and you and the boy shall go to -your home in perfect safety. Now, what say you to that?' - -"'I have no weapons,' New Robe objected. - -"'Weapons you shall have,' the other replied. 'All the warriors of the -camp are anxious to loan you what they have. You shall go with me and -examine what they have until you find just what you want.' - -"New Robe considered the matter. If he won out, what honor, what a -_coup_ it would be to return to his people with the weapons and the -war horse of his enemy. If he lost, if he was killed--a sudden doubt -struck him, and he asked: 'If I fall, what will become of the boy?' - -"'We promise you now,' the chiefs both answered, 'that in that case -some of us will take the boy to within sight of the camp of your -people, and send him safely to it.' - -"'I take your word for that, and now give me weapons,' said New Robe. - -"He was offered his choice of many bows and spears, war clubs and -knives, but took only a short, lithe bow and a handful of -well-feathered arrows. Then, standing within the circle of the lodges, -he awaited the coming of the old chief. He soon appeared, wearing a -beautiful war costume and riding a sorrel pinto war horse. And now, -dressed as he was, and easily controlling his fiery-tempered mount, he -did not seem to be so very old; at a distance one would have thought -him a young warrior. His weapon in hand was a long, scalp-tufted -spear. On his back he carried a bow and otter-skin quiver of arrows, -and in his belt, in a handsome sheath, quill-embroidered, was his -knife. Said New Robe to himself: 'He looks strong, he is brave. Well, -I too must be brave, and watchful.' - -"Forth and back across the other side of the big circle rode the old -man, singing a war song, brandishing his spear, keeping his prancing -war horse well in hand. And then, suddenly urging him forward, he came -swift as the wind at New Robe. And he, dropping his tattered wrap, -awaited his coming with ready bow. On he came, shouting his war cry, -and when quite close New Robe let fly his long and heavy-shafted -arrow. It struck the old warrior fair in the ribs. He flinched, the -mounting blood choked off his war cry, but on he came, and with a last -great effort hurled his spear, and fell from his horse and died,--died -without knowing that the weapon had passed high over New Robe's head! - -"And then what a shout went up from all the people! Shouts of honor -for the old chief who had preferred death in battle instead of in his -lodge, and shouts too for the young man who had so bravely faced him. -New Robe knew not what to do. He stood looking this way, that way, -uncertainly. Then came to him the son of the old dead chief and signed -to him to take the horse and the weapons of his enemy, and he did so. -Then the young man brought to him another horse, a big and gentle -black: 'I said that I would give you something,' he signed, 'and here -it is. The boy can ride it home. You may go now, both of you, and go -without fear of pursuit: not a man in this camp shall follow you!' -And without wasting any time the two mounted the horses and rode -northward away from the camp. - -"In the Blackfeet camp Lone Star's father and mother grieved more and -more for the loss of him, but his sister, Red Cloud Woman, would not -believe that he was dead; had somehow faith that he was alive; that -New Robe would find him, and bring him safely home. And at last, when -she saw that her father and mother were likely to go mad from grief, -she told them that New Robe had gone in search of the boy, and that -she would marry him, even if he returned alone. Morning after morning -she went up on a butte close to camp and watched the great plain -stretching away to the south, and all day long, and often on her couch -at night, prayed for the safe return of brother and lover. - -"And then, at last, after many, many days of worried watching, she saw -two riders coming from the south across the plain, and, sure that they -were those she had been praying for, ran to meet them. They were the -missing ones. They sprang from their fine horses, and she kissed -first her brother and then clung to New Robe: 'I am right now your -woman,' she cried, and kissed him again. 'And I am proud to be your -woman,' she went on, 'so take me up behind you and we will all ride -home!' - -"She got up behind him on his prancing war horse, and as they rode in -he quickly told her of his adventures, and how, at last, he had fought -and killed the old war chief, and for that had been given the two -horses and all the weapons and fine war clothes she saw. So it was -that, coming into camp, she had the tale of his brave deeds to shout -to the people, and they, gathering close around, honored his name and -gave him a chief's greeting. Yes, the poor orphan had within the -length of one moon become a chief, and had made a mourning father and -mother happy. That very night he and Red Cloud Woman were given a -lodge of their own, and their happiness was complete." - - - - -IV - -PUHT-O-MUK-SI-KIM-IKS (THE LAKES INSIDE): ST. MARY'S LAKES - - - -_August 10._ - -We left Little River on the 5th, crossed the big ridge dividing the -Arctic and the Atlantic waters, and made camp here on the big prairie -at the foot of the Upper St. Mary's Lake. - -In the old days this great valley, hemmed in by gigantic mountains, -was my favorite hunting ground after the buffalo were exterminated and -there was no more sport to be had upon the plains. - - [Illustration: CAMP NEAR LOWER END OF UPPER ST. MARY'S LAKE] - -Hugh Monroe, or Rising Wolf, was, of course, the first white man to -see these most beautiful of all our Northern Rockies lakes; with the -Piegan Blackfeet he camped at them in 1816, and long afterward, with -his growing family of hardy sons and daughters, this became his -favorite hunting and trapping ground. When, in the 1830's, that -valiant and much beloved missionary, Father De Smet, S.J., was -visiting the various tribes of this Northwest country, Monroe was -engaged to take him to a conference with the North Blackfeet, then -camping on the Saskatchewan River. _En route_ they camped at the foot -of the lower of these lakes, and there erected a large wooden cross, -and named the two sheets of water, St. Mary's Lakes. Later on, the -Stevens expedition named them Chief Mountain Lakes, but that name did -not last. Monroe and his brother trappers were all Catholics, and they -continued to use the name that the great priest had given them, and on -the maps they are St. Mary's Lakes to-day. - -During my long friendship with him, Monroe told me many stories of his -adventures here in early days. This was his favorite mountain resort -on account of the great numbers of moose that inhabited the heavily -timbered valley and mountain slopes, and of the great variety and -numbers of fur animals that were found here. The valley swarmed with -elk and deer; there were countless flocks of bighorn and goats on the -mountains, and herds of buffalo everywhere along the lower lake, and -below it; but Monroe liked best of all the flesh of moose, and killed -large numbers of them every season that he camped here. - -His method of catching wolves was simple and unique. He would build an -oblong, pyramidal log pen about eight by sixteen feet at the base, and -eight feet in height, the last layer of logs being placed about -eighteen inches apart. Easily climbing the slope of this, the wolves -would jump down through the narrow aperture at the top to feed upon -the quantities of meat that had been placed inside to decoy them, but -they could not jump out. Often, of a morning, the trapper and his sons -would find ten or more big wolves imprisoned in the trap, and, powder -and ball being very costly, they would kill them with bow and arrows, -skin them, and drag the carcasses to the river and cast them into it, -then take the hides home and peg them on the ground to dry. In this -manner they would often, in the spring, have several hundred wolf -pelts to pack in to Fort Benton for sale, and prime pelts sold at five -dollars each, in trade. Their catch of beaver, otter, mink, martin, -and fisher was also large. - -Monroe always camped at the foot of the lower lake, near the outlet, -and was there more than once attacked by roving war parties of -Assiniboines, Crows, and even the Yanktonais. The horses were kept at -night in a strong corral just back of the lodge, and in the daytime -were watched by some member of the family while they grazed on the -rich prairie grasses. All the family--John and François, the sons, -Millie and Lizzie, the daughters--and even the mother had guns, -flintlocks, and a good supply of powder and ball. Early one morning a -large war party was discovered approaching the camp, sneaking from -bush to bush, some crawling on all fours through the high grass. -Lizzie opened fire upon them and killed her man, and then the fire -became general on both sides. But the Monroes, in their trenches -surrounding the lodge, had the best of it from the start, and -eventually made the enemy retreat with a loss of five of their -number. Late the following night the Assiniboines crept in to make -another attack, but the Monroes were expecting them, waiting for them, -and in the bright moonlight could take fairly accurate aim. They again -drove them off, with a loss of two more of their number, and that time -they kept going. Nothing more was seen of them. But for some days the -Monroes did not venture far from their camp. - -I first saw the St. Mary's Lakes in October, 1882, in company with -Charles Phemmister, James Rutherford, Charles Carter, and Oliver -Sanderville, all old plainsmen, good company, and best of hunters. We -outfitted for the trip at the Old Agency, on Badger Creek, Blackfeet -Reservation, and started northward. There was no trail after leaving -the crossing of Little or Milk River, and we struck up country toward -the big gap in the mountains, in which we knew the lakes must lie, and -that evening camped on the shore of a large prairie lake that was -black with ducks. I shot a dozen or more of them as they flew over a -long point, and to my surprise and delight found that they were all -canvasbacks and redheads, and very fat from feeding upon the wild -celery beds of the lake. I named the sheet of water Duck Lake. - -The next day we made a trail down the long hill, and camped at the -foot of the lower lake, close to the outlet. Then began two weeks of -most glorious sport. We shot elk, deer, and several grizzlies in the -valley, and bighorn on a mountain that I named Flat Top, and combed -that mountain from one end to another and on all sides for an animal -known to us as the Rocky Mountain ibex. We had seen several skins of -them, bought from the Stony Indians by Captain John Healy, of Fort -Whoopup and Fort Benton fame, but none of us nor any man of our -acquaintance--and we knew every trapper and trader in the country--had -ever seen one of the animals alive. Of course we found none, as this -sub-Arctic animal, which we later learned is a true antelope, and not -an ibex or goat, seldom leaves the high cliff mountains for the outer -and lower ones of the range. When, later, we did find them, we in our -ignorance named them Rocky Mountain goats, and that is the common name -for them to-day, despite the fact that they are antelopes. - -On this first visit to the St. Mary's Lakes country I was so impressed -by the grandeur of its mountains, the beauty of its many lakes, and -its plenitude of game, that thereafter for many years it was, more -than anywhere else, my home. In 1883 I brought out to the lakes a good -boat that I had had built for me at Fort Conrad, and with it learned -that both lakes were alive with whitefish and Mackinaw, Dolly Varden, -and cutthroat trout. During the summer of this year I named Red Eagle -Mountain and Red Eagle Lake, after my uncle-in-law, Red Eagle, owner -of the Thunder medicine pipe, and one of the most high-minded, -gentle-hearted Indians that I ever knew. In the autumn of this year -Dr. George Bird Grinnell joined me, and we hunted around the lower -lake, and went up Swift Current far enough to see what we thought -would possibly prove to be a glacier. We had not then time to learn -if our surmise was correct. During our hunt Dr. Grinnell killed a -large ram at long range, offhand, with one shot from his old Sharp's -rifle, on the mountain next above Flat Top, and I therefore named it -Single-Shot Mountain. - - [Illustration: AT THE NARROWS. UPPER ST. MARY'S LAKE] - -In the summer of this year I also named Divide Mountain, because it is -the outermost mountain on the Atlantic-Arctic watershed. At the same -time I named Kootenai Mountain, also for a very good reason. Some -members of that tribe were encamped beside me at the foot of the upper -lake. I noticed often that they would ride out of camp at daylight and -return at noon or a little later with all the bighorn or goat meat -that their horses could carry, and finally I asked them where they -went to make their killings so quickly. - -"Come with me to-morrow and I will show you something," one of them -answered. And the next morning I rode with him up Red Eagle Valley and -part way up a mountain, where we tied our horses and went on afoot for -a couple of hundred yards. Then, looking down into a _coulée_, we saw -a dozen or more bighorn in the bottom of it and killed four of them. -They had been eating salty clay and drinking from a salt spring that -oozes from the ground there, so I named the place Kootenai Lick, and -also gave the mountain the name Kootenai. Thereafter I knew where to -go for bighorn when I wanted one. - -In 1884 I named Almost-a-Dog Mountain, after one of the few survivors -of the Baker massacre, which took place on the Marias River, January -1, 1870. At that time Colonel E. M. Baker, with a couple of companies -of cavalry from Fort Shaw, Montana, was trying to find the camp of Owl -Child, a Piegan Blackfoot, and murderer of a settler named Malcolm -Clark, and arrest him. By mistake he struck the camp of Heavy Runner -and his band of friendly Indians, and, although the chief came running -toward him waving his letters of recommendation and his Washington -medals, Baker ordered his men to begin firing, and a terrible massacre -ensued, the Indians firing not one shot in defense, as about all the -able-bodied men were at the time on a buffalo hunt. When the firing -was over, two hundred and seventeen old men and women and children lay -dead and dying in their lodges and in the camp. The soldiers then shot -the wounded, collected the lodges and property of the Indians in great -piles, and set fire to them and departed.[9] - - [9] The above is an extract from an affidavit by the late Joseph - Kipp, who was Baker's scout and guide at the time. - -In the autumn of 1885 Dr. Grinnell, J. B. Monroe, and I made a trip up -Swift Current River, and discovered and roughly measured the big -glacier at the head of its middle fork, Dr. Grinnell killing a big ram -on the ice while we were traversing it and avoiding its deep -crevasses. That evening Monroe and I named the glacier in honor of Dr. -Grinnell, and also named the mountain to the north of it after him. On -the following day we were joined by Lieutenant--now Major--J. H. -Beacom, Third Infantry, and he gave my Indian name, Apikuni, to the -high mountain between Swift Current and the South Fork of Kennedy -Creek. Upon our return to Upper St. Mary's Lake, Dr. Grinnell named -Little Chief Mountain, Monroe gave Citadel Mountain its name, and I -named Yellow Fish, Goat, Going-to-the-Sun, and Four Bears Mountains. -Yellow Fish (O-to-ko´-mi) was an Indian who often hunted with us, and -Four Bears (Nis-su´-kyai-yo) was the Blackfeet camp crier, and a most -amusing man. - -It was in 1886, I believe, that we three, and my old-time friend, -William Jackson, one-time scout for General Custer and General Miles, -cut a trail to the head of the St. Mary's Valley and discovered the -great sheet of ice which we named the Blackfeet Glacier. We at the -same time named Gun-Sight Pass, and named the peak just west of the -glacier, Mount Jackson. It should be Sik-si-kai´-kwan (Blackfeet Man), -Jackson's Indian name. He was a grandson of Hugh Monroe, a real -plainsman, and one of the bravest men I ever knew. - - [Illustration: GOING-TO-THE-SUN MOUNTAIN] - -Going-to-the-Sun has been climbed this day, and a flag has been -planted upon its summit, by Paul E. Walker, Esq., of Topeka, Kansas. -Owing to a high cliff upon its upper shoulder, the mountain has always -been considered unclimbable. But after long search, and with no little -risk, Mr. Walker finally worked out a way up the wall, and out upon -the extreme crest, and was undoubtedly the first man, white or red, -ever to stand there. He reports that a magnificent view of the -mountains and plains is to be had from the great height. - - - -_August 12._ - -We have more real meat in camp. Yesterday Black Bull went up under the -north point of Flat Top Mountain, which is on the Indian Reservation, -and killed two fat young rams. I went fishing, and in the first pool -of the river below the upper lake, caught several two- and three-pound -cutthroat trout. We had a great feast in the evening--roast bighorn -ribs, broiled trout, a quantity of blueberries, and so on. - -After the feast was over came story-telling time, and we heard this -man's and that man's experiences in hunting in this vicinity in other -days, Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill relating a hard experience -that befell him when once wintering here with me. He was chasing a -wounded elk on the slope of Single-Shot Mountain, and stepped upon a -sharp, snow-covered knot that pierced his foot through and through, -and kept him laid up for two months. Yellow Wolf then related an -old-time tale, which incidentally gave the reason for naming these two -sheets of water the Inside Lakes. He called it, he said,-- - - -"THE STORY OF THE FIRST HORSES - -"In that long-ago time when the people had only their great, wolf-like -dogs for carrying their belongings, there were two very poor orphans, -a brother and sister, in the camp. The boy was very deaf, and because -he seemed not to understand what was shouted at him, he was believed -to be crazy, and not even the relatives of his dead father and mother -cared to have him in their lodges. One would keep him for a time and -tell him to go, and then another relative would take him in for a -short time, and, getting tired of him, send him on to another lodge. -And wherever he went, his beautiful young sister went with him. Often, -in good weather, when camp was moved, the two would stay at the old -camp-ground, living on cast-away meat so long as it lasted, and then -they would overtake the camp and go into the nearest lodge, and at -least be sure of a meal. They were generally barefooted and always -shabbily dressed. It was a hard life that they led. And because he was -so deaf, and believed to be crazy, the boy had not even one playmate -in all the camp, nor had his sister, for she knew that it was her duty -to be always at his side. There came a time, however, when a childless -woman, wife of a great and rich chief, wanted the girl to raise as her -own daughter, and after many days the boy persuaded her to be adopted, -and he was left alone and more lonely than ever. - -"Not long after this separation, the camp moved one day, and the boy, -Long Arrow, remained at the old camp-ground to live there as long as -he could on the leavings of the people. At last he finished the last -scrap of thrown away or forgotten meat and started to overtake the -camp. The day was hot, terribly hot, but despite that the boy traveled -as fast as he could, often running, and perspiration streamed from his -body and his breath came short and fast in loud wheezes. Suddenly, -while running, he felt something give way with a snap in his left ear, -felt something moving out from it, and reaching up he pulled from it a -long, round, waxy object that looked like a worm. He held it in his -hand and ran on, and noted that with the left ear he could plainly -hear his footsteps upon the trail. A little later something snapped in -his right ear, and began to move out of it, and he took from it -another worm-like substance, and keeping both in his hand, ran on. He -could now hear plainly with both ears, and so happy was he that he -felt almost as though he could fly. - -"But that was not all the good that was to come to him that day. Early -in the morning a hunter had left camp with his pack dogs, and had -taken the back trail in search of buffalo, and just before the boy -appeared he had killed one, and was butchering it when he saw the boy -approaching him. This hunter, Heavy Runner, was a chief, and one of -the kindest men in the whole camp. He had long thought to do something -for this boy, and now, when he saw him coming, he said to himself: -'The time has come. I shall do something for him!' - -"The boy came to him and his kill, and he shouted to him, at the same -time making signs: 'Sit you down, my boy, and rest. You are wet with -sweat, and covered with dust. You must be very tired. Take this piece -of tripe and eat it. And now let me tell you something: from this day -you are to be my boy. I adopt you. You shall have a place in my lodge; -good clothes; a good bed. Try to be good, and deserve it all. I am -going to try to make a man of you.' - -"'Heavy Runner, your kind words make me want to cry,' said the boy, -his voice trembling, tears dropping from his eyes. He swallowed -painfully, brushed away the tears, sat up straight, and went on: 'I -shall be glad to be your son. I will do all that I can to deserve what -you give me. And now, let me tell you something. As I was running away -back there on the trail, and breathing hard, first in one ear, and -then in the other, something broke with a snapping noise and out came -these two worm-like things, and at once hearing came to me. I believe -that I could hear a mouse walking if he were away out there beyond -your kill.' - -"'Now, that is good news, and a good sign!' Heavy Runner shouted. He -was not yet used to the fact that the boy could hear. Then, -remembering, he said more gently: 'You take a good rest while I finish -butchering this animal and packing the dogs, and then we will each -take what meat we can carry and go home. Yes, boy, you have a home -now, and a good one.' - -"That evening, when Heavy Runner told his woman that he had adopted -Long Arrow, she made a great outcry: 'How could you, and without -asking me, adopt that deaf, crazy boy?' she asked. And then, she -cried, and said that she would not have him for a son, and ran from -the lodge. People gathered around and pitied her and said that she was -right; that the boy was crazy and deaf and worthless, and would not -mind, and as soon as he got good clothes he would run off and again -live at old campgrounds. - -"After a time she went back to her lodge, and as soon as she entered -it Heavy Runner said to her: 'Now, at once, cease your crying, and -take the anger from your heart. I have adopted this boy, and he is my -boy. He is no longer deaf; he was never crazy. He is a good boy and I -shall make a man, a chief of him. See that you treat him well, even if -you cannot love him. And believe this: if you do not treat him well, -you shall be the one to suffer. To-morrow morning, begin making some -good moccasins for him. I, myself, shall cut out his clothes, and he -can sew them.' - -"So began a new life for Long Arrow. If the woman did not love him, -she at least treated him well. He did everything that he could think -of to please Heavy Runner. He went hunting with him, and brought home -heavy loads of the meat that he killed, and in every possible way was -of use to him. And yet he was not satisfied; he kept saying to -himself: 'I want to do something great for this man who is so good to -me!' - -"Time passed. The boy grew up to be a fine young man; good of heart -and of fine appearance; and at last Heavy Runner's woman loved him as -though he were her own son. But in one thing he was very different -from the other young men of the camp: he made no close friends, and -when not needed by Heavy Runner he wandered much by himself. Excepting -his sister, whom he frequently took for long walks, he had little to -say to any one, and so the people, all but she and his foster parents, -continued to believe him crazy. - -"One evening he said to Heavy Runner: 'Tell me. What must one do to -become a chief?' - -"'One must be very brave, must be fearless when facing the enemy, and -of very kind heart; full of pity for the poor and the old and the -sick, and always anxious to help them,' the chief replied. - -"'Well, I want to become a chief. What is the first thing for me to -do?' he asked. - -"'The first thing to do is to go to some far and dangerous place, and -get your medicine. That is, something that will make you favored by -the gods, and bring you good luck in battle, and in all matters of -life,' Heavy Runner told him. - -"'That I shall do,' said the young man, 'but, first, will you not call -in the chiefs, and the medicine men and braves, and let me hear from -them where they went, and what they did to get their medicine? I shall -then have a better idea of what I am to do.' - -"'We will have in our lodge full of them,' Heavy Runner said. And the -next morning he shouted out invitations for a smoke, asking only the -great of the tribe to come to it. They came, filling the lodge, and -then, when the pipe was going the round of the circle, he told why he -had invited them to the smoke; asked them to give their experiences in -their search for medicines. - -"One after another they told their adventures; where they went; what -they did; what they saw; what narrow escapes from death they had. And -at last it came Spotted Bear's turn. But he refused to give his -experience. - -"'What,' he cried, 'tell that crazy youth about my adventure? Why, I -wouldn't waste my breath on him!' - -"'But he is a poor boy; he wants to know; you might tell it him in a -short way,' pleaded Heavy Runner. - -"'Well, I will tell it; not for his benefit, for he is crazy, and -would not understand; but I will tell it so that you all may know what -I did,' the surly one answered. - -"'From this very place I traveled southward along the foot of the -mountains. Seven days and seven nights I traveled, stopping only now -and then for a short rest and sleeping very little, and on the morning -after the seventh night I arrived at the shore of a small lake. There -I met a stranger man who asked me what I sought, and I told him that I -was wandering in search of a strong, a powerful medicine. "Ah!" said -he, "in such a matter I cannot help you. Go on south for three days -and three nights, and you will find a man who will give you what you -seek." - -"'I went on. Stopping only for short rests, and rarely sleeping, I -traveled south for three days and three nights from that place, and in -the morning after the third night arrived at a long, wide lake running -away back in the mountains. I looked at it, looked at the mountains, -turning this way, that way, and when I turned a last time, lo! there -in front of me stood a man, fierce of face, dressed in beautiful -strange clothing, wrapped in a robe such as I had never seen before, -and carrying a spear with a big, flint point. - -"'"What do you here?" he asked. "Are you not afraid to come to this, -the home of us gods of the deep waters?" - -"'I answered that I was not afraid; that I feared neither gods nor -men, nor any animal of the earth, the sky, or the deep waters. And at -that he cried out: "You are brave! The brave shall be rewarded! Come -with me!" - -"'I went with him to his lodge. I am promised to secrecy; I dare not -tell you where it was. He took me in and fed me, and gave me this robe -that I am wearing, this medicine robe, and taught me the prayers and -ceremony that goes with it. I asked him what kind of a robe it was, -and he answered that it was the skin of an elk-dog;[10] an animal as -large as an elk, and, like the dog, useful for carrying burdens. The -gods, he said, rode them, guided them wherever they wanted to go. - - [10] Po-no-ka-mi-ta (elk-dog). The horse. - -"'Said I: "May I have one of those elk-dogs to ride home?" - -"'"No! They are only for the gods to use," he answered, and told me to -go. I came home. I have the robe. Here it is, proof of all that I have -told you. Ah! And this crazy youth would know where I went, what I -did! It is to laugh to think of his going there!' - -"The pipe went a last round, and then the chiefs and medicine men and -braves went home. As soon as they were gone Long Arrow said to Heavy -Runner: 'My chief, you know that I am not crazy. I feel that I must go -on adventure, and I want to go where Spotted Bear went, and prove to -him that I can go as far and face as many dangers as he did. Will you -let me go, and keep secret from every one whither I have gone and for -what purpose?' - -"'What you propose is just what I want you to do,' Heavy Runner -answered. 'You shall start to-morrow, taking with you all the -moccasins and other things you will need, and your foster mother and I -will tell no one anything about you.' - -"At break of day the next morning, while all the people of the great -camp still slept, Long Arrow started on his journey of discovery. -Straight south he went, by day and by night, resting and sleeping at -long intervals, and then only for a very short time. On the third day -he arrived at the small lake that Spotted Bear had mentioned, and -there met the man of that place, even as he had done. - -"'What seek you?' the man asked. - -"'Knowledge! Medicine! The way to become a chief!' Long Arrow -answered. - -"'I cannot help you. Go on south for seven days and seven nights, and -you will come to a great lake, and there you will meet a man who can -help you if he cares to do so. It may be that he will not even show -himself to you, but anyhow it is worth your while to go there and try -to meet him.' - -"Long Arrow went on for seven days and seven nights, resting and -sleeping less than ever, eating nothing except now and then a piece of -dry meat not so large as his hand. Early in the morning after the -seventh night, exhausted, hardly able to drag one foot after the -other, he came to the great lake, and some distance back from its -shore fell down on the grass and fell into a sound sleep. It was late -afternoon when he awoke, and, opening his eyes, he was surprised to -see a boy standing beside him. He was a beautiful child, by far the -most perfect of form and feature that Long Arrow had ever seen; so -beautiful that it did not seem possible he could be of this earth, a -child of the people of this earth. - -"Said the boy to him: 'I have been waiting here a long time for you to -awake. My father invites you to his home.' - -"'I shall be glad to visit him,' Long Arrow answered, and sprang up, -put on his weapons, and was ready. - -"The boy led him straight to the shore of the lake, and there cried -out: 'Do not be afraid, follow me!' And having said that, changed into -a snipe, entered the water and disappeared. - -"Long Arrow was afraid, terribly afraid of the deep, dark water, and -the mystery of a place where a child could suddenly become a snipe. -But he said to himself: 'If I fail in my search for a medicine it -shall be through no fault of mine,' and he entered the water. Lo! it -did not wet him; did not touch him. It parted before him and he went -on down the sloping, sandy bottom of the lake, and soon saw, close -ahead, a large, fine lodge, on which were painted in red and black the -figures of two strange animals. The boy, arrived at the doorway of -the lodge, changed suddenly from a snipe back to his natural self, and -cried out: 'Follow me! Here you will be welcome,' and went in. Long -Arrow, following him, found himself facing a fine-looking man at the -back of the lodge. He was sitting cross-legged on his couch, and wore -a beautiful black robe which entirely covered his legs and feet. 'You -are welcome here, my son, be seated,' said the man, and told his wife -to prepare food for his guest. - -"Long Arrow looked about him. On all sides the lodge was hung with -beautiful shields, war clothes, weapons, handsomely painted and -fringed pouches of sacred medicines, and a porcupine-quill embroidered -belt of such brilliant colors that it shamed the rainbow. - -"The woman of the lodge soon set food before Long Arrow, and, having -long fasted, he ate largely. The man then filled and lighted a pipe, -passed it to his guest, and said: 'I knew that you were coming, and I -wondered if you would have the courage to follow my son from the shore -of this lake down here to my lodge. Not long ago a man of your people -came here, but he was afraid; he would not follow my son. And there he -made a great mistake. I was going to give him the most valuable -present ever given by gods to men. As it was, I went out to him where -he sat far back from the shore, and gave him the tanned hide of an -elk-dog, and sent him home. He was not worthy of a better present. But -you are different. I shall give you something of great value. Remain -here with us a few days. My son shall show you my band of elk-dogs; -you shall hunt and kill meat for us; and when you go, then you shall -have the great present.' - -"The boy went out with Long Arrow and showed him the elk-dogs. They -came running from the timber out upon the open prairie at the foot of -the lake, and were a wonderful sight. They were far larger than an -elk, of shining black color, had tails of long hair, and there was -long hair all along the top of their necks and hanging down their -foreheads from between their restless ears. They were of all sizes, -from suckling young to old males and females, and all were very fat -and playful, even the oldest of them. - -"'Young man of the earth,' said the boy, 'if you are wise and -watchful, these animals and my father's black robe and his -many-colored belt may be your present: the three go together. You have -noticed that my father always keeps his feet covered with the black -robe; that when he arises and goes out of the lodge he is very careful -to keep the robe lowered around him, like a dragging woman's dress, so -that his feet cannot be seen. Well, you have but to see those feet, -and anything that you ask for will be yours.' - -"'I shall do my best to see those feet,' said Long Arrow. - -"Several days passed. The old people of the lodge were very kind to -Long Arrow, and he in turn did his best to please them, hunting most -all of the time and bringing in much meat. And what time he was not -hunting, he would sit close to the herd of beautiful elk-dogs and -watch them feed and play. When in the lodge he watched closely for a -sight of the old man's feet, but he ever kept them closely covered. - -"At last, one evening, the old man started to go out of the lodge, -keeping his robe well down upon the ground about him, but as he -stepped over the low front of the doorway his right knee raised the -robe and Long Arrow saw his left foot; and lo! it was not a human -foot: it was the hoof, the round, hard hoof of an elk-dog! He gave a -cry of surprise at the sight, and the old man, realizing what had -happened, exclaimed: 'Hai-yo! How careless of me! Well, it cannot be -helped, it must have been fated that he should see it!' - -"He went on out, and upon returning took no pains to conceal his feet: -both of them and the ankles were those of the elk-dog. - -"'Well, you have seen my feet, so you can now tell me what I shall -give you,' said the old man, as he resumed his seat. - -"'Now, don't hesitate; speak right out; ask for the three things,' -whispered the boy. - -"And Long Arrow, taking courage, answered: 'Give me three things: -your black robe, your many-colored belt, and your elk-dogs.' - -"'Ha! You ask a great deal,' the old man cried, 'but, because you are -brave and good-hearted and not lazy, you shall have the robe and the -belt and a part of my band of elk-dogs. The robe and the belt are the -elk-dog medicine. Without them you could never catch and use the -animals. There are many prayers and songs and a long ceremony that go -with them, and I have to teach it all to you. When you have thoroughly -learned them, then you shall go home with your presents.' - -"Long Arrow was many evenings learning them all, but at last he could -repeat every one of them perfectly, and dance the dances as well as -the old man himself, and finally the latter told him one evening:-- - -"'You have done well. I am glad that my elk-dogs and my medicines are -to be in your hands. You may start for home to-morrow. And now, -listen! Take good heed of what I am about to tell you. - -"'When you leave here, wearing the black robe and the belt, you are -to travel for three days and three nights and never once look back. -When you rest, you are to face the north. Be sure, now, that, -traveling or resting, you never once look back. The elk-dogs will not -at first follow you, but on the third day of your homeward journey you -will hear them coming behind you. Even then you must not look back, -but keep on walking. After a time they will come on right beside you, -and with a rope that I shall give you, you will catch one of them and -mount and ride it, and all the others will follow you. They will -always do that so long as you have the black robe. Lose that, and you -lose your animals; they will become wild, and you will never be able -to catch and train them.' - -"'As you say, so shall I do,' Long Arrow answered. - -"And early the next morning the old man gave him the robe, the belt, -and a rope made from the head hair of buffalo bulls, and he started -for home, keeping ever in mind and obeying carefully the old man's -instructions. At times he had his doubts of the old man. Perhaps a big -joke was being played upon him; the elk-dogs would not come on the -third day, nor any other day! But he would soon cast off such -thoughts, and go on with renewed faith that all would be well with -him. - -"And on the third day he heard behind him the thunder of many hard -hoofs upon the hard plain; the occasional whinnying that he had -learned to love so well! And then, an old female leading them, the -elk-dogs came close up beside him, and he caught and mounted one of -them, and rode on. How happy he was! He realized what this would mean -for himself and for the people. These elk-dogs would rapidly increase -in number; there would soon be enough of them for all the people, and -then they would ride instead of walk, and their lodges and all their -belongings would be carried by the animals. 'And now I can do -something for those who have been so good to me,' he said to himself, -and rode on, singing the new songs that he had learned. - -"It was late in the afternoon on the day that he approached the camp. -All the men had returned from the hunt; every one was outside the -lodges, resting in the warm sunshine. The first to discover him gave a -shout of surprise and alarm. All the people sprang up and stood gazing -at the strange sight. They asked one another what the strange big -black animals could be? And was it really a man sitting astride one of -them? - -"'It is some fierce god bringing his fierce animals to destroy us,' -shouted Spotted Bear, the very man who had so contemptuously used Long -Arrow, who had not had the courage to follow the boy-snipe into the -water. Again he cried out: 'Surely it is an evil one coming to destroy -us.' And he fled, and all the people fled with him and took to the -brush. - -"Long Arrow rode into camp and dismounted at Heavy Runner's lodge, and -all the elk-dogs came up and crowded around him and the one of them -that he had been riding. 'Heavy Runner! Heavy Runner!' he shouted. 'Be -not afraid! I am only your son, come back to you!' - -"Heavy Runner heard the well-known voice and was no longer afraid. He -came hurrying from the brush, all the people following him, and they -all crowded around Long Arrow and his strange animals. Said the youth -then: 'Only father and mother that I ever knew, I have brought to you, -excepting one female and one male, all these strange and useful -animals. As you see, they can be ridden; you will no longer have to -walk. Also, they will carry for you everything that is yours. I am -glad that I can give them to you, both of you who have been so good to -me.' - -"'How generous of you!' Heavy Runner cried. But his wife could say -nothing: she embraced Long Arrow and wept. - -"'Where did you get the strange black ones?' a chief asked. - -"'I will tell you all about it this evening; I am cautioned not to -talk about the gods in the daytime,' Long Arrow answered. And after -picketing the animal he had ridden on good grass, and driving the -others out from camp, he went into the lodge and rested. - - [Illustration: GOING-TO-THE-SUN CHALET, UPPER ST. MARY'S LAKE] - -"That evening all the chiefs and warriors came into the lodge, Spotted -Bear with them, and he told all about his strange adventures, of his -life with the Under-Water People, and how the old man had given him -the elk-dogs, and the black robe and the belt that he wore. And, of -course, he told about Spotted Bear's cowardice in failing to follow -the boy-snipe into the water, and he fled from the lodge, and his -chieftainship dropped from him as he fled. Ever afterward he was no -more than a woman in that great camp; never again was he allowed to -sit with the chiefs and warriors! And when Long Arrow had finished -telling them all about his wonderful adventures, the chief cried out: -'We will move camp to that lake of the Under-Water People. They have -more elk-dogs; we will ask for them, give anything to obtain -possession of such valuable animals.' - -"They moved south to the lake, but, search as they would, could find -no elk-dogs, nor did the boy-snipe nor any of the Under-Water People -appear, although the medicine men made sacrifice to them and prayed -them to show themselves. They did discover, however, that above this -lake was another and a longer one, hemmed in by still higher -mountains, and so they named the two the Inside Lakes, and that is the -name they bear to this day." - - - -_August 12._ - -Last night we all gathered in Stabs-by-Mistake's lodge, and, while the -pipe was filled and refilled, and passed from hand to hand on many -rounds, we had more tales, strange and weird, of the people of the -ancient days. One that our host told especially interested me, and -here it is, literally translated for your perusal. It was the story, -he said, of - - -"ONE HORN, SHAMER OF CROWS - -"It was in the long ago time, when all three of our tribes, the -Blackfeet proper, the Bloods, and we, the Pikun´i, whom the whites -mistakenly call Blackfeet, were still living in the North country. The -camp of the Pikun´i was on Big River, close up to the foot of the -mountains. One of the great chiefs of the tribe was One Horn. Very -brave he was, and very rich, for his band of horses numbered more than -a hundred head. He had two wives, sisters, but no children. Many -orphans called him father, for he had poor old couples care for them, -and kept them all well supplied with meat and with skins for clothing. -He was a peculiar man, was One Horn. He seldom visited in other -lodges, and was a man of few words; it was always difficult to get him -to tell of his brave deeds. - -"One summer night One Horn had an uneasy dream about his horses, and -with the first faint light of coming day arose, washed and dressed -himself, and took up his weapons and went out to see if his herd was -anywhere in sight. He climbed to a little rise on the edge of the -plain, saw them quietly feeding at a distance, and then saw something -else: two men asleep in a _coulée_ close under the little rise. They -were, he thought, young men of the camp, watchers of the horse herds, -and he concluded to surprise them and scold them for sleeping when -they should be watching the plains for the approach of enemies. More -from habit than anything else, he drew his bow, fitted a war arrow to -it, and then, creeping close to the sleeping ones, shouted: 'Awake! -You lazy ones, awake!' - -"To his great surprise they were two enemies, who sprang up at the -sound of his voice, and he shot one of them in the breast, and he -fell, and as the other turned and ran, he fired an arrow at him and -struck him in the back, but he kept on running, the arrow dangling and -swaying from his back, and he soon disappeared in the thick brush -bordering the river. One Horn went back to camp and sent the warriors -out to look for the wounded man, but they never found him. - -"Although a very brave warrior, One Horn's voice was always for peace. -He thought much about the wars of tribe against tribe and the great -loss of lives they caused, and wished that he could put an end to it -all. He counted up the different tribes with whom his people were at -war--the Sioux, the Assiniboines, Cheyennes, Pawnees, Snakes, -Bannocks, Pend d'Oreilles, Flatheads, Nez Percés, Kootenai, and Crows. -And the worst of them all were the Crows. He determined to go to the -Crows and try to make peace between them and his people. - -"Another thought came to him: It was best to say nothing to his people -about his plan, for many would make serious objection to it. If he -succeeded, they should know all about it upon his return. If he -failed, he would never tell them where he had been. So, one evening, -he gave his women orders what to do, and kept his horses close in -around his lodge. Late that night, when all the camp was asleep, down -came the lodge, the pack and travois horses were quietly loaded, and -he and his women headed southward, he driving his big herd in the -lead. The next morning the people found that they had a mystery that -they could not solve: One Horn was gone with all his belongings, gone -without telling them one word of his intentions! Why had he left them -so secretly, and whither had he gone? They never ceased talking about -it and wishing that he would return; they felt safe when he was at -their backs. - -"Traveling south day after day along the foot of the mountains, One -Horn and his women at last struck the River-of-Many-Chiefs-Gathering, -and, following it up, came in sight of the big prairies at the foot of -the lower one of these Inside Lakes. It was then dusk, but not so dark -but what they could see that there was a big camp of people at the -edge of the timber bordering the lake shore. Said One Horn, 'They must -be the ones I seek, the Mountain Crows. As soon as they sleep, we will -go on and put up our lodge near theirs.' - -"Early the next morning an old man stepped out from his lodge, and saw -a strange lodge standing by itself just outside the circle of the big -camp. He looked at it a long time, and the growing light at last -enabled him to see that there were two huge bears painted on its new -white leather skin. He turned and hurried to the lodge of the head -chief of the camp, aroused him, and cried: 'Here is a mystery; -something to be looked into: just outside the circle of our camp a -strange lodge is standing. It belongs not to us Mountain Crows, nor to -our brothers, the River Crows. I know that, for it has painted upon it -two big bears, and neither of our tribes has that medicine.' - -"The chief hurried to get up and dress, and so did others, and they -soon left their lodges and approached the strange lodge. There was a -fire within it. Voices were heard in low-toned conversation. Close -around a few horses were picketed, and farther out grazed a large band -of them, mostly grays and blacks. It was evident that the owner of the -lodge was a chief, a bear medicine man, a very rich man. The Crow -chief thrust aside the door curtain of the lodge, and entered, the -others following. A fine-appearing man at the back of it gave them the -sign for welcome, and motioned them where to sit. He lifted a big -filled pipe and lighted it, and passed it. The Crow chief smoked -first, and then one by one those with him. - -"Having passed on the pipe, the Crow chief signed to the stranger: -'You are a Blackfoot?' - -"'Yes, I am a Blackfoot,' One Horn answered. 