The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1864-11-10
ACuriOus Story Ofan Indian ''lIedicile
Pc I9ysn Mans" Trieks,lJ nlm9l ID


ACuriOuS Story of an Indian 'fIediCile n
'.a 19Ssn Man'W Tricks aGia1.i 10 q
A correspondent of the London Morniag
Post says that the Davenport '.lnanifesta-
TONS of tying and untyiug is an old trick
among the Indiana of the Northwest. coast
|of America, He was travelling in Oregon
in 1874, and met certain Thomas Mckay,
whohad been In the Hudson Bay Company
service. This Mckay told the following
story of an adventure Of his some years be-
fore: IS.
''There was camp Of the