Dahcotah - Mary Eastman
M. H. E.
PRELIMINARY REMARKS
ON
THE CUSTOMS OF THE DAHCOTAHS.
I.
SIOUX CEREMONIES, SCALP DANCE, &c.
The Sioux occupy a country from the Mississippi river to some point west
of the Missouri, and from the Chippewa tribe on the north, to the
Winnebago on the south; the whole extent being about nine hundred miles
long by four hundred in breadth.
Dahcotah is the proper name of this once powerful tribe of Indians. The
term Sioux is not recognized, except among those who live near the
whites. It is said to have been given by the old French traders, that
the Dahcotahs might not know when they were the subjects of
conversation. The exact meaning of the word has never been ascertained.
Dahcotah means a confederacy. A number of bands live near each other on
terms of friendship, their customs and laws being the same. They mean by
the word Dahcotah what we mean by the confederacy of states in our
union. The tribe is divided into a number of bands, which are subdivided
into villages; every village being governed by its own chief. The honor
of being chief is hereditary, though for cause a chief may be deposed
and another substituted; and the influence the chief possesses depends
much more upon his talents and capacity to govern, than upon mere
hereditary descent. To every village there is also a _war-chief_, and as
to these are ascribed supernatural powers, their influence is
unbounded. Leading every military excursion, the war-chief's command is
absolute with his party.
There are many clans among the Sioux, and these are distinguished from
each other by the different kinds of medicine they use. Each clan takes
a root for its medicine, known only to those initiated into the
mysteries of the clan. The name of this root must be kept a secret. Many
of these roots are entirely destitute of medicinal power. The clans are
governed by a sort of free-masonry system. A Dahcotah would die rather
than divulge the secret of his clan. The clans keep up almost a
perpetual warfare with each other. Each one supposes the other to be
possessed of supernatural powers, by which they can, cause the death of
any individual, though he may live at a great distance. This belief is
the cause of a great deal of bloodshed. When a Dahcotah dies, it is
attributed to some one of another clan, and revenge is sought by the
relatives of the deceased. All their supposed supernatural powers are
invoked to destroy the murderer. They first try the powers of their
sacred medicine, imagining they can cast a fatal spell on the offender;
if this fail, they have recourse to more destructive weapons, and the
axe, knife or gun may be fatally used. After the supposed murderer is
killed, his relations retaliate, and thus successive feuds become
perpetual.
The Dahcotahs, though a reckless, are a generous people, usually kind
and affectionate to their aged, though instances to the contrary
frequently occur. Among the E-yanktons, there was a man so feeble and
decrepit from age as to be totally unable to take care of himself; not
being able to walk, he occasioned great trouble. When the band went out
hunting, he entreated the young men to drag him along, that he might not
fall a prey to the Chippeways, or to a fate equally dreaded, cold and
starvation. For a time they seemed to pity him, and there were always
those among the hunting party who were willing to render him assistance.
At last he fell to the charge of some young men, who, wearied with
carrying him from place to place, told him they would leave him, but he
need not die a lingering death. They gave him a gun, and placed him on
the ground to be shot at, telling him to try and kill one of the young
warriors who were to fire at him; and thus he would have so much more
honor to carry with him to the land of spirits. He knew it was useless
to attempt to defend himself. In a few moments he received his
death-wound, and was no longer a burden to himself or to others. The
Sioux have a number of superstitious notions, which particularly
influence the women. They are slavishly fearful of the spirits of the
dead, and a thousand other fancies. Priests and jugglers are venerated
from their supposed supernatural powers.
Little is generally known of their religion or their customs. One must
live among them to induce them to impart any information concerning
their mode of life or religious faith; to a stranger they are
always reserved.
Their dances and feasts are not amusements. They all have an object and
meaning, and are celebrated year after year, under a belief that neglect
will be punished by the Great Spirit by means of disease, want, or the
attacks of enemies. All their fear of punishment is confined to what
they may suffer in this world. They have no fear of the anger of their
deities being continued after death. Revolting as the ceremony of
dancing round a scalp seems to us, an Indian believes it to be a sacred
duty to celebrate it. The dancing part is performed by the old and young
squaws. The medicine men sing, beat the drum, rattle the gourd, and use
such other instruments as they contrive. Anything is considered a
musical instrument that will assist in creating discordant sound. One of
these is a bone with notches on it, one end of which rests on a tin pan,
the other being held in the left hand, while, with a piece of bone in
the right, which a medicine man draws over the notches, sounds as
discordant and grating as possible are created.