'You are wondering why I, -an enemy, have come here and set up my lodge beside you. You shall -know! I have come to try to make peace between your people and my -people. I am tired of all this war, and its wasting of men's lives, -and making women and children mourn.' - -"'You say well. Your talk deserves attention. Peace between us would -be good for us both. I will talk to my people about it,' said the Crow -chief. - -"And just then One Horn's women set before him and the other Crows -dishes of rich berry pemmican, the best of dried meat and back fat, -and they ate with the outside chief. Then they smoked again and went -home, the Crow chief saying that he would soon give a call for a -council, and would send for the Blackfoot to join in it. - -"It was not until near sunset, however, that a youth came to invite -One Horn to the Crow chief's lodge. He found assembled there all the -head men of the tribe, and the chief told him that, after long talk, -they had decided that they, too, were tired of war, and would be glad -to make peace with the Blackfeet. - -"'But be not in a hurry to return home,' the Crow chief concluded. -'Make us a long visit, and during it we will decide together where and -when our two tribes shall meet to make this lasting peace treaty.' - -"Answered One Horn: 'I shall be glad to camp here with you for the -rest of this moon.' And all those present signed to him: 'Yes. Remain -here with us for a time.' - -"One Horn and the Crow chief became friends. They hunted together, -visited often in each other's lodge, and together were invited to -other lodges to feast and smoke, and join in the warriors' tales of -raids and battles and adventures along far trails. - -"The River Crows were at this time encamped just over the ridge from -the Inside Lakes, on Little River, and some of them came frequently -to visit their Mountain brothers at the foot of the lakes. Among -others came a man who was always counting his _coups_. In a gathering -of the warriors he would wait until all had told what they had done in -war against their enemies, and then he would count one _coup_, only -one, that was far greater than any of theirs. - -"On a day when One Horn was visiting in the Crow chief's lodge, this -man was one of the guests. The talk was of war, and after many there -had told what they had done, he said that, with a friend, he was -approaching the Blackfeet camp, and they were discovered and -surrounded by all the warriors of the tribe. His friend soon fell, as -full of arrows as a porcupine is full of quills, but that he, charging -this way, that way, shooting arrows fast and killing many Blackfeet, -made them give way before him and he escaped from them, although -wounded in the back. Later on, when safe from pursuit, he had drawn -out the arrow, and still had it, proof enough of the truth of his -tale. - -"This man then turned to One Horn, and said, by signs, of course, 'We -have all of us here told about our fights, and now it is your turn: -tell of your brave deeds.' - -"'I have nothing to say that will interest you; mine have been just -the common experiences of those who go on raids. No, I have nothing to -say,' he answered. - -"'But you must tell us one great thing that you have done,' the River -Crow insisted. - -"And again One Horn answered: 'What I have done would not interest -you. I have nothing to say.' - -"The man then turned to the Mountain Crow chief and said: 'This is a -poor kind of a friend for you to have! He has done nothing; he is no -chief, he is a woman!' - -"'I do not know for sure, but I think that he is a chief, that he has -a big war record,' the host answered him. - -"And then the guests went their several ways, the River Crow laughing -shrilly, contemptuously, as he left the lodge. - -"It was not long after this that the River Crow came over again from -Little River, and again was one of a party of guests in the lodge of -the chief of the Mountain Crows. Once more the talk was of war, and -when it came this man's turn to talk, he drew an arrow from his -quiver, laid it on the ground in front of him, and said: 'There! No -one here, nor in the camp of the Mountain Crows and the camp of the -River Crows, has ever equaled what that stands for. That is the arrow -that I drew from my back after my partner was killed, and I fought my -way single-handed through the hundreds of Blackfeet warriors, killing -many of them, and so frightening them that they dared not pursue me.' - -"One Horn leaned over, looked at the arrow, and gave an exclamation of -disgust: 'That is my arrow,' he signed. 'I know this man now. At dawn, -one morning, I discovered him and his partner asleep near our camp. I -crept up to them and shouted, thinking that they were our horseherd -watchers, and when they sprang up, I saw that they were enemies. I -shot one of them dead. This man turned and ran, never even firing at -me, and I shot an arrow into his back, but he kept on going and -escaped from me in the brush! Yes. That is the very arrow I shot into -him!' - -"'It is a lie! A big lie!' the River Crow said, and signed. - -"For answer to that, One Horn went to the door of the lodge and -shouted to his women to bring over his quiver of arrows. It was soon -handed in to him, and he said: 'I have here two kinds of arrows: -hunting arrows and war arrows. Here are the war arrows.' And he laid -them beside the arrow in front of the boaster. All there saw at once -that they were exactly like it in every way, had the same private mark -just back of the point. And suddenly, with jeers and cries of 'Liar!' -'Coward!' they took handfuls of ashes and earth from the fireplace and -threw them in the River Crow's face and on his head, and he ran for -the door and was gone, leaving the arrow behind. One Horn picked it up -and put it in his quiver, and said: 'That no doubt ends his lying -bragging!' - -"Some days after this exposure of his lying, the River Crow, watching -his chance, entered the lodge of the Mountain Crow chief and said to -him: 'That Blackfoot has shamed me. I was a chief, but now all people -laugh at me. I want revenge. Let me kill that friend of yours and I -will give you three of my best horses!' - -"'What you ask is impossible!' the chief replied. 'He is my friend! We -have smoked together, have eaten together. I cannot allow you to kill -him. And for your lying you deserve what you got!' - -"The River Crow sneaked away, but on the next evening, when none but -the chief and his women were at home, he came again. And this time he -said: 'Let me do what I want to do; you know what that is; and I will -give you five of my best horses and my beautiful young daughter.' - -"And this time the chief did not give him a short answer. He thought -over the offer for a long time. He knew that it would be a terrible -thing to betray his Blackfoot friend, but the temptation was great. -His women were getting old. He wanted that beautiful girl. And at -last he gave way to the temptation: 'It shall be as you wish,' he told -the man. 'All is arranged for to-morrow; we go with the hunters on a -big buffalo hunt, and there will be no chance for you to do what you -want to do. Come the day after to-morrow and I will help you--if you -need my help--to kill the Blackfoot.' - -"Very early the next morning the hunters started out after buffalo, -One Horn taking with him one of his women to help in the butchering -and packing in of the meat. They were no sooner gone than one of the -Crow chief's women hurried to One Horn's lodge and told his other -woman all about the plan to kill him. She told it because she was -jealous; she did not want her man to take another wife! - -"So it was that, when One Horn came home that evening, this wife ran -to him and embraced and kissed him as though she would never let him -out of her arms. This strong showing of love was unusual with her, and -he asked her the cause for it. - -"'Because to-morrow you are to die, and sister and I are to become -slaves. See now what you have done by coming to try to make peace with -these Crows!' And she told him all about the plot to end his life. - -"But One Horn just laughed: 'Wipe away your tears and take courage,' -he told her. 'These Crows will not kill me, a bear medicine man, and a -chief. They cannot kill me. I will show you to-morrow something that -will surprise you!' - -"That night he kept his favorite war horse picketed close to his -lodge, and the next morning he carefully dressed himself in his -beautiful war clothes, painted himself and his horse, took his bow and -arrows, his shield and spear, and rode into the center of the big -camp, and called upon the Crow chief to come out. He did come out, -also dressed for battle, and One Horn cried out to him, at the same -time making signs, so that he would be sure to understand, 'Your plot -is discovered. So you and that River Crow are going to kill me. Where -is he? Call him. I want to fight you both. I am a bear. I fight like a -bear. Come! Hurry! Let us fight. Ha! I am going to fight my true -friend, the chief of the Mountain Crows, he who smoked and ate with -me, he who was going to join me in making a lasting peace between our -two tribes. Come! Let us fight! Shall it be on horseback or afoot? I -give you the choice.' - -"The Crow chief gave him no answer. Some of the people, looking on, -were beginning to show their anger and shame at his betrayal of a -friend. He turned and went back into his lodge, and would not come out -again. - -"While this was going on, several men had hurried to the River Crow -man, stopping in the far end of camp: 'Your plan to kill the Blackfoot -is discovered, and he is dressed and armed and mounted, waiting to -fight you. He is like a raging grizzly, and his, you know, is the bear -medicine. What are you going to do?' - -"The man did not answer them. He mounted his horse, and, hidden from -One Horn's sight by the lodges, struck out for the River Crow camp on -Little River, and fear was with him. He often looked back to see if -he were being pursued by this dreadful bear medicine man who had once -wounded him, and was now so anxious to meet him face to face. - -"One Horn rode back to his lodge. 'Take down the lodge, pack up -everything. We will not stay another day with these treacherous -Crows,' he told them, and rounded up and caught what horses were -needed for packing and riding. - -"Just before they were ready to leave, the Crow chief sent one of his -women to say to One Horn that he was sorry for what he had done, very -sorry that he had ever listened to the River Crow, and wanted to make -reparation. He wanted to give his Blackfoot friend ten head of horses. - -"'Tell him that I will not accept anything from him,' One Horn -answered the woman. And he and his outfit started for the north and -were soon out of sight of the Crow camp. - -"Some days afterward they arrived at the camp of their people on the -Big River of the North, and had no sooner set up their lodge than One -Horn called a council of the chiefs and told them where he had been -and for what purpose. - -"'Although I accomplished nothing, I am glad I went,' he told them. 'I -now know the Crows. They are liars all, and not to be trusted. I -advise that we begin a steady war against them.' - -"The other chiefs agreed to that. Messengers were sent to the brother -tribes, the Bloods and the North Blackfeet, and to the Gros Ventres, -friends of the Blackfeet, and the war was started. Little by little, -summer after summer, they drove the Crows southward, killing many of -them, and were not satisfied until they forced them to the country -south of the Elk River,[11] where they have ever since remained. So, -because of their treachery, the Crows lost a great and rich country." - - [11] Po-no-ka´-îs-i-sak-ta. Elk River; the Yellowstone River. - - - -_August 18._ - - -THE ELK MEDICINE CEREMONY - -Not in many, many years have I been so affected as I was this morning. -For some days I have had a high fever, and have slept but little at -night. In-si-mak´-i (Growth Woman), Yellow Wolf's wife, had been -doctoring me with the good old remedy for fevers, sweet sage tea, but -it seemed to have no effect. So Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill -announced that he would have his Elk Medicine ceremony for my benefit, -and that he was sure that it would cure me of my illness. We had it -this morning, and to-night I have a normal pulse and the fever has -left me. I will not go so far as to say that it was his prayers that -cured me,--prayers far better, far more earnest than those of any -Christian preacher I ever heard,--but yet, I am well! To me, all -religions are nothing more than the codified superstitions of the -ages, but of them all, Christian and pagan, I like best the faith of -these, my people, faith that the sun is the conservator of all life -and the orderly ruler of this, our earth. And what absolute faith they -have in their Sun-religion! Should Christians live as closely to their -beliefs as the Blackfeet do to the laws of conduct given them by their -Sun god, what a different, what a happy world this would be! - -Before I relate the details of the ceremony, I must tell something of -the medicine itself. - -The Blackfeet believe that, when they lie down and sleep, their -shadows, or, as we say, their souls, their spiritualities, leave the -body and go on far adventure. Their name for this is Ni-pup´-o-kan (my -dream; my vision); and when they awake they really believe that they -have experienced all the incidents of their dream, and relate them as -having been of actual fact. - -When men and animals were first created, they had a common language, -and the latter had the power to change themselves at will into the -form of man. It was in that long ago time that a man seeking -knowledge, and praying earnestly for it, was in his vision visited by -an elk in the form of a man, whose name was Po-no-kai´-ût-sîn-in-ah -(Elk-Tongue Chief). - -"I have heard you praying, asking for help. What is it you want? -Perhaps I can help you," the elk man said. - -The man answered: "I seek some way to relieve my people from -sickness; some way to give them long life and happiness. Help me if -you can do so." - -The elk man answered: "I can help you; I will help you. Through what -was given me in my vision I am in great favor with the sun, and all -the gods of the earth, the deep waters, and the blue above. That -medicine you shall have. I give it to you now!" And having said that, -he gave the man a painted lodge, a medicine pipestem, beautifully -decorated with a down-hanging set of tail feathers of the sage hen, -and wound with strips of the fur of the bear and various water -animals. And with it, wrapped in clean buckskins, were the skins of -birds and animals, all those that live upon the water and in the -water, and feed upon the life in the water, fish, and all the various -water insects. And having given the man all this, he taught him how to -use it, with all the prayers and ceremonies that go with it. The man -took all this to his home, and used it, and found that it was great -medicine, and ever since that time the Elk Medicine Lodge and the -things that go with it have been handed down from generation to -generation, to this day. - -So now we come to the ceremony that was given to-day for the curing of -my illness. It was my lucky day! Early in the morning Mr. Herford T. -Cowling, chief photographer for the United States Reclamation Service, -arrived at the Great Northern Railway Company's St. Mary's Camp and I -went to him and asked if he would take moving pictures of the -ceremony, provided the Indians were willing to have him do it. He -enthusiastically replied that he would be very glad to take it all in -with his crank-machine, so I went to my people to ask if they would -permit it to be done. They objected, saying that the ceremony was so -sacred that even the presence of white people, antagonistic all of -them to their religion, would profane it. They did not count me. I was -one of them! - -Said I: "Listen, my relatives, and brothers all! We are all soon to -die, and as we pass away the whole of the old life goes with us. Your -children, taken away from you by the whites, put in school and taught -the white men's religion and manner of living, will know nothing about -the way their fathers lived unless I put it all down in writing for -all time to come. That I am doing. And how much more interesting it -will be if I can have pictures to go with it! Say yes! Let us have, -with this that you are to do to-day, the living pictures of it all!" - -There followed a long silence, all considering my request. Finally, my -best of friends, Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill, wiped tears from -his eyes, and said, brokenly: "Ap-i-kun´-i is right. The whites take -our children from us and teach them false beliefs. But they teach them -to read, and it may be, that, after we have all gone on to the Sand -Hills,[12] they will read our brother's writings and see us as we -were, making our prayers to the gods, and, having read and seen the -pictures of it all, return to the one true faith. I say, let the -picture man come!" - - [12] The Sand Hills (Spät-si-kwo). The drear after-life abode of - the Blackfeet. Their shadows there had a cold, cheerless imitation - of life. - -"Ai! Ai! Let him come!" all cried, and I sent a messenger for him. - -During the ceremony he took six hundred feet of it, and so for all -time to come is preserved the interesting ceremony of the Elk -Medicine. - -The ceremony is always given in a closed lodge, but this time we threw -the front of it wide open, so that the lens of that moving-picture -machine could take it all in. - -As I have said, Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill is old, feeble, -half-blind, and is himself unable to go through parts of the ceremony. -So, on the evening before this came off, he sent for Chief Crow and -his wife, living near, to help him out. Chief Crow is also a medicine -man, his wife, of course, a medicine woman, and he owns the Seizer's -medicine pipe. Four other medicine men were there, all of them taking -part in the ceremony. In each of the three tribes of the Blackfeet -there is a secret society of the medicine men, and the members help -one another in their ceremonies, and they and they only can dance with -the sacred symbols of their rites. - -When I went into the lodge the sacred medicines were hanging directly -over the owner's couch, opposite the doorway. They were the sacred -pipestem and many skins of water animals and birds enclosed in various -wrappings, and a buffalo rawhide painted pouch containing sacks of -various colored sacred paints. On Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill's -left sat his medicine wife. I took my seat close to him on his right. -Back of me, and all around the right side of the lodge from me, were a -number of women. On the other side, opposite them, were the men and -Chief Crow's medicine wife. - -The ceremony opened with a prayer by Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill, -beseeching the gods to look with favor upon what was to be done. Then his -wife arose and undid the fastenings of the medicines, and slowly, -reverently, laid them on the couch between her and her husband. The -opening song then began, the song of Po-no-kai´-ût-sîn-in-ah (Elk-Tongue -Chief). Oh, how I would like to inscribe that song here! Alice Fletcher -says--and I know that she is right--that all Indian music is -classical. But their tonal scale is far different from ours; we have not -one musical instrument that can reproduce it. Never, never lived a white -man who could sing these Blackfeet songs. As a boy, year after year, I -tried to sing them, and always failed; one has to take them in with his -mother's milk in order to sing them correctly. - - [Illustration: OPENING OF THE ELK MEDICINE PIPE CEREMONY - Left to right: The author; Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill; - his wife and the wife of Chief Crow, both medicine women; - Chief Crow, medicine man, lifting the sacred roll of the - medicine pipe; Medicine Weasel and Old Boy, singers] - -The song ended. The medicine woman, with a pair of sacred red-painted -willow tongs, took a coal from the fire, placed it just in front of -the sacred medicines, and dropped upon it a pinch of sweet grass. It -burned, and, as the perfumed smoke arose, she and her man grasped -handfuls of it and stroked their bodies, thus purifying themselves -before handling the medicines. Then, all present joining in, they sang -the song of the real bear, the grizzly, while the medicine woman -unfastened the outer wrapping of the medicine pipestem roll, which was -bound with a strip of fur from a grizzly's back; and at the same time, -in keeping with the time of the song, they made the sign for the bear, -closed hands held upon each side of the head, representing its wide, -rounding ears. - -That song finished, the song of the buffalo began, the medicine man -and the medicine woman clenching their hands and alternately putting -one out before the other, representing the deliberate, ponderous tread -of the animals as they traveled to and from the water. When that song -was finished--and it was one to stir one's inmost soul--another -wrapping, bound with buffalo fur, was undone, and all present besought -the gods to have pity upon them. - -Next came the fourth and last song, the song of the beaver, chief of -water animals. And while it was being sung, the medicine woman -unrolled the fourth and last wrapping, and the sacred medicine -pipestem lay in sight of us all. At that all the women gave shrill -cries of triumph, of victory; and all the medicine men beginning a -solemn chant to the Sun, Chief Crow advanced, received from the -medicine wife of my old friend the sacred stem, and, extending the fan -of feathers drooping from it, held it aloft and danced in time with -the song to the doorway of the lodge and back again, and returned the -stem to my friend, who reverently took and embraced it, and made a -short prayer to the gods for the long life, good health, and happiness -of us all, especially the little children of the tribe. - -Next came my part in the ceremony. My old relative and friend felt -around in his medicine pouch, got out a small sack of _a-san´_, the -sacred red paint, and painted my face with it, at the same time -beseeching the gods to give me, his brother, Ap-i-kun´-i, long life, -good health, and prosperity in all things. Then, having finished the -painting and the prayer, he had his wife hand Chief Crow, his helper, -the long red-painted wooden flute that goes with the medicine, and the -latter, holding it aloft, danced with it almost to the doorway of the -lodge, where he blew several soft, clear notes to the four corners of -the earth, and then returned the flute to the woman. This was the Elk -Medicine whistle, for imitating the weird call of that animal, and was -used just now to call him, the ancient Elk god, to give me his favor, -his pity. My friend then facing me, upon his knees began the thunder -song, in which all joined, and, spreading his blanket-clad arms wide -to represent the thunder bird wings, hovered before me, fanned me with -his wings, the intent being to waft to me from him the sacred power. -That over, all arose, and passing in line from the lodge, Chief Crow -leading, danced through the camp and back again, and the ceremony -ended. - -I cannot begin to express how I felt all through the ceremony. I -honored my people for their sincere faith, their reverence for their -gods. And my thoughts went back to the time when they were the lords -of these plains and mountains and knew not want. And not so very long -ago they were a tribe of three thousand members, and now they number -only eight or nine hundred, and those who have gone have mostly gone -from want, from their susceptibility to disease because of lack of -proper nourishment. Do you wonder that they feel bitterly toward the -whites, who have taken from them everything that made their life -worth living? - - [Illustration: ELK MEDICINE PIPE DANCE - Chief Crow leading the column and carrying the sacred stem] - - - -_August 27._ - -Because we were to-day to embark upon the deep, dark waters of this -lake, we yesterday had a little ceremony on the shore, beseeching the -dread Under-Water People to have pity upon us and allow us to pass in -safety over their domain. We had a little fire close to the water's -edge, and having filled and lighted his pipe with a coal taken from it -with his sacred red tongs, old Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill -smoked and made his prayers, at the same time casting into the water a -little sack of his medicines as a sacrifice to the gods. It was a -short ceremony, but satisfied even the most timid of the women that -all would be well with them during their voyage upon the lake. - -And so, where we once had rude rafts of logs, lashed together with -rawhide ropes, we this morning embarked in good boats and went all up -the beautiful lake, past Red Eagle, and Little Chief, and -Almost-a-Dog Mountains to the head of the lake, and looking back at -the slope of Milk River Ridge saw the far-apart, enormous footprints -of Heavy Runner, keeper of the buffalo. - -Away back in ancient times, after Old Man had made buffalo and they -had increased and covered the plains, they had great desire to wander -westward and see what might be on the other side of the great -mountains. The people--the Blackfeet--learning of this were greatly -distressed. The far side of the mountains, away west and still -westward to the shores of the Everywhere-Water, was the country of -their enemies, many tribes of them, and should they get possession of -the buffalo herds they would never let them return. What to do about -it they had no idea, so they called upon Old Man for help. - - [Illustration: UPPER TWO MEDICINE LAKE - Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill (with pipe) propitiating the - dreaded Under Water People] - -Said he: "I made the buffalo to be plains animals, and here upon these -plains they shall remain, and other-side tribes shall come to you and -ask permission to kill a few of them now and then. So, don't worry. -Go home now and attend to your affairs. All shall be well with you." - -The people went home. They saw that the buffalo remained upon the -plains in apparently as great numbers as ever. But some of the -hunters, to learn for sure if they were all there, ascended the -different passes of the mountains and went down the other side for -some distance. There were no buffalo, not even a few straggling bulls -on the other side, and they wondered how Old Man was keeping them -back. They soon learned. In a vision it was revealed to an old -medicine man that a huge god, a man of enormous stature, was -patrolling the mountains from far south to the everlasting snow of the -north, and with a club driving the buffalo back eastward as fast as -they came anywhere near the summit of the range. And so it was that -the other tribes--those of the west--never got the buffalo. - - * * * * * - -On our way down the lake we passed the beautiful Sun Camp and the -chalets of the Great Northern, perched upon the very spot where -Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill and I killed many a bighorn and -goat in times gone by. It was a favorite wintering place of the -animals, for the winds kept the steep mountain slope practically bare -from snow. And passing the mouth of the creek just above the camp, I -remembered that I had named it after Thomas, and Colonel Robert, and -the Honorable Cecil Baring, of London, with whom I often hunted back -in the eighties. In those days there were many bighorn and goats, and -not a few grizzlies back in the basin at the head of the creek. And -what amusing and sometimes exciting adventures we had with them! One -morning we espied a big "billy" goat on a ledge, and just as we saw -him he moved to the back side of it and lay down, showing only an inch -or two of the top of his back. - -"Who will go up and rout him out, so that I can get a shot?" asked -Colonel Baring, and Jack Bean, of Yellowstone fame, volunteered. - -It was to be a steep, almost straight-up climb, so Jack laid down his -rifle and started without encumbrance of any kind. At last he reached -the shelf and stood up on it, and that "billy" came for him, head -down! And Jack! Never have I seen a man come down a dangerous cliff so -fast as he did! And he kept coming, falling, sliding, rolling, and -then Colonel Baring fired and dropped the goat, and man and animal -came the rest of the way to the foot of the place together! We had -been too much concerned for the safety of our friend to laugh, but -when he at last stood up and faced us, bloody, half-naked, but not -seriously hurt, we roared. But Jack never even smiled: "Who would have -thought that a blankety-blank goat would go for a fellow!" he -exclaimed; and he went to the creek to repair the damages to his -person. - -On this day, halting here and there along the lake, we took some views -of the scenery and of our people, and at sunset were back in our -lodges. For some of us it is a last trip over the old, familiar -ground. My two old friends, Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill and -Yellow Wolf, must soon go on to their Shadow Land! - - * * * * * - -We were not too tired to-night for story-telling, so, after the -children had been put to bed and all was quiet, Takes-Gun-Ahead gave -us the following, the story of tobacco, which is called - - -NA-WAK´-O-SIS - -"In that long ago time when the earth was young, and people had not -long been made, a man threw some weeds upon a fire and found that the -odor, the smoke from their burning, was very pleasant. That night he -had a vision and learned that this plant was strong medicine; that, -when smoked in a pipe, which his vision explained to him how to make, -it would be the right thing with which to offer prayers to the gods. -He also taught the man the prayers and all the ceremony that went with -the prayers; and told him how to plant the weeds, from the seeds on -their tops, so that he could always have plenty of it. - -"This man was very much pleased with what he had learned. He went to -his three brother medicine men and told them all about it, and the -four of them formed a society of themselves and no others, for the -raising of the weed and its proper uses. But they were very stingy -with this weed, which they named _na-wak´-o-sis_, and would only now -and then give the people a leaf of it, although they raised large -numbers of the stalks in every summer time. - -"A young man named Lone Bull was very anxious to become a member of -this medicine society, but because he had no medicines and knew not -the rites of it, he was told that he could not join it. At that time -the camp of the people was close under Chief Mountain. He left it, -with his woman and his pack dogs, and moved up to the river running -out of the Inside Lakes, and there set up his lodge. Said he then to -his woman: 'I have come up here to get medicines; in some way to find -things that will enable me to become a raiser of _na-wak´-o-sis_. If I -can do that, I shall be of great help to the people. Now, then, I am -going to hunt and collect all the medicine skins I can find, and you -stay at home, take care of the lodge, gather wood, and cook what meat -we need. I shall bring in plenty of fat meat along with the skins.' - -"The man went hunting every day, and the woman remained at home. One -day, when the man was gone, she thought she heard singing; beautiful -singing; but look where she would she could see no singers. She spoke -to the man about it when he came home that evening, and made him feel -uneasy: 'If you hear it again, look about more carefully,' he told -her. - -"She heard it the next day, and this time located it, right under the -lodge. She went out to the bank of the river and looked at the bank: -there, under the water, were beaver holes in it, and beaver cuttings -upon the sandy bottom, and by that she knew that the lodge had been -set up above a bank beaver's home, and that beavers were the singers. -She went back to the lodge, lay down and put her ear to the ground, -and could then hear them plainly, and was pleased. Their singing was -so good that it was all that she could do to stop listening to them -and begin cooking the evening meal. - -"When Lone Bull came home that night she told him what she had -learned, but he could hear nothing, although he put his ear close to -the ground. Nor could he hear the singing the next evening, nor the -next, although his woman could hear it plainly. So now the woman got -her knife and cut a round hole in the ground, and Lone Bull laid his -head in it and could then hear the singing. He told her to make the -hole deeper; larger. She did so, and cut clear through the ground, and -looking down he could see the beavers sitting in their home, singing -beautiful songs, and dancing strange and beautiful dances in time to -them. - -"'Younger brothers, have pity on me!' he cried. 'Oh, my young -brothers, teach me your medicine!' - -"They looked up and saw him, and one answered: 'Close the hole that -you have made, because the light disturbs us, and we will soon be with -you.' - -"They soon came in through the doorway, four fine-looking men, -beautifully dressed. They had changed themselves from beavers to men. -They took seats, and then one of them said to Lone Bull: 'Elder -brother, what is it that you want of us? How can we help you?' - -"Lone Bull told them what it was: his great desire to obtain -_na-wak´-o-sis_ and grow it for the people. - -"'We have that plant; like us it is from the water, a water medicine,' -the beaver man told him; 'but before you can use it you have much to -do, much to learn. You have to learn all our songs and prayers and -dances and different ceremonies, and gather for the ceremonies a skin -of every animal and bird that is of the water, one of each except the -beavers, and of them there must be two. You know these animals and -birds: otter, mink, muskrat; different kinds of ducks; the fish hawk, -and all the other birds that get their food from the life of the -water. Why? Because there are two great life-givers of this world: the -sun, which gives heat, and water, that makes growth, and in our -ceremonies the skins of these different animals are symbols of the -water.' - -"'I shall collect them all, so teach me everything,' Lone Bull told -them. And they began that very night. - -"Day after day Lone Bull hunted the animals and birds, brought in -their skins for his woman to cure, and night after night the beavers -taught him their medicine, all the sacred prayers and dances and -ceremonies of it. And at last he knew them all thoroughly. - -"Then, one night, the beaver chief handed him some stalks of -_na-wak´-o-sis_, the top stems all covered with little round seeds. - -"'These,' said he, 'are the children of the big-leaved plants; put -them into the ground and they will grow and make other plants that -bear children. And now, I must tell you just how to plant: Gather a -great, long, wide pile of old dry logs, dry brush and weeds, and set -it afire. The heat from it will burn the ground, burn the sod, and -make everything soft under it. Then, when the place has cooled, gather -from around badger holes, squirrel holes, and wherever you can find -it, plenty of the brown earth they have thrown out, and mix it with -the burned black earth, so that it will not pack hard around the -seeds, and keep them from coming up into the sunlight. - -"'After you have taken all the seeds from the stems, you must put them -in a sack and not touch them again with your hands. With an antelope -horn you will make row after row of little holes all across the burned -ground and only a hand apart, and with a buffalo-horn spoon drop a -seed into each hole. When that is done, and it will require a long -time, you and yours are to dance along each row of seed, singing the -sacred songs, your feet lightly pressing down the ground over the -seed. At the end of a row you must step across to the next row, and -dance backward on that one, and forward on the next, and so on until -the last row has been pressed down, and all your songs have been sung. -Then you can go away from the place for a time. Return after one moon -has passed, and you will find that the young plants have grown above -the ground. Watch them, that insects do not destroy them. Give them -water if the rains fail you. They will grow all summer, and fade with -the ripening of the choke-cherries. Cut them then, care well for them, -and you and your people will have a plenty for your winter smokes and -ceremonies. There! I have told you all!' - -"It was planting-time then. Lone Bull moved right up to the foot of -the lower one of the Inside Lakes, and did everything that he had been -told to do, his wife helping him in every way. People hunting from -down Chief Mountain way came and saw his growing plants, and went home -and told about them. The four medicine men just laughed. 'Ha!' They -cried. 'He has no _na-wak´-o-sis_! He wanted to join us and we would -not let him into our society. He but plants some useless weed.' - -"But later on, just as their planting was getting ripe, a terrible -hailstorm came along and destroyed it all; every leaf was cut into -fine pieces! They cried from grief! Then they said among themselves: -'_Na-wak´-o-sis_ we must have or our medicines will be without power. -It may be that this Lone Bull really has the true plants: let us go up -and see them.' - -"They went, all the people with them, and saw that he had the sacred -plants. The hailstorm had come nowhere near his place. - -"Said they to him then: 'You have a big planting, and we will help you -gather it, and you and we four will use it. You shall join us.' - -"Lone Bull laughed long before he answered: 'I need no help from you. -You shall each have a little of my planting for your own use, and you -shall pay me well for it. The rest, excepting what I need, I shall -give to the people, and hereafter they will always have all that they -need of the plants.' - -"And as he said that he would do, so he did, and the people gave him -great praise and honor for it all, and he lived to great age. Kyi! Why -not? He had the beaver--the water medicine! It is a powerful medicine -to this day!" - - * * * * * - -A visitor in our camp this evening told a tale that ill pleases us. -There is a tourist camp away up in Gun-Sight Pass, one of the most -weirdly beautiful places in this whole country. There, the other day, -an employee was putting up a table on which were painted arrows -pointing to the different mountains, the name of each peak alongside -its particular arrow. - -A tourist standing near and watching the work suddenly exclaimed: -"Why, over there is a peak that has no name. Can you not name it after -me?" - -"Certainly I can," the employee answered; and painted another arrow -and inscribed beside it: "Lehnert Peak." - -"And over there is a fine waterfall," the tourist said. "Will you -please name it after my little daughter?" - -"Sure!" said the man; and painted another arrow pointing to "Mary -Frances Falls." - -Enough said! - - - - -V - -IKS-I´-KWO-YI-A-TUK-TAI (SWIFT CURRENT RIVER) - - - -_September 1._ - -We moved up here the other day and made camp beside one of the most -lovely lakes in all this Rocky Mountain country. In my time we called -it Beaver Woman's Lake. It is now McDermott Lake. And what a name that -is for one of Nature's gems! There are names for other lakes and peaks -here just as bad as that, but we shall have nothing to say about them -here. Only by an act of Congress can we get what we want done, and we -have faith that within a reasonable time all these mountains and lakes -and streams will bear the names of the great chiefs, medicine men, and -warriors who traversed them before the white men came. - - [Illustration: ICEBERG LAKE - Immense bergs are continually dropping into it from the live - glacier in background] - -Some of us--all excepting our two old men and the women--have been -riding over the different trails here, viewing the glaciers and other -places of interest, especially Iceberg Lake, where we saw a mass of -ice as large as a house part from the glacier, splash down into the -deep lake, and disappear, and after a time come up from the depths to -the surface and create another commotion of the waters. It was a grand -sight! - -Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill says that the lake with the -unpronounceable white man's name--McDermott--should be called Jealous -Women's Lake; that away back in the days of his youth, when the -Kootenai Indians occasionally came to camp and hunt with the -Blackfeet, he had a youthful friend of the mountain tribe who told him -the following story:-- - - -THE JEALOUS WOMEN - -"In those days a young Kootenai, good of heart, a great hunter, and -very brave, married twin sisters so alike that except for one thing -they could not be told apart: one was a slow, the other a very fast, -talker. - -"In time the fast talker, named Marmot, became jealous of her sister, -Camas, complaining all the time that she had to do the most of the -lodge work, and that she was sure Camas said bad things about her to -their man. Camas denied all this. 'I have never tried to place myself -first with our man,' she said. 'We are twins; I love you dearly; our -man's heart is so big that it holds us both in equal love. Now, be -sensible! Cast out your bad thoughts for they are all wrong.' - -"But Marmot persisted in believing that she was neglected; that her -sister had all their man's affection; and she finally went to him with -her complaint. He laughed. 'I love you just as much as I do your -sister,' he said. 'Now, just think back and show me when and in what -way I have shown that she is first with me!' - -"Marmot sat down and thought. She thought a long time; remained -silent. The man was very patient with her; he waited for her answer, -but it did not come. At last he said: 'Well, you have thought a long -time. Have you found one thing in which I gave her preference?' - -"'No, I haven't, but all the same I believe that you love her best,' -Marmot answered; and got up and went about her work. - -"The man shook his head, made no answer to that, and took up his -weapons and went hunting down the river. At the time he was camped -right here at this lake. - -"The man had not gone far, moving slowly, carefully, through the -timber and brush along the river, when he heard ahead a great -splashing in the water, and, going closer, found that it was caused by -two otters playing. They would chase each other in the water, then -climb the bank and go as swift as arrows from a bow down a slide that -they had made, and again chase and tumble each other over in the -water. The man crept closer to the slide, an arrow in his bow, another -in his hand, and, watching his chance, shot one of the players. He -tried to get the other, but it dived and was gone before he could fit -the other arrow to his bow: 'It is too bad that I didn't get the -other. I would have liked a skin of these medicine skins for each of -my women,' he said to himself. - -"He took the otter home and handed it to Camas. 'That is yours,' he -said. 'There were two of them. To-morrow, Marmot, I will get the other -for you, and then you will each have a strong medicine skin.' - -"Marmot said nothing, but looked cross. - -"The man went hunting the next day but he could not find the other -otter. He searched the river for many days and could not find one. - -"And as the days passed, Marmot became more and more angry, and -finally said to her sister: 'I have proof now that our man loves you -best. He gave you the otter; he does not even try to get one for me. -He hunts other animals every day, bighorn, goats, animals that live -nowhere near the haunts of the otter.' - -"'Now, don't be foolish!' Camas answered. 'You know as well as I do -that he has tried and tried to get the other otter for you. But at -the same time he has to get meat for us: that is why he hunts the -mountain animals.' - -"'Camas, the two of us can no longer live in this lodge,' cried -Marmot. 'You are a bad woman! I hate you! I will fight you any way you -say to see which of us shall be our man's one wife!' - -"Then it was that, for the first time, Camas became angry: 'We have no -weapons to fight with,' she answered, 'but I propose this: We will -swim this lake across and back and across and back until one of us -becomes tired and drowns! Now, crazy woman, what do you say to that?' - -"'Come on! Come on!' Marmot cried, and ran to the shore and tore off -her clothes. So did Camas, and the two rushed into the water and began -their swim of hate. They crossed the lake; turned and came back; -crossed again and started back, Camas well in the lead. She reached -the shore in front of the lodge, dragged herself out on the shore, and -turned. Her sister had gone down. There was not even a ripple on the -still water. Marmot was drowned. Hardly knowing what she did, she put -on her clothes and went into the lodge and cried and cried. The man -came home. She was still crying. He asked her where Marmot was, and -she cried all the harder, but at last told him all. Then the man -cried. Together the two mourned for a long time, and searched the lake -for the body of the lost one, and could not find it. So they moved -away from the unhappy place and returned to the camp of their people, -but it was a long time, a very long time, before they ceased mourning, -and never again would they go anywhere near the lake. - -"Yes, this is the Lake of the Jealous Women!" - - - - -VI - -NI-NA US-TAK-WI (CHIEF MOUNTAIN) - - - -_September 7._ - -We came up here the other day to the foot of this great landmark of -the country, and made camp beside a running spring in the edge of the -timber. The mountain is most appropriately named. It is the outer one -of an eastward projecting spur of the range, and is higher than any of -the peaks behind it. A chief, a leader, should always be taller, more -conspicuous in every way than his followers. This mountain gradually -slopes up eastward from the one behind it to an altitude of 9056 feet, -then drops in a sheer cliff several thousand feet to its steep slope -running down to the plain. From several hundred miles to the north, -and an equal distance to the south, and from the Bear Paw Mountains to -the east, it can be plainly seen, grim, majestic, a veritable Chief of -Mountains, and for that reason the Blackfeet so named it in the long -ago. - -The way to climb the mountain is by the long, narrow, and in places -cut-walled ridge running up toward its summit from the west, and then -one has but one cliff to surmount, the one almost at its crest. Only -men and goats and bighorn can scale that cliff, but on the extreme -summit lies an old buffalo skull, taken there by a Blackfoot in the -long ago for a pillow rest while getting his medicine dream. There he -fasted for days, and at last, in his weakened condition resulting from -want of food and water, got his vision, his medicine which was to be -his guardian through life. Who was it that came to him in his fasting -dreams? Ancient Buffalo, perhaps; or, maybe, Morning Star. Whoever it -was, he went staggering down the mountain and to camp, absolutely -certain that he had found his guardian spirit, his medium for favor -with the greatest god of all, the Sun, supreme ruler of this earth. - - [Illustration: EN ROUTE TO ICEBERG LAKE] - -We are here again upon our own ground, the Blackfeet Reservation, and -so once more have meat in camp, fat bighorn and fat mule deer, killed -by our hunters. This was once a great wintering place for deer and -elk, and, higher up, for bighorn. Some years ago a hunter, -Na-mik´-ai-yi by name, trailed a band of elk around to the ridge -behind the mountain and up its narrow way until they came to the foot -of the cliff near the summit and could go no farther. There they -turned back toward him and he fired one shot and dropped the leader. -The others, afraid to try to dash past him, chose the one alternative: -they rushed to the high cliff there on the north side of the ridge, -and sprang from it, and were all killed by the fall, eighty head of -them! - - - -_September 8._ - -Last night, after our feast of _ni-tap´-i-wak-sin_ (real meat) we -gathered in Yellow Wolf's lodge for a smoke and a talk, and our host -gave us a little story that I must here set down, the story of - - -THE WISE MAN - -"Here, under this mountain, the people were encamped and two of them -were Wise Man[13] and his woman. He was so named because he was -always finding out how to do useful things. - - [13] Mo-kûk´-i In-ah. - -"Up to the time of this encampment the people had had nothing to wear -but the plainest kind of garments, shirts, leggins, gowns, moccasins, -all made of plain tanned leather of different kinds. Wise Man thought -long about this, and finally said to his wife: 'Let us move away from -camp for a time, and go farther into the mountains. I have a plan that -I want to try by myself.' - -"The next morning they packed their dogs and moved up to the foot of -the Inside Lakes, crossed the outlet, and made camp. Wise Man then did -some hunting, killed plenty of meat for his wife and the dogs, and -began on his plan for making clothing more pleasing to the eye. He -went up on the high ridge between the lakes and Little River and dug -an eagle trap. That is, he dug a pit somewhat longer and wider than -his body, and quite deep, and killed a deer and laid it beside the -pit, and slashed its body so that the liver protruded. He then got -into the pit, covered the top of it with willow sticks and grass, and -waited, hoping that eagles would see the deer and come to eat it. They -did come; he could hear the heavy swish of their wings as they sailed -down upon it; and as they were eating the liver he would cautiously -reach up, grasp them by the legs, pull them down into the pit, and -kneeling upon them crush out their life. In this way, one at a time, -he caught many eagles, and took them home as he caught them, and took -from their bodies the tail feathers, the fluffy plume feathers, and -others that he thought would answer his purpose. - -"They had a very rank, unpleasant odor, these feathers; so, when he -thought that he had enough of them, he had his woman cover the floor -of the lodge with a thick layer of sweet sage, upon which he carefully -spread them. He then threw a quantity of sweetgrass upon the fire, -and, running from the lodge, the two tightly closed it and kept the -smoke inside. This last they did three or four times until the -feathers lost their bad odor, and were perfumed with the pleasant -odor of sweetgrass and sweet sage, both perfumes sacred to the gods, -as they afterward learned. - -"Winter was now come, and Wise Man began to hunt weasels, brown and -common of appearance in summer, but white and beautiful in winter. -This was more difficult work than trapping eagles, but by setting many -snares he caught during the winter more than a hundred of them. He -then made a headdress of some of the eagle tail feathers, and -suspended from it a number of weasel skins, and along the seams of his -shirt and leggins tied a number of the weasel skins. He then put on -the headdress and his ornamental clothes and stood up and asked his -woman how he appeared in them. - -"'You seem to have become a different man,' she answered. 'You look -very brave, very handsome. The clothes are beautiful.' - -"'They are of better appearance than they were,' he said, 'but I am -not yet satisfied. Perhaps I can improve them; but first I have to do -something for you.' - -"Wise Man put away his new clothes, and in old ones hunted elk, -taking from them their two tushes, and in the evening boring holes in -the soft part. Having collected two hundred, he sewed them in rows on -the breast and the back of his woman's new gown, and both saw that it -was then a handsome gown. - -"Said the woman: 'There! We are now complete; we have fine appearance. -Let us go home and show the people what we have done.' - -"'No,' Wise Man answered; 'something is lacking, something that will -make our clothes really beautiful. I have done all that I can without -help, and now I shall ask the gods to show me what more to do.' - -"Perhaps it was the gods that directed his footsteps the next day. As -he was going through the timber he came upon the remains of a -porcupine, its quills scattered all around upon the ground. He sat -down, took up some and examined them, and the thought came to him that -they could be dyed different colors and in some way sewed upon -garments and make them of brighter hue. He took all that he could -find, and killed several more porcupines, and carried home all the -long quills to his woman and told her his plan. - -"Said she, 'I know that the yellow moss that grows on pine trees will -stain anything a yellow that will not fade, that cannot be washed off. -Let us seek for other colors.' - -"They sought a long time, finding a green color in a certain wood, a -red in the juice of a plant, and then they dyed the quills the three -colors. Meantime the woman had been trying different ways to fasten -the quills to leather, and now, by flattening them, turning in the -ends, and sewing them side by side with very fine sinew and with the -finest of bone needles, she succeeded in making long bands of them of -different designs in the various colors. She was a long, long time -making them, but at last she made enough of the bands to sew onto the -arms of Wise Man's shirt, and down his leggins, and upon the neck -front-and-back of her gown. Each was so pleased with the appearance of -the other then that they kissed and almost cried with joy. Early -the following morning they packed up, crossed the river, and started -for the camp, still here at Chief Mountain. As soon as they came in -sight of it they stopped, put on their fine clothes, and then went on. -The people saw them approaching, but not until they were right close -to the camp were they recognized. Then what a crowd surrounded them, -staring at their beautiful garments, asking questions without end, and -as soon as they learned how this had all been done, they began at once -to gather material for similar clothing. And Wise Man, of course, -became a great man in the tribe, for to him was due the discovery of -the way to make beautiful things." - - [Illustration: GLACIER ON TRAIL TO ICEBERG LAKE] - - - -_September 9._ - -Although nothing has been said, we have not been so cheerful as usual -for the past few days, for all have known that we must soon part and -go our several ways. Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill is a sick man, -and Yellow Wolf but little better, so to-night we decided to break -camp in the morning. To-morrow night each family will be at home on -Cutbank, Willow Creek, Two Medicine, and Badger, all streams of the -Reservation, and I shall be upon my way to the Always-Summer-Land. - -Well, we have had a pleasant time these past two months, traveling and -camping along our old trails, and yet the evenings around the lodge -fires have not been of unalloyed joy: all have been tinged with sad -memories of other days; of deep regret that the old days--days when we -had all this great country to ourselves--are gone forever. And so, -to-night, after our quiet, last evening meal together, we had no -story-telling, no passing of the pipe; none had the heart for it; and -I am writing these last words by the light of a dying fire, true -symbol of the passing of all things. And now, by its last, blue -flicker, I write-- - -THE END - - - - -Transcriber's Note - -Names may appear both in hyphenated and unhyphenated forms, e.g. -Pi´-ta-mak-an and Pi´tamakan. These are preserved as printed. - -Both ap-ut´-o-sohts and Ap-ut´-o-sosts appear in the book, referring -to 'North.' It is possible that Ap-ut´-o-sosts is a printer error, as -compass directions seem to end in ~ohts, but as the transcriber was -unable to establish this as a certainty, it is preserved as printed. - -Minor punctuation errors have been repaired. - -The following amendments have been made: - - Page vii--Is-i-sak´-ta amended to Is-si-sak´-ta--Ki-nuk´-si - Is-si-sak´-ta (Little River) - - Page 143--warror amended to warrior--It struck the old warrior - fair in the ribs. - -The frontispiece illustration has been moved to follow the title page. -Other illustrations have been moved where necessary so that they are -not in the middle of a paragraph. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Blackfeet Tales of Glacier National -Park, by James Willard Schultz - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKFEET TALES--GLACIER NAT. PARK *** - -***** This file should be named 43399-8.txt or 43399-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/3/3/9/43399/ - -Produced by Greg Bergquist, Sam W. and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Blackfeet Tales of Glacier National Park - -Author: James Willard Schultz - -Release Date: August 4, 2013 [EBook #43399] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKFEET TALES--GLACIER NAT. PARK *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Bergquist, Sam W. and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - -</pre> - - - +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43399 ***</div> <div class="bbox"> <p><b>Transcriber's Note</b></p> @@ -7088,383 +7047,6 @@ Other illustrations have been moved where necessary so that they are not in the middle of a paragraph.</p> </div> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Blackfeet Tales of Glacier National -Park, by James Willard Schultz - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKFEET TALES--GLACIER NAT. PARK *** - -***** This file should be named 43399-h.htm or 43399-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/3/3/9/43399/ - -Produced by Greg Bergquist, Sam W. and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Blackfeet Tales of Glacier National Park - -Author: James Willard Schultz - -Release Date: August 4, 2013 [EBook #43399] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKFEET TALES--GLACIER NAT. PARK *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Bergquist, Sam W. and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - - Blackfeet Tales of - Glacier National - Park - - BY - JAMES WILLARD SCHULTZ - - _With Illustrations_ - - - [Illustration] - - - BOSTON AND NEW YORK - HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY - The Riverside Press Cambridge - 1916 - - - COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY JAMES WILLARD SCHULTZ - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - - _Published April 1916_ - - - The Riverside Press - CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS - U . S . A - - - - - [Illustration: THE NARROWS, UPPER ST. MARY'S LAKE, WITH BARING'S - BASIN IN THE BACKGROUND - _Page 214_] - - - - - TO - LOUIS WARREN HILL, ESQ. - - TRUE FRIEND TO MY BLACKFEET PEOPLE, AND - THE ONE WHO HAS DONE MORE THAN ANY OTHER - INDIVIDUAL, OR ANY ORGANIZATION, TO MAKE THE - WONDERS OF GLACIER NATIONAL PARK ACCESSIBLE - TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED - BY - - THE AUTHOR - - GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, - SEPTEMBER 10, 1915. - - - - -Contents - - - I. TWO MEDICINE 1 - HUGH MONROE 1 - THE WOMAN WHO EARNED A MAN'S NAME 12 - THE STORY OF THE THUNDER MEDICINE 23 - - II. PU-NAK'-IK-SI (CUTBANK) 43 - HOW MOUNTAIN CHIEF FOUND HIS HORSES 49 - WHITE FUR AND HIS BEAVER CLAN 59 - THE STORY OF THE BAD WIFE 85 - OLD MAN AND THE WOMAN 98 - - III. KI-NUK'-SI IS-SI-SAK'-TA (LITTLE RIVER) 110 - OLD MAN AND THE WOLVES 112 - NEW ROBE, THE RESCUER 129 - - IV. PUHT-O-MUK-SI-KIM-IKS (THE LAKES INSIDE): ST. - MARY'S LAKES 146 - THE STORY OF THE FIRST HORSES 158 - ONE HORN, SHAMER OF CROWS 182 - THE ELK MEDICINE CEREMONY 199 - NA-WAK'-O-SIS (THE STORY OF TOBACCO) 216 - - V. IKS-I'-KWO-YI-A-TUK-TAI (SWIFT CURRENT RIVER) 226 - THE JEALOUS WOMEN 227 - - VI. NI-NA US-TAK-WI (CHIEF MOUNTAIN) 233 - THE WISE MAN 235 - - - - -Illustrations - - - THE NARROWS, UPPER ST. MARY'S LAKE, WITH - BARING'S BASIN IN THE BACKGROUND _Frontispiece_ - - UPPER TWO MEDICINE LAKE AND RISING BULL MOUNTAIN 8 - - PI'-TA-MAK-AN (RUNNING EAGLE) FALLS 12 - - AT UPPER TWO MEDICINE LAKE 20 - Showing Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill, - Yellow Wolf, and the author - - MOVING CAMP FROM TWO MEDICINE 42 - - OUR CAMP ON CUTBANK RIVER 46 - Showing Wonderful Runner and Little Plume - Mountains - - STREAM FROM UNNAMED GLACIER POURING INTO CUTBANK - CANYON 52 - - THE BEAVER DAM 60 - - BIGHORN COUNTRY. HEAD OF CUTBANK RIVER 80 - - CUTBANK RIVER. A GOOD TROUT RIFFLE 84 - - BLACK BULL AND STABS-BY-MISTAKE NEAR LOWER END - OF CUTBANK CANYON 96 - - STABS-BY-MISTAKE, SUN WOMAN, AND HER SON, LITTLE - OTTER, IN CUTBANK CANYON 106 - - BIG SPRING PAINTING AUTOBIOGRAPHY ON THE FLESH - SIDE OF A TANNED ELK-SKIN 110 - - SUN WOMAN 128 - - CAMP NEAR LOWER END OF UPPER ST. MARY'S LAKE 146 - - AT THE NARROWS, UPPER ST. MARY'S LAKE 152 - - GOING-TO-THE-SUN MOUNTAIN 156 - - GOING-TO-THE-SUN CHALET, UPPER ST. MARY'S LAKE 180 - - OPENING OF THE ELK MEDICINE PIPE CEREMONY 206 - - ELK MEDICINE PIPE DANCE 210 - - TAIL-FEATHERS-COMING-OVER-THE-HILL PROPITIATING - THE DREADED UNDER-WATER PEOPLE AT UPPER TWO - MEDICINE LAKE 212 - - ICEBERG LAKE 226 - - EN ROUTE TO ICEBERG LAKE 234 - - GLACIER ON TRAIL TO ICEBERG LAKE 240 - -_From photographs by R. W. Reed_ - - - - -BLACKFEET TALES OF GLACIER NATIONAL PARK - - - - -I - -TWO MEDICINE - - - -_July 12, 1915._ - - -HUGH MONROE - -After an absence of many years, I have returned to visit for a time my -Blackfeet relatives and friends, and we are camping along the mountain -trails where, in the long ago, we hunted buffalo, and elk, and moose, -and all the other game peculiar to this region. - -To-day we pitched our lodges under Rising Wolf Mountain, that massive, -sky-piercing, snow-crested height of red-and-gray rock which slopes up -so steeply from the north shore of Upper Two Medicine Lake. This -afternoon we saw upon it, some two or three thousand feet up toward -its rugged crest, a few bighorn and a Rocky Mountain goat. But we may -not kill them! Said Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill: "There they -are! Our meat, but the whites have taken them from us, even as they -have taken everything else that is ours!" And so we are eating beef -where once we feasted upon the rich ribs and loins of game, which -tasted all the better because we trailed and killed it, and with no -little labor brought it to the womenfolk in camp. - -Rising Wolf Mountain! What a fitting and splendid monument it is to -the first white man to traverse the foothills of the Rockies between -the Saskatchewan and the Missouri! Hugh Monroe was his English name. -His father was Captain Hugh Monroe, of the English army; his mother -was Amelie de la Roche, a daughter of a noble family of French -_emigres_. Hugh Monroe, Junior, was born in Montreal in 1798. In 1814 -he received permission to enter the employ of the Hudson's Bay -Company, and one year later--in the summer of 1815--he arrived at its -new post, Mountain Fort, on the North Fork of the Saskatchewan and -close to the foothills of the Rockies. - -At that time the Company had but recently entered Blackfeet territory, -and none of its _engages_ understood their language; an interpreter -was needed, and the Factor appointed Monroe to fit himself for the -position. The Blackfeet were leaving the Fort to hunt and trap along -the tributaries of the Missouri during the winter, and he went with -them, under the protection of the head chief, who had nineteen wives -and two lodges and an immense band of horses. By easy stages they -traveled along the foot of the Rockies to Sun River, where they -wintered, and then in the spring, instead of returning to the -Saskatchewan, they crossed the Missouri, hunted in the Yellowstone -country that summer, wintered on the Missouri at the mouth of the -Marias River, and returned to Mountain Fort the following spring with -all the furs their horses could carry. - -Instead of one winter, Monroe had passed two years with the tribe, and -in that time had acquired a wife, a daughter of the great chief, a good -knowledge of the language, and an honorable name, Ma-kwi'-i-po-wak-sin -(Rising Wolf), which was given him because of his bravery in a battle -with the Crows in the Yellowstone country. - -During Monroe's two years' absence from the Fort, another _engage_ had -learned the Blackfeet language from a Cree Indian, who spoke it well, -so that this man became the interpreter, and Monroe was ordered to -remain with the Piegan tribe of the Blackfeet, to travel with them, -and see that they came annually to the Fort to trade in the winter -catch of furs. And this exactly suited him; he much preferred roaming -the plains with his chosen people; the stuffy rooms of the Fort had no -attractions for a man of his nature. - -How I envy Hugh Monroe, the first white man to traverse the plains -lying between the Upper Saskatchewan and the Upper Missouri, and the -first to see many portions of the great stretch of the mountain region -between the Missouri and the Yellowstone. He has himself often told me -that "every day of that life was a day of great joy!" - -Monroe was a famous hunter and trapper, and a warrior as well. He was -a member of the Ai'-in-i-kiks, or Seizer band of the All Friends -Society, and the duty of the Seizers was to keep order in the great -camp, and see that the people obeyed the hunting laws--a most -difficult task at times. On several occasions he went with his and -other bands to war against other tribes, and once, near Great Salt -Lake, when with a party of nearly two hundred warriors, he saved the -lives of the noted Jim Bridger and his party of trappers. Bridger had -with him a dozen white men and as many Snake Indians, the latter -bitter enemies of the Blackfeet. The Snakes were discovered, and the -Blackfeet party was preparing to charge them, when Monroe saw that -there were white men behind them. "Stop! White men are with them! We -must let them go their way in peace!" Monroe shouted to his party. - -"But they are Snake white men, and therefore our enemy: we shall kill -them all!" the Blackfeet chief answered. However, such was Monroe's -power over his comrades that he finally persuaded them to remain -where they were, and he went forward with a flag of truce, and found -that his friend Jim Bridger was the leader of the other party. That -evening white men and Snakes and Blackfeet ate and smoked together! It -was a narrow escape for Bridger and his handful of men. - -Monroe had three sons and three daughters by his Indian wife, all of -whom grew into fine, stalwart men and women. Up and down the country -he roamed with them, trapping and hunting, and often fighting hostile -war parties. They finally all married, and in his old age he lived -with one and another of them until his death, in 1896, in his -ninety-eighth year. We buried him near the buffalo cliffs, down on the -Two Medicine River, where he had seen many a herd of the huge animals -decoyed to their death. And then we named this mountain for him. A -fitting tribute, I think, to one of the bravest yet most kindly men of -the old, old West! - - * * * * * - -At the upper east side and head of this beautiful lake rises a -pyramidal mountain of great height and grandeur. A frowse of pine -timber on its lower front slope, and its ever-narrowing side slopes -above, give it a certain resemblance to a buffalo bull. Upon looking -at a recent map of the country I found that it had been named "Mount -Rockwell." So, turning to Yellow Wolf, I said: "The whites have given -that mountain yonder the name of a white man. It is so marked upon -this paper." - -The old man, half blind and quite feeble, roused up when he heard -that, and cried out: "Is it so? Not satisfied with taking our -mountains, the whites even take away the ancient names we have given -them! They shall not do it! You tell them so! That mountain yonder is -Rising Bull Mountain, and by that name it must ever be called! Rising -Bull was one of our great chiefs: what more fitting than that the -mountain should always bear his name?" - -"Rising Bull was a chief in two tribes," Yellow Wolf went on. "In his -youth he married a Flathead girl, at a time when we were at peace -with that people, and after a winter or two she persuaded him to take -her across the mountains for a visit with her relatives. Rising Bull -came to like them and all the Flathead people so well that he remained -with them a number of winters, and because of his bravery, and his -kind and generous nature, the Flatheads soon appointed him one of -their chiefs. When he was about forty winters of age, some young men -of both tribes quarreled over a gambling game and several were killed -on each side. That, of course, ended the peace pact; war was declared, -and as Rising Bull could not fight his own people, he came back to us -with his Flathead wife, and was a leader in the war, which lasted for -several years. When that was ended, he continued to lead war parties -against the Crows, the Sioux, the Assiniboines, and the far-off -Snakes, and was always successful. Came the dreadful Measles -Winter,[1] and with hundreds of our people, he died. He left a son, -White Quiver, a very brave young warrior, and two years after his -father's death, he was killed in a raid against the Crows." - - [1] The winter of 1859-60. - - [Illustration: UPPER TWO MEDICINE LAKE. RISING BULL MOUNTAIN - ON RIGHT] - -"Ai! Rising Bull was a brave man. And oh, so gentle-hearted! So good -to the widows and orphans; to all in any kind of distress! We must in -some way see that this mountain continues to bear his name," said -Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill. - -And to that I most heartily agree. - - - -_July 15._ - -We are a considerable camp of people: Yellow Wolf, my old uncle-in-law; -Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill, another uncle-in-law; Big Spring; -Two Guns; Black Bull; Stabs-by-Mistake; Eagle Child; Eli Guardipe, or -Takes-Gun-Ahead. And with them they have their eleven women and fourteen -children. All are my especial friends, and all the men have been to -war--some of them many times--and have counted _coup_ upon the enemy. -Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill has many battle scars on different -parts of his body. I was with him when he got the last one, in a fight -with the Crees. The bullet struck him in the forehead, ripped open the -scalp clear to the back of his head, but did not penetrate the skull. He -dropped instantly when struck, and we at first thought that he was dead. -It was some hours before he regained consciousness. - -With all these men, and especially Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill -and Guardipe, I hunted and traveled much in the old days. Naturally, -we spend much of our time telling over this-and-that of our -adventures. Meantime the children play around, as happy as Indian -children ever are, and their mothers do the lodge work, which is -light, and gather in groups to chat and joke. The boys have just been -skipping stones on the smooth surface of the lake. The number of skips -a stone makes before it finally sinks, denotes the number of wives the -caster will have when he reaches manhood. - -Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill and Two Guns are medicine men. The -former has the Elk medicine pipe, the latter the Water medicine pipe, -both ancient medicines in the tribe. They are spiritual, not material, -medicines. In fact, they are the implements used in prayers to the sun -and other gods, and each carries with it a ritual of its own. -Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill has just told me that we will have -some prayers with his pipe a few days from now. I shall be glad to -take part in it all once more. - - - -_July 16._ - -Again my people are filled with resentment against the whites. I told -them this afternoon that the falls in the river between this and the -lower lake had been given a foolish white men's name. I could not tell -them what it was, for there is no Blackfeet equivalent for the word -"Trick." But what a miserable, circus-suggesting name that is to give -to one of the most beautiful of waterfalls, and the only one of its -kind in America, and in all the world, for all I know! A short -distance below the outlet of the upper lake the river sinks, and a -half-mile farther on gushes into sight from a jagged hole halfway up -the side of a high and almost perpendicular cliff. - -"In the long ago we named that Pi'tamakan Falls," said -Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill. - -"Yes? And who was he?" I asked, although I had a fair recollection of -the story of that personage. But I had forgotten the details of it, -and wanted them all. - -"Not he, but she!" he corrected me. - -"But Pi'tamakan (Running Eagle) is a man's name," I objected. - -"True. But this woman earned the right to bear a man's name, and so it -was given her. She was the only woman of our people to receive that -honor, so far as I know. Listen! You shall hear all about it." - - -THE WOMAN WHO EARNED A MAN'S NAME - -"As a girl, her name was Weasel Woman. She was the eldest of two -brothers and two sisters, and when she had seen fifteen winters both -their father and mother died. But unlike children in such circumstances, -they did not give up their lodge and scatter out to live with -relatives and friends. Said Weasel Woman: 'Somehow, some way, we can -manage to live. You boys are old enough to hunt and bring in meat and -skins. We three sisters will keep the lodge in good order, and tan the -skins for our clothing and bedding, and other uses.' And as she said, so -it was done, and the orphan family prospered. - - [Illustration: PI'-TA-MAK-AN (RUNNING EAGLE) FALLS - The greater part of the stream gushes from the orifice a third - of the way up the cliff] - -"But Weasel Woman was not satisfied. Many young men and many old and -rich men wanted to marry her, and to all she said 'No!' so loudly, and -so quickly, that after a time all knew that she would not marry. -Wherever a party of warriors gathered for a dance or a feast, there -she was looking on, listening to their talk, and giving what help she -could. And when a party returned from war, she was loudest in praising -them. All she talked of, all she thought about, was war. - -"On an evening in her twentieth summer a large party of warriors -started out to cross the mountains and raid the Flatheads. They -traveled all night, and when daylight came found that Weasel Woman was -with them. - -"'Go back! Go home!' the war chief told her. But she would not -listen. - -"'If you will not let me go with you, I shall follow you,' she said. - -"And then spoke up the medicine man of the party: 'Chief,' said he, 'I -advise you to allow her to go with us; something tells me that she -will bring us good luck.' - -"'Ah! As you advise me, so shall it be,' said the war chief; and the -woman went on with them. No man of that party teased her, nor bothered -her in any way: every one of them treated her as they would a sister. -It was the strangest war party that ever set forth from any tribe of -the plains! - -"It was at the edge of Flathead Lake that they discovered the enemy, a -large camp of the Flatheads and their friends, the Pend d'Oreilles. -When night came they went close up to it, and the woman said to the -war chief: 'Let me go in first. Let me see what I can do. I feel that -I shall be successful in there.' - -"'Go!' the chief told her, 'and we will wait for you here, and be -ready to help you if you get into trouble.' - -"The woman went into the camp, where all the best horses of the -people--their fast buffalo runners, their racers, and their -stallions--were picketed close to the lodges of the different owners -of them. If she was afraid of being discovered and killed, she never -admitted it. The dying moon gave light enough for her to see the size -and color of the horses. She took her time and went around among them, -and, making her choice, cut the ropes of three fine pinto horses, and -led them out to where the party awaited her. There she tied them, and -went back into camp with the chief and his men and again came out with -three horses. Said she then: 'I have taken enough for this time. I -will await you here and take care of what we have.' - -"The men went back several times, and then, having all the horses that -they could drive rapidly, the party struck for the mountains, and in -several days' time arrived home without the loss of a man or a horse. - -"A few days after the party came into camp the medicine lodge was put -up, and on the day that the warriors counted their _coups_, and new -names were given them, an old warrior and medicine man called Weasel -Woman before the people, and had her count her _coup_--of going twice -into the enemy's camp and taking six horses. All shouted approval of -that, and then the medicine man gave her the name, Pi'-ta-mak-an, a -very great one, that of a chief whose shadow had some time before gone -on to the Sand Hills. - -"After that Pi'tamakan, as we now may call her, did not have to sneak -after a party in order to go to war with them: she was asked to go. -And after two or three more successful raids against different -enemies, the Crows, the Sioux, and the Flatheads, she herself became a -war chief, and warriors begged to be allowed to join her parties, -because they believed that where she led nothing but good luck would -come to them. She now wore men's clothing when on a raid. At home she -wore her woman clothing. But even in that dress she, like any man, -gave feasts and dances, and the greatest chiefs and warriors came to -them, and were glad to be there. - -"On her sixth raid, Pi'tamakan led a large war party against the -Flatheads, and somewhere on the other side of the mountains fell in -with a war party of Bloods, one of our brother tribes of the North. -For several days the two parties traveled along together, and then one -evening the Blood chief, Falling Bear, said to Pi'tamakan's servant: -'Go tell your chief woman that I would like to marry her.' - -"'Chief, you do not understand,' the boy told him. 'She is not that -kind. Men are her brothers, and nothing more. She will never marry. I -cannot give her your message, for I am afraid that she would be angry -with me for carrying it to her.' - -"On the next day, as they were traveling along, the Blood chief said -to Pi'tamakan: 'I have never loved, but I love now. I love you; my -heart is all yours; let us marry.' - -"'I will not say "yes" to that, nor will I say "no,"' the woman chief -answered him. 'I will consider what you ask, and give you an answer -after we make this raid.' - -"And with that the Blood chief said no more, but felt encouraged: he -thought that in time she would agree to become his woman. - -"That very evening the scouts ahead discovered a large camp of -Flathead and Kootenai Indians, more than a hundred lodges of them, and -when night came both parties drew close in to it. Pi'tamakan then -ordered her followers to remain where they were and told the Blood -chief to say the same thing to his men. She then told the Blood chief -to go into the camp and take horses, and he went in and returned with -one horse. - -"'It is now my turn,' said Pi'tamakan, and she went in and brought out -two horses. - -"The Blood chief went in and brought out two horses. - -"Pi'tamakan went in and brought out four horses. - -"The Blood chief went in and brought out two horses. - -"Pi'tamakan went in and brought out one horse. And then she said to -the Blood chief: 'Our men are becoming impatient to go in there and -take horses. We will each of us go in once more, and then let them do -what they can.' - -"So the Blood chief went in for the fourth and last time, and came -back leading four horses, making nine in all. And then Pi'tamakan went -in and cut the ropes of eight horses, and safely led them out, making -in all fifteen that she had taken. The warriors then went in, making -several trips, and then, with all the horses that could be easily -driven, the big double party headed for home. - -"On the next day, as Pi'tamakan and the Blood chief were riding -together, he said to her: 'I love you so much that I can wait no -longer for my answer. Give it to me now. I believe that you are going -to say, "Yes, I will be your woman."' - -"Said Pi'tamakan: 'I gave you your chance. It would have been yes had -you taken more horses than I did from the camp of the enemy. But I -took the most; therefore I cannot marry you.' - -"That was her way of getting around saying 'no' to the chief. She had -beaten him, an old, experienced warrior, in the taking of the enemy's -horses, and he could not ask her again to become his woman. It is said -that he felt very badly about it all. - -"Pi'tamakan now carried a gun when she went to war, and used it well -in several fights with the enemy, counting in all three _coups_, each -one of them the taking of a gun from the man she herself killed. And -then, _haiya_! On her ninth raid she led a party against the -Flatheads, and while she and all her men were in the camp, choosing -horses and cutting their ropes, the Flatheads discovered them and -began firing, and she and five of her men were killed. And so passed -Pi'tamakan, virgin, and brave woman chief of our people. She died -young, about seventy winters ago." - - * * * * * - -Okan, his vision, is the name the Blackfeet have for the great lodge -which they annually give to the sun, and for the four days of ceremonies -attending its erection and consecration. In our vernacular it is the -medicine lodge. I asked Yellow Wolf this afternoon why this river was -named Nat'-ok-i-o-kan, or, as we say, Two Medicine Lodge River, and he -replied that when the Blackfeet first took this great country from the -Crows, they built a medicine lodge on the river, just below the buffalo -cliffs. The next summer they built another one in the same place, and -owing to that the river got its name. - - [Illustration: AT UPPER TWO MEDICINE LAKE - Left to right: Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill, Yellow Wolf, - and the author, relating his killing of a grizzly at this - particular place, in the long-ago] - -Yes, this was once the country of the Crows. But the Blackfeet saw and -coveted it. It was about two hundred years ago, as near as I can learn, -that they came into it from their original home, the region of Peace -River and the Slave Lakes, and little by little forced the Crows -southward until they had driven them to the south side of the -Yellowstone, or Elk River, as it is known to the various Indian -tribes of the plains. - -Perhaps, in the first place, the Blackfeet coveted more than anything -else the cliffs on the Two Medicine,--just above Holy Family -Mission,--where the buffalo were decoyed in great numbers and stampeded -in a huge waterfall of whirling brown bodies to death on the rocks -below. - -The Blackfeet call such a place--there were several of them--a -_pi'skan_, a trap. Extending back from the cliff, for a mile or more -out on the plain, were two ever-diverging lines of rock piles, like a -huge letter V. Behind these the people concealed themselves, and the -buffalo caller, going out beyond the mouth of the V, by certain antics -and motions aroused the curiosity of the herd until it finally -followed him into the V. Then the people began to rise up behind it, -and the result was that, unable to turn either to the right or left, -from fear of the two lines of shouting, robe-waving stampeders, it was -driven straight to the cliff and over it. - -When I first saw the place, there were at the foot of the cliffs tons -and tons of buffalo horn tips, the most time-resisting of any portion -of a buffalo's anatomy. - - * * * * * - -Last night, while the pipe was going the rounds, I asked what had -become of old Red Eagle's Thunder Medicine Pipe, and was told that it -was still in the tribe, Old Person at present being the owner of it. -Said Two Guns: "That is one of the most ancient and most powerful -medicines we have. Do you know how it came into our possession?" - - -THE STORY OF THE THUNDER MEDICINE - -"It was in the long ago. Our fathers had no horses then, but used dogs -to carry their belongings. - -"One spring, needing the skins of bighorn to tan into soft leather for -clothing, the tribe moved up here to the foot of the Lower Two -Medicine Lake, and began hunting. Many men would surround and climb a -mountain, driving the bighorn ahead of them, their dogs helping, and -at last they would come up to the game, often several hundred head, -on the summit of the mountain. The dogs were then held back, and the -hunters, advancing with ready bow and arrows, would shoot and shoot -the bighorn at close range and generally kill the most of them. - -"One day, while most of the men were hunting, three young, unmarried -women went out to gather wood, and while they were collecting it in -little piles here and there, a thunderstorm came up. Then said one of -them, a beautiful girl, tall, slender, long-haired, big-eyed, 'O -Thunder! I am pure! I am a virgin! If you will not strike us I promise -to marry you whenever you want me!' - -"Thunder passed on, not harming them, and the young women gathered up -their firewood and went home. - -"On another day these three young women went out again for firewood, -one ahead of another along the trail in the deep woods, and Mink -Woman, she who had promised herself to Thunder Man, was last of the -three. She was some distance behind the others and singing happily as -she stepped along, when out from the brush in front of her stepped a -very fine-looking, beautifully dressed man, and said: 'Well, here I -am. I have come for you.' - -"'No, not for me! You are mistaken. I am not that kind; I am a pure -woman,' she answered. - -"'But you can't go back on your word. You promised yourself to me if I -would not strike you, and I did not harm you. Don't you know me? I am -Thunder Man.' - -"Mink Woman looked closely at him, and her heart beat fast from fear. -But he was good to look at, he had the appearance of a kind and gentle -man, and--although thoughtlessly--she had made a promise to him, a -god, and she could not break it. So she answered: 'I said that I would -marry you. Well, here I am, take me!' - -"Her two companions had passed on; they saw nothing of this meeting. -Thunder Man stepped forward, and kissed her, then took her in his -arms, and, springing from the ground, carried her up into the sky to -the land of the Above People. - -"But the two young women soon missed her. They ran back on the trail, -and searched on all sides of it, and called and called to her, and of -course got no reply: 'She may have gone home for something,' said one -of them, and they hurried back to camp. She was not there. They then -gave the alarm, and all the people scattered out to look for her. They -hunted all that day, and wandered about in the woods all night, -calling her name, and got no answer. - -"The next morning Mink Woman's father, Lame Bull, made medicine and -called in Crow Man, a god who sometimes lived with the people. 