The squaws dance around the scalps in concentric circles, in groups of
from four to twelve together, pressing their shoulders against each
other, and at every stroke of the drum raising themselves to their
utmost height, hopping and sliding a short distance to the left,
singing all the time with the medicine men. They keep time perfectly. In
the centre, the scalps are attached to a pole stuck in the ground, or
else carried on the shoulders of some of the squaws. The scalp is
stretched on a hoop, and the pole to which it is attached is several
feet long. It is also covered with vermilion or red earth, and
ornamented with feathers, ribbons, beads, and other trinkets, and
usually a pair of scissors or a comb. After dancing for a few minutes,
the squaws stop to rest. During this interval one of the squaws, who has
had a son, husband, or brother killed by a warrior of the tribe from
which the scalp she holds was taken, will relate the particulars of his
death, and wind up by saying, "Whose scalp have I now on my shoulders?"
At this moment there is a general shout, and the dance again commences.
This ceremony continues sometimes, at intervals, for months; usually
during the warm weather. After the dance is done, the scalp is buried or
put up on the scaffold with some of the deceased of the tribe who took
the scalp. So much for the scalp dance--a high religious ceremony, not,
as some suppose, a mere amusement.
The Sacred Feast is given in honor of the sacred medicine, and is always
given by medicine-men or women who are initiated into the mysteries of
the medicine dance. The medicine men are invariably the greatest rascals
of the band, yet the utmost respect is shown them. Every one fears the
power of a medicine man. When a medicine man intends giving a feast, he
goes or sends to the persons whom he wishes to invite. When all are
assembled, the giver of the feast opens the medicine bag with some
formality. The pipe is lit and smoked by all present; but it is first
offered to the Great Spirit. After the smoking, food is placed in wooden
bowls, or other vessels that visitors may have brought; for it is not a
breach of etiquette to bring dishes with you to the feast. When all are
served, the word is given to commence eating, and those that cannot eat
all that is given them, must make a present to the host, besides hiring
some one present to eat what they fail to consume. To waste a morsel
would offend the Great Spirit, and injure or render useless the
medicine. Every one having finished eating, the kettle in which the food
was cooked is smoked with cedar leaves or grass. Before the cooking is
commenced, all the fire within the wigwam is put out, and a fresh one
made from flint and steel. In the celebration of the Sacred Feast, the
fire and cooking utensils are kept and consecrated exclusively to that
purpose. After the feast is over, all the bones are carefully collected
and thrown into the water, in order that no dog may get them, nor a
woman trample on them.
The Sioux worship the sun. The _sun dance_ is performed by young
warriors who dance, at intervals of five minutes, for several days. They
hop on one foot and then on the other, keeping time to the drum, and
making indescribable gestures, each having a small whistle in his mouth,
with his face turned towards the sun. The singing and other music is
performed by the medicine men. The drum used is a raw hide stretched
over a keg, on which a regular beating of time is made with a short
stick with a head to it. Women pretend to foretell future events, and,
for this reason, are sometimes invited to medicine feasts.
II.
INDIAN DOCTORS.
When an Indian is sick and wants "the Doctor" as we say, or a medicine
man, as they say,--they call them also priests, doctors and jugglers,--a
messenger is sent for one, with a pipe filled in one hand, and payment
in the other; which fee may be a gun, blanket, kettle or anything in the
way of present. The messenger enters the wigwam (or teepee, as the
houses of the Sioux are called) of the juggler, presents the pipe, and
lays the present or fee beside him. Having smoked, the Doctor goes to
the teepee of the patient, takes a seat at some distance from him,
divests himself of coat or blanket, and pulls his leggins to his ankles.
He then calls for a gourd, which has been suitably prepared, by drying
and putting small beads or gravel stones in it, to make a rattling
noise. Taking the gourd, he begins to rattle it and to sing, thereby to
charm the animal that has entered the body of the sick Sioux. After
singing _hi-he-hi-hah_ in quick succession, the chorus _ha-ha-ha,
hahahah_ is more solemnly and gravely chanted. On due repetition of this
the doctor stops to smoke; then sings and rattles again. He sometimes
attempts to draw with his mouth the disease from an arm or a limb that
he fancies to be affected. Then rising, apparently almost suffocated,
groaning terribly and thrusting his face into a bowl of water, he makes
all sorts of gestures and noises. This is to get rid of the disease that
he pretends to have drawn from the sick person. When he thinks that some
animal, fowl or fish, has possession of the sick man, so as to cause the
disease, it becomes necessary to destroy the animal by shooting it. To
accomplish this, the doctor makes the shape of the animal of bark, which
is placed in a bowl of water mixed with red earth, which he sets outside
of the wigwam where some young men are standing, who are instructed by
the doctor how and when to shoot the animal.