'My -daughter, Mink Woman, has disappeared,' he told the god. 'Find her, -even learn where she went, and you shall have her for your wife.' - -"'I take your word,' Crow Man answered him. 'I believe that I can -learn where she went. I may not be able to get her now, but I will -some time, and then you will not forget this promise. I have always -wanted her for my woman.' - -"Crow Man went to the two young women and got them to show him where -they had last seen Mink Woman. He then called a magpie to him, and -said to the bird: 'Fly around here and find this missing woman's -trail.' - -"The bird flew around and around, Crow Man following it, and at last -it fluttered to the ground, and looked up at him, and said: 'To this -spot where I stand came the woman, and here her trail ends.' - -"'Is it so!' Crow Man exclaimed. 'Well stand just where you are and -move that long, shining black tail of yours. Move it up and down, and -sideways. Twist it in every direction that you can.' - -"The magpie did as he was told, and Crow Man got down on hands and -knees, and went around, watching the shifting, wiggling, fanning tail. -Suddenly he cried out: 'There! Hold your tail motionless in just that -position!' and he moved up nearer and looked more closely at it. The -sun was shining brightly upon it, and the glistening black feathers -mirrored everything around. They were now spread directly behind the -bird's body, and reflected the tree-tops, and the sky beyond them. -Long, long, Crow Man stared at the tail, the people looking on and -holding their breath, and at last he said to Lame Bull, 'I can see -your daughter, but she is beyond my reach: I cannot fly there. She is -up in sky land, and Thunder Man has her!' - -"'_Ai! Ai!_ She did promise herself to him the other day, if he would -spare us,' one of the two wood gatherers said, 'but she did not mean -it; she was only joking. It is no joke!' - -"Lame Bull sat down and covered his head with his robe, and wept, and -would not be comforted. - -"Thunder Man took Mink Woman to sky land with him, and somehow, from the -very first she was happy there with him; she seemed to forget at once -all about this earth and her parents and the people. It was a beautiful -land up there: warm and sunny, a country just like ours except that it -had no storms. Buffalo and all the other animals covered the plains, and -all sorts of grasses and trees and berry-bushes and plants grew there as -they do here. - -"But although Mink Woman was very happy there, Thunder Man was always -uneasy about her, and kept saying to his people, 'Watch her constantly; -see that she gets no hint of her country down below, nor sight of it. If -she does, then she will cry and cry, and become sick, and that will be -bad for me.' - -"Thunder Man was often away, and during his absence his people kept a -good watch on Mink Woman, and did all they could to amuse her; to keep -her interested in different things. One day a woman gave her some -freshly dug _mas_,[2] and she cried out: 'Oh, how good of you to give -me these! I must go dig some for myself!' - - [2] _Mas._ I know not the English name for this edible root. The - French voyageurs' name for it was _pommes blanches_. - -"'Oh, no! Don't go! We will dig for you all that you can use,' the -women told her, but she would not listen. - -"'I want the fun of digging them for myself,' she told them. 'Somewhere, -some time back, I did dig them. I must dig them again.' - -"'Well, if you must, you must,' they answered, and gave her a digging -stick, and cautioned her not to dig a very large one, should she find -it, for that _mas_ was the mother of all the others, and was constantly -bringing forth new ones by scattering her seed to the winds. She -promised that she would not touch it, and went off happily with her -digging stick and a sack. - -"Well, Mink Woman wandered about on the warm grass and flower-covered -plain, digging a _mas_ here, one there, singing to herself, and thinking -how much she loved her Thunder Man, and wishing that he would be more -often at home. He was away the greater part of the time. Thus wandering, -in a low place in the plain she came upon a _mas_ of enormous size; -actually, it was larger around than her body! 'Ha! This is the mother -_mas_; the one they told me not to dig up,' she cried, and walked around -and around it, admiring its hugeness. - -"'I would like to dig it, but I must not,' she at last said to herself, -and went on, seeking more _mas_ of small size. But she could not forget -the big one; she kept imagining how it would look out of the ground; on -her back; in her lodge, all nicely cleaned and washed, a present for -Thunder Man when he should return home. She went back to it, walked -around it many times, went away from it, trying to do as she had been -told. But when halfway home she could no longer resist the temptation: -with a little cry she turned and never stopped running until she was -beside it, and then she used the digging stick with all her strength, -thrusting it into the ground around and around and around the huge -growth and prying up, and at last it became loose, and seizing it by its -big top leaves, she pulled hard and tore it from the ground, and rolled -it to one side of the hole. - -"What a big hole it was! And light seemed to come up through it. She -stepped to the edge and looked down: upon pulling up the huge _mas_ -she had torn a hole clear through the sky earth! She stooped and -looked through it, and there, far, far below, saw-- - -"Why, everything came back to her when she looked through it: There -it was, her own earth land! There was the Two Medicine River, and -there, just below the foot of its lower lake, was the camp of her -people! She threw away her digging stick, and her sack of _mas_, and -ran crying to camp and into Thunder Man's lodge. He was away at the -time, but some of his relatives were in the lodge, and she cried out -to them: 'I have seen my own country; the camp of my people. I want to -go back to them!' - -"Said Thunder Man's relatives to one another: 'She has found the big -_mas_, and has pulled it up, and made a hole in our sky earth! Now, -what shall we do? Thunder Man will be angry at us because we did not -watch her more closely.' Thinking of what he might do to them in his -anger, they trembled. They tried to soothe Mink Woman, but she would -not be comforted; she kept crying and crying to be taken back to her -father and mother. - -"Thunder Man came home in the evening, and upon learning what had -happened, his distress was as great as that of Mink Woman, whom he -loved. When he came into the lodge she threw herself upon him, and -with tears streaming from her eyes, begged him to take her back to -her people. - -"'But don't you love me?' he asked. 'Haven't you been happy here? -Isn't this a beautiful--a rich country?' - -"'Of course I love you! I have been happy here! This is a good -country! But oh, I want to see my father and mother!' - -"'Well, sleep now. In the morning you will likely feel that you are -glad to be here, instead of down on the people's earth,' Thunder Man -told her. But she would not sleep; she cried all night; would not eat -in the morning, and kept on crying for her people. - -"Then said Thunder Man: 'I cannot bear to see--to hear such distress. -Because I love her, she shall have her way. Go, you hunters, kill -buffalo, kill many of them, and bring in the hides. And you, all you -women, take the hides and cut them into long, strong strips and tie -them together.' - -"This the hunters and the women did, and Thunder Man himself made a -long, high-sided basket of a buffalo bull's hide and willow sticks. -This and the long, long one-strand rope of buffalo hide were taken to -the hole that Mink Woman had torn in the sky earth, and then Thunder -Man brought her to the place and laid her carefully in the basket, -which he had lined with soft robes: 'Because I love you so dearly, I -am going to let you down to your people,' he told her. 'But we do not -part forever. Tell your father that I shall soon visit him, and give -him presents. I know that I did wrong, taking you from him without his -consent. Say to him that I will make amends for that.' - -"'Oh, you are good, and I love you more than ever. But I must, I must -see my people; I cannot rest until I do,' Mink Woman told him, and -kissed him. - -"The people then swung the woman in the basket down into the hole she -had torn in the earth, and began to pay out the long rope, and slowly, -little by little, the woman, looking up, saw that she was leaving the -land of the sky gods. Below, the people, looking up, saw what they -thought was a strange bird slowly floating down toward them from the -sky. But after a long time they knew that it was not a bird. Nothing -like it had ever been seen. It was coming down straight toward the -center of the big camp. Men, women, children, they all fled to the edge -of the timber, the dogs close at their heels, and from the shelter of -thick brush watched this strange, descending object. It was a long, long -time coming down, twirling this way, that way, and swaying in the wind, -but finally it touched the ground in the very center of the camp circle, -and they saw a woman rise up and step out of it. They recognized her: -Mink Woman! And as they rushed out from the timber to greet her, the -basket which had held her began to ascend and soon disappeared in the -far blue of the sky. - -"All the rest of that day and far into the night, Mink Woman told her -parents and her people about the sky gods and the sky earth, and even -then did not tell it all. Days were required for the telling of all -that she had seen and done. - -"Not long after Mink Woman's return to the earth and her people, -Thunder Man came to the camp. He came quietly. One evening the door -curtain of Lame Bull's lodge was thrust aside, and some one entered. -Mink Woman, looking up from where she sat, saw that it was her sky god -husband. He was plainly dressed, and bore a bundle in his arms: -'Father!' she cried; 'here he is, my Thunder Man!' And Lame Bull, -moving to one side of the couch, made him welcome. - -"Said Thunder Man: 'I wronged you by taking your daughter without your -permission. I come now to make amends for that. I have here in this -bundle a sacred pipe; my Thunder pipe. I give it to you, and will -teach you how to use it, and how to say the prayers and sing the songs -that go with it.' - -"Said Lame Bull to this man, his sky god son-in-law, 'I was very angry -at you, but as the snow melts when the black winds[3] blow, so has my -anger gone from my heart. I take your present. I shall be glad to -learn the sacred songs and prayers.' - - [3] The "Chinook" wind. It is generally accompanied by dense black - clouds that obscure the mountains. - -"Thunder Man remained for some time, nearly a moon, there in Lame -Bull's lodge, and taught the chief the ceremony of the medicine pipe -until he knew it thoroughly in its every part. 'It is a powerful -medicine,' Thunder Man told him. 'It will make the sick well; bring -you and your people long life and happiness and plenty, and success to -your parties who go to war.' - -"And as he said it was, so it proved to be, a most powerful medicine -for the good of the people. - -"Thunder Man's departure from the camp was sudden and unexpected. One -evening he was sitting beside Mink Woman in Lame Bull's lodge, and all -at once straightened up, looked skyward through the smoke hole, and -appeared to be listening to something. The people there in the lodge -held their breath and listened also, and could hear nothing but the -chirping of the crickets in the grass outside. But Thunder Man soon -cried out: 'They are calling me! I have to go! I shall return to you -as soon as I can finish my work!' And with that he ran from the lodge -and was gone. And Mink Woman wept. - -"Who can know the ways of the gods? Surely not us of the earth. -Thunder Man promised to return soon, but moons passed, two winters -passed, and he came not to Lame Bull's lodge and his woman. But soon -after he left so suddenly, Crow Man returned from far wanderings and -heard all the story of the god and Mink Woman. He made no remark about -it, but spent much time in Lame Bull's lodge. Then, after many moons -had passed, he said to the chief one day: 'Do you remember what you -once promised me? When your daughter so suddenly disappeared you -promised that if I would even find her, or tell you whither she had -gone, you would give her to me when she was found. Well, here she is: -fulfill your promise!' - -"'But she is no longer mine to give. She now belongs to Thunder Man,' -the chief objected. - -"'Let me tell you this,' said Crow Man: 'You promised to give her to -me if I would even tell you where she had gone. I did that. And now, -as to this Thunder Man, he will never return here because he knows -that I am in the camp, and he fears me. So you might as well give me -your daughter now, as you will anyhow later.' - -"'Ask her if she will marry you. I agree to whatever she chooses to -do,' Lame Bull answered. - -"Crow Man went outside and found Mink Woman tanning a buffalo robe: 'I -have your father's consent to ask you to marry me. I hope that you -will say yes. I love you dearly. I will be good to you,' he told her. - -"Mink Woman shook her head: 'I am already married. My man will soon be -coming for me,' she answered. - -"'But if he doesn't come, will you marry me?' Crow Man asked. - -"'We will talk about that later. I will say now, though, that I like -you very much. I have always liked you,' she replied. - -"More moons passed, and as each one came, Crow Man never failed to ask -Mink Woman to marry him. She kept refusing to do so. But after two -winters had gone by, and Thunder Man still failed to appear and claim -her, why, her refusals became faint, and fainter, until, finally, she -would do no more than shake her head when asked the great question. -Then, at last, in the Falling Leaves moon of the second summer, when -Crow Man asked her again, and she only shook her head, he took her -hand and raised her up and drew her to him and whispered: 'You know -now that that sky god is never coming for you. And you know in your -heart that you have learned to love me. Come, you are now my woman. -Let us go to my lodge, my lodge which is now your lodge.' - -"And without a word of objection Mink Woman went with him. Ai! She -went gladly! She was lonely, and she had for some time loved him, -although she would not acknowledge it. - -"It was a good winter. Buffalo were plentiful near camp all through -it, and Crow Man kept the lodge well supplied with fat cow meat. He -and Mink Woman were very happy. Then came spring, and one day, in new -green grass time, Thunder Man was heard approaching camp, and the -people went wild with fear; they believed that he would destroy them -all as soon as he learned that Mink Woman had married Crow Man. They -all crowded around his lodge, begging him to give her up, to send her -at once back to her father's lodge. - -"But Crow Man only laughed: 'I will show you what I can do to that sky -god,' he told them, and got out his medicines and called Cold-Maker to -come to his aid. By this time Thunder Man was come almost to camp; was -making a terrible noise just overhead. But Cold-Maker came quickly, -came in a whirling storm of wind and snow. Thunder Man raged, shooting -lightning, making thunder that shook the earth. Cold-Maker made the -wind blow harder and harder, so that some of the lodges went down -before it, and he caused the snow to swirl so thickly that the day -became almost as dark as night. For a long time the two fought, -lightning against cold, thunder against snow, and little by little -Cold-Maker drove Thunder Man back: he could not face the cold, and at -last he fled and his mutterings died away in the distance. He was -gone! - -"'There! I told you I could drive him away,' said Crow Man. 'Mink -Woman, you people all, rest easy: Thunder Man will never again attempt -to enter this camp.' And with that he told Cold-Maker that he could -return to his Far North home. He went, taking with him his wind and -storm. The sun came out, the people set up their flattened lodges, and -all were once more happy. - -"And Lame Bull, he retained the pipe, and found that its medicine was -as strong as ever. And from him it had been handed down from father to -son and father to son to this day, and still it is strong medicine. - -"Kyi! That was the way of it." - - [Illustration: MOVING CAMP FROM TWO MEDICINE - The end of the procession] - - - - -II - -PU-NAK'-IK-SI (CUTBANK) - - - -_July 18._ - -Down came our lodges this morning, and to-night we are camped in -Cutbank Canyon, just below the great beaver ponds some six or seven -miles from the head of the stream. When I first saw these ponds, years -and years ago, they were dotted with beaver houses, and at dusk one -could see the busy woodcutters swimming from them in all directions to -get their evening meal of willow or quaking aspen bark, preparatory to -beginning their nightly work of storing food for winter use. I never -killed a beaver, but I have torn down beaver dams in order to watch -the little animals repair them. Beavers have a language as well as -men: there was always a chief engineer who told the workers just what -to do, and he himself rectified their mistakes. - -We are encamped right on the main war road of the Blackfeet into the -country of the West Side tribes. Once, when camped here with the Small -Robes (I-nuk'-siks), the band, or gens, of which I was a member, I saw -a party of our young men make their preparations and start westward on -a raid. They gathered in a sweat lodge with an old medicine man, who -prayed earnestly for their success while he sprinkled the hot rocks -with water, and dense steam filled the place. And at dusk, carrying in -painted rawhide cylinders their war finery, and in little sacks their -extra moccasins, awl and sinew for repairs, and their little paint -bags, they stole out in single file from the camp and headed for the -summit of the range. - -Every evening, during their absence, the old medicine man rode all -through the camp, shaking his medicine rattles, singing the song for -the absent, calling over and over each one's name, and praying for his -safe return. - -And then, one morning some two weeks later, they came into camp with a -rush, driving before them sixty or seventy horses that they had taken -from the Kootenais. And two carried a slender wand from which dangled -a scalp. They came in singing the song of victory; and then the war -chief shouted: "A multitude of the enemy are on our trail. Break camp, -you women, and move down river. Take your weapons, you men, and turn -back with us!" - -We took our weapons. We mounted our horses and rode like mad up the -old war trail, and within a half-hour sighted the enemy, forty or -fifty of them, strung out in a long, straggling line, according to the -strength and speed of each one's horse. We exchanged a few shots with -the lead riders; one fell; the rest took their back trail, and how -they did go up the steep incline to the summit, and over it. We did -not pursue them: "Let them go!" Bear Chief shouted. "We have many of -their horses; we have scalped three of them; let them go!" - -We "let them go!" and, indeed, that was the wiser way: they could have -made a stand at the summit and shot us down as fast as we came on. - -The old war road! How many of my people have traveled over it, some -of them never to return. It was along this road that Pi'tamakan, -virgin woman warrior, led her warriors in what was to be her last -raid! But how many, many times our people have come rushing homeward -over it, singing their songs of victory, waving the scalps they have -taken, and driving before them great bands of the horses of the Pend -d'Oreilles, the Snakes, the Nez Perces, and other tribes of the -Columbia River watershed. - -The names the Blackfeet have given to the four world directions are -most significant of their entry into this Missouri River country. -North is _ap-ut'-o-sohts_: back, or behind direction. South, -_ahm-ska'-pohts_, is ahead direction. East is _pi-na'-pohts_: -down-river direction; and west is _ah-me'-tohts_: up-river direction. -I have told why the Two Medicine was so named, when the Blackfeet came -into the country from the Far North, and drove the Crows before them. -This river they named Pu-nak'-ik-si (Cutbank), because its narrow -valley for a long way up from its junction with the Two Medicine is -walled in by straight-cut cliffs. - - [Illustration: OUR CAMP ON CUTBANK RIVER - On left is O-nis-tai'-mak-an (Wonderful Runner), and on right, - Ki-nuk'-sa-po-pi (Little Plume Mountain)] - -The Cutbank River Valley, like those of all the other streams of the -country, has been the scene of many a fight between the Blackfeet and -their enemies, in which the Blackfeet were generally the victors. A -remarkable instance of an old woman's bravery occurred just below here -some forty years ago. - -A few lodges of the Kut'-ai-im-iks, or Never Laughs band of the -Blackfeet, in need of the skins of elk and bighorn for making -"buckskin" for light clothing and moccasin tops, were here hunting, -and one evening all the men gathered in old Running Crane's lodge for -prayers with his beaver medicine. An old woman, named Muk-sin-ah'-ki -(Angry Woman), was sitting in her lodge by herself because there had -not been room for her in the crowded beaver medicine lodge. But she -was listening to the distant singing, and saying over the prayers at -the proper time, her heart full of peace and love for the gods. - -As she sat there at the back of the lodge, she suddenly noticed that -the doorway curtain in the upper part was being slowly pulled aside to -the width of a hand, and in that small space an eye glared at her for -a time, and then the curtain dropped back to place. - -"That was the eye of an enemy," she said to herself. Her heart -throbbed painfully; and for the time her thoughts were confused. Then, -suddenly, some one, perhaps the sun himself, told her to take courage. -She took courage: she stole out of the lodge to see what that enemy -was doing. There was a moon; bright starlight; the night was almost as -light as day; and she had no more than left the lodge than she saw the -man walking here, there, examining the buffalo runners, the best and -swiftest horses of the people, all picketed close to the lodges of -their owners. Whenever the man's back was toward her, she hurried her -steps; got closer and closer to him; and then, suddenly, she sprang -and seized him from behind and shouted: "Help! Help! I have seized an -enemy!" - -In the beaver medicine lodge the men heard her and came running to -her relief. She had the man down; he was struggling to rise; but the -sun must have given her of his power: she held him firmly until they -came, and they seized him, and White Antelope stabbed him to death. He -was a Gros Ventre. - - -HOW MOUNTAIN CHIEF FOUND HIS HORSES - -"Nephew, listen! Magic took place here in the long ago," said Yellow -Wolf as we sat around his lodge fire this evening. - -"The Ah'-pai-tup-i[4] were hunting on this Cutbank stream, every day -or two moving nearer and nearer to the mountains. At one of their -camping-places some distance below here, Mountain Chief lost his two -fast buffalo runners, and although all the young men of the camp -scattered out to look for them, they could not be found. Camp was -moved nearer to the mountains, and after a few days moved again, this -time to this very place where we are now encamped. - - [4] Ah'-pai-tup-i (Blood People). One of the twenty-four gentes of - the Pi-kun'-i, or "Piegan" Blackfeet. - -"The loss of the two buffalo runners was all that Mountain Chief could -think about. As they could not be found, he felt sure that some enemy -had stolen them. - -"There was a Kootenai Indian visiting in camp, and one day he entered -Mountain Chiefs lodge, and said to him: 'You are grieving about the -loss of your two fast horses. Now, if you will do as I say, perhaps I -can find them for you.' - -"'Whatever you ask, that shall be done,' Mountain Chief told him. - -"'First, then, you must give me a robe, a good bow, and a quiver of -arrows,' said the Kootenai. - -"'They are yours; there they are: my own weapons, that robe. Take them -when you want them,' said the chief. - -"'I will take them later,' said the Kootenai. 'And now, call in your -leading men.' - -"Mountain Chief went outside and shouted the names of the men he -wanted: a medicine man; several old, wise men; some warriors of great -name. They came and were given seats in his lodge, each man according -to his standing in the tribe. Said the Kootenai then: 'I have a sacred -song that I want you all to learn. I will sing it over three or four -times, then you sing it with me.' - -"He sang the song. It was low in tone, and slow; a strange and beautiful -song that gripped one's heart. But it was not hard to learn; after the -Kootenai had sung it over four times, all there could sing it with him. - -"Then the Kootenai told Mountain Chief to have the women build for him a -little lodge there inside the big lodge. This they did by leaning the -sticks of two tripods against one of the poles of the lodge, their lower -ends making a half-circle, and then covering them with buffalo leather. -Into this little enclosure crept the Kootenai, taking with him a bird -wing-bone whistle, and a medicine rattle, and as soon as he was inside -he ordered the women to smooth down carefully the leather coverings so -that he would be in the dark. He then said to the people, sitting there -in the big lodge: 'We will now sing the song four times. It is a call -song to all living things: the birds, the animals, the trees, the -rocks--yes, even they have life. All will come when we sing this song, -and we will question them as to the whereabouts of the two missing -horses.' - -"They sang the song four times, and then the Kootenai, alone in his -dark little lodge, sang another song, keeping time to it with his -rattle, and the people, listening, heard outside the sighing of the -wind through a big pine tree, although no such tree was near; and the -Kootenai questioned the pine tree, and it answered that it had no -knowledge of the missing horses. - -"Then, at his summons, came the different birds and the animals; one -could hear outside the flutter of their wings, the tread of their -feet; and the Kootenai questioned them, and one by one they answered -that they had not seen the horses. Came then a big rock, hurtling down -through the sky and through the smoke hole of the lodge right into -the fireplace, scattering ashes and coals all around the lodge, and -frightening the people sitting there. And the Kootenai questioned it, -and it answered that it knew nothing of the lost horses. - - [Illustration: STREAM FROM UNNAMED GLACIER POURING INTO CUTBANK - CANYON] - -"'Let us sing the sacred song again,' the Kootenai called out from his -dark little lodge, and the people sang it with him, not once, but four -times. The Kootenai then blew his whistle four times, four long, loud -whistles. At the time there was no wind, but soon they heard, far off, -the roar of an approaching wind of terrible force. Said the Kootenai -then: 'I have called him, he is coming, Old-Man-of-the-Winds: be not -afraid; he will not harm you.' - -"He came with dreadful whirlwinds of his making. Winds that shook the -lodge, and made the lodge ears hum with the noise of that of a hundred -swarms of bees. And then, suddenly, the wind fell, and outside the -people heard this wind god ask: 'Why have you sung--why have you -whistled for me--what is it you want to know?' - -"The Kootenai answered: 'Mountain Chief, here, has lost his two best -horses. Fast buffalo runners they are; both black; one with a white -spot on his side. I called you to ask if you have seen them anywhere?' - -"'No, I have not seen them,' Old-Man-of-the-Winds answered. 'As you -know, I belong on the west side of this Backbone-of-the-World. It is -from there that I start the winds that blow over your country. I have -been no farther out than here. No, I have not seen the horses.' - -"'Now I am depressed,' the Kootenai exclaimed. 'I did not expect to -learn much about this from the birds, the animals, trees, and rocks, -even the bumblebee could tell me nothing; but I felt that you would -surely know where the two horses are!' - -"'Well, I have a friend who can tell you what you want to know,' said -Old-Man-of-the-Winds. 'He is Red-Top Plume. He lives in the clouds; he -can see the whole country; undoubtedly he can tell you where those -horses are.' - -"'He is a stranger to me. How shall I find him--this Red-Top Plume?' -the Kootenai asked; and all the people held their breath, waiting to -hear the answer. Here was sacred talk; talk of a man with a god, and -about gods: they could hardly believe that it was real, that which -they were hearing. - -"Answered Old-Man-of-the-Winds: 'Watch the clouds. When you see one of -them turning from white to red, as the sun goes down to his lodge on -his island in the great sea, you will know that Red-Top Plume is there -above you. That red cloud is his plume. Yes, when you see that, sing -your song again four times; blow your whistle again four times, and he -will answer you.' - -"And with that the wind suddenly started to blow from the east, and -Old-Man-of-the-Winds went with it back to his western home, and they -heard him no more. - -"From his dark little lodge in the big lodge, the Kootenai called out -to Mountain Chief: 'Go, stand outside your lodge, watch for a cloud -turning red, and when you see it, come inside and tell me that it is -there above us.' - -"Mountain Chief went outside. He looked up and saw but a few small, -white, slowly drifting clouds in the sky. There were four of them -straight above him. These drifted toward one another, and he cried -out: 'A sign! A sacred sign! Four small clouds are getting together -to make one large cloud!' - -"And at that all the people in the lodge cried out: 'The sacred number! -Oh, sun! Oh, Above People all! Pity us! Pity us all! Allow us to survive -all dangers! Give us long life and happiness!' - -"And then, as the sun was setting, Mountain Chief cried out: 'The four -are now one large cloud, and its edge is beginning to turn red! Ai! -The red, the sacred color, spreads over it!' - -"His voice trembled. Himself, he trembled; for he knew that he was -looking--not at an ordinary cloud, but at Red-Top Plume himself, the -great cloud god! - -"'Come in! Come in!' the Kootenai cried to him. And he went back into -the lodge and joined in the singing of the sacred song. Four times -they sang it, oh, how earnestly! The Kootenai then blew his wing-bone -whistle four times. Followed a silence; the people scarcely daring to -breathe. And then they heard outside, in a deep and beautiful voice: -'I am Red-Top Plume! Why have you called me here?' - -"'Red-Top Plume! God of the clouds! Pity us!' the Kootenai answered. -'It is a matter of horses; of two fast buffalo runners; both black; -one with a white spot on its side. We have lost them. Have you--oh, -have you seen them anywhere?' - -"'That is a small thing to call me down about,' the sky god answered; -'but, since I am here, I will tell you what I know: Yes, I have seen -them. I saw them just now as I came down to earth. They are standing -beside the spring just up the hill from where you camped when you lost -them.' - -"'Ah! Ah! Ah!' the people exclaimed in hushed voices. And the Kootenai, -questioner of gods and unafraid, cried out: 'Red-Top Plume! Sacred -plumed god of the clouds! You are good to us. Tell us, now, what we can -do for you--what sacrifice to do?' - -"But he got no answer. Red-Top Plume had gone--gone back to his home -in the sky, and the people, rushing out from the lodge, looked up and -saw him moving slowly eastward, his beautiful plumes redder than ever. -And while the Kootenai and Mountain Chief and the other warriors made -sacrifice to him, some young men mounted their horses and rode back to -the camping-place where the two horses had been lost, and lo! they -found them near the spring where Red-Top Plume had told that they were -standing." - - - -_July 22._ - -Even in my day the many beaver dams in this wide canyon were in good -repair, and the ponds were dotted with inhabited beaver lodges. There -are few of the little woodcutters here now, but in time to come, under -the sure protection of the supervisor of this Glacier National Park, -they will become as numerous as they were before the white man came. - -Talk about beavers to-night brought out a most interesting story by -Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill. Said he: "Beavers build a great -dam, often working moons and moons to complete it. Then, when it is -finished, and a great pond created, they build their lodges in the -backed-up water, and cut their winter supply of cottonwood, willow, -and quaking aspen, which they tow out in convenient lengths and sink -in deep water around the lodges. - -"Now, after a few winters, they have to move on and build another -dam-and-pond, for they will have used up all the available trees and -willows around the first pond. But that is still their pond, the clan -that built it, and in time, when a new growth of food trees has sprung -up around it, they return there, repair the dam, build new lodges, and -remain as long as the young trees last." - - -WHITE FUR AND HIS BEAVER CLAN - -"Away back in the ancient days, when our first fathers were able to -talk with the animals, a beaver chief named White Fur, with his -family and his relatives, built a big dam on this river. You can -still see the remains of it, willow-grown, and it still backs up some -water, a pond as large in extent as the camp of our tribe. But in the -old days that dam extended from one side to the other of the valley, -and the water it backed up was more than a pond: it was a small lake. -Above here, there is a swift stream of white water rushing down the -north side of the valley from great ice banks in the mountains. Well, -just below its junction with the river is where White Fur built the -dam. - -"Time passed. The sons of other beaver clans came and married the -daughters of White Fur's clan, and took them off, and the sons of his -clan went out and found wives and brought them home. The clan -increased; the pond became full of lodges; the trees were cut in -greater number each succeeding summer. So it was that, when the ice -went out one spring, White Fur went around and around the pond, -examining the remaining food trees, and saw that there remained only a -few more than enough for the coming winter. It was no more than he -expected; his last hurried look around, just before the freeze-up in -the fall, had warned him that the food supply was getting small. - - [Illustration: THE BEAVER DAM] - -"He went home, and called a council, told what he had learned on his -round, and then said:-- - -"'We must move out from here as soon as the ice breaks up next spring, -and when we go we must know just where we are going; we cannot afford -to lose time hunting for a good place to make a new home. Now, who -will start out on discovery?' - -"'I will!' his eldest son, Loud Slap, first answered. He was so named -because he could tail-slap the water louder than any one else in the -whole gens. - -"Now, Loud Slap was White Fur's favorite son, and next to himself the -best, the wisest dam-builder in the gens. The chief wanted to keep him -at home, for going on discovery was very dangerous. But for very shame -he could not order him to remain and let some other take the risk. So, -with sinking heart, he said: 'You spoke up first, my son, so you shall -be the first one to look for a new home for us. I have had a dream, and -I want you to find out if it told me truth: Go down this river a little -way beyond the edge of the pines, look north, and you will see a big -ridge with a low gap in it. Go up through that gap, and down the other -side, and you will soon come to a small branch of a good-sized stream; -look at all the branches of that stream for a good home for us, and come -back and tell us all about it. Make that crossing through the gap in the -daytime, for then the most of our enemies, the mountain lion, the fisher -and the wolverine, the wolf and the coyote, are generally asleep. Night -is the time that they do their murdering work.' - -"'As you say, so I will do,' Loud Slap answered. - -"And the next morning, some time before daylight, he started down -river on his dangerous trail of discovery. Below his pond there were -other ponds; and as he swam through them many of the beavers living -in them asked him where he was going. - -"'Out on discovery; our food trees will last us only this coming -winter; we have to find a new home,' he answered them all. - -"On he went, through the last of the ponds, down the river, swimming -fast, so very fast that his big webbed hind feet, swiftly kicking, -made the water foam past his breast. He had started out too early; -when he passed the last of the pines, daylight was still some time -off, so he dived under a pile of driftwood, then crawled up into it, -found a good resting-place on one of the logs and went to sleep, sure -that none of the prowlers could reach him there. - -"The sun shining down through the little openings in the driftwood -pile awakened him. He slipped down into the water, made a dive, and -came up out in the middle of the river. Near by was a high, sloping -bank bare of trees and brush; he swam to shore, climbed it, looked -north, and saw the big ridge and the big, low gap in it. He looked all -around; no animals were in sight except a few elk, and he knew that -they would not harm him: he began waddling toward the gap. - -"The sun was hot. Loud Slap's legs were short; his body fat and heavy; -there was no water; he soon became very tired and thirsty, and the top -of the gap seemed to be a long way off. More and more often he had to -stop and rest, but he kept saying to himself: 'I will not give up! I -will not give up!'--and at last he arrived at the top of the gap. -Close up to the top on the other side were thick, cool groves of -quaking aspen and willows; as far as he could see, the valley below -him and its far side was one green growth of trees, and he knew that -somewhere down there was water, plenty of it. Down he went, oh, how -easily, on the steeper places just pushing a little with his hind feet -and sliding along on his belly. He soon came to a small stream of -running water and drank and drank of it, rolled over and over in its -shallowness until wet all over, and then he followed it down. Other -little streams came into it, and at last it became so deep that he -could swim. After a time he came to where this stream joined a much -larger one, and he turned and went up it, and away up in the timber -found where a dam could be built that would form a very large pond, -and best of all the quaking aspens and willows were everywhere there -growing so closely together that they formed a food supply that would -last a number of winters. - -"That night Loud Slap slept in a hole that he dug in a bank of the -stream. This is the one which we long ago named Ki-nuk'-si -Is-si-sak'-ta. I understand that the white people have another name -for it.[5] - - [5] Ki-nuk'-si Is-si-sak'-ta (Little River). By the whites named - Milk River. - -"Early next morning Loud Slap came out of his hole, cut down a small -quaking aspen, and ate all he wanted of its bark. He then swam down -the stream, turned up its little fork, and before the sun was very -high left it and took his back trail up through the gap, and before -noon was going down the long slope to Cutbank River. The going was -easy. But one thing troubled him: the risk that he ran traveling there -in that open, waterless country. Whenever he came to a patch of buck -brush or a clump of tall grass, he would sit up and look all around to -see if any enemy was near; and then he would go on, keeping as close -to the ground as possible. Twice he saw a coyote in the distance, and -sat motionless until the animal moved on out of sight. And then, when -almost to the river, sitting up and looking out from a brush patch, he -saw a wolverine coming straight toward him. He trembled; he shivered. -'Now is my end come!' he said to himself, and imagined how it was -going to feel to be bitten and clawed and torn to death. Because of -his helplessness, because he could in no way defend himself, he wept; -but silently. - -"On came the wolverine, sniffing the ground; sniffing the rocks; the -weed growths; and once, when he turned and looked back, Loud Slap -threw himself flat there in the brush; he had not dared move before. -The wind was from the southwest; the wolverine was coming from the -west, and that was one thing in Loud Slap's favor. But on which side -of that patch of brush would he pass? If to the north, then he would -scent the beaver-odor trail, follow it, and all would be over. If he -passed to the south of the patch, and not too close, then all would be -well. From where he lay, flat on the ground in the brush, Loud Slap -could see nothing but the brush stems in front of his nose; but -presently he heard, close to the patch and to the west of it, the -sniff! sniff! sniffle! of his enemy. He closed his eyes; his body -shook with fear; he could almost feel strong, sharp-fanged jaws -closing upon his neck! The suspense was terribly hard to bear! And -then, after what seemed to be a whole moon of time, he heard the -sniffling close in front of him; then faint and fainter off in the -direction of the river; and presently he opened his eyes, little by -little rose up, and looked out from his hiding-place. Lo! Wolverine -had come close, _close_ to the brush patch, and south of it, and then -had turned, and was now walking slowly toward the river! 'My enemy -passes! I survive!' Loud Slap said to himself, and would have sung had -he dared. Oh, yes, beavers sang in those days, as you shall learn. - -"Loud Slap watched the wolverine go on down the valley, and then -waddled to the river as fast as he could work his legs. How good it -felt, that plunge into the cool water from the bank! and, once into -it, he made it foam as he swam homeward against the swift current. -Long before night he climbed the dam of the upper pond, and a little -later entered his father's lodge. 'Ha! Back so soon! What found you, -my son?' old White Fur asked. - -"'A fine stream there on the other side of the gap. A place to dam a -large pond. Plenty of food bark trees,' Loud Slap answered, and then -told carefully all about the place, and about his narrow escape from -the wolverine. Then his mother went swimming from lodge to lodge of -the gens, calling all the heads of the families, and when they had -gathered in White Fur's lodge he told again of his find and of the -dangers of the trail. All went home pleased that he had found such a -good place for a new home for them. - -"White Fur and his whole gens worked very hard that summer to get in -sufficient food bark sticks for the winter supply. They had to drag -the last of them a long way to water, and they kept at it long after -the snow came, and until the ice and cold weather prevented further -cutting. The trails they left in the snow, just before the pond froze -over, were a sure call to their passing enemies, and they halted and -lay in wait beside them, and killed in all five of the members of the -gens, one of them Loud Slap's oldest son. A lynx was seen to spring -upon him and carry him off, as he was going out to finish cutting down -a large tree. - -"The winter passed. When spring came, there was still considerable -food bark untouched on the underwater piles, but, oh, how glad the -beavers were to be able to swim about again, and eat fresh bark from -living tree branches. All were anxious to start at once for the new -home across the ridge, but White Fur would not permit it. From the -pressure of the winter snows the dead grass of the past summer lay -flat: 'We must wait until the new grass grows high enough to conceal -us,' he said, 'and then we will go.' - -"Of course, he meant those that would be able to go: females with -newborn young were to remain where they were until the young should be -old enough to travel, and then they were to cross the ridge and join -their mates. The new grass came, and when it was a little higher than -the top of a beaver's back, old White Fur and Loud Slap led all those -who could go, about fifty of them, down the river on the way to the -stream beyond the gap. White Fur had already talked with the chief who -lived in the next pond below, and he had promised to keep all -newcomers from occupying the pond that White Fur and his gens were -leaving for a time. - -"The travelers saw no enemy on the trail up through the gap, and, upon -arriving at the place that Loud Slap had discovered, were well pleased -with it. That very evening, after a heavy meal of bark, they began -work on the dam, and by morning had much willow brush laid, butts to -the current, across the stream. Night and day, with little rest, they -toiled to complete the dam, of sticks and stones and sod and earth, -and within two moons' time they finished it, and had a pond large -enough and deep enough for the lodges of the gens, and all the food -sticks they would need to sink for winter use. Then, one evening, came -those who had been left behind, came with their strong and half-grown -young, and all began at once to cut and bring in and sink the winter -food supply. Long before winter set in they had stored more than they -could possibly use, and from that time until the ice formed they did -nothing more than strengthen the dam, and eat and sleep, and play -about in the water. - -"The winter passed, and more young were born. Came and went another -winter, and in the spring more young were born. There were now in the -gens many two, and three, and some four-year-olds, both male and -female, and they could not mate with one another; something had to be -done for them. Old White Fur called a council, and there was much talk -about it. Some favored sending scouts away down the Little River to -learn if there were any beaver colonies along it. Others, and the -greater number, declared that the unmarried males should take the -trail through the gap down to Cutbank River, find mates in the -different gens having ponds along it, and tell the unmarried males -there to come over and take wives from White Fur's gens. It was -decided that this should be done, and one morning more than forty -young males started for Cutbank River. - -"Days passed; and yet more days, and no wife-seeking beavers came to -the pond on Little River. 'Something is wrong,' White Fur told Loud -Slap. - -"'_Ai!_ Something is wrong. If none come within four days' time, I -shall go over to the Cutbank ponds and learn what the trouble is.' - -"The four days passed, and no stranger, not one, came. On the fifth -morning Loud Slap once more took the trail for Cutbank, saying to -White Fur as he left, 'If I do not return within four days' time, then -send some one over to learn what the trouble is, for I shall be dead.' - -"Down the river went Loud Slap, and up the little fork, and thence -along the trail through the gap in the ridge. He moved along very -cautiously, keeping a sharp lookout in all directions, and seeing -nothing to alarm him. After passing through the gap he saw, on a ridge -to the east, a number of wolves following a small band of buffalo, and -that pleased him, for, seeking food there, they would not be likely to -turn and cross his trail. He hurried on down the slope. - -"Suddenly, when near the river, a whirl of wind brought a dreadful -odor to his nostrils; an odor of dead and decaying flesh. He stopped, -sat up, looked sharply ahead, saw nothing to alarm him, went on a -short distance, and came upon a scene that made him shiver; that made -him mourn: there, on the trail and on both sides of it, lay his -youthful kin who had gone out to seek wives! There they lay, their -bodies swollen and bursting, every one of them mangled and torn, -several half eaten by their enemies, wolves probably, that had -discovered and killed them all! One look at them was enough; he -hurried on, weeping, and plunged into the river. - -"Upstream he went, faster than he had ever swam before, and soon -entered the lower one of the beaver ponds. Straight to the chief's -lodge he swam, and dived down to the entrance, and went up into the -big and comfortable grass-floored home. - -"'Ha! Loud Slap! It is you! Welcome you are! Sit youth and give us the -news!' the chief cried out. - -"Loud Slap greeted him and gave the news, and both wept over the death -of so many of their kind. The chief's wife went out and spread the -news, and there was mourning in every lodge in that pond. - -"The chief then gave Loud Slap bad news. Said he: 'In the early part -of this moon came to us a visitor from the big pond at the head of the -lake on the next stream south of this river.' He meant, of course, -the great beaver pond just above Lower Two Medicine Lake. - -"'Yes?' said Loud Slap,--'yes?' - -"'Ah! He came and visited us and our kin in the other ponds, and gave -no reason for his coming, and soon went home. But in a few days' time -he returned with all his gens, and they are many, and took possession -of the upper pond, your pond, and at this time they are repairing the -dam and backing the water up into the new growth of food trees, which -are as thick as they can stand. We told him, we all told him, this -chief,--Strong Dam is his name,--that he should not take the pond, as -it belongs to you, to your father, White Fur, and his gens. But he -said that he did not care who owned it, he had taken it, and would -hold it, fight for it against all comers.' - -"'Ha! Is it so!' Loud Slap cried. 'We will see about that! Say nothing -to any one that I have been here. Tell your people to keep my visit -secret from all above here. I go to bring my kindred over, and we will -drive that Strong Dam and his gens back whence they came, or kill -them all.' - -"Loud Slap went back to his Little River home the next day, and told -all that he had seen and learned. All mourned and mourned for their -dead, and their hearts burned with anger against Strong Dam and his -gens. Said White Fur: 'I am old, old. But I can still fight! We will -go over to our pond to-morrow. I will lead you, and we will teach that -Strong Dam and his relatives something; we will send them crying back -to their pond above the lake!' - -"They started the next morning, all the males, and even females that -were without young; and they were many, those who were waiting for -males of other gentes to come and marry them. Old White Fur led them -across to the river without mishap, and up to the first pond, where -they visited, and rested, and ate their fill of fresh, green bark. And -there some of the females met young unmarried males who wanted to mate -with them; and they answered, 'We will marry you, but first you must -fight for us; you must help us drive that Strong Dam and his gens -from our pond.' - -"'And is that all you ask?' they replied. 'We are only too glad to -help you. Who would not fight for his sweetheart should not have one!' - -"This gave White Fur something to think about; and after a time he -said to Loud Slap: 'Go, now, on a secret mission: visit the ponds of -our friends above here, and say to the unmarried males that our young -females here will marry them, but they must first help us drive Strong -Dam from this river.' - -"'Ai! That is a good plan,' said Loud Slap; and he started at once to -carry it out. Late that night he returned, and reported that all the -young males had agreed to the proposal, and would join White Fur and -his kin when they came along. - -"'Let us start now,' said White Fur; and the advance began, and by the -time he reached the dam of his own old pond, he had a large following. - -"There was a young man lying there on the dam, a far-back ancestor of -ours who had gone there to get his medicine dream; his vision. He was -awake; and when, in the bright moonlight, he saw that big, old, -white-furred beaver come up on the dam, and a hundred and more beaver -following, he could not believe his eyes, and cried out: 'Am I really -and truly awake, or is this a medicine vision?' - -"'Hush! Keep still,' old White Fur told him. 'What you see is real. We -are come to fight and drive off those here who have stolen our pond -and our new growth of food trees. Just you keep still: we want to -surprise them. If you see that they are beating us, then give us help. -When all is over, I will give you a medicine that will insure you long -life and happiness.' - -"The young man--No Otter was his name--made signs that he would keep -quiet. And he sat there and watched more than a hundred beavers cross -the dam close in front of him, and slide quietly into the pond, and -even then could hardly believe that he was not dreaming. - -"As they entered the water that great war party of beavers swam out in -all directions for the shores of the pond, where, scattered all -along, Strong Dam and his kin were already cutting the young trees -for winter food. And as he watched and listened, the young man heard -suddenly a great commotion and squealing all along the shore: the -fighting had begun. Then, almost at once, the attacked and the -attackers took to the water, and the whole surface of the pond was as -if it had been struck by a tornado. It boiled, and eddied, and foamed, -and shot high in spray, and with it all was the slap! slap! slap! of -beaver tails as the animals struggled and clinched, and floundered and -bit, all over its long length and width. And soon beavers, frightened -and gasping for breath, and bleeding from many wounds, began to pass -on each side of the young man over the dam, and drop into the stream -below and disappear in its swift current. And some, unable to climb -it, and bleeding from many wounds, died there at the edge of the dam -and sank. The water was red with their blood. One of them, crawling -out, staggered right up against the young man, and gasped, and died, -and he put out his hand and felt of it, its wet coat, the warm but -now breathless body, and then for the first time was he sure that what -he was witnessing was real, and no dream. - -"The fight was over. The last of the enemy had been killed, or had -fled down river, and White Fur and his party gathered on the dam. Not -all were there: some of them lay dead on the bottom of the pond or -sorely wounded on the shore. White Fur directed that they should be -helped into the cool lodges, where they would be safe from the -prowlers, and there cared for and fed. That done, said White Fur to -the young man: 'You have seen a great sight this night. Had we needed -your help I know that you would have given it.' - -"'Yes, you had but to call, and I would have been with you,' the young -man answered. - -"'I know it,' said White Fur, 'and just for your good-will I shall -give you a strong medicine, and teach you the songs that go with it. -But I cannot do this here; you will have to go home with us, to our -pond on the next stream to the north.' - - [Illustration: BIGHORN COUNTRY. HEAD OF CUTBANK RIVER] - -"They went there the next day, leaving behind the newly married -females and their mates to care for the wounded and make them well. -And on the way up through the gap and down to the pond, White Fur and -Loud Slap told the young man the story of their lives and their -troubles, just as I am telling it to you. And upon reaching the pond -on Little River, No Otter remained there a long time with the beavers, -the old chief and his son, Loud Slap, giving him a medicine beaver -cutting and teaching him the beaver songs. It was a good medicine. He -took it home with him, and kept it, and made ceremony with it, and -sang the songs as he had been taught to do, and because of that he had -great success at war, and in curing the sick, and he lived to great -age. - -"Kyi! So ends my story." - - - -_July 25._ - -Yesterday Guardipe, or, as I prefer to call him, Ai-is-an-ah-mak-an -(Takes-Gun-Ahead), climbed with me to the top of White Calf Mountain. -There, on the extreme summit of the rough crested mountain, we came -upon five bighorn, all ewes, and not one of them with a lamb beside -her. During the lambing season here this year there was a continuous -downpour of rain and sleet and snow, in which the newborn young -undoubtedly perished. - -But how tame those five ewes were! We walked to within fifty yards of -them, and they gazed at us curiously, now and then nervously stamping -the rock with one or the other of their fore feet. And then they -circled around us, twice, and finally walked off toward the eastern -point of the mountain, often stopping to look back at us, and finally -disappeared behind some rock piles. - -At the same time Kut'-ai-ko-pak-i (No-Coward-Woman--as my people have -named my wife) was having her own experience with the game in this -Park. With Miss L----, a Boston friend, she was sitting near the edge -of a high, almost cutbank at the edge of the river, when she heard the -slow, heavy, twig-snapping tread of an animal back in the brush. She -gave her friend a nudge, and pointed in the direction of the sounds, -and the two watched and listened. And presently they saw the brush -shaking as the animal forced its way through it, and then, half -revealed and half concealed in more open brush, they saw a big grizzly -coming straight toward them! Right near where they sat a dwarf juniper -grew at the edge of the high bank, several of its limbs overhanging -it. Without speaking a word, and trembling as though they had ague, -they crept to the tree, grasped one of the limbs, and tenaciously -gripping it let themselves down over the edge of the bank. And -then--the limb broke with a loud snap and down they went along the -gravelly incline, so steep that they could get no foothold, over and -over, head first, feet first, and sideways, and landed in the river -with a loud splash. But they did not mind that: what were bruises and -a wetting compared to being mauled by a grizzly? They forded the -waist-deep stream and arrived dripping but safe in camp, and were -glad to be there! - -Although this Glacier National Park is only five years old, the game -animals within it have already become very tame. The bighorn and the -Rocky Mountain goats no longer flee from parties traversing the -mountain trails, and the deer and elk and moose have become almost as -fearless as they are. As for the bears, they are continually trying to -break into the meat-houses of the different camps. Undoubtedly these -mountains and forests within the next ten years will fairly be alive -with game. And as to trout, the supply is increasing instead of -decreasing. In this Cutbank stream alone there have been caught this -season in the neighborhood of two thousand trout, weighing from a -fourth of a pound up to four pounds, but since the 1st of April -seventy thousand young trout, from the Anaconda hatchery, have been -put into it. - - [Illustration: CUTBANK RIVER. A GOOD TROUT RIFFLE] - - - -_July 27._ - -Last night, in Black Bull's lodge, we had more tales of the long ago -in this Cutbank Valley. Would that I had the time to collect all the -Blackfeet legends of the various places in their once enormous -domain. From the Saskatchewan to the Yellowstone, and from the Rockies -between these two streams, eastward for about three hundred miles, -there are tales of adventure, of camp-life, and wonderful legends, for -every mountain, stream, butte, and spring within that great area. Said -Black Bull last night:-- - -"I will tell you a story that my grandfather told me. It happened in -the days of his fathers' boyhood, and it is called - - -"THE STORY OF THE BAD WIFE - -"One summer in that time the people, having made new lodges, moved up -here on Cutbank River to cut new lodge poles, and to gather -weasel-eyes,[6] which grew in great quantities back on the high -mountain slopes. - - [6] Ap-ah a-wap-spi. Weasel-eyes: huckleberries. - -"At that time one of the best-liked young men of the tribe was Falling -Bear. He was a very brave and successful warrior, and very kind-hearted: -he took it upon himself to keep three or four old widows and several -old and helpless men supplied with all the meat and skins they could -use, and even gave them gentle horses for packing and riding whenever -camp was moved. At the time the people moved up here on Cutbank, he had -been married but a short time. He had fallen in love with Otter Woman, -the most beautiful girl in the tribe, and with her father's and mother's -consent, and to their great joy and pride, had set up with her a lodge -of his own. No word had been so much as whispered against Otter Woman; -she was believed to be as good and pure as she was beautiful of face and -form. - -"The tribe had not been here many days when Falling Bear decided to go -to war. Many of the warriors, some of them much older than he, wanted -to go with him, but he told them all that this time, because of a -dream, a vision he had, he would take no one but his woman. He made -full preparation for the war trail, had a sacred sweat with an old -medicine man, who was to pray for him during his absence, and then, -with his woman, he took the Cutbank trail for the country of the West -Side tribes, all of them enemies of the Blackfeet. - -"Traveling with great caution, and only at night, he passed through the -country of the Flatheads, and came to the plains country of the Nez -Perces. There he struck the trail of a big hunting party of people, and -followed it, and soon found that he was gaining upon them; one early -morning he came upon their camping-place which they must have left on -the previous afternoon, for in some of the fireplaces there were still -live coals deep down in the ashes. - -"Now, on the night before he had lost his tobacco, and his desire to -smoke was strong within him. So he said to his woman, 'You go around -on that side of the big camping-place and examine every lodge site for -tobacco leavings, and I will search this side for it.' They parted and -began their quest. - -"The camp had been pitched partly in an open, grassy park, and partly in -the timber surrounding it; and because of that Falling Bear and his -woman were often out of sight of each other. At one of these times Otter -Woman was examining a lodge site and fireplace back in the timber, and, -happening to look off to one side, she saw hanging on some brush a fine -shield, some beautiful war clothes, and a large fringed and painted -medicine pouch. She well knew that these had been spread out to sun by -the campers and forgotten, and that some one would be coming back for -them, and was about to go after Falling Bear to come and take them when -she heard the tread of an approaching horse. So near was it that she had -not time to run and hide. She stood still, staring, and almost at once -there came in sight, on a black-and-white pinto horse, the handsomest -young man that she had ever seen. He was so handsome that to look at him -gave her a yearning pain in the heart for him. Just one look, and she -had fallen in love with him! She didn't want to fall in love with him; -she just couldn't help it! - -"He, this Nez Perce, checked up his horse and sat quiet, staring down -at her, and no doubt thought her the handsomest woman he had ever -seen. Suddenly she began making signs to him. What a wonderful thing -that silent language is! All the tribes of the plains know it. Just by -the use of their hands they can express their every thought to one -another. - -"Signed she: 'My man is over there! Be quiet. I will go to him, somehow -get his weapons from him, then hold him. You come quickly when I cry -out, and kill him, and I will go with you; will be your woman.' - -"Of course, nothing could have pleased the Nez Perce more than that. -To kill an enemy and take his beautiful woman, what a big _coup_ that -would be! He signed to the woman that what she proposed was good, and -slid from his horse and tied it to a tree, then signed to her to go, -and he would follow, keeping out of sight. - -"The woman crossed the big camping-ground and found her man: 'I have -made a great find,' she told him. 'On some bushes over there are -hanging beautiful war clothes, a shield, weapons, and a medicine -pouch. Leave you your weapons and things here, and come with me, and -take them.' - -"'But why should I leave my weapons? One should never be without -them,' he objected. - -"'Because from here goes the trail we are to follow, and you will have -all you can do to bring here what I have found,' she explained. - -"He didn't see any sense in leaving his weapons, but took her word and -laid them down, along with his medicine pouch, and his war clothes in -their _parfleche_ (painted cylinder), and followed her out into the -open park. 'The things are right across there in the brush,' she told -him, pointing to the place, and then gradually dropped back to his -side, and then a step behind him. Then, as they came near the brush on -the far side, she suddenly seized him, endeavoring to squeeze his arms -close to his side, so that he could not use them, and at the same time -she called out to the Nez Perce to come to her assistance. He had been -watching, and was already coming as fast as he could run. - -"Falling Bear, of course, saw at once the intentions of the two, and -as quick as a flash of lightning made up his mind what to do. He only -half struggled with the woman, now grasping his neck with one hand and -arm, and beating his eyes and face with the other hand. She was fast -blinding him, but he stood the pain of it until the Nez Perce, with -war club raised, was but a step or two away. He then broke loose from -the woman, kicked backward, his foot striking her in the stomach and -knocking her over, and then he sprang at the Nez Perce, seized the arm -and hand that held the war club high, and struggled with the man for -possession of it. He wrenched it away from him, and with it struck him -a hard blow on the head, and he fell, his skull crushed in, and died. -The victor scalped him with his own knife, took his war club and his -bow and arrows, and then turned to the woman. - -"She lay where she had fallen, trembling at what she had done, wishing -that she had not done it. 'Get up. If you spoke truth, if there are -war clothes and other things over there, lead me to them,' Falling -Bear told her. - -"She arose, still trembling, but now with some hope that he was not -going to kill her, and led him to the place. His eyes were swelling shut -so fast that one was entirely closed, but he could partly use the other. -He looked at the things there on the brush: 'Ah! Here are the war -clothes, the shield, the medicine pouch, but where are the weapons?' -he asked. - -"The woman did not answer. What could she say? There had been no -weapons left on the brush. Falling Bear laughed a laugh that made her -shiver, and told her to gather up all that was there and follow him. -He unfastened the horse and led it across the camping-place, she -following, and he had her take up his own weapons and things and -fasten them to the saddle. He then mounted the horse, and told her to -lead it and take the back trail home. Before he had ridden far his -other eye closed; he was, for the time, wholly blind; but not afraid. -He kept close possession of all the weapons, and made the woman do -everything that he wanted done. She minded his every word. - -"Traveling again at night, and hiding in the brush during the daytime, -the two passed safely through the country of the Flatheads, and crossed -the mountains. On the morning that they approached the camp here on -Cutbank, Falling Bear had partly recovered the use of one eye. The other -was still swollen shut; it seemed to have been poisoned by the woman's -fingernails. - -"When so near the camp that they could plainly see the lodges, Falling -Bear told the woman to go on in and tell her relatives to come to him; -that he would await them right where he was. They soon came out to -him, his father-in-law and his brother-in-law, and when they saw his -scarred face and swollen eyes, they cried out: 'Oh, what has happened -to you? Have you been in a fight with a mountain lion?' - -"'Worse than that,' he answered; 'this was done to me by the one I -most loved and trusted.' And then he told them all about it, and -concluded by giving them the horse and all the things that he had -taken from the Nez Perce. - -"When he finished his awful tale the two men, listening closely, were -so overcome with shame and grief that for a time they could not speak. -But at last Falling Bear's father-in-law said: 'I have made up my mind -what to do. Come! Let us go on into camp.' - -"They went in; Falling Bear to his own lodge--in which his father and -mother lived. His woman was not there; she had gone to her father's -lodge. He was glad that she had gone there; he never wanted to see her -again. His father asked him to give the story of his war trail, and he -answered that he had nothing to say. He was so sick at heart that he -could not talk. - -"Arrived in his own lodge, and finding his daughter, Otter Woman, -there, Falling Bear's father-in-law told her to go out for a time; and -when she was gone he told her mother all that she had done, and then, -calling in their son, the three agreed upon the way the bad wife -should be punished. They called her in and told her to braid her hair -nicely, and to put on her best clothes. And while she was doing that, -her father and mother and brother painted their faces black and let -down their hair. - -"As soon as Otter Woman was dressed, her father said to her: 'We will -now go outside, and you will mount the Nez Perce horse. I will lead -it, your mother and brother will follow, and we will go all through -the camp, stopping here and there to tell the people all about the -great wrong you did your man.' - -"'Oh, no, no! Not that!' Otter Woman cried. 'I am ashamed enough as it -is! I am sorry that I did it! I don't know how I came to do it; I shall -never, never do such a thing again!' - -"'You spoke the truth there,' said her father. 'No, you will never do -it again!' And he ordered her to go out ahead of them and mount the -horse. She did so and sat upon it, head cast down, looking neither to -the right nor left nor ahead: shame was with her. Holding the horse's -rope, the old man shouted: 'Listen, people, listen.' And when a crowd -had gathered he told them what his daughter had done to her good man, -and the people groaned with shame that one of their tribe could be so -bad of heart. Some even wept at the horror of it. - -"From one part of the camp to another the old man led the little -procession, stopping often to tell the shameful story, until all knew -it. And then at last he led the horse out into the center of the great -circle of the lodges, and told his daughter to dismount. She did so, -and, drawing his knife, he stabbed her in the heart and she fell and -died. Said he then to his wife: 'Get women to help you; drag that body -far off and leave it, and never let me hear again the name of her who -was once my daughter!' - -"And the women did as he said. Never again did any one mention Otter -Woman in his presence." - - * * * * * - -"Ai! A sad story! A story to give one bad dreams! Let us have one of -more cheerful nature before we go to bed," said Stabs-by-Mistake. - -"An Old Man story, then," said Two Guns. "All are laughable." - -"Elder brother, tell us the story of Old Man and the woman," said -Black Bull to Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill. - - [Illustration: BLACK BULL AND STABS-BY-MISTAKE (right) NEAR LOWER - END OF CUTBANK CANYON] - -"Ai! That I will," the chief answered. - -But before I set down the story, I must explain Old Man. - -Old Man (Nap'-i) was the god who created the world, and all life upon -it, and he was _the_ god of the Blackfeet until, some centuries back, -they got from some southern tribe another religion, of which the sun -is the principal god. However, they still pray to Old Man, as well as -to the gods of the later religion, although in time a great many -stories have grown up about Old Man that make him appear to be more of -a buffoon than a god. An interesting point about the word _nap'-i_ is, -that, while it is the term for an old man, its real meaning is dawn, -or the first faint, white light that gives birth to the day. And so, -in common with the ancient Mexicans, various tribes of the plains, the -Aryans and other ancient races of the Old World, the original religion -of the Blackfeet was the worship of light personified. - -Let us have now, the old chief's story of - - -OLD MAN AND THE WOMAN - -"Having created the world, the animals, grass, trees, all life upon -it, Old Man realized that by having men live by themselves, and women -by themselves, he had made a mistake. He saw that they should live -together. The camps of the two sexes were far apart: the women were -living here at the foot of the mountains, in Cutbank Valley, and the -men were away down on Two Medicine River. Each camp had a buffalo -trap, and subsisted wholly upon the buffalo that were decoyed into it. - -"As I have said, Old Man saw that he had made a mistake in keeping men -and women apart. In fact, he found that he himself wanted a woman; so -he went to the men and said: 'You shall no longer live by yourselves. -Come! We will go up to the camp of the women, and each of us get one -of them.' - -"The men were more than glad to do that; it was what they had been -hoping to do for a long time; so they hurried to put on their best -clothes, and neatly braided their hair, and then started off with Old -Man for the women's camp. When they came in sight of it, Old Man told -them to stop right there, and he would go ahead and plan with the -women just what should be done. They sat down, and he went on to the -women's camp. Himself, he had on his old, soiled clothes; his fine -clothes he had left back with the men. - -"Arrived in the camp, he found only two or three women there; the -woman chief and all the others were down at the buffalo trap, -butchering the animals that they had that morning decoyed into it. -When he told the few women that he found why he had come, he greatly -excited and pleased them, and they started at once to run and tell the -others to hurry up from the trap and meet the men. - -"'But wait. Not so fast. I want a word with you,' Old Man called out; -and when they came back to him, he asked: 'What kind of a woman is -your chief?' - -"'Everything that is good, and kind and brave, that is our chief,' -one answered. And another said: 'Ai! She is all that, and more; and -she is the most beautiful woman of us all!' - -"This pleased Old Man. He said to himself, 'That is the woman for me. -I must have her.' And to the waiting women he said: 'It is right that -chief woman should mate with chief man. You women are to come to us, -and each select the man you want. Now, tell your chief woman that the -chief man is brave and kind and handsome, and that she shall select -him for her man. She will know him by the way he is dressed. He wears -buckskin shirt and leggings, embroidered with porcupine quills, and a -cow-leather robe with a big porcupine-quill embroidered sun in the -center of it. You tell her to take him for her man!' - -"'We will do so!' the women cried, and started off for the buffalo -trap as fast as they could run. - -"Old Man hurried back to the waiting men, and hurriedly put on his -fine clothes, the ones that he had described to the women. - -"Trembling with excitement, and out of breath from their long, swift -run, Old Man's messengers arrived at the buffalo trap and told their -wonderful news,--that men had come to marry them; that each woman was -to choose the man that she thought would best suit her. The butchering -of the animals ceased at once, and the women started for their camp to -put on their good clothes and recomb their hair. They wanted to appear -as neat and clean and well dressed as possible, before the men. Yes, -all ran for their camp, all except the chief woman. Said she: 'I -cannot leave here until I finish skinning this spotted medicine calf. -Go, all of you, and I will join you as soon as I can.' - -"The work took more time than she thought would be required, and when -she arrived in camp with the valuable skin, she found all the other -women dressed and impatient to go and choose their men. 'Oh, well, it -doesn't matter how I look,' she said. 'I am chief; I have a name; I -can go choose my man dressed just as I am. How did you say the man -chief is dressed?' - -"They told her again what he wore, according to what the messenger -man had told them, and she said: 'I'll choose him. Chief, I suppose, -must mate with chief.' - -"And so she went right on with the others, wearing her butchering -dress, all stiff with blood and grease from the neck down to the -bottom of the skirt; and her moccasins were even more foul than the -skirt. Her hands were caked with dried blood, and her hair was not -even braided. - -"Their chief leading, the women approached the waiting men, all of -them standing in a line, and singing a song of greeting. Old Man stood -at the head of the line, very straight and proud, and of fine -appearance in his beautiful new porcupine-embroidered clothes. By -these the chief woman recognized him from afar, and said to herself: -'He is a fine looking man. I hope that he will prove to be as good of -heart as he is good to look at.' And, leading her women, she walked -straight up to him and laid a hand on his arm: 'I will take you for my -man,' she told him. - -"But Old Man shrank back, his face plainly showing his loathing of -such a bloody and greasy, wild-haired woman. - -"'I take you for my man,' the woman chief repeated; and then he broke -away from her hold and ran behind his men: 'No! No! I do not want you, -bloody, greasy woman,' he cried, and went still farther off behind his -men. - -"The woman chief turned to her followers: 'Go back! Go back to that -little hill and there wait for me,' she told them. And to the men she -said, 'Remain where you are until I return. I shall not be gone long.' -And with that she turned and hurried to her camp. Her women went to -the hill. The men remained where they were. - -"Down at her camp the chief woman took off her old clothes and bathed -in the river. Then she put on her fine clothes, a pair of new -moccasins, braided her hair, scented herself with sweetgrass, and -returned to her women. She was now better dressed than any of them, -and they had told Old Man the truth when they said that she was -beautiful of face and form: she was the most beautiful woman of them -all. - -"Again she led her women to the line of waiting men. Again Old Man -stood first, stood at the head of them. But she passed him by, as -though she did not see him, and he, with a little cry, ran after her, -took her by the arm, and said: 'You are the woman for me. I am the -chief of the men: you must take me!' - -"She turned upon him, and her eyes were like fire. She tore his hand -from her arm, and cried: 'Never touch me again, good-for-nothing, -proud-and-useless man. I would die before I would mate with you.' - -"And to her women she said: 'Do not, any of you, take him for your -man.' And with that she turned and chose a man. The others then, one -by one, took their choice of the men. When all had chosen, there was -one woman who had no man; all had been taken except Old Man. She would -not have him, and became the second wife of one of the men. The -choosing over, all started for the women's camp. Old Man, now very -sad-hearted, was for following them; but the chief woman turned and -motioned him off. 'Go away. There is no food for you, no place for -you in our camp,' she told him; and he went away, crying, by himself. - -"And that is what Old Man got for being so proud." - - - -_July 30._ - -We break camp and move northward to-morrow. For the past two days some -of us have been riding about on this "Backbone-of-the-World," as the -Blackfeet call the Rocky Mountains, and we have ridden our horses -where, in former times, nothing but a bird could go. The Park -Supervisor and his engineers and miners and sappers have blasted out -trails over the highest parts of the range, making it easy and safe -for tenderfeet tourists to view the wonders of this sub-Arctic, -greater than Alpine range of mountains. One of the most impressive -views is from the summit of the trail from Upper Two Medicine Lake to -Cutbank River. The Dry Fork Trail, it is called. At its extreme height -the trail is along a mountain crest about thirty feet in width. Mr. -L. W. Hill graphically described the stretch the other day, when, -after crossing it, he said: "On its east side one can spit straight -down three thousand feet into a lake, and on the other side cast a -stone that will go down much farther than that!" - -Indeed, the view of the mountains and cliffs and canyons from that -height is so grand, so stupendous and impressive, that one cannot find -words to describe it all. - -On another day we went over Cutbank Pass and down the west side of -the range, far enough to get a good view of the Pumpelly Glacier, -and see the huge ice blocks break from it and drop from a cliff -more than two thousand feet in height. They strike the bottom of -the canyon with a reverberating crash that can be heard for miles. -Just below this glacier, down Nyack Creek three or four miles, is a -fine alkaline spring and clay bed where, in other days, old -Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill and I were wont to go for -bighorn, goats, deer, and elk. All these animals came to it in -great numbers, and drank the waters, and ate great wads of the -salty mud. We once killed a large grizzly there, whose late autumn -coat was as black as that of a black bear. - - [Illustration: STABS-BY-MISTAKE, SUN WOMAN, AND HER SON, LITTLE - OTTER IN CUTBANK CANYON] - -This afternoon we have had further talk about the naming of these -mountains. For a wonder, the topographers have not taken away the -original name for the outer mountain on the north side of this Cutbank -Valley: we find on the map that it is still White Calf Mountain. It -was named for one of the greatest chiefs the Montana Blackfeet ever -had. As a young man, fresh from his first war trail, he witnessed the -signing of the treaty between his people and the representatives of -the United States, at the mouth of the Judith River, in 1855, so he -must have been born in 1836 or 1837. As a warrior, his rise to fame -was rapid, and many are the stories told of his indomitable bravery in -facing the enemy. In later years, because of his great interest in the -welfare of his people, he became their head chief. He died in -Washington, in 1903, while there on tribal business. - -The right names of the other mountains walling in this valley are as -follows: The unnamed mountain next west from White Calf Mountain is -Ahk'-sap-ah-ki (Generous Woman); Mount James is Ah'-kow-to-mak-an -(Double Runner); Mount Vorhis is O-nis-tai'-na (Wonderful Chief). The -west one of the Twin Buttes is Little Plume; the east one is -O-nis-tai'-mak-an (Wonderful Runner). And, as I have said, the outer -mountain on the south side of the valley is Muk-sin-a' (Angry Woman). -All but the last one were named for old-time great chiefs and warriors -of my people, and we intend that they shall be so named on the -official maps, even if we have to petition the House of -Representatives and the Senate, in Washington, to make the change! And -you, my readers, lovers of these grandest mountains of our country, -will you not be with us in this perfectly proper request? - -Said Takes-Gun-Ahead to me this afternoon: "Who are these white men, -James, and Vorhis, for whom the mountains were named? Were they great -warriors, or presidents, or wise men?" - -I had to confess that I had never heard of them. - -"Huh!" he exclaimed. And "Huh!" all the others, even the women, -echoed. - - - - -III - -KI-NUK'-SI IS-SI-SAK'-TA (LITTLE RIVER) - - - -_August 2._ - -We moved over here on Little River--or, as the whites have named it, -Milk River--day before yesterday, and made camp at the lower edge of -the great body of timber in which the stream has its source. We are -here on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, and several miles from the -boundary line of the Glacier National Park. The state game laws do not -apply to the reservation, hence we have the right to hunt upon it when -and where we please. - - [Illustration: BIG SPRING PAINTING AUTOBIOGRAPHY ON THE FLESH SIDE - OF A TANNED ELK-SKIN] - -Yesterday Takes-Gun-Ahead and I oiled our rifles and started out after -meat. We went up the river, passing the old beaver dams that White Fur -and Loud Slap built in the long ago, and presently, in the dense -growth of pine, cottonwood, and willow, came upon old and fresh -tracks of deer and elk. We followed for a time the trail of four or -five elk, and left it to take the very fresh trail of a moose. -Takes-Gun-Ahead was in the lead, and within ten minutes he saw the -animal not fifty yards away, standing partly concealed behind a clump -of willows and watching our approach. Its head was in plain view, and -he fired and struck it just at the base of the ear, and it fell, gave -a convulsive kick or two, and was dead when we got to it. It was a -three-year-old bull, and carried a very ordinary set of antlers, -velvet-covered and still soft at the points. I dressed the carcass -while my companion went back for a horse, and before noon we had real -meat--_ni-tap'-i-wak-sin_--in camp. We distributed it among the -lodges, and there was great rejoicing. Later in the day, Two Guns and -Black Bull brought in a fine buck mule deer, and at sunset Big Spring -returned with the meat and skin of a yearling ram that he had killed -on the outer point of Divide Mountain. It was like old times,--the -camp red with meat,--and we all felt rich and happy. - -The killing of the moose in this particular place brought out a lot -of reminiscences of happenings here on Little River in other days, and -of them all I think that Takes-Gun-Ahead's story was the best. As the -pipe went the first round after our feast of roast moose ribs in Black -Bull's lodge, said he: "I will tell you the story of - - -"OLD MAN AND THE WOLVES - -"One day in that long ago time, Old Man was wandering along the edge -of this forest, having come over from Cutbank way. He was feeling very -lonely, and wondering what he could do to have a more lively time, -when, as he approached the river here, probably right where we are -camped, he saw a band of six wolves sitting on the bank, watching him. -He stopped short, watched them for a time, and then approached them, -whining out: 'My younger brothers! My younger brothers! I am very -lonely! Take pity on me: let me be a wolf with you!' - -"As I have said, the wolves were six: the old father and mother, -their two daughters, and their sons, Heavy Body and Long Body. The old -father wolf answered Old Man. 'Just what do you mean?' he asked. 