When all is ready, the doctor pops his head out of the wigwam, on his
hands and knees. At this moment the young men fire at the little bark
animal, blowing it to atoms; when the doctor jumps at the bowl,
thrusting his face into the water, grunting, groaning and making a vast
deal of fuss. Suddenly a woman jumps upon his back, then dismounts,
takes the doctor by the hair, and drags him back into the teepee. All
fragments of the bark animal are then collected and burned. The ceremony
there ceases. If the patient does not recover, the doctor says he did
not get the right animal. The reader must be convinced that it is not
for want of the most strenuous exertions on the part of the physician.
These are some of the customs of the Dahcotahs, which, however absurd
they may appear to us, are held in sacred reverence by them. There are
some animals, birds and fishes, that an Indian venerates; and the
creature thus sacred, he dare neither kill nor eat. The selection is
usually a bear, buffalo, deer, otter, eagle, hawk or snake. One will not
eat the right wing of a bird; another dare not eat the left: nor are the
women allowed to eat any part that is considered sacred.
The Sioux say it is lawful to take revenge, but otherwise it is not
right to murder. When murder is committed, it is an injury to the
deceased; not a sin against the Great Spirit. Some of their wise men say
that the Great Spirit has nothing to do with their affairs, present or
future. They pretend to know but little of a future state. They have
dreamy ideas of large cities somewhere in the heavens, where they will
go, but still be at war with their enemies and have plenty of game. An
Indian woman's idea of future happiness consists in relief from care.
"Oh! that I were dead," they will often say, "when I shall have no more
trouble." Veneration is much regarded in all Indian families. Thus a
son-in-law must never call his father-in-law by his name, but by the
title father-in-law, and vice versa. A female is not permitted to handle
the sac for war purposes; neither does she dare look into a
looking-glass, for fear of losing her eyesight.
The appearance of a brilliant aurora-borealis occasions great alarm. The
Indians run immediately for their guns and bows and arrows to shoot at
it, and thus disperse it.
III.
INDIAN NAMES AND WRITING.
The names of the Sioux bands or villages, are as fanciful as those given
to individuals. Near Fort Snelling, are the "Men-da-wahcan-tons," or
people of the spirit lakes; the "Wahk-patons," or people of the leaves;
the "Wahk-pa-coo-tahs," or people that shoot at leaves, and other bands
who have names of this kind. Among those chiefs who have been well-known
around Fort Snelling, are,
Wah-ba-shaw, The Leaf.
Wah-ke-on-tun-kah, Big Thunder.
Wah-coo-ta, Red Wing.
Muzza Hotah, Gray Iron.
Ma-pe-ah-we-chas-tah, The man in the Cloud.
Tah-chun-coo-wash-ta, Good Road.
Sha-ce-pee, The Sixth.
Wah-soo-we-chasta-ne, Bad Hail.
Ish-ta-hum-bah, Sleepy Eyes.
These fanciful names are given to them from some peculiarity in
appearance or conduct; or sometimes from an occurrence that took place
at the time that they usually receive the name that is ascribed to them
for life. There is a Sioux living in the neighborhood of Fort Snelling,
called "The man that walks with the women." It is not customary for the
Indian to show much consideration for the fair sex, and this young man,
exhibiting some symptoms of gallantry unusual among them, received the
above name.
The Sioux have ten names for their children, given according to the
order of their birth.
The oldest son is called Chaske,
" second, Haparm,
" third, Ha-pe-dah,
" fourth, Chatun,
" fifth, Harka,
The oldest daughter is called Wenonah,
" second, Harpen,
" third, Harpstenah,
" fourth, Waska,
" fifth, We-barka.
These names they retain until another is given by their relations or
friends.
The Dahcotahs say that _meteors_ are men or women flying through the air;
that they fall to pieces as they go along, finally falling to the earth.