'Is -it that you want me to change you into a wolf--that you want to live -just as we do?' - -"'I want to live with you, hunt with you,' he answered, 'but I don't -want to be changed wholly into a wolf. Just make my head and neck to -look like yours, and put wolf hair on my legs and arms, and that will -be about enough of a change. I will keep my body just as it is.' - -"'Very well, we will do that for you,' said the old wolf; and he took -a gray medicine and rubbed it on Old Man's head and neck and legs and -arms, and made the change. 'There!' said he. 'My work is done. I would -like to have made you all wolf, your body as well as the rest of you, -but you will do as you are; you are quite wolf-like. And now, let me -tell you something about our family. My old wife and I don't hunt -much. Your two younger brothers there are the runners and killers, and -their sisters help in the way of heading off and confusing the game. -Your younger brother there, Long Body, is the swiftest runner, but he -hasn't the best of wind. However, he generally overtakes and kills -whatever he chases. Your other younger brother, Heavy Body, is not a -fast runner, but he has great staying power, never gets winded, and in -the end brings down his game. And now you know them. Whenever you feel -like hunting, one or the other of them, as you choose, will go with -you.' - -"'You are very kind to me,' said Old Man. 'I am now very tired, but -to-morrow I shall want to hunt with one or the other of them.' - -"'We are also tired; we have come a long way; it is best that we all -rest during this night,' said the old wolf; and he led the way up to -the top of a high ridge on the north side of the valley, where all lay -down. - -"'But why rest out on top of this barren, windy place, instead of in -the shelter of the timber?' Old Man asked, his teeth beginning to -chatter from the cold. - -"'We never rest in the timber,' the old wolf replied. 'There enemies -would have a good chance to take us unawares. Here we can see afar -everything that moves, and as one or another of us is always on watch, -we can keep out of danger. Also, we can look down and see the -different kinds of game, and make our plans to chase what we want, -head it off, tire it out, and kill it. We always, summer and winter, -do our resting and sleeping on high places.' - -"Before the night was far gone, Old Man became so cold that he -trembled all over, and, try as he would, he could not keep his jaws -together. - -"'You annoy us with your tremblings, and your teeth chatterings; you -keep us from sleeping,' the old wolf complained. - -"'Well, I shall not annoy you long,' Old Man answered, 'because I -shall soon freeze to death!' - -"The old wolf aroused his wife and children: 'This tender-bodied elder -brother of ours is freezing. I suppose we have to protect him. Lie -down in a circle around him and cover him with your tails,' he told -them. - -"They did so, and he was soon overcome with heat: 'Take your -ill-smelling tails from my body; I am wet with perspiration!' he -gasped. They removed their tails and he soon began to shiver. 'Put -them back! I freeze!' he cried; and they did as he commanded. During -the night he had them cover him many times with their tails, and as -many times remove them. He passed a miserable night, and so did the -wolves, for he kept them from sleeping. - -"At break of day all arose, and, looking down into the valley, saw a -lone, buck mule deer feeding farther and farther away from the timber. -They made a plan for capturing it. They all sneaked around into the -timber, and then Long Body and Old Man crept down the valley until the -buck saw them and ran, and then they chased it. Long Body soon pulled -it down, and Old Man came up in time to seize and break its neck, and -felt very proud of himself. The other wolves soon came to the kill, -and all feasted. The carcass lasted them two days. - -"Again and again they went to the top of the ridge to pass the night, -and Old Man soon became so used to the cold that he did not need tail -covering. When the deer was eaten, they killed another one, and then a -buffalo bull, which lasted them some days. Then, after two failures in -chasing antelope and some hungry days, Long Body killed a big bull -elk, just outside the timber here. They were several days eating it, -but at last all the meat and the soft bones were finished, and nothing -but the backbone and the hard leg bones remained. Said the old wolf -then: 'We must be saving of what we have left, for it may be some time -before we can make another killing. To-day we will take turns chewing -the upper bone of a hind leg.' - -"They gathered in a small circle with one of the bones, noses to the -center, and the old wolf said to Old Man: 'Now, while this chewing is -going on, bone splinters are bound to fly. You must keep your eyes -tight shut until it comes your turn to chew, else you may get a -splinter that will blind you.' - -"Old Man did as he was told. The old wolf began the chewing, and -after gnawing off the end of the bone, and getting a little of the -marrow, called out to his wife that it was her turn to chew and passed -her the bone. And so from one to another it went around the circle -until Long Body got it, and Old Man's turn came next. His curiosity -now got the better of him: he just had to see what was going on, and -slowly opened one eye, the one next to Long Body. All the wolves had -their heads to the ground or resting on their fore paws, and all--even -Long Body, busily chewing the bone--kept their eyes tight shut. 'Huh! -This is a queer way to feast,' Old Man said to himself, and just then -a splinter flew from the bone and struck his open eye, not putting it -out, but causing him great pain and making him very angry. 'I will pay -him for that!' he thought, and waited his turn at the bone, becoming -more and more angry as he waited. - -"'Your turn, Old Man,' said Long Body after a time, and passed him the -bone. Old Man took it, chewed it for a time, looking sharply at all -the wolves. All had their eyes tight shut, so, raising the bone as -high as he could, he brought it down with all the force of his arm -upon Long Body's head and killed him. The other wolves, hearing his -twitching, as he died, opened their eyes, saw him dead, and Old Man -staring in horror at what he had done. - -"'Oh, what have you done! You have killed your younger brother!' the -old wolf cried. - -"'I didn't mean to,' Old Man answered. 'When he was chewing the bone -he let a splinter fly, and it struck me in this eye. I meant to punish -him a little for being so careless, but I did not mean to kill him. I -must have struck harder than I thought to do.' - -"'You had your eyes open! It was your fault that you got the -splinter!' the old wolf said; and then he and all the rest began -grieving for their dead. - -"All the rest of that day, and all through the night, they howled and -howled, and Old Man thought that he would go mad from the mournfulness -of it all. He was very sorry--he hated himself for what he had done in -his anger. - -"The mourning-time over, the wolves dug a hole in the ground and -buried Long Body, and then scolded Old Man. 'Had you killed my son -intentionally,' the old wolf concluded, 'we would have had your life -in payment for his life. As it is, we will give you one more trial: -see that such an accident as that never again occurs!' - -"'Younger brother,' said Old Man, 'I am grieving and very restless -because of what I have done. I want to be moving; to be doing -something. Let Heavy Body go with me up in this pine forest, and we -will try to kill something.' - -"The old wolf remained silent for some time, thinking, and at last -answered: 'Yes, I will allow him to go with you, and remember this: if -anything happens to him, we shall hold you responsible, and great will -be your punishment!' - -"The two started off, and Old Man said to his partner, 'In some ways I -am wiser than you. I have this to say, and you must heed it: Whatever -you start after, be it deer or elk or moose, and no matter how close -you may get to it, if it crosses a stream, even a little stream that -you can jump, stop right there and turn back. Mind, now, even if a few -more leaps will get you to the animal's throat, you are not to make -those leaps if it crosses a stream. Should you keep on, death in some -form will get you.' - -"'How do you know this?' Heavy Body asked. - -"'I may not tell you all that I know,' Old Man replied. 'I have given -you the warning; heed it.' - -"They went farther up in the timber, and after some nosing of trails -started a big bull moose, and took after it, Heavy Body running far in -the lead. He was fast gaining upon it, was almost at its heels, when -it jumped into a wide, long pond, really a widening of the creek, and -started swimming across it to an island, and from that to the other -shore. Heavy Body thought of Old Man's warning, but said to himself: -'He doesn't know everything. I must have that moose!' And into the -water he went and started swimming toward the island. And just as he -was nearing it a water bear sprang from the shore, and killed him, -and dragged him to land, and Old Man appeared at the edge of the pond -just in time to see the bear and her two nearly grown young begin -feasting upon her kill. With a heart full of rage and sorrow, he -turned back into the timber and considered how he could revenge the -death of Heavy Body. - -"Two mornings later, just before daylight, Old Man came again to the -shore of the pond, and close to the edge of the water took his stand -and gave himself the appearance of an old stump. Soon after sunrise -the old water bear, coming out from the brush on the island, saw it, -sat up and stared at it, and said to herself: 'I do not remember -having seen that stump before. I suspicion that it is Old Man, come to -do me harm. I saw him right there when I killed the wolf.' - -"She stared and stared at the stump, and at last called out her young, -and said to one of them: 'Go across there and bite, and claw that -stump. I believe that it is Old Man. If it is, he will cry out and run -when you hurt him.' - -"The young bear swam across and went up to the stump, and bit, and -clawed it, and hurt Old Man. He was almost on the point of giving up -and running away, when it left him and went back to the island and -told the old one that the stump was a stump, and nothing else. But the -old one was not satisfied. She sent the other young one over, and it -bit and clawed Old Man harder than its brother had, but he stood the -pain, bad as it was, and that young one went back and also said that -the stump was just a common old stump and without life. - -"But the old water bear was not yet satisfied. She went across -herself, and bit and tore at the stump with her claws, and what Old -Man had suffered from the others was nothing compared to what he -endured from her attack. He stood it, however, and at last, satisfied -that her children had been right, that this was a stump and nothing -else, she left it and started back for the island. Then it was that, -just as she was entering the water, Old Man picked up the bow and -arrows he had made during the two days back in the timber and shot an -arrow into her, well back in the loin; but she dove under water so -quickly that he could not see whether he had hit her or not. She swam -under water clear around back of the island, and went ashore where he -could not see her. He turned, then, and went away back in the timber, -and slept all the rest of the day and all of the following night. - -"Early the next morning he was approaching the pond by way of the -stream running from it, when he saw a kingfisher sitting on a limb of -a tree overhanging the water, and looking intently down into it: -'Little brother, what do you there?' he asked. - -"'The old water bear has been shot,' the bird answered. 'She bathes in -the water, and clots of blood and pieces of fat escape from the wound, -and when they come floating along here I seize them, and eat them.' - -"'Ha! So I did hit her!' Old Man said. 'How badly, I wonder?' - -"He went on up the shore of the stream, trying to think of some way to -get complete revenge for the death of Heavy Body, when he heard some -one out in the brush chanting: 'Some one has shot the old water bear! -I have to doctor the old water bear! Some one has shot the old water -bear! I have to doctor the old water bear!' - -"He went out to see who this might be, and found that it was the bull -frog, jumping about and making the chant after every jump. He went to -him and asked if the bear was much hurt? - -"'There is an arrow in her loin,' the frog answered, 'and as soon as I -find a certain medicine plant, I shall pull the arrow out and apply -the crushed plant to the wound. I believe that I can save her life.' - -"'That you never will,' Old Man said, and fired an arrow into him, and -killed him. He then took his skin, put it on, tore up a handful of a -green plant, and swam to the island. As soon as he reached the shore -he began chanting as the frog had done: 'Some one has shot the old -water bear! I have to doctor the old water bear!' And so, chanting and -jumping, he followed a trail into the brush and came upon the old -bear and her two young. She was lying on her side, breathing heavily, -and her eyes were shut. Old Man bent over her, and, firmly grasping -the arrow, shoved it in until it pierced her heart, and she gave a -kick and died! He then picked up a club and killed the two young. -'There! That ends the water bear family. I was crazy ever to have made -her and her husband!' he exclaimed. - -"Casting off the frog skin now, he with great difficulty floated the -three bears from the island to the shore of the pond. There, a short -distance back from it, he found a bowl-shaped depression in the -ground. Into this he dragged the carcasses of the bears, after -skinning them and taking off all the fat from their meat and insides, -and then he tried out the fat and poured the oil over them, completely -covering them and filling the depression. He then called the animals. -'All you who would be fat, come bathe in this oil,' he shouted. And on -all sides the animals heard and began to come in. The bears--real -bears, the grizzly and the black--came first and rolled in the oil, -and ever since that time they have been the fattest of all animals. -Then came the skunk; next the badger; after him the porcupine, and -rolled in the oil and got fat. The beaver came and swam across the -oil. All that part of him above the water as he swam--his head and the -forward part of his back--got no fat, but all the rest of his -body--his sides, belly, and tail--became extremely fat. Last of all -the animals came the rabbit. He did not go into the oil, but, dipping -a paw into it, rubbed it upon his back between his shoulders and upon -the inside of each leg. That is why he has no fat on other parts of -his body. - -"'Well, there!' Old Man exclaimed, after the rabbit had gone. 'I have -done some good. I have avenged the death of my wolf partner and have -made fat many of my younger brothers!' And with that he started off -seeking more adventures. - -"Kyi! My story ends." - - - -_August 4._ - -Not for many years, I am sure, have my relatives and friends here been -so happy as they are just now. Instead of beef or no meat of any -kind, as is generally the case with them when at home,--some die every -winter from want of food,--they have now in every lodge real meat; -meat of moose and elk and bighorn, and so are living much as they did -in the days before the white men overran their country and killed off -their game. - - [Illustration: SUN WOMAN, DAUGHTER OF TAKES-GUN-AHEAD AND WIFE OF - STABS-BY-MISTAKE] - -A happy heart sharpens one's wits. All day yesterday, as I knew, my -two old relatives, Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill and Yellow Wolf, -were considering what other one of the tribal stories about the Little -River country would most please me. I had told them that I could not -put them all down--could use only two or three of the most interesting -ones. And so, when we all gathered in Yellow Wolf's lodge last -evening, and the pipe was lighted and started on the round of our -circle, he said that it had been decided that I should have the story -of the rescue of a boy from the Crows, and that he would tell it. It -was called, he said, the story of - - -"NEW ROBE, THE RESCUER - -"In the long ago, before our forefathers had taken this country from -the Crows, they were one summer camping and hunting on the Big River -of the North.[7] Came the evening of a long, hot day, and a boy of -eight or nine winters--Lone Star was his name--failed to return to his -parents' lodge. The chiefs ordered the camp crier out, and he went all -among the lodges, shouting the news, and asking if any one had seen -the boy? None had; so then the chiefs ordered all the men and youths -to go out and try to find him. All that moonlit night, and all the -next day, they searched the surrounding country, but got no trace of -him. Every alighting buzzard was marked down, but in every instance it -was found to be feasting upon the remains of game that the hunters had -killed. So then, although his body could not be found, most of the -people believed that the boy was dead. His beautiful sister, Red -Cloud Woman, and his father, Black Bear, thought otherwise; they -believed that he had been stolen by the enemy, and publicly, all -through the camp, the two went, the girl vowing that she would marry -whoever would find her brother, the old man adding that she had his -permission to make the vow. - - [7] Ap-ut'-o-sosts O'muk-at-ai (Big River of the North). The - Saskatchewan. - -"There was in the camp a very poor young man, named New Robe. So poor -was he that he had never owned a new robe, nor a new shirt, nor -leggins, nor even new moccasins. His father and mother were dead, and -always, as far back as he could remember, he had worn nothing but the -used clothes the charitable had given him. He had never been to war, -had never done anything to make a name for himself, but now he was -eager to start in quest of the missing boy. He had long loved the -girl, but had never even spoken to her. He now went to her and said: -'Tell no one about it. Just silently pray for me. I am going to travel -far in search of your brother.' - -"Said the girl: 'This is not a time for me to hide my heart from you. -I have watched you, loved you for a very long time. But what could I -say? Nothing. Well I knew that my people would not allow me to marry -one so poor as you. But now there is hope for us; somehow I believe -that this trouble is to be the means of bringing us together.' And -with that she kissed him, and he went quietly out from camp, -unobserved by any one, and started southward on his quest. - -"Many days later, in the valley of Old Man's River, New Robe came upon an -old camp-ground of the enemy--Crows, of course, for that was then their -country. From it he found that they had moved south, and he followed -their trail, ever along the foot of the mountains, and knew that he was -fast overtaking them. At the River-of-Many-Chiefs-Gathering[8] he found -live coals in the ashes of their abandoned fireplaces, and so, upon -arriving at the top of the ridge overlooking this stream, he was not -surprised to see the lodges of the great Crow camp here--right here -where we are encamped to-night. They were set up in a great circle, and -in the center of it was a huge lodge covered with old lodge skins: the -Crows were having their medicine lodge ceremonies! - - [8] St. Mary's River. - -"As soon as night came and before the moon arose, New Robe descended -the hill and entered the camp. The people were all of them gathered at -the medicine lodge, singing and dancing, and fulfilling their vows to -the sun, so he went from one living lodge to another, looking into -each for some sign of the missing boy. By the time he had made the -round of the lodges of half of the circle it was midnight, and the -people were beginning to go home to sleep. He left the camp and went -back on the ridge, having found no trace of the one for whom he -searched. - -"The next night New Robe descended the ridge and searched the lodges -of the other half of the circle, and found not what he sought. When he -had finished, the people were still gathered at the medicine lodge, -and, desperate, and knowing well the great risk that he would incur, -he went toward it, and stood at the outer edge of the great crowd and -watched the ceremonial dancing of the different warrior clans. He kept -his face partly concealed with his old robe, and moved from place to -place around the outer circle of the people, and none observed him, so -intent were they upon watching the dancers. - -"At last, during a quiet interval between dances, he imagined that he -heard some one groaning, but, look where he would, he could see no one -in distress, nor could he locate the exact place from which the -groaning came. It was a light-voiced groaning, such as a child would -make; he felt sure that it came from little Lone Star, somewhere in -that great lodge, and in great pain. He left the place, went outside -the circle of lodges, and lay down. - -"It was long past midnight when the people returned to their lodges. -Then, as soon as the camp became quiet, New Robe returned to the -medicine lodge, and, listening, heard faint groaning and located it. -It came from the top of the center post, where all the sacrifices to -the sun were hung. He was sure then that it was no other than Lone -Star up there, lashed to the post, a living sacrifice to the sun, and -there to die! - -"Well he knew that there, within the lodge, were sleeping the women -who had vowed to build the great structure in honor of the sun. And -there, too, in his secret, walled-off little inner lodge, slept the -medicine man whose duty it was to drive back approaching thunderclouds -and rain. He had to risk awakening them! He had at least to attempt to -rescue the boy! So, casting off his robe, he climbed the outer wall of -the lodge, and from it crawled along one of the big long poles that -slanted up to the center post. There he found Lone Star, firmly lashed -to one of its forks, and so far gone that he could no longer even -groan. - -"Silently, very carefully, New Robe unwound the lashing, and then, -fastening an end of it under the boy's arms, let him down to the -ground. He then descended, and found that the boy was so numb that he -could not walk. There was but one thing to do then. He took the -helpless one upon his back, stole out of the lodge, and started with -him across the big camp-ground. Dawn had come. As he was passing the -circle of lodges, an early riser, a woman, saw him and with her -shrieks aroused all the near-by sleepers. They rushed out, warriors -and youths, the women following, and overtook him. He made no -resistance. He could have left the boy and made his own escape, but he -would not do that. Several old warriors seized him and the boy, and -hurried them to the lodge of the head chief, the women and the youths -following and crying out that they be killed. Inside the lodge, the -chief motioned them to seats, and in signs asked New Robe what he had -to say for himself. - -"'I came not to harm you,' New Robe answered, 'nor to take from you -anything that is yours. I came to find this boy, and take him back to -his mourning father and mother and sister. And where did I find him! -Tied to the center post of your medicine lodge, there to die from -want of water and food, a living but dying sacrifice to the sun! That -were too cruel a thing to do. I ask you not to put him back there. If -he is to die, I die with him. Shoot us, stab us, kill us in any way -you choose, so that our death be quick!' - -"The chief gave him no answer to that. He counseled with the other -chiefs for a long time, and at last signed to him: 'You are so brave -that we shall give you and the boy a chance for your lives. You are to -remain here in this lodge to-day, to-night, to-morrow, and the -following night. My young men will keep watch on you, so do not -attempt to escape. On the morning following your second night here, -you are to be given your chance to leave us unharmed. I shall not now -tell you what that chance will be.' And then, turning to his men, he -gave them certain orders, and they hurried from the lodge. - -"During the two days and two nights, New Robe prayed as he never had -before, prayed for strength and courage to succeed in whatever he -should be told to do. The people of the lodge treated him and the boy -well. They did not want for food, nor anything else that would make -for their comfort. Early in the morning after the second night, the -chief signed to him: 'It is not my fault, nor the fault of my under -chiefs, that you have to undergo this trial for your life and that of -the boy this day. My people were crying for your lives; they wanted to -drag you two out from here and fill your bodies with arrows. I did not -want them to do that; my council of chiefs did not want it done; so we -counseled together and hit upon a way to give you a chance for your -lives. It is not an easy thing that you have to attempt, but I hope -you will succeed. And, whatever happens, believe this: I have done the -best for you that I could!' - -"A little later, soon after the morning meal, the chief signed the two -captives to follow him, and led them to the medicine lodge. In front -of it were seven fresh buffalo bull heads which a number of men were -skinning, and out in front of them, in a great half-circle, were -gathered every man, woman, and child of the Mountain Crow tribe. New -Robe wondered what was to be done with the seven buffalo heads; he -suspected that they were to be in some way used in his trial for life. - -"'Come!' the chief signed, and led him and the boy to the entrance of -the medicine lodge. There they stood, the mark of many flashing, angry -eyes, and presently the skinners finished their work, and an old chief -placed the shining skulls in a line out from the doorway of the lodge, -each one of them a long step distant from another. - -"Again the head chief made signs to New Robe: 'There is your trial for -life,' he said. 'You are to take the boy on your back, and step from -one to the other of those skulls until you step upon the last one; -pass from it to the ground. If you succeed in doing that, you and the -boy are free to go to your home, and none of my people shall harm you -on your way. But should you slip from a skull, and even so much as -touch the ground with your toe, to save your balance, then the -warriors standing out there will fall upon you, and kill you both.' - -"New Robe looked long at the seven skulls, considering what he should -do. Being freshly skinned, he knew that they were very slippery. And -then, which would be safest, to step slowly, carefully, from one to -another, or make a run across them touching each one quickly, lightly? -They were far apart; too far for slow, deliberate stepping; he -concluded that the thing to do was to start running from the back of -the lodge, and go along the line of them as fast as he could with his -burden. He signed to the chief that he would do that, and led the boy -to the back of the lodge. - -"While going there another thought came to him. He got back of the -boy, and stooped, and while pretending to fix the young one's belt and -leggins, kept spitting in two places upon the ground. He then stepped -squarely in each pool of the spit and then upon soft ground, and -coated his moccasin soles with the sandy earth. Then, suddenly -swinging the boy to his back, and running swiftly across the lodge, he -lit upon the first skull with his right foot, and went leaping on -from one to another as fast as he could with the weight upon his back. -The third skull began to turn with him, and he made a weak leap from -it, barely alighting upon the next. But it held firm and he made a -sure leap from it to the next, and from that to the next, and then, -stepping squarely upon the seventh, and last skull, passed from it to -the ground, and released the boy from his back. - -"The crowd stood silent, sullen, watching him. The head chief came to -his side and spoke to them, and they suddenly broke out in loud -cheers. The chief then signed to New Robe: 'There is one thing more -you are asked to do before we send you home. You do not have to do it, -but we hope that you will. Come with me!' - -"They went to the lodge of a young chief, and when they were seated, -the chief signed to New Robe: 'My father, once a great chief, is an -old man. He does not want to die of old age and long and painful -illness, and he wants a chance to kill one more enemy before he dies. -He wants to fight you. If he kills you, then that will be good. If -you kill him, then you shall have his war horse and all his weapons, -and I will give you a fine present, and you and the boy shall go to -your home in perfect safety. Now, what say you to that?' - -"'I have no weapons,' New Robe objected. - -"'Weapons you shall have,' the other replied. 'All the warriors of the -camp are anxious to loan you what they have. You shall go with me and -examine what they have until you find just what you want.' - -"New Robe considered the matter. If he won out, what honor, what a -_coup_ it would be to return to his people with the weapons and the -war horse of his enemy. If he lost, if he was killed--a sudden doubt -struck him, and he asked: 'If I fall, what will become of the boy?' - -"'We promise you now,' the chiefs both answered, 'that in that case -some of us will take the boy to within sight of the camp of your -people, and send him safely to it.' - -"'I take your word for that, and now give me weapons,' said New Robe. - -"He was offered his choice of many bows and spears, war clubs and -knives, but took only a short, lithe bow and a handful of -well-feathered arrows. Then, standing within the circle of the lodges, -he awaited the coming of the old chief. He soon appeared, wearing a -beautiful war costume and riding a sorrel pinto war horse. And now, -dressed as he was, and easily controlling his fiery-tempered mount, he -did not seem to be so very old; at a distance one would have thought -him a young warrior. His weapon in hand was a long, scalp-tufted -spear. On his back he carried a bow and otter-skin quiver of arrows, -and in his belt, in a handsome sheath, quill-embroidered, was his -knife. Said New Robe to himself: 'He looks strong, he is brave. Well, -I too must be brave, and watchful.' - -"Forth and back across the other side of the big circle rode the old -man, singing a war song, brandishing his spear, keeping his prancing -war horse well in hand. And then, suddenly urging him forward, he came -swift as the wind at New Robe. And he, dropping his tattered wrap, -awaited his coming with ready bow. On he came, shouting his war cry, -and when quite close New Robe let fly his long and heavy-shafted -arrow. It struck the old warrior fair in the ribs. He flinched, the -mounting blood choked off his war cry, but on he came, and with a last -great effort hurled his spear, and fell from his horse and died,--died -without knowing that the weapon had passed high over New Robe's head! - -"And then what a shout went up from all the people! Shouts of honor -for the old chief who had preferred death in battle instead of in his -lodge, and shouts too for the young man who had so bravely faced him. -New Robe knew not what to do. He stood looking this way, that way, -uncertainly. Then came to him the son of the old dead chief and signed -to him to take the horse and the weapons of his enemy, and he did so. -Then the young man brought to him another horse, a big and gentle -black: 'I said that I would give you something,' he signed, 'and here -it is. The boy can ride it home. You may go now, both of you, and go -without fear of pursuit: not a man in this camp shall follow you!' -And without wasting any time the two mounted the horses and rode -northward away from the camp. - -"In the Blackfeet camp Lone Star's father and mother grieved more and -more for the loss of him, but his sister, Red Cloud Woman, would not -believe that he was dead; had somehow faith that he was alive; that -New Robe would find him, and bring him safely home. And at last, when -she saw that her father and mother were likely to go mad from grief, -she told them that New Robe had gone in search of the boy, and that -she would marry him, even if he returned alone. Morning after morning -she went up on a butte close to camp and watched the great plain -stretching away to the south, and all day long, and often on her couch -at night, prayed for the safe return of brother and lover. - -"And then, at last, after many, many days of worried watching, she saw -two riders coming from the south across the plain, and, sure that they -were those she had been praying for, ran to meet them. They were the -missing ones. They sprang from their fine horses, and she kissed -first her brother and then clung to New Robe: 'I am right now your -woman,' she cried, and kissed him again. 'And I am proud to be your -woman,' she went on, 'so take me up behind you and we will all ride -home!' - -"She got up behind him on his prancing war horse, and as they rode in -he quickly told her of his adventures, and how, at last, he had fought -and killed the old war chief, and for that had been given the two -horses and all the weapons and fine war clothes she saw. So it was -that, coming into camp, she had the tale of his brave deeds to shout -to the people, and they, gathering close around, honored his name and -gave him a chief's greeting. Yes, the poor orphan had within the -length of one moon become a chief, and had made a mourning father and -mother happy. That very night he and Red Cloud Woman were given a -lodge of their own, and their happiness was complete." - - - - -IV - -PUHT-O-MUK-SI-KIM-IKS (THE LAKES INSIDE): ST. MARY'S LAKES - - - -_August 10._ - -We left Little River on the 5th, crossed the big ridge dividing the -Arctic and the Atlantic waters, and made camp here on the big prairie -at the foot of the Upper St. Mary's Lake. - -In the old days this great valley, hemmed in by gigantic mountains, -was my favorite hunting ground after the buffalo were exterminated and -there was no more sport to be had upon the plains. - - [Illustration: CAMP NEAR LOWER END OF UPPER ST. MARY'S LAKE] - -Hugh Monroe, or Rising Wolf, was, of course, the first white man to -see these most beautiful of all our Northern Rockies lakes; with the -Piegan Blackfeet he camped at them in 1816, and long afterward, with -his growing family of hardy sons and daughters, this became his -favorite hunting and trapping ground. When, in the 1830's, that -valiant and much beloved missionary, Father De Smet, S.J., was -visiting the various tribes of this Northwest country, Monroe was -engaged to take him to a conference with the North Blackfeet, then -camping on the Saskatchewan River. _En route_ they camped at the foot -of the lower of these lakes, and there erected a large wooden cross, -and named the two sheets of water, St. Mary's Lakes. Later on, the -Stevens expedition named them Chief Mountain Lakes, but that name did -not last. Monroe and his brother trappers were all Catholics, and they -continued to use the name that the great priest had given them, and on -the maps they are St. Mary's Lakes to-day. - -During my long friendship with him, Monroe told me many stories of his -adventures here in early days. This was his favorite mountain resort -on account of the great numbers of moose that inhabited the heavily -timbered valley and mountain slopes, and of the great variety and -numbers of fur animals that were found here. The valley swarmed with -elk and deer; there were countless flocks of bighorn and goats on the -mountains, and herds of buffalo everywhere along the lower lake, and -below it; but Monroe liked best of all the flesh of moose, and killed -large numbers of them every season that he camped here. - -His method of catching wolves was simple and unique. He would build an -oblong, pyramidal log pen about eight by sixteen feet at the base, and -eight feet in height, the last layer of logs being placed about -eighteen inches apart. Easily climbing the slope of this, the wolves -would jump down through the narrow aperture at the top to feed upon -the quantities of meat that had been placed inside to decoy them, but -they could not jump out. Often, of a morning, the trapper and his sons -would find ten or more big wolves imprisoned in the trap, and, powder -and ball being very costly, they would kill them with bow and arrows, -skin them, and drag the carcasses to the river and cast them into it, -then take the hides home and peg them on the ground to dry. In this -manner they would often, in the spring, have several hundred wolf -pelts to pack in to Fort Benton for sale, and prime pelts sold at five -dollars each, in trade. Their catch of beaver, otter, mink, martin, -and fisher was also large. - -Monroe always camped at the foot of the lower lake, near the outlet, -and was there more than once attacked by roving war parties of -Assiniboines, Crows, and even the Yanktonais. The horses were kept at -night in a strong corral just back of the lodge, and in the daytime -were watched by some member of the family while they grazed on the -rich prairie grasses. All the family--John and Francois, the sons, -Millie and Lizzie, the daughters--and even the mother had guns, -flintlocks, and a good supply of powder and ball. Early one morning a -large war party was discovered approaching the camp, sneaking from -bush to bush, some crawling on all fours through the high grass. -Lizzie opened fire upon them and killed her man, and then the fire -became general on both sides. But the Monroes, in their trenches -surrounding the lodge, had the best of it from the start, and -eventually made the enemy retreat with a loss of five of their -number. Late the following night the Assiniboines crept in to make -another attack, but the Monroes were expecting them, waiting for them, -and in the bright moonlight could take fairly accurate aim. They again -drove them off, with a loss of two more of their number, and that time -they kept going. Nothing more was seen of them. But for some days the -Monroes did not venture far from their camp. - -I first saw the St. Mary's Lakes in October, 1882, in company with -Charles Phemmister, James Rutherford, Charles Carter, and Oliver -Sanderville, all old plainsmen, good company, and best of hunters. We -outfitted for the trip at the Old Agency, on Badger Creek, Blackfeet -Reservation, and started northward. There was no trail after leaving -the crossing of Little or Milk River, and we struck up country toward -the big gap in the mountains, in which we knew the lakes must lie, and -that evening camped on the shore of a large prairie lake that was -black with ducks. I shot a dozen or more of them as they flew over a -long point, and to my surprise and delight found that they were all -canvasbacks and redheads, and very fat from feeding upon the wild -celery beds of the lake. I named the sheet of water Duck Lake. - -The next day we made a trail down the long hill, and camped at the -foot of the lower lake, close to the outlet. Then began two weeks of -most glorious sport. We shot elk, deer, and several grizzlies in the -valley, and bighorn on a mountain that I named Flat Top, and combed -that mountain from one end to another and on all sides for an animal -known to us as the Rocky Mountain ibex. We had seen several skins of -them, bought from the Stony Indians by Captain John Healy, of Fort -Whoopup and Fort Benton fame, but none of us nor any man of our -acquaintance--and we knew every trapper and trader in the country--had -ever seen one of the animals alive. Of course we found none, as this -sub-Arctic animal, which we later learned is a true antelope, and not -an ibex or goat, seldom leaves the high cliff mountains for the outer -and lower ones of the range. When, later, we did find them, we in our -ignorance named them Rocky Mountain goats, and that is the common name -for them to-day, despite the fact that they are antelopes. - -On this first visit to the St. Mary's Lakes country I was so impressed -by the grandeur of its mountains, the beauty of its many lakes, and -its plenitude of game, that thereafter for many years it was, more -than anywhere else, my home. In 1883 I brought out to the lakes a good -boat that I had had built for me at Fort Conrad, and with it learned -that both lakes were alive with whitefish and Mackinaw, Dolly Varden, -and cutthroat trout. During the summer of this year I named Red Eagle -Mountain and Red Eagle Lake, after my uncle-in-law, Red Eagle, owner -of the Thunder medicine pipe, and one of the most high-minded, -gentle-hearted Indians that I ever knew. In the autumn of this year -Dr. George Bird Grinnell joined me, and we hunted around the lower -lake, and went up Swift Current far enough to see what we thought -would possibly prove to be a glacier. We had not then time to learn -if our surmise was correct. During our hunt Dr. Grinnell killed a -large ram at long range, offhand, with one shot from his old Sharp's -rifle, on the mountain next above Flat Top, and I therefore named it -Single-Shot Mountain. - - [Illustration: AT THE NARROWS. UPPER ST. MARY'S LAKE] - -In the summer of this year I also named Divide Mountain, because it is -the outermost mountain on the Atlantic-Arctic watershed. At the same -time I named Kootenai Mountain, also for a very good reason. Some -members of that tribe were encamped beside me at the foot of the upper -lake. I noticed often that they would ride out of camp at daylight and -return at noon or a little later with all the bighorn or goat meat -that their horses could carry, and finally I asked them where they -went to make their killings so quickly. - -"Come with me to-morrow and I will show you something," one of them -answered. And the next morning I rode with him up Red Eagle Valley and -part way up a mountain, where we tied our horses and went on afoot for -a couple of hundred yards. Then, looking down into a _coulee_, we saw -a dozen or more bighorn in the bottom of it and killed four of them. -They had been eating salty clay and drinking from a salt spring that -oozes from the ground there, so I named the place Kootenai Lick, and -also gave the mountain the name Kootenai. Thereafter I knew where to -go for bighorn when I wanted one. - -In 1884 I named Almost-a-Dog Mountain, after one of the few survivors -of the Baker massacre, which took place on the Marias River, January -1, 1870. At that time Colonel E. M. Baker, with a couple of companies -of cavalry from Fort Shaw, Montana, was trying to find the camp of Owl -Child, a Piegan Blackfoot, and murderer of a settler named Malcolm -Clark, and arrest him. By mistake he struck the camp of Heavy Runner -and his band of friendly Indians, and, although the chief came running -toward him waving his letters of recommendation and his Washington -medals, Baker ordered his men to begin firing, and a terrible massacre -ensued, the Indians firing not one shot in defense, as about all the -able-bodied men were at the time on a buffalo hunt. When the firing -was over, two hundred and seventeen old men and women and children lay -dead and dying in their lodges and in the camp. The soldiers then shot -the wounded, collected the lodges and property of the Indians in great -piles, and set fire to them and departed.[9] - - [9] The above is an extract from an affidavit by the late Joseph - Kipp, who was Baker's scout and guide at the time. - -In the autumn of 1885 Dr. Grinnell, J. B. Monroe, and I made a trip up -Swift Current River, and discovered and roughly measured the big -glacier at the head of its middle fork, Dr. Grinnell killing a big ram -on the ice while we were traversing it and avoiding its deep -crevasses. That evening Monroe and I named the glacier in honor of Dr. -Grinnell, and also named the mountain to the north of it after him. On -the following day we were joined by Lieutenant--now Major--J. H. -Beacom, Third Infantry, and he gave my Indian name, Apikuni, to the -high mountain between Swift Current and the South Fork of Kennedy -Creek. Upon our return to Upper St. Mary's Lake, Dr. Grinnell named -Little Chief Mountain, Monroe gave Citadel Mountain its name, and I -named Yellow Fish, Goat, Going-to-the-Sun, and Four Bears Mountains. -Yellow Fish (O-to-ko'-mi) was an Indian who often hunted with us, and -Four Bears (Nis-su'-kyai-yo) was the Blackfeet camp crier, and a most -amusing man. - -It was in 1886, I believe, that we three, and my old-time friend, -William Jackson, one-time scout for General Custer and General Miles, -cut a trail to the head of the St. Mary's Valley and discovered the -great sheet of ice which we named the Blackfeet Glacier. We at the -same time named Gun-Sight Pass, and named the peak just west of the -glacier, Mount Jackson. It should be Sik-si-kai'-kwan (Blackfeet Man), -Jackson's Indian name. He was a grandson of Hugh Monroe, a real -plainsman, and one of the bravest men I ever knew. - - [Illustration: GOING-TO-THE-SUN MOUNTAIN] - -Going-to-the-Sun has been climbed this day, and a flag has been -planted upon its summit, by Paul E. Walker, Esq., of Topeka, Kansas. -Owing to a high cliff upon its upper shoulder, the mountain has always -been considered unclimbable. But after long search, and with no little -risk, Mr. Walker finally worked out a way up the wall, and out upon -the extreme crest, and was undoubtedly the first man, white or red, -ever to stand there. He reports that a magnificent view of the -mountains and plains is to be had from the great height. - - - -_August 12._ - -We have more real meat in camp. Yesterday Black Bull went up under the -north point of Flat Top Mountain, which is on the Indian Reservation, -and killed two fat young rams. I went fishing, and in the first pool -of the river below the upper lake, caught several two- and three-pound -cutthroat trout. We had a great feast in the evening--roast bighorn -ribs, broiled trout, a quantity of blueberries, and so on. - -After the feast was over came story-telling time, and we heard this -man's and that man's experiences in hunting in this vicinity in other -days, Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill relating a hard experience -that befell him when once wintering here with me. He was chasing a -wounded elk on the slope of Single-Shot Mountain, and stepped upon a -sharp, snow-covered knot that pierced his foot through and through, -and kept him laid up for two months. Yellow Wolf then related an -old-time tale, which incidentally gave the reason for naming these two -sheets of water the Inside Lakes. He called it, he said,-- - - -"THE STORY OF THE FIRST HORSES - -"In that long-ago time when the people had only their great, wolf-like -dogs for carrying their belongings, there were two very poor orphans, -a brother and sister, in the camp. The boy was very deaf, and because -he seemed not to understand what was shouted at him, he was believed -to be crazy, and not even the relatives of his dead father and mother -cared to have him in their lodges. One would keep him for a time and -tell him to go, and then another relative would take him in for a -short time, and, getting tired of him, send him on to another lodge. -And wherever he went, his beautiful young sister went with him. Often, -in good weather, when camp was moved, the two would stay at the old -camp-ground, living on cast-away meat so long as it lasted, and then -they would overtake the camp and go into the nearest lodge, and at -least be sure of a meal. They were generally barefooted and always -shabbily dressed. It was a hard life that they led. And because he was -so deaf, and believed to be crazy, the boy had not even one playmate -in all the camp, nor had his sister, for she knew that it was her duty -to be always at his side. There came a time, however, when a childless -woman, wife of a great and rich chief, wanted the girl to raise as her -own daughter, and after many days the boy persuaded her to be adopted, -and he was left alone and more lonely than ever. - -"Not long after this separation, the camp moved one day, and the boy, -Long Arrow, remained at the old camp-ground to live there as long as -he could on the leavings of the people. At last he finished the last -scrap of thrown away or forgotten meat and started to overtake the -camp. The day was hot, terribly hot, but despite that the boy traveled -as fast as he could, often running, and perspiration streamed from his -body and his breath came short and fast in loud wheezes. Suddenly, -while running, he felt something give way with a snap in his left ear, -felt something moving out from it, and reaching up he pulled from it a -long, round, waxy object that looked like a worm. He held it in his -hand and ran on, and noted that with the left ear he could plainly -hear his footsteps upon the trail. A little later something snapped in -his right ear, and began to move out of it, and he took from it -another worm-like substance, and keeping both in his hand, ran on. He -could now hear plainly with both ears, and so happy was he that he -felt almost as though he could fly. - -"But that was not all the good that was to come to him that day. Early -in the morning a hunter had left camp with his pack dogs, and had -taken the back trail in search of buffalo, and just before the boy -appeared he had killed one, and was butchering it when he saw the boy -approaching him. This hunter, Heavy Runner, was a chief, and one of -the kindest men in the whole camp. He had long thought to do something -for this boy, and now, when he saw him coming, he said to himself: -'The time has come. I shall do something for him!' - -"The boy came to him and his kill, and he shouted to him, at the same -time making signs: 'Sit you down, my boy, and rest. You are wet with -sweat, and covered with dust. You must be very tired. Take this piece -of tripe and eat it. And now let me tell you something: from this day -you are to be my boy. I adopt you. You shall have a place in my lodge; -good clothes; a good bed. Try to be good, and deserve it all. I am -going to try to make a man of you.' - -"'Heavy Runner, your kind words make me want to cry,' said the boy, -his voice trembling, tears dropping from his eyes. He swallowed -painfully, brushed away the tears, sat up straight, and went on: 'I -shall be glad to be your son. I will do all that I can to deserve what -you give me. And now, let me tell you something. As I was running away -back there on the trail, and breathing hard, first in one ear, and -then in the other, something broke with a snapping noise and out came -these two worm-like things, and at once hearing came to me. I believe -that I could hear a mouse walking if he were away out there beyond -your kill.' - -"'Now, that is good news, and a good sign!' Heavy Runner shouted. He -was not yet used to the fact that the boy could hear. Then, -remembering, he said more gently: 'You take a good rest while I finish -butchering this animal and packing the dogs, and then we will each -take what meat we can carry and go home. Yes, boy, you have a home -now, and a good one.' - -"That evening, when Heavy Runner told his woman that he had adopted -Long Arrow, she made a great outcry: 'How could you, and without -asking me, adopt that deaf, crazy boy?' she asked. And then, she -cried, and said that she would not have him for a son, and ran from -the lodge. People gathered around and pitied her and said that she was -right; that the boy was crazy and deaf and worthless, and would not -mind, and as soon as he got good clothes he would run off and again -live at old campgrounds. - -"After a time she went back to her lodge, and as soon as she entered -it Heavy Runner said to her: 'Now, at once, cease your crying, and -take the anger from your heart. I have adopted this boy, and he is my -boy. He is no longer deaf; he was never crazy. He is a good boy and I -shall make a man, a chief of him. See that you treat him well, even if -you cannot love him. And believe this: if you do not treat him well, -you shall be the one to suffer. To-morrow morning, begin making some -good moccasins for him. I, myself, shall cut out his clothes, and he -can sew them.' - -"So began a new life for Long Arrow. If the woman did not love him, -she at least treated him well. He did everything that he could think -of to please Heavy Runner. He went hunting with him, and brought home -heavy loads of the meat that he killed, and in every possible way was -of use to him. And yet he was not satisfied; he kept saying to -himself: 'I want to do something great for this man who is so good to -me!' - -"Time passed. The boy grew up to be a fine young man; good of heart -and of fine appearance; and at last Heavy Runner's woman loved him as -though he were her own son. But in one thing he was very different -from the other young men of the camp: he made no close friends, and -when not needed by Heavy Runner he wandered much by himself. Excepting -his sister, whom he frequently took for long walks, he had little to -say to any one, and so the people, all but she and his foster parents, -continued to believe him crazy. - -"One evening he said to Heavy Runner: 'Tell me. What must one do to -become a chief?' - -"'One must be very brave, must be fearless when facing the enemy, and -of very kind heart; full of pity for the poor and the old and the -sick, and always anxious to help them,' the chief replied. - -"'Well, I want to become a chief. What is the first thing for me to -do?' he asked. - -"'The first thing to do is to go to some far and dangerous place, and -get your medicine. That is, something that will make you favored by -the gods, and bring you good luck in battle, and in all matters of -life,' Heavy Runner told him. - -"'That I shall do,' said the young man, 'but, first, will you not call -in the chiefs, and the medicine men and braves, and let me hear from -them where they went, and what they did to get their medicine? I shall -then have a better idea of what I am to do.' - -"'We will have in our lodge full of them,' Heavy Runner said. And the -next morning he shouted out invitations for a smoke, asking only the -great of the tribe to come to it. They came, filling the lodge, and -then, when the pipe was going the round of the circle, he told why he -had invited them to the smoke; asked them to give their experiences in -their search for medicines. - -"One after another they told their adventures; where they went; what -they did; what they saw; what narrow escapes from death they had. And -at last it came Spotted Bear's turn. But he refused to give his -experience. - -"'What,' he cried, 'tell that crazy youth about my adventure? Why, I -wouldn't waste my breath on him!' - -"'But he is a poor boy; he wants to know; you might tell it him in a -short way,' pleaded Heavy Runner. - -"'Well, I will tell it; not for his benefit, for he is crazy, and -would not understand; but I will tell it so that you all may know what -I did,' the surly one answered. - -"'From this very place I traveled southward along the foot of the -mountains. Seven days and seven nights I traveled, stopping only now -and then for a short rest and sleeping very little, and on the morning -after the seventh night I arrived at the shore of a small lake. There -I met a stranger man who asked me what I sought, and I told him that I -was wandering in search of a strong, a powerful medicine. "Ah!" said -he, "in such a matter I cannot help you. Go on south for three days -and three nights, and you will find a man who will give you what you -seek." - -"'I went on. Stopping only for short rests, and rarely sleeping, I -traveled south for three days and three nights from that place, and in -the morning after the third night arrived at a long, wide lake running -away back in the mountains. I looked at it, looked at the mountains, -turning this way, that way, and when I turned a last time, lo! there -in front of me stood a man, fierce of face, dressed in beautiful -strange clothing, wrapped in a robe such as I had never seen before, -and carrying a spear with a big, flint point. - -"'"What do you here?" he asked. "Are you not afraid to come to this, -the home of us gods of the deep waters?" - -"'I answered that I was not afraid; that I feared neither gods nor -men, nor any animal of the earth, the sky, or the deep waters. And at -that he cried out: "You are brave! The brave shall be rewarded! Come -with me!" - -"'I went with him to his lodge. I am promised to secrecy; I dare not -tell you where it was. He took me in and fed me, and gave me this robe -that I am wearing, this medicine robe, and taught me the prayers and -ceremony that goes with it. I asked him what kind of a robe it was, -and he answered that it was the skin of an elk-dog;[10] an animal as -large as an elk, and, like the dog, useful for carrying burdens. The -gods, he said, rode them, guided them wherever they wanted to go. - - [10] Po-no-ka-mi-ta (elk-dog). The horse. - -"'Said I: "May I have one of those elk-dogs to ride home?" - -"'"No! They are only for the gods to use," he answered, and told me to -go. I came home. I have the robe. Here it is, proof of all that I have -told you. Ah! And this crazy youth would know where I went, what I -did! It is to laugh to think of his going there!' - -"The pipe went a last round, and then the chiefs and medicine men and -braves went home. As soon as they were gone Long Arrow said to Heavy -Runner: 'My chief, you know that I am not crazy. I feel that I must go -on adventure, and I want to go where Spotted Bear went, and prove to -him that I can go as far and face as many dangers as he did. Will you -let me go, and keep secret from every one whither I have gone and for -what purpose?' - -"'What you propose is just what I want you to do,' Heavy Runner -answered. 'You shall start to-morrow, taking with you all the -moccasins and other things you will need, and your foster mother and I -will tell no one anything about you.' - -"At break of day the next morning, while all the people of the great -camp still slept, Long Arrow started on his journey of discovery. -Straight south he went, by day and by night, resting and sleeping at -long intervals, and then only for a very short time. On the third day -he arrived at the small lake that Spotted Bear had mentioned, and -there met the man of that place, even as he had done. - -"'What seek you?' the man asked. - -"'Knowledge! Medicine! The way to become a chief!' Long Arrow -answered. - -"'I cannot help you. Go on south for seven days and seven nights, and -you will come to a great lake, and there you will meet a man who can -help you if he cares to do so. It may be that he will not even show -himself to you, but anyhow it is worth your while to go there and try -to meet him.' - -"Long Arrow went on for seven days and seven nights, resting and -sleeping less than ever, eating nothing except now and then a piece of -dry meat not so large as his hand. Early in the morning after the -seventh night, exhausted, hardly able to drag one foot after the -other, he came to the great lake, and some distance back from its -shore fell down on the grass and fell into a sound sleep. It was late -afternoon when he awoke, and, opening his eyes, he was surprised to -see a boy standing beside him. He was a beautiful child, by far the -most perfect of form and feature that Long Arrow had ever seen; so -beautiful that it did not seem possible he could be of this earth, a -child of the people of this earth. - -"Said the boy to him: 'I have been waiting here a long time for you to -awake. My father invites you to his home.' - -"'I shall be glad to visit him,' Long Arrow answered, and sprang up, -put on his weapons, and was ready. - -"The boy led him straight to the shore of the lake, and there cried -out: 'Do not be afraid, follow me!' And having said that, changed into -a snipe, entered the water and disappeared. - -"Long Arrow was afraid, terribly afraid of the deep, dark water, and -the mystery of a place where a child could suddenly become a snipe. -But he said to himself: 'If I fail in my search for a medicine it -shall be through no fault of mine,' and he entered the water. Lo! it -did not wet him; did not touch him. It parted before him and he went -on down the sloping, sandy bottom of the lake, and soon saw, close -ahead, a large, fine lodge, on which were painted in red and black the -figures of two strange animals. The boy, arrived at the doorway of -the lodge, changed suddenly from a snipe back to his natural self, and -cried out: 'Follow me! Here you will be welcome,' and went in. Long -Arrow, following him, found himself facing a fine-looking man at the -back of the lodge. He was sitting cross-legged on his couch, and wore -a beautiful black robe which entirely covered his legs and feet. 'You -are welcome here, my son, be seated,' said the man, and told his wife -to prepare food for his guest. - -"Long Arrow looked about him. On all sides the lodge was hung with -beautiful shields, war clothes, weapons, handsomely painted and -fringed pouches of sacred medicines, and a porcupine-quill embroidered -belt of such brilliant colors that it shamed the rainbow. - -"The woman of the lodge soon set food before Long Arrow, and, having -long fasted, he ate largely. The man then filled and lighted a pipe, -passed it to his guest, and said: 'I knew that you were coming, and I -wondered if you would have the courage to follow my son from the shore -of this lake down here to my lodge. Not long ago a man of your people -came here, but he was afraid; he would not follow my son. And there he -made a great mistake. I was going to give him the most valuable -present ever given by gods to men. As it was, I went out to him where -he sat far back from the shore, and gave him the tanned hide of an -elk-dog, and sent him home. He was not worthy of a better present. But -you are different. I shall give you something of great value. Remain -here with us a few days. My son shall show you my band of elk-dogs; -you shall hunt and kill meat for us; and when you go, then you shall -have the great present.' - -"The boy went out with Long Arrow and showed him the elk-dogs. They -came running from the timber out upon the open prairie at the foot of -the lake, and were a wonderful sight. They were far larger than an -elk, of shining black color, had tails of long hair, and there was -long hair all along the top of their necks and hanging down their -foreheads from between their restless ears. They were of all sizes, -from suckling young to old males and females, and all were very fat -and playful, even the oldest of them. - -"'Young man of the earth,' said the boy, 'if you are wise and -watchful, these animals and my father's black robe and his -many-colored belt may be your present: the three go together. You have -noticed that my father always keeps his feet covered with the black -robe; that when he arises and goes out of the lodge he is very careful -to keep the robe lowered around him, like a dragging woman's dress, so -that his feet cannot be seen. Well, you have but to see those feet, -and anything that you ask for will be yours.' - -"'I shall do my best to see those feet,' said Long Arrow. - -"Several days passed. The old people of the lodge were very kind to -Long Arrow, and he in turn did his best to please them, hunting most -all of the time and bringing in much meat. And what time he was not -hunting, he would sit close to the herd of beautiful elk-dogs and -watch them feed and play. When in the lodge he watched closely for a -sight of the old man's feet, but he ever kept them closely covered. - -"At last, one evening, the old man started to go out of the lodge, -keeping his robe well down upon the ground about him, but as he -stepped over the low front of the doorway his right knee raised the -robe and Long Arrow saw his left foot; and lo! it was not a human -foot: it was the hoof, the round, hard hoof of an elk-dog! He gave a -cry of surprise at the sight, and the old man, realizing what had -happened, exclaimed: 'Hai-yo! How careless of me! Well, it cannot be -helped, it must have been fated that he should see it!' - -"He went on out, and upon returning took no pains to conceal his feet: -both of them and the ankles were those of the elk-dog. - -"'Well, you have seen my feet, so you can now tell me what I shall -give you,' said the old man, as he resumed his seat. - -"'Now, don't hesitate; speak right out; ask for the three things,' -whispered the boy. - -"And Long Arrow, taking courage, answered: 'Give me three things: -your black robe, your many-colored belt, and your elk-dogs.' - -"'Ha! You ask a great deal,' the old man cried, 'but, because you are -brave and good-hearted and not lazy, you shall have the robe and the -belt and a part of my band of elk-dogs. The robe and the belt are the -elk-dog medicine. Without them you could never catch and use the -animals. There are many prayers and songs and a long ceremony that go -with them, and I have to teach it all to you. When you have thoroughly -learned them, then you shall go home with your presents.' - -"Long Arrow was many evenings learning them all, but at last he could -repeat every one of them perfectly, and dance the dances as well as -the old man himself, and finally the latter told him one evening:-- - -"'You have done well. I am glad that my elk-dogs and my medicines are -to be in your hands. You may start for home to-morrow. And now, -listen! Take good heed of what I am about to tell you. - -"'When you leave here, wearing the black robe and the belt, you are -to travel for three days and three nights and never once look back. -When you rest, you are to face the north. Be sure, now, that, -traveling or resting, you never once look back. The elk-dogs will not -at first follow you, but on the third day of your homeward journey you -will hear them coming behind you. Even then you must not look back, -but keep on walking. After a time they will come on right beside you, -and with a rope that I shall give you, you will catch one of them and -mount and ride it, and all the others will follow you. They will -always do that so long as you have the black robe. Lose that, and you -lose your animals; they will become wild, and you will never be able -to catch and train them.' - -"'As you say, so shall I do,' Long Arrow answered. - -"And early the next morning the old man gave him the robe, the belt, -and a rope made from the head hair of buffalo bulls, and he started -for home, keeping ever in mind and obeying carefully the old man's -instructions. At times he had his doubts of the old man. Perhaps a big -joke was being played upon him; the elk-dogs would not come on the -third day, nor any other day! But he would soon cast off such -thoughts, and go on with renewed faith that all would be well with -him. - -"And on the third day he heard behind him the thunder of many hard -hoofs upon the hard plain; the occasional whinnying that he had -learned to love so well! And then, an old female leading them, the -elk-dogs came close up beside him, and he caught and mounted one of -them, and rode on. How happy he was! He realized what this would mean -for himself and for the people. These elk-dogs would rapidly increase -in number; there would soon be enough of them for all the people, and -then they would ride instead of walk, and their lodges and all their -belongings would be carried by the animals. 'And now I can do -something for those who have been so good to me,' he said to himself, -and rode on, singing the new songs that he had learned. - -"It was late in the afternoon on the day that he approached the camp. -All the men had returned from the hunt; every one was outside the -lodges, resting in the warm sunshine. The first to discover him gave a -shout of surprise and alarm. All the people sprang up and stood gazing -at the strange sight. They asked one another what the strange big -black animals could be? And was it really a man sitting astride one of -them? - -"'It is some fierce god bringing his fierce animals to destroy us,' -shouted Spotted Bear, the very man who had so contemptuously used Long -Arrow, who had not had the courage to follow the boy-snipe into the -water. Again he cried out: 'Surely it is an evil one coming to destroy -us.' And he fled, and all the people fled with him and took to the -brush. - -"Long Arrow rode into camp and dismounted at Heavy Runner's lodge, and -all the elk-dogs came up and crowded around him and the one of them -that he had been riding. 'Heavy Runner! Heavy Runner!' he shouted. 'Be -not afraid! I am only your son, come back to you!' - -"Heavy Runner heard the well-known voice and was no longer afraid. He -came hurrying from the brush, all the people following him, and they -all crowded around Long Arrow and his strange animals. Said the youth -then: 'Only father and mother that I ever knew, I have brought to you, -excepting one female and one male, all these strange and useful -animals. As you see, they can be ridden; you will no longer have to -walk. Also, they will carry for you everything that is yours. I am -glad that I can give them to you, both of you who have been so good to -me.' - -"'How generous of you!' Heavy Runner cried. But his wife could say -nothing: she embraced Long Arrow and wept. - -"'Where did you get the strange black ones?' a chief asked. - -"'I will tell you all about it this evening; I am cautioned not to -talk about the gods in the daytime,' Long Arrow answered. And after -picketing the animal he had ridden on good grass, and driving the -others out from camp, he went into the lodge and rested. - - [Illustration: GOING-TO-THE-SUN CHALET, UPPER ST. MARY'S LAKE] - -"That evening all the chiefs and warriors came into the lodge, Spotted -Bear with them, and he told all about his strange adventures, of his -life with the Under-Water People, and how the old man had given him -the elk-dogs, and the black robe and the belt that he wore. And, of -course, he told about Spotted Bear's cowardice in failing to follow -the boy-snipe into the water, and he fled from the lodge, and his -chieftainship dropped from him as he fled. Ever afterward he was no -more than a woman in that great camp; never again was he allowed to -sit with the chiefs and warriors! And when Long Arrow had finished -telling them all about his wonderful adventures, the chief cried out: -'We will move camp to that lake of the Under-Water People. They have -more elk-dogs; we will ask for them, give anything to obtain -possession of such valuable animals.' - -"They moved south to the lake, but, search as they would, could find -no elk-dogs, nor did the boy-snipe nor any of the Under-Water People -appear, although the medicine men made sacrifice to them and prayed -them to show themselves. They did discover, however, that above this -lake was another and a longer one, hemmed in by still higher -mountains, and so they named the two the Inside Lakes, and that is the -name they bear to this day." - - - -_August 12._ - -Last night we all gathered in Stabs-by-Mistake's lodge, and, while the -pipe was filled and refilled, and passed from hand to hand on many -rounds, we had more tales, strange and weird, of the people of the -ancient days. One that our host told especially interested me, and -here it is, literally translated for your perusal. It was the story, -he said, of - - -"ONE HORN, SHAMER OF CROWS - -"It was in the long ago time, when all three of our tribes, the -Blackfeet proper, the Bloods, and we, the Pikun'i, whom the whites -mistakenly call Blackfeet, were still living in the North country. The -camp of the Pikun'i was on Big River, close up to the foot of the -mountains. One of the great chiefs of the tribe was One Horn. Very -brave he was, and very rich, for his band of horses numbered more than -a hundred head. He had two wives, sisters, but no children. Many -orphans called him father, for he had poor old couples care for them, -and kept them all well supplied with meat and with skins for clothing. -He was a peculiar man, was One Horn. He seldom visited in other -lodges, and was a man of few words; it was always difficult to get him -to tell of his brave deeds. - -"One summer night One Horn had an uneasy dream about his horses, and -with the first faint light of coming day arose, washed and dressed -himself, and took up his weapons and went out to see if his herd was -anywhere in sight. He climbed to a little rise on the edge of the -plain, saw them quietly feeding at a distance, and then saw something -else: two men asleep in a _coulee_ close under the little rise. They -were, he thought, young men of the camp, watchers of the horse herds, -and he concluded to surprise them and scold them for sleeping when -they should be watching the plains for the approach of enemies. More -from habit than anything else, he drew his bow, fitted a war arrow to -it, and then, creeping close to the sleeping ones, shouted: 'Awake! -You lazy ones, awake!' - -"To his great surprise they were two enemies, who sprang up at the -sound of his voice, and he shot one of them in the breast, and he -fell, and as the other turned and ran, he fired an arrow at him and -struck him in the back, but he kept on running, the arrow dangling and -swaying from his back, and he soon disappeared in the thick brush -bordering the river. One Horn went back to camp and sent the warriors -out to look for the wounded man, but they never found him. - -"Although a very brave warrior, One Horn's voice was always for peace. -He thought much about the wars of tribe against tribe and the great -loss of lives they caused, and wished that he could put an end to it -all. He counted up the different tribes with whom his people were at -war--the Sioux, the Assiniboines, Cheyennes, Pawnees, Snakes, -Bannocks, Pend d'Oreilles, Flatheads, Nez Perces, Kootenai, and Crows. -And the worst of them all were the Crows. He determined to go to the -Crows and try to make peace between them and his people. - -"Another thought came to him: It was best to say nothing to his people -about his plan, for many would make serious objection to it. If he -succeeded, they should know all about it upon his return. If he -failed, he would never tell them where he had been. So, one evening, -he gave his women orders what to do, and kept his horses close in -around his lodge. Late that night, when all the camp was asleep, down -came the lodge, the pack and travois horses were quietly loaded, and -he and his women headed southward, he driving his big herd in the -lead. The next morning the people found that they had a mystery that -they could not solve: One Horn was gone with all his belongings, gone -without telling them one word of his intentions! Why had he left them -so secretly, and whither had he gone? They never ceased talking about -it and wishing that he would return; they felt safe when he was at -their backs. - -"Traveling south day after day along the foot of the mountains, One -Horn and his women at last struck the River-of-Many-Chiefs-Gathering, -and, following it up, came in sight of the big prairies at the foot of -the lower one of these Inside Lakes. It was then dusk, but not so dark -but what they could see that there was a big camp of people at the -edge of the timber bordering the lake shore. Said One Horn, 'They must -be the ones I seek, the Mountain Crows. As soon as they sleep, we will -go on and put up our lodge near theirs.' - -"Early the next morning an old man stepped out from his lodge, and saw -a strange lodge standing by itself just outside the circle of the big -camp. He looked at it a long time, and the growing light at last -enabled him to see that there were two huge bears painted on its new -white leather skin. He turned and hurried to the lodge of the head -chief of the camp, aroused him, and cried: 'Here is a mystery; -something to be looked into: just outside the circle of our camp a -strange lodge is standing. It belongs not to us Mountain Crows, nor to -our brothers, the River Crows. I know that, for it has painted upon it -two big bears, and neither of our tribes has that medicine.' - -"The chief hurried to get up and dress, and so did others, and they -soon left their lodges and approached the strange lodge. There was a -fire within it. Voices were heard in low-toned conversation. Close -around a few horses were picketed, and farther out grazed a large band -of them, mostly grays and blacks. It was evident that the owner of the -lodge was a chief, a bear medicine man, a very rich man. The Crow -chief thrust aside the door curtain of the lodge, and entered, the -others following. A fine-appearing man at the back of it gave them the -sign for welcome, and motioned them where to sit. He lifted a big -filled pipe and lighted it, and passed it. The Crow chief smoked -first, and then one by one those with him. - -"Having passed on the pipe, the Crow chief signed to the stranger: -'You are a Blackfoot?' - -"'Yes, I am a Blackfoot,' One Horn answered. 'You are wondering why I, -an enemy, have come here and set up my lodge beside you. You shall -know! I have come to try to make peace between your people and my -people. I am tired of all this war, and its wasting of men's lives, -and making women and children mourn.' - -"'You say well. Your talk deserves attention. Peace between us would -be good for us both. I will talk to my people about it,' said the Crow -chief. - -"And just then One Horn's women set before him and the other Crows -dishes of rich berry pemmican, the best of dried meat and back fat, -and they ate with the outside chief. Then they smoked again and went -home, the Crow chief saying that he would soon give a call for a -council, and would send for the Blackfoot to join in it. - -"It was not until near sunset, however, that a youth came to invite -One Horn to the Crow chief's lodge. He found assembled there all the -head men of the tribe, and the chief told him that, after long talk, -they had decided that they, too, were tired of war, and would be glad -to make peace with the Blackfeet. - -"'But be not in a hurry to return home,' the Crow chief concluded. -'Make us a long visit, and during it we will decide together where and -when our two tribes shall meet to make this lasting peace treaty.' - -"Answered One Horn: 'I shall be glad to camp here with you for the -rest of this moon.' And all those present signed to him: 'Yes. Remain -here with us for a time.' - -"One Horn and the Crow chief became friends. They hunted together, -visited often in each other's lodge, and together were invited to -other lodges to feast and smoke, and join in the warriors' tales of -raids and battles and adventures along far trails. - -"The River Crows were at this time encamped just over the ridge from -the Inside Lakes, on Little River, and some of them came frequently -to visit their Mountain brothers at the foot of the lakes. Among -others came a man who was always counting his _coups_. In a gathering -of the warriors he would wait until all had told what they had done in -war against their enemies, and then he would count one _coup_, only -one, that was far greater than any of theirs. - -"On a day when One Horn was visiting in the Crow chief's lodge, this -man was one of the guests. The talk was of war, and after many there -had told what they had done, he said that, with a friend, he was -approaching the Blackfeet camp, and they were discovered and -surrounded by all the warriors of the tribe. His friend soon fell, as -full of arrows as a porcupine is full of quills, but that he, charging -this way, that way, shooting arrows fast and killing many Blackfeet, -made them give way before him and he escaped from them, although -wounded in the back. Later on, when safe from pursuit, he had drawn -out the arrow, and still had it, proof enough of the truth of his -tale. - -"This man then turned to One Horn, and said, by signs, of course, 'We -have all of us here told about our fights, and now it is your turn: -tell of your brave deeds.' - -"'I have nothing to say that will interest you; mine have been just -the common experiences of those who go on raids. No, I have nothing to -say,' he answered. - -"'But you must tell us one great thing that you have done,' the River -Crow insisted. - -"And again One Horn answered: 'What I have done would not interest -you. I have nothing to say.' - -"The man then turned to the Mountain Crow chief and said: 'This is a -poor kind of a friend for you to have! He has done nothing; he is no -chief, he is a woman!' - -"'I do not know for sure, but I think that he is a chief, that he has -a big war record,' the host answered him. - -"And then the guests went their several ways, the River Crow laughing -shrilly, contemptuously, as he left the lodge. - -"It was not long after this that the River Crow came over again from -Little River, and again was one of a party of guests in the lodge of -the chief of the Mountain Crows. Once more the talk was of war, and -when it came this man's turn to talk, he drew an arrow from his -quiver, laid it on the ground in front of him, and said: 'There! No -one here, nor in the camp of the Mountain Crows and the camp of the -River Crows, has ever equaled what that stands for. That is the arrow -that I drew from my back after my partner was killed, and I fought my -way single-handed through the hundreds of Blackfeet warriors, killing -many of them, and so frightening them that they dared not pursue me.' - -"One Horn leaned over, looked at the arrow, and gave an exclamation of -disgust: 'That is my arrow,' he signed. 'I know this man now. At dawn, -one morning, I discovered him and his partner asleep near our camp. I -crept up to them and shouted, thinking that they were our horseherd -watchers, and when they sprang up, I saw that they were enemies. I -shot one of them dead. This man turned and ran, never even firing at -me, and I shot an arrow into his back, but he kept on going and -escaped from me in the brush! Yes. That is the very arrow I shot into -him!' - -"'It is a lie! A big lie!' the River Crow said, and signed. - -"For answer to that, One Horn went to the door of the lodge and -shouted to his women to bring over his quiver of arrows. It was soon -handed in to him, and he said: 'I have here two kinds of arrows: -hunting arrows and war arrows. Here are the war arrows.' And he laid -them beside the arrow in front of the boaster. All there saw at once -that they were exactly like it in every way, had the same private mark -just back of the point. And suddenly, with jeers and cries of 'Liar!' -'Coward!' they took handfuls of ashes and earth from the fireplace and -threw them in the River Crow's face and on his head, and he ran for -the door and was gone, leaving the arrow behind. One Horn picked it up -and put it in his quiver, and said: 'That no doubt ends his lying -bragging!' - -"Some days after this exposure of his lying, the River Crow, watching -his chance, entered the lodge of the Mountain Crow chief and said to -him: 'That Blackfoot has shamed me. I was a chief, but now all people -laugh at me. I want revenge. Let me kill that friend of yours and I -will give you three of my best horses!' - -"'What you ask is impossible!' the chief replied. 'He is my friend! We -have smoked together, have eaten together. I cannot allow you to kill -him. And for your lying you deserve what you got!' - -"The River Crow sneaked away, but on the next evening, when none but -the chief and his women were at home, he came again. And this time he -said: 'Let me do what I want to do; you know what that is; and I will -give you five of my best horses and my beautiful young daughter.' - -"And this time the chief did not give him a short answer. He thought -over the offer for a long time. He knew that it would be a terrible -thing to betray his Blackfoot friend, but the temptation was great. -His women were getting old. He wanted that beautiful girl. And at -last he gave way to the temptation: 'It shall be as you wish,' he told -the man. 'All is arranged for to-morrow; we go with the hunters on a -big buffalo hunt, and there will be no chance for you to do what you -want to do. Come the day after to-morrow and I will help you--if you -need my help--to kill the Blackfoot.' - -"Very early the next morning the hunters started out after buffalo, -One Horn taking with him one of his women to help in the butchering -and packing in of the meat. They were no sooner gone than one of the -Crow chief's women hurried to One Horn's lodge and told his other -woman all about the plan to kill him. She told it because she was -jealous; she did not want her man to take another wife! - -"So it was that, when One Horn came home that evening, this wife ran -to him and embraced and kissed him as though she would never let him -out of her arms. This strong showing of love was unusual with her, and -he asked her the cause for it. - -"'Because to-morrow you are to die, and sister and I are to become -slaves. See now what you have done by coming to try to make peace with -these Crows!' And she told him all about the plot to end his life. - -"But One Horn just laughed: 'Wipe away your tears and take courage,' -he told her. 'These Crows will not kill me, a bear medicine man, and a -chief. They cannot kill me. I will show you to-morrow something that -will surprise you!' - -"That night he kept his favorite war horse picketed close to his -lodge, and the next morning he carefully dressed himself in his -beautiful war clothes, painted himself and his horse, took his bow and -arrows, his shield and spear, and rode into the center of the big -camp, and called upon the Crow chief to come out. He did come out, -also dressed for battle, and One Horn cried out to him, at the same -time making signs, so that he would be sure to understand, 'Your plot -is discovered. So you and that River Crow are going to kill me. Where -is he? Call him. I want to fight you both. I am a bear. I fight like a -bear. Come! Hurry! Let us fight. Ha! I am going to fight my true -friend, the chief of the Mountain Crows, he who smoked and ate with -me, he who was going to join me in making a lasting peace between our -two tribes. Come! Let us fight! Shall it be on horseback or afoot? I -give you the choice.' - -"The Crow chief gave him no answer. Some of the people, looking on, -were beginning to show their anger and shame at his betrayal of a -friend. He turned and went back into his lodge, and would not come out -again. - -"While this was going on, several men had hurried to the River Crow -man, stopping in the far end of camp: 'Your plan to kill the Blackfoot -is discovered, and he is dressed and armed and mounted, waiting to -fight you. He is like a raging grizzly, and his, you know, is the bear -medicine. What are you going to do?' - -"The man did not answer them. He mounted his horse, and, hidden from -One Horn's sight by the lodges, struck out for the River Crow camp on -Little River, and fear was with him. He often looked back to see if -he were being pursued by this dreadful bear medicine man who had once -wounded him, and was now so anxious to meet him face to face. - -"One Horn rode back to his lodge. 'Take down the lodge, pack up -everything. We will not stay another day with these treacherous -Crows,' he told them, and rounded up and caught what horses were -needed for packing and riding. - -"Just before they were ready to leave, the Crow chief sent one of his -women to say to One Horn that he was sorry for what he had done, very -sorry that he had ever listened to the River Crow, and wanted to make -reparation. He wanted to give his Blackfoot friend ten head of horses. - -"'Tell him that I will not accept anything from him,' One Horn -answered the woman. And he and his outfit started for the north and -were soon out of sight of the Crow camp. - -"Some days afterward they arrived at the camp of their people on the -Big River of the North, and had no sooner set up their lodge than One -Horn called a council of the chiefs and told them where he had been -and for what purpose. - -"'Although I accomplished nothing, I am glad I went,' he told them. 