They call them "Wah-ken-den-da," or the mysterious passing fire. They
have a tradition of a meteor which, they say, was passing over a hill
where there was an Indian asleep. The meteor took the Indian on his
back, and continued his route till it came to a pond where there were
many ducks. The ducks seeing the meteor, commenced a general quacking,
which so alarmed him that he turned off and went around the pond, and
was about to pass over an Indian village. Here he was again frightened
by a young warrior, who was playing on the flute. Being afraid of music,
he passed around the village, and soon after falling to the earth,
released his burden. The Indian then asked the meteor to give him his
head strap, which he refused. The Indian offered him a feather of honor
for it, and was again refused. The Sioux, determined to gain his point,
told the meteor if he would give him the strap, he would kill a big
enemy for him. No reply from the meteor. The Indian then offered to kill
a wigwam full of enemies--the meteor still mute. The last offer was six
wigwams full of dead enemies for the so much coveted strap. The meteor
was finally bribed, gave up the head-strap, and the Sioux went home with
the great glory of having outwitted a meteor; for, as they met no more,
the debt was never paid.
The _language_ of the Sioux would, with proper facilities, be easily
acquired. It is said, in many respects, to resemble the ancient Greek.
Even after having acquired considerable knowledge of the language by
study, it is necessary to live among the people in order to understand
their fanciful mode of speaking.
One of the chiefs, "Sleepy Eyes," visited a missionary not many weeks
since, and on being asked why he did not come at the time appointed,
replied, "How could I come when I have no mocassins," meaning that he
had no horse. The horse had recently been killed by a man who owed him
a grudge; and his way of alluding to the loss was the mocassins. On
another occasion, this same chief, having done what he considered a
favor for the missionaries, at _Traverse des Sioux_, told them that his
coat was worn out, and that he had neither cloth nor thread to mend it;
the fact was, that he had no coat at all, no cloth nor thread; his
brawny neck and arms were entirely bare, and this was his way of begging
for a new coat.
In Indian warfare, the victor takes the scalp of his enemy. If he have
time, he takes the entire scalp, including the ears; but if hurried, a
smaller scalp-piece is taken. As an inducement to be foremost in battle,
the first four that touch the dead body of an enemy, share the honors
that are paid to the one who slew the foe and took the scalp. But the
victors in Indian fight frequently suffer in this way; a wounded savage
feigns death, and, as some warrior approaches to take his scalp, he will
suddenly rise, discharge his gun, and fight desperately with the
tomahawk until killed. Deeds of valor performed by Indians are as often
done from desperation as from any natural bravery. They are educated to
warfare, but often show great disinclination to fight; strategy goes
farther with them than manly courage does. At Fort Snelling, the Sioux
have more than once crouched under the walls of the fort for protection,
and on one occasion a chief, who came in to give information of the
approach of some Chippeways trembled so as to shake the ornaments about
his dress.
INDIAN WRITING.
[Illustration: No. I and 3, prisoners captured by No. 2. (No hands on
the prisoners.) No. 1, female prisoner. No. 3, male.]
[Illustration: Nos. 4 and 5, female and male killed; 6 and 7, boy and
girl killed.]
[Illustration: No. 8, that he has killed his enemy; 9, that he has cut
the throat of his enemy, and taken the scalp; 10, that he was the third
that touched the body of his enemy after he was killed; 11, the fourth
that touched it; 12, the fifth that touched it.]
[Illustration: No. 13, been wounded in many places by this enemy; 15,
that he has cut the throat of the enemy.]
The above represents the feathers from the war eagle. They are worn in
the hair of the warriors, as honors.
The above represents the only way that the Sioux have of writing an
account of an engagement that has taken place.
IV.
INDIAN CHILDREN.
The children among the Sioux are early accustomed to look with
indifference upon the sufferings or death of a person they hate. A few
years ago a battle was fought quite near Fort Snelling. The next day the
Sioux children were playing foot-ball merrily with the head of a
Chippeway. One boy, and a small boy too, had ornamented his head and
ears with curls. He had taken the skin peeled off a Chippeway who was
killed in the battle, wound it around a stick until it assumed the
appearance of a curl, and tied them over his ears. Another child had a
string around his neck with a finger hanging to it as an ornament. The
infants, instead of being amused with toys or trinkets, are held up to
see the scalp of an enemy, and they learn to hate a Chippeway as soon as
to ask for food.
After the battle, the mother of a Sioux who was severely wounded found
her way to the fort. She entered the room weeping sadly. Becoming quite
exhausted, she seated herself on the floor, and said she wanted some
coffee and sugar for her sick son, some linen to bind up his wounds, a
candle to burn at night, and some whiskey _to make her cry_! Her son
recovered, and the mother, as she sat by and watched him, had the
satisfaction to see the scalps of the murdered Chippeways stretched on
poles all through the village, around which she, sixty years old, looked
forward with great joy to dance; though _this_ was a small gratification
compared with her recollection of having formerly cut to pieces the
bodies of sundry murdered Chippeway children.