'I -now know the Crows. They are liars all, and not to be trusted. I -advise that we begin a steady war against them.' - -"The other chiefs agreed to that. Messengers were sent to the brother -tribes, the Bloods and the North Blackfeet, and to the Gros Ventres, -friends of the Blackfeet, and the war was started. Little by little, -summer after summer, they drove the Crows southward, killing many of -them, and were not satisfied until they forced them to the country -south of the Elk River,[11] where they have ever since remained. So, -because of their treachery, the Crows lost a great and rich country." - - [11] Po-no-ka'-is-i-sak-ta. Elk River; the Yellowstone River. - - - -_August 18._ - - -THE ELK MEDICINE CEREMONY - -Not in many, many years have I been so affected as I was this morning. -For some days I have had a high fever, and have slept but little at -night. In-si-mak'-i (Growth Woman), Yellow Wolf's wife, had been -doctoring me with the good old remedy for fevers, sweet sage tea, but -it seemed to have no effect. So Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill -announced that he would have his Elk Medicine ceremony for my benefit, -and that he was sure that it would cure me of my illness. We had it -this morning, and to-night I have a normal pulse and the fever has -left me. I will not go so far as to say that it was his prayers that -cured me,--prayers far better, far more earnest than those of any -Christian preacher I ever heard,--but yet, I am well! To me, all -religions are nothing more than the codified superstitions of the -ages, but of them all, Christian and pagan, I like best the faith of -these, my people, faith that the sun is the conservator of all life -and the orderly ruler of this, our earth. And what absolute faith they -have in their Sun-religion! Should Christians live as closely to their -beliefs as the Blackfeet do to the laws of conduct given them by their -Sun god, what a different, what a happy world this would be! - -Before I relate the details of the ceremony, I must tell something of -the medicine itself. - -The Blackfeet believe that, when they lie down and sleep, their -shadows, or, as we say, their souls, their spiritualities, leave the -body and go on far adventure. Their name for this is Ni-pup'-o-kan (my -dream; my vision); and when they awake they really believe that they -have experienced all the incidents of their dream, and relate them as -having been of actual fact. - -When men and animals were first created, they had a common language, -and the latter had the power to change themselves at will into the -form of man. It was in that long ago time that a man seeking -knowledge, and praying earnestly for it, was in his vision visited by -an elk in the form of a man, whose name was Po-no-kai'-ut-sin-in-ah -(Elk-Tongue Chief). - -"I have heard you praying, asking for help. What is it you want? -Perhaps I can help you," the elk man said. - -The man answered: "I seek some way to relieve my people from -sickness; some way to give them long life and happiness. Help me if -you can do so." - -The elk man answered: "I can help you; I will help you. Through what -was given me in my vision I am in great favor with the sun, and all -the gods of the earth, the deep waters, and the blue above. That -medicine you shall have. I give it to you now!" And having said that, -he gave the man a painted lodge, a medicine pipestem, beautifully -decorated with a down-hanging set of tail feathers of the sage hen, -and wound with strips of the fur of the bear and various water -animals. And with it, wrapped in clean buckskins, were the skins of -birds and animals, all those that live upon the water and in the -water, and feed upon the life in the water, fish, and all the various -water insects. And having given the man all this, he taught him how to -use it, with all the prayers and ceremonies that go with it. The man -took all this to his home, and used it, and found that it was great -medicine, and ever since that time the Elk Medicine Lodge and the -things that go with it have been handed down from generation to -generation, to this day. - -So now we come to the ceremony that was given to-day for the curing of -my illness. It was my lucky day! Early in the morning Mr. Herford T. -Cowling, chief photographer for the United States Reclamation Service, -arrived at the Great Northern Railway Company's St. Mary's Camp and I -went to him and asked if he would take moving pictures of the -ceremony, provided the Indians were willing to have him do it. He -enthusiastically replied that he would be very glad to take it all in -with his crank-machine, so I went to my people to ask if they would -permit it to be done. They objected, saying that the ceremony was so -sacred that even the presence of white people, antagonistic all of -them to their religion, would profane it. They did not count me. I was -one of them! - -Said I: "Listen, my relatives, and brothers all! We are all soon to -die, and as we pass away the whole of the old life goes with us. Your -children, taken away from you by the whites, put in school and taught -the white men's religion and manner of living, will know nothing about -the way their fathers lived unless I put it all down in writing for -all time to come. That I am doing. And how much more interesting it -will be if I can have pictures to go with it! Say yes! Let us have, -with this that you are to do to-day, the living pictures of it all!" - -There followed a long silence, all considering my request. Finally, my -best of friends, Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill, wiped tears from -his eyes, and said, brokenly: "Ap-i-kun'-i is right. The whites take -our children from us and teach them false beliefs. But they teach them -to read, and it may be, that, after we have all gone on to the Sand -Hills,[12] they will read our brother's writings and see us as we -were, making our prayers to the gods, and, having read and seen the -pictures of it all, return to the one true faith. I say, let the -picture man come!" - - [12] The Sand Hills (Spat-si-kwo). The drear after-life abode of - the Blackfeet. Their shadows there had a cold, cheerless imitation - of life. - -"Ai! Ai! Let him come!" all cried, and I sent a messenger for him. - -During the ceremony he took six hundred feet of it, and so for all -time to come is preserved the interesting ceremony of the Elk -Medicine. - -The ceremony is always given in a closed lodge, but this time we threw -the front of it wide open, so that the lens of that moving-picture -machine could take it all in. - -As I have said, Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill is old, feeble, -half-blind, and is himself unable to go through parts of the ceremony. -So, on the evening before this came off, he sent for Chief Crow and -his wife, living near, to help him out. Chief Crow is also a medicine -man, his wife, of course, a medicine woman, and he owns the Seizer's -medicine pipe. Four other medicine men were there, all of them taking -part in the ceremony. In each of the three tribes of the Blackfeet -there is a secret society of the medicine men, and the members help -one another in their ceremonies, and they and they only can dance with -the sacred symbols of their rites. - -When I went into the lodge the sacred medicines were hanging directly -over the owner's couch, opposite the doorway. They were the sacred -pipestem and many skins of water animals and birds enclosed in various -wrappings, and a buffalo rawhide painted pouch containing sacks of -various colored sacred paints. On Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill's -left sat his medicine wife. I took my seat close to him on his right. -Back of me, and all around the right side of the lodge from me, were a -number of women. On the other side, opposite them, were the men and -Chief Crow's medicine wife. - -The ceremony opened with a prayer by Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill, -beseeching the gods to look with favor upon what was to be done. Then his -wife arose and undid the fastenings of the medicines, and slowly, -reverently, laid them on the couch between her and her husband. The -opening song then began, the song of Po-no-kai'-ut-sin-in-ah (Elk-Tongue -Chief). Oh, how I would like to inscribe that song here! Alice Fletcher -says--and I know that she is right--that all Indian music is -classical. But their tonal scale is far different from ours; we have not -one musical instrument that can reproduce it. Never, never lived a white -man who could sing these Blackfeet songs. As a boy, year after year, I -tried to sing them, and always failed; one has to take them in with his -mother's milk in order to sing them correctly. - - [Illustration: OPENING OF THE ELK MEDICINE PIPE CEREMONY - Left to right: The author; Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill; - his wife and the wife of Chief Crow, both medicine women; - Chief Crow, medicine man, lifting the sacred roll of the - medicine pipe; Medicine Weasel and Old Boy, singers] - -The song ended. The medicine woman, with a pair of sacred red-painted -willow tongs, took a coal from the fire, placed it just in front of -the sacred medicines, and dropped upon it a pinch of sweet grass. It -burned, and, as the perfumed smoke arose, she and her man grasped -handfuls of it and stroked their bodies, thus purifying themselves -before handling the medicines. Then, all present joining in, they sang -the song of the real bear, the grizzly, while the medicine woman -unfastened the outer wrapping of the medicine pipestem roll, which was -bound with a strip of fur from a grizzly's back; and at the same time, -in keeping with the time of the song, they made the sign for the bear, -closed hands held upon each side of the head, representing its wide, -rounding ears. - -That song finished, the song of the buffalo began, the medicine man -and the medicine woman clenching their hands and alternately putting -one out before the other, representing the deliberate, ponderous tread -of the animals as they traveled to and from the water. When that song -was finished--and it was one to stir one's inmost soul--another -wrapping, bound with buffalo fur, was undone, and all present besought -the gods to have pity upon them. - -Next came the fourth and last song, the song of the beaver, chief of -water animals. And while it was being sung, the medicine woman -unrolled the fourth and last wrapping, and the sacred medicine -pipestem lay in sight of us all. At that all the women gave shrill -cries of triumph, of victory; and all the medicine men beginning a -solemn chant to the Sun, Chief Crow advanced, received from the -medicine wife of my old friend the sacred stem, and, extending the fan -of feathers drooping from it, held it aloft and danced in time with -the song to the doorway of the lodge and back again, and returned the -stem to my friend, who reverently took and embraced it, and made a -short prayer to the gods for the long life, good health, and happiness -of us all, especially the little children of the tribe. - -Next came my part in the ceremony. My old relative and friend felt -around in his medicine pouch, got out a small sack of _a-san'_, the -sacred red paint, and painted my face with it, at the same time -beseeching the gods to give me, his brother, Ap-i-kun'-i, long life, -good health, and prosperity in all things. Then, having finished the -painting and the prayer, he had his wife hand Chief Crow, his helper, -the long red-painted wooden flute that goes with the medicine, and the -latter, holding it aloft, danced with it almost to the doorway of the -lodge, where he blew several soft, clear notes to the four corners of -the earth, and then returned the flute to the woman. This was the Elk -Medicine whistle, for imitating the weird call of that animal, and was -used just now to call him, the ancient Elk god, to give me his favor, -his pity. My friend then facing me, upon his knees began the thunder -song, in which all joined, and, spreading his blanket-clad arms wide -to represent the thunder bird wings, hovered before me, fanned me with -his wings, the intent being to waft to me from him the sacred power. -That over, all arose, and passing in line from the lodge, Chief Crow -leading, danced through the camp and back again, and the ceremony -ended. - -I cannot begin to express how I felt all through the ceremony. I -honored my people for their sincere faith, their reverence for their -gods. And my thoughts went back to the time when they were the lords -of these plains and mountains and knew not want. And not so very long -ago they were a tribe of three thousand members, and now they number -only eight or nine hundred, and those who have gone have mostly gone -from want, from their susceptibility to disease because of lack of -proper nourishment. Do you wonder that they feel bitterly toward the -whites, who have taken from them everything that made their life -worth living? - - [Illustration: ELK MEDICINE PIPE DANCE - Chief Crow leading the column and carrying the sacred stem] - - - -_August 27._ - -Because we were to-day to embark upon the deep, dark waters of this -lake, we yesterday had a little ceremony on the shore, beseeching the -dread Under-Water People to have pity upon us and allow us to pass in -safety over their domain. We had a little fire close to the water's -edge, and having filled and lighted his pipe with a coal taken from it -with his sacred red tongs, old Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill -smoked and made his prayers, at the same time casting into the water a -little sack of his medicines as a sacrifice to the gods. It was a -short ceremony, but satisfied even the most timid of the women that -all would be well with them during their voyage upon the lake. - -And so, where we once had rude rafts of logs, lashed together with -rawhide ropes, we this morning embarked in good boats and went all up -the beautiful lake, past Red Eagle, and Little Chief, and -Almost-a-Dog Mountains to the head of the lake, and looking back at -the slope of Milk River Ridge saw the far-apart, enormous footprints -of Heavy Runner, keeper of the buffalo. - -Away back in ancient times, after Old Man had made buffalo and they -had increased and covered the plains, they had great desire to wander -westward and see what might be on the other side of the great -mountains. The people--the Blackfeet--learning of this were greatly -distressed. The far side of the mountains, away west and still -westward to the shores of the Everywhere-Water, was the country of -their enemies, many tribes of them, and should they get possession of -the buffalo herds they would never let them return. What to do about -it they had no idea, so they called upon Old Man for help. - - [Illustration: UPPER TWO MEDICINE LAKE - Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill (with pipe) propitiating the - dreaded Under Water People] - -Said he: "I made the buffalo to be plains animals, and here upon these -plains they shall remain, and other-side tribes shall come to you and -ask permission to kill a few of them now and then. So, don't worry. -Go home now and attend to your affairs. All shall be well with you." - -The people went home. They saw that the buffalo remained upon the -plains in apparently as great numbers as ever. But some of the -hunters, to learn for sure if they were all there, ascended the -different passes of the mountains and went down the other side for -some distance. There were no buffalo, not even a few straggling bulls -on the other side, and they wondered how Old Man was keeping them -back. They soon learned. In a vision it was revealed to an old -medicine man that a huge god, a man of enormous stature, was -patrolling the mountains from far south to the everlasting snow of the -north, and with a club driving the buffalo back eastward as fast as -they came anywhere near the summit of the range. And so it was that -the other tribes--those of the west--never got the buffalo. - - * * * * * - -On our way down the lake we passed the beautiful Sun Camp and the -chalets of the Great Northern, perched upon the very spot where -Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill and I killed many a bighorn and -goat in times gone by. It was a favorite wintering place of the -animals, for the winds kept the steep mountain slope practically bare -from snow. And passing the mouth of the creek just above the camp, I -remembered that I had named it after Thomas, and Colonel Robert, and -the Honorable Cecil Baring, of London, with whom I often hunted back -in the eighties. In those days there were many bighorn and goats, and -not a few grizzlies back in the basin at the head of the creek. And -what amusing and sometimes exciting adventures we had with them! One -morning we espied a big "billy" goat on a ledge, and just as we saw -him he moved to the back side of it and lay down, showing only an inch -or two of the top of his back. - -"Who will go up and rout him out, so that I can get a shot?" asked -Colonel Baring, and Jack Bean, of Yellowstone fame, volunteered. - -It was to be a steep, almost straight-up climb, so Jack laid down his -rifle and started without encumbrance of any kind. At last he reached -the shelf and stood up on it, and that "billy" came for him, head -down! And Jack! Never have I seen a man come down a dangerous cliff so -fast as he did! And he kept coming, falling, sliding, rolling, and -then Colonel Baring fired and dropped the goat, and man and animal -came the rest of the way to the foot of the place together! We had -been too much concerned for the safety of our friend to laugh, but -when he at last stood up and faced us, bloody, half-naked, but not -seriously hurt, we roared. But Jack never even smiled: "Who would have -thought that a blankety-blank goat would go for a fellow!" he -exclaimed; and he went to the creek to repair the damages to his -person. - -On this day, halting here and there along the lake, we took some views -of the scenery and of our people, and at sunset were back in our -lodges. For some of us it is a last trip over the old, familiar -ground. My two old friends, Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill and -Yellow Wolf, must soon go on to their Shadow Land! - - * * * * * - -We were not too tired to-night for story-telling, so, after the -children had been put to bed and all was quiet, Takes-Gun-Ahead gave -us the following, the story of tobacco, which is called - - -NA-WAK'-O-SIS - -"In that long ago time when the earth was young, and people had not -long been made, a man threw some weeds upon a fire and found that the -odor, the smoke from their burning, was very pleasant. That night he -had a vision and learned that this plant was strong medicine; that, -when smoked in a pipe, which his vision explained to him how to make, -it would be the right thing with which to offer prayers to the gods. -He also taught the man the prayers and all the ceremony that went with -the prayers; and told him how to plant the weeds, from the seeds on -their tops, so that he could always have plenty of it. - -"This man was very much pleased with what he had learned. He went to -his three brother medicine men and told them all about it, and the -four of them formed a society of themselves and no others, for the -raising of the weed and its proper uses. But they were very stingy -with this weed, which they named _na-wak'-o-sis_, and would only now -and then give the people a leaf of it, although they raised large -numbers of the stalks in every summer time. - -"A young man named Lone Bull was very anxious to become a member of -this medicine society, but because he had no medicines and knew not -the rites of it, he was told that he could not join it. At that time -the camp of the people was close under Chief Mountain. He left it, -with his woman and his pack dogs, and moved up to the river running -out of the Inside Lakes, and there set up his lodge. Said he then to -his woman: 'I have come up here to get medicines; in some way to find -things that will enable me to become a raiser of _na-wak'-o-sis_. If I -can do that, I shall be of great help to the people. Now, then, I am -going to hunt and collect all the medicine skins I can find, and you -stay at home, take care of the lodge, gather wood, and cook what meat -we need. I shall bring in plenty of fat meat along with the skins.' - -"The man went hunting every day, and the woman remained at home. One -day, when the man was gone, she thought she heard singing; beautiful -singing; but look where she would she could see no singers. She spoke -to the man about it when he came home that evening, and made him feel -uneasy: 'If you hear it again, look about more carefully,' he told -her. - -"She heard it the next day, and this time located it, right under the -lodge. She went out to the bank of the river and looked at the bank: -there, under the water, were beaver holes in it, and beaver cuttings -upon the sandy bottom, and by that she knew that the lodge had been -set up above a bank beaver's home, and that beavers were the singers. -She went back to the lodge, lay down and put her ear to the ground, -and could then hear them plainly, and was pleased. Their singing was -so good that it was all that she could do to stop listening to them -and begin cooking the evening meal. - -"When Lone Bull came home that night she told him what she had -learned, but he could hear nothing, although he put his ear close to -the ground. Nor could he hear the singing the next evening, nor the -next, although his woman could hear it plainly. So now the woman got -her knife and cut a round hole in the ground, and Lone Bull laid his -head in it and could then hear the singing. He told her to make the -hole deeper; larger. She did so, and cut clear through the ground, and -looking down he could see the beavers sitting in their home, singing -beautiful songs, and dancing strange and beautiful dances in time to -them. - -"'Younger brothers, have pity on me!' he cried. 'Oh, my young -brothers, teach me your medicine!' - -"They looked up and saw him, and one answered: 'Close the hole that -you have made, because the light disturbs us, and we will soon be with -you.' - -"They soon came in through the doorway, four fine-looking men, -beautifully dressed. They had changed themselves from beavers to men. -They took seats, and then one of them said to Lone Bull: 'Elder -brother, what is it that you want of us? How can we help you?' - -"Lone Bull told them what it was: his great desire to obtain -_na-wak'-o-sis_ and grow it for the people. - -"'We have that plant; like us it is from the water, a water medicine,' -the beaver man told him; 'but before you can use it you have much to -do, much to learn. You have to learn all our songs and prayers and -dances and different ceremonies, and gather for the ceremonies a skin -of every animal and bird that is of the water, one of each except the -beavers, and of them there must be two. You know these animals and -birds: otter, mink, muskrat; different kinds of ducks; the fish hawk, -and all the other birds that get their food from the life of the -water. Why? Because there are two great life-givers of this world: the -sun, which gives heat, and water, that makes growth, and in our -ceremonies the skins of these different animals are symbols of the -water.' - -"'I shall collect them all, so teach me everything,' Lone Bull told -them. And they began that very night. - -"Day after day Lone Bull hunted the animals and birds, brought in -their skins for his woman to cure, and night after night the beavers -taught him their medicine, all the sacred prayers and dances and -ceremonies of it. And at last he knew them all thoroughly. - -"Then, one night, the beaver chief handed him some stalks of -_na-wak'-o-sis_, the top stems all covered with little round seeds. - -"'These,' said he, 'are the children of the big-leaved plants; put -them into the ground and they will grow and make other plants that -bear children. And now, I must tell you just how to plant: Gather a -great, long, wide pile of old dry logs, dry brush and weeds, and set -it afire. The heat from it will burn the ground, burn the sod, and -make everything soft under it. Then, when the place has cooled, gather -from around badger holes, squirrel holes, and wherever you can find -it, plenty of the brown earth they have thrown out, and mix it with -the burned black earth, so that it will not pack hard around the -seeds, and keep them from coming up into the sunlight. - -"'After you have taken all the seeds from the stems, you must put them -in a sack and not touch them again with your hands. With an antelope -horn you will make row after row of little holes all across the burned -ground and only a hand apart, and with a buffalo-horn spoon drop a -seed into each hole. When that is done, and it will require a long -time, you and yours are to dance along each row of seed, singing the -sacred songs, your feet lightly pressing down the ground over the -seed. At the end of a row you must step across to the next row, and -dance backward on that one, and forward on the next, and so on until -the last row has been pressed down, and all your songs have been sung. -Then you can go away from the place for a time. Return after one moon -has passed, and you will find that the young plants have grown above -the ground. Watch them, that insects do not destroy them. Give them -water if the rains fail you. They will grow all summer, and fade with -the ripening of the choke-cherries. Cut them then, care well for them, -and you and your people will have a plenty for your winter smokes and -ceremonies. There! I have told you all!' - -"It was planting-time then. Lone Bull moved right up to the foot of -the lower one of the Inside Lakes, and did everything that he had been -told to do, his wife helping him in every way. People hunting from -down Chief Mountain way came and saw his growing plants, and went home -and told about them. The four medicine men just laughed. 'Ha!' They -cried. 'He has no _na-wak'-o-sis_! He wanted to join us and we would -not let him into our society. He but plants some useless weed.' - -"But later on, just as their planting was getting ripe, a terrible -hailstorm came along and destroyed it all; every leaf was cut into -fine pieces! They cried from grief! Then they said among themselves: -'_Na-wak'-o-sis_ we must have or our medicines will be without power. -It may be that this Lone Bull really has the true plants: let us go up -and see them.' - -"They went, all the people with them, and saw that he had the sacred -plants. The hailstorm had come nowhere near his place. - -"Said they to him then: 'You have a big planting, and we will help you -gather it, and you and we four will use it. You shall join us.' - -"Lone Bull laughed long before he answered: 'I need no help from you. -You shall each have a little of my planting for your own use, and you -shall pay me well for it. The rest, excepting what I need, I shall -give to the people, and hereafter they will always have all that they -need of the plants.' - -"And as he said that he would do, so he did, and the people gave him -great praise and honor for it all, and he lived to great age. Kyi! Why -not? He had the beaver--the water medicine! It is a powerful medicine -to this day!" - - * * * * * - -A visitor in our camp this evening told a tale that ill pleases us. -There is a tourist camp away up in Gun-Sight Pass, one of the most -weirdly beautiful places in this whole country. There, the other day, -an employee was putting up a table on which were painted arrows -pointing to the different mountains, the name of each peak alongside -its particular arrow. - -A tourist standing near and watching the work suddenly exclaimed: -"Why, over there is a peak that has no name. Can you not name it after -me?" - -"Certainly I can," the employee answered; and painted another arrow -and inscribed beside it: "Lehnert Peak." - -"And over there is a fine waterfall," the tourist said. "Will you -please name it after my little daughter?" - -"Sure!" said the man; and painted another arrow pointing to "Mary -Frances Falls." - -Enough said! - - - - -V - -IKS-I'-KWO-YI-A-TUK-TAI (SWIFT CURRENT RIVER) - - - -_September 1._ - -We moved up here the other day and made camp beside one of the most -lovely lakes in all this Rocky Mountain country. In my time we called -it Beaver Woman's Lake. It is now McDermott Lake. And what a name that -is for one of Nature's gems! There are names for other lakes and peaks -here just as bad as that, but we shall have nothing to say about them -here. Only by an act of Congress can we get what we want done, and we -have faith that within a reasonable time all these mountains and lakes -and streams will bear the names of the great chiefs, medicine men, and -warriors who traversed them before the white men came. - - [Illustration: ICEBERG LAKE - Immense bergs are continually dropping into it from the live - glacier in background] - -Some of us--all excepting our two old men and the women--have been -riding over the different trails here, viewing the glaciers and other -places of interest, especially Iceberg Lake, where we saw a mass of -ice as large as a house part from the glacier, splash down into the -deep lake, and disappear, and after a time come up from the depths to -the surface and create another commotion of the waters. It was a grand -sight! - -Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill says that the lake with the -unpronounceable white man's name--McDermott--should be called Jealous -Women's Lake; that away back in the days of his youth, when the -Kootenai Indians occasionally came to camp and hunt with the -Blackfeet, he had a youthful friend of the mountain tribe who told him -the following story:-- - - -THE JEALOUS WOMEN - -"In those days a young Kootenai, good of heart, a great hunter, and -very brave, married twin sisters so alike that except for one thing -they could not be told apart: one was a slow, the other a very fast, -talker. - -"In time the fast talker, named Marmot, became jealous of her sister, -Camas, complaining all the time that she had to do the most of the -lodge work, and that she was sure Camas said bad things about her to -their man. Camas denied all this. 'I have never tried to place myself -first with our man,' she said. 'We are twins; I love you dearly; our -man's heart is so big that it holds us both in equal love. Now, be -sensible! Cast out your bad thoughts for they are all wrong.' - -"But Marmot persisted in believing that she was neglected; that her -sister had all their man's affection; and she finally went to him with -her complaint. He laughed. 'I love you just as much as I do your -sister,' he said. 'Now, just think back and show me when and in what -way I have shown that she is first with me!' - -"Marmot sat down and thought. She thought a long time; remained -silent. The man was very patient with her; he waited for her answer, -but it did not come. At last he said: 'Well, you have thought a long -time. Have you found one thing in which I gave her preference?' - -"'No, I haven't, but all the same I believe that you love her best,' -Marmot answered; and got up and went about her work. - -"The man shook his head, made no answer to that, and took up his -weapons and went hunting down the river. At the time he was camped -right here at this lake. - -"The man had not gone far, moving slowly, carefully, through the -timber and brush along the river, when he heard ahead a great -splashing in the water, and, going closer, found that it was caused by -two otters playing. They would chase each other in the water, then -climb the bank and go as swift as arrows from a bow down a slide that -they had made, and again chase and tumble each other over in the -water. The man crept closer to the slide, an arrow in his bow, another -in his hand, and, watching his chance, shot one of the players. He -tried to get the other, but it dived and was gone before he could fit -the other arrow to his bow: 'It is too bad that I didn't get the -other. I would have liked a skin of these medicine skins for each of -my women,' he said to himself. - -"He took the otter home and handed it to Camas. 'That is yours,' he -said. 'There were two of them. To-morrow, Marmot, I will get the other -for you, and then you will each have a strong medicine skin.' - -"Marmot said nothing, but looked cross. - -"The man went hunting the next day but he could not find the other -otter. He searched the river for many days and could not find one. - -"And as the days passed, Marmot became more and more angry, and -finally said to her sister: 'I have proof now that our man loves you -best. He gave you the otter; he does not even try to get one for me. -He hunts other animals every day, bighorn, goats, animals that live -nowhere near the haunts of the otter.' - -"'Now, don't be foolish!' Camas answered. 'You know as well as I do -that he has tried and tried to get the other otter for you. But at -the same time he has to get meat for us: that is why he hunts the -mountain animals.' - -"'Camas, the two of us can no longer live in this lodge,' cried -Marmot. 'You are a bad woman! I hate you! I will fight you any way you -say to see which of us shall be our man's one wife!' - -"Then it was that, for the first time, Camas became angry: 'We have no -weapons to fight with,' she answered, 'but I propose this: We will -swim this lake across and back and across and back until one of us -becomes tired and drowns! Now, crazy woman, what do you say to that?' - -"'Come on! Come on!' Marmot cried, and ran to the shore and tore off -her clothes. So did Camas, and the two rushed into the water and began -their swim of hate. They crossed the lake; turned and came back; -crossed again and started back, Camas well in the lead. She reached -the shore in front of the lodge, dragged herself out on the shore, and -turned. Her sister had gone down. There was not even a ripple on the -still water. Marmot was drowned. Hardly knowing what she did, she put -on her clothes and went into the lodge and cried and cried. The man -came home. She was still crying. He asked her where Marmot was, and -she cried all the harder, but at last told him all. Then the man -cried. Together the two mourned for a long time, and searched the lake -for the body of the lost one, and could not find it. So they moved -away from the unhappy place and returned to the camp of their people, -but it was a long time, a very long time, before they ceased mourning, -and never again would they go anywhere near the lake. - -"Yes, this is the Lake of the Jealous Women!" - - - - -VI - -NI-NA US-TAK-WI (CHIEF MOUNTAIN) - - - -_September 7._ - -We came up here the other day to the foot of this great landmark of -the country, and made camp beside a running spring in the edge of the -timber. The mountain is most appropriately named. It is the outer one -of an eastward projecting spur of the range, and is higher than any of -the peaks behind it. A chief, a leader, should always be taller, more -conspicuous in every way than his followers. This mountain gradually -slopes up eastward from the one behind it to an altitude of 9056 feet, -then drops in a sheer cliff several thousand feet to its steep slope -running down to the plain. From several hundred miles to the north, -and an equal distance to the south, and from the Bear Paw Mountains to -the east, it can be plainly seen, grim, majestic, a veritable Chief of -Mountains, and for that reason the Blackfeet so named it in the long -ago. - -The way to climb the mountain is by the long, narrow, and in places -cut-walled ridge running up toward its summit from the west, and then -one has but one cliff to surmount, the one almost at its crest. Only -men and goats and bighorn can scale that cliff, but on the extreme -summit lies an old buffalo skull, taken there by a Blackfoot in the -long ago for a pillow rest while getting his medicine dream. There he -fasted for days, and at last, in his weakened condition resulting from -want of food and water, got his vision, his medicine which was to be -his guardian through life. Who was it that came to him in his fasting -dreams? Ancient Buffalo, perhaps; or, maybe, Morning Star. Whoever it -was, he went staggering down the mountain and to camp, absolutely -certain that he had found his guardian spirit, his medium for favor -with the greatest god of all, the Sun, supreme ruler of this earth. - - [Illustration: EN ROUTE TO ICEBERG LAKE] - -We are here again upon our own ground, the Blackfeet Reservation, and -so once more have meat in camp, fat bighorn and fat mule deer, killed -by our hunters. This was once a great wintering place for deer and -elk, and, higher up, for bighorn. Some years ago a hunter, -Na-mik'-ai-yi by name, trailed a band of elk around to the ridge -behind the mountain and up its narrow way until they came to the foot -of the cliff near the summit and could go no farther. There they -turned back toward him and he fired one shot and dropped the leader. -The others, afraid to try to dash past him, chose the one alternative: -they rushed to the high cliff there on the north side of the ridge, -and sprang from it, and were all killed by the fall, eighty head of -them! - - - -_September 8._ - -Last night, after our feast of _ni-tap'-i-wak-sin_ (real meat) we -gathered in Yellow Wolf's lodge for a smoke and a talk, and our host -gave us a little story that I must here set down, the story of - - -THE WISE MAN - -"Here, under this mountain, the people were encamped and two of them -were Wise Man[13] and his woman. He was so named because he was -always finding out how to do useful things. - - [13] Mo-kuk'-i In-ah. - -"Up to the time of this encampment the people had had nothing to wear -but the plainest kind of garments, shirts, leggins, gowns, moccasins, -all made of plain tanned leather of different kinds. Wise Man thought -long about this, and finally said to his wife: 'Let us move away from -camp for a time, and go farther into the mountains. I have a plan that -I want to try by myself.' - -"The next morning they packed their dogs and moved up to the foot of -the Inside Lakes, crossed the outlet, and made camp. Wise Man then did -some hunting, killed plenty of meat for his wife and the dogs, and -began on his plan for making clothing more pleasing to the eye. He -went up on the high ridge between the lakes and Little River and dug -an eagle trap. That is, he dug a pit somewhat longer and wider than -his body, and quite deep, and killed a deer and laid it beside the -pit, and slashed its body so that the liver protruded. He then got -into the pit, covered the top of it with willow sticks and grass, and -waited, hoping that eagles would see the deer and come to eat it. They -did come; he could hear the heavy swish of their wings as they sailed -down upon it; and as they were eating the liver he would cautiously -reach up, grasp them by the legs, pull them down into the pit, and -kneeling upon them crush out their life. In this way, one at a time, -he caught many eagles, and took them home as he caught them, and took -from their bodies the tail feathers, the fluffy plume feathers, and -others that he thought would answer his purpose. - -"They had a very rank, unpleasant odor, these feathers; so, when he -thought that he had enough of them, he had his woman cover the floor -of the lodge with a thick layer of sweet sage, upon which he carefully -spread them. He then threw a quantity of sweetgrass upon the fire, -and, running from the lodge, the two tightly closed it and kept the -smoke inside. This last they did three or four times until the -feathers lost their bad odor, and were perfumed with the pleasant -odor of sweetgrass and sweet sage, both perfumes sacred to the gods, -as they afterward learned. - -"Winter was now come, and Wise Man began to hunt weasels, brown and -common of appearance in summer, but white and beautiful in winter. -This was more difficult work than trapping eagles, but by setting many -snares he caught during the winter more than a hundred of them. He -then made a headdress of some of the eagle tail feathers, and -suspended from it a number of weasel skins, and along the seams of his -shirt and leggins tied a number of the weasel skins. He then put on -the headdress and his ornamental clothes and stood up and asked his -woman how he appeared in them. - -"'You seem to have become a different man,' she answered. 'You look -very brave, very handsome. The clothes are beautiful.' - -"'They are of better appearance than they were,' he said, 'but I am -not yet satisfied. Perhaps I can improve them; but first I have to do -something for you.' - -"Wise Man put away his new clothes, and in old ones hunted elk, -taking from them their two tushes, and in the evening boring holes in -the soft part. Having collected two hundred, he sewed them in rows on -the breast and the back of his woman's new gown, and both saw that it -was then a handsome gown. - -"Said the woman: 'There! We are now complete; we have fine appearance. -Let us go home and show the people what we have done.' - -"'No,' Wise Man answered; 'something is lacking, something that will -make our clothes really beautiful. I have done all that I can without -help, and now I shall ask the gods to show me what more to do.' - -"Perhaps it was the gods that directed his footsteps the next day. As -he was going through the timber he came upon the remains of a -porcupine, its quills scattered all around upon the ground. He sat -down, took up some and examined them, and the thought came to him that -they could be dyed different colors and in some way sewed upon -garments and make them of brighter hue. He took all that he could -find, and killed several more porcupines, and carried home all the -long quills to his woman and told her his plan. - -"Said she, 'I know that the yellow moss that grows on pine trees will -stain anything a yellow that will not fade, that cannot be washed off. -Let us seek for other colors.' - -"They sought a long time, finding a green color in a certain wood, a -red in the juice of a plant, and then they dyed the quills the three -colors. Meantime the woman had been trying different ways to fasten -the quills to leather, and now, by flattening them, turning in the -ends, and sewing them side by side with very fine sinew and with the -finest of bone needles, she succeeded in making long bands of them of -different designs in the various colors. She was a long, long time -making them, but at last she made enough of the bands to sew onto the -arms of Wise Man's shirt, and down his leggins, and upon the neck -front-and-back of her gown. Each was so pleased with the appearance of -the other then that they kissed and almost cried with joy. Early -the following morning they packed up, crossed the river, and started -for the camp, still here at Chief Mountain. As soon as they came in -sight of it they stopped, put on their fine clothes, and then went on. -The people saw them approaching, but not until they were right close -to the camp were they recognized. Then what a crowd surrounded them, -staring at their beautiful garments, asking questions without end, and -as soon as they learned how this had all been done, they began at once -to gather material for similar clothing. And Wise Man, of course, -became a great man in the tribe, for to him was due the discovery of -the way to make beautiful things." - - [Illustration: GLACIER ON TRAIL TO ICEBERG LAKE] - - - -_September 9._ - -Although nothing has been said, we have not been so cheerful as usual -for the past few days, for all have known that we must soon part and -go our several ways. Tail-Feathers-Coming-over-the-Hill is a sick man, -and Yellow Wolf but little better, so to-night we decided to break -camp in the morning. To-morrow night each family will be at home on -Cutbank, Willow Creek, Two Medicine, and Badger, all streams of the -Reservation, and I shall be upon my way to the Always-Summer-Land. - -Well, we have had a pleasant time these past two months, traveling and -camping along our old trails, and yet the evenings around the lodge -fires have not been of unalloyed joy: all have been tinged with sad -memories of other days; of deep regret that the old days--days when we -had all this great country to ourselves--are gone forever. And so, -to-night, after our quiet, last evening meal together, we had no -story-telling, no passing of the pipe; none had the heart for it; and -I am writing these last words by the light of a dying fire, true -symbol of the passing of all things. And now, by its last, blue -flicker, I write-- - -THE END - - - - -Transcriber's Note - -Names may appear both in hyphenated and unhyphenated forms, e.g. -Pi'-ta-mak-an and Pi'tamakan. These are preserved as printed. - -Both ap-ut'-o-sohts and Ap-ut'-o-sosts appear in the book, referring -to 'North.' It is possible that Ap-ut'-o-sosts is a printer error, as -compass directions seem to end in ~ohts, but as the transcriber was -unable to establish this as a certainty, it is preserved as printed. - -Minor punctuation errors have been repaired. - -The following amendments have been made: - - Page vii--Is-i-sak'-ta amended to Is-si-sak'-ta--Ki-nuk'-si - Is-si-sak'-ta (Little River) - - Page 143--warror amended to warrior--It struck the old warrior - fair in the ribs. - -The frontispiece illustration has been moved to follow the title page. -Other illustrations have been moved where necessary so that they are -not in the middle of a paragraph. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Blackfeet Tales of Glacier National -Park, by James Willard Schultz - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKFEET TALES--GLACIER NAT. 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