A dreadful creature she was! How vividly her features rise before me.
Well do I remember her as she entered my room on a stormy day in
January. Her torn mocassins were a mocking protection to her nearly
frozen feet; her worn "okendo kenda" hardly covering a wrinkled neck
and arms seamed with the scars of many a self-inflicted wound; she tried
to make her tattered blanket meet across her chest, but the benumbed
fingers were powerless, and her step so feeble, from fatigue and want of
food, that she almost fell before the cheerful fire that seemed to
welcome her. The smile with which she tried to return my greeting added
hideously to the savage expression of her features, and her matted hair
was covered with flakes of the drifting snow that almost blinded her.
Food, a pipe, and a short nap before the fire, refreshed her
wonderfully. At first she would hardly deign an answer to our questions;
now she becomes quite talkative. Her small keen eye follows the children
as they play about the room; she tells of her children when they were
young, and played around her; when their father brought her venison
for food.
Where are they? The Chippeways (mark her as she compresses her lips, and
see the nervous trembling of her limbs) killed her husband and her
oldest son: consumption walked among her household idols. She has one
son left, but he loves the white man's _fire-water_; he has forgotten
his aged mother--she has no one to bring her food--the young men laugh
at her, and tell her to kill game for herself.
At evening she must be going--ten miles she has to walk to reach her
teepee, for she cannot sleep in the white man's house. We tell her the
storm is howling--it will be dark before she reaches home--the wind
blows keenly across the open prairie--she had better lie down on the
carpet before the fire and sleep. She points to the walls of the
fort--she does not speak; but her action says, "It cannot be; the Sioux
woman cannot sleep beneath the roof of her enemies."
She is gone--God help the Sioux woman! the widow and the childless. God
help her, I say, for other hope or help has she none.
GODS OF THE DAHCOTAHS.
First in order of the gods of the Dahcotahs, comes the Great Spirit. He
is the creator of all things, excepting thunder and wild rice.
Then there is,
Wakinyan, or Man of the West.
Wehiyayanpa-micaxta, Man of the East.
Wazza, Man of the North.
Itokaga-micaxta, Man of the South.
Onkteri, or Unktahe, God of the Waters.
Hayoka, or Haoka, the antinatural god.
Takuakanxkan, god of motion.
Canotidan, Little Dweller in Woods. This god is said to live in
a forest, in a hollow tree.
Witkokaga, the Befooler, that is, the god who deceives or fools
animals so that they can be easily taken.
[Illustration]
DAHCOTAH;
OR,
THE LEGENDS OF THE SIOUX.
MOCK-PE-EN-DAG-A-WIN:
OR,
CHECKERED CLOUD, THE MEDICINE WOMAN. [Footnote: A medicine woman is a
female doctor or juggler. No man or woman can assume this office without
previous initiation by authority. The medicine dance is a sacred rite,
in honor of the souls of the dead; the mysteries of this dance are kept
inviolable; its secrets have never been divulged by its members. The
medicine men and women attend in cases of sickness. The Sioux have the
greatest faith in them. When the patient recovers, it redounds to the
honor of the doctor; if he die, they say "The time had come that he
should die," or that the "medicine of the person who cast a spell upon
the sick person was stronger than the doctor's." They can always find a
satisfactory solution of the failure of the charm.]
Within a few miles of Fort Snelling lives Checkered Cloud. Not that she
has any settled habitation; she is far too important a character for
that. Indeed she is not often two days in the same place. Her wanderings
are not, however, of any great extent, so that she can always be found
when wanted. But her wigwam is about seven miles from the fort, and she
is never much farther off. Her occupations change with the day. She has
been very busy of late, for Checkered Cloud is one of the medicine
women of the Dahcotahs; and as the Indians have had a good deal of
sickness among them, you might follow her from teepee to teepee, as she
proceeds with the sacred rattle [Footnote: Sacred rattle. This is
generally a gourd, but is sometimes made of bark. Small beads are put
into it. The Sioux suppose that this rattle, in the hands of one of
their medicine men or women, possesses a certain virtue to charm away
sickness or evil spirits. They shake it over a sick person, using a
circular motion. It is never, however, put in requisition against the
worst _spirits_ with which the Red Man has to contend.] in her hand,
charming away the animal that has entered the body of the Dahcotah to
steal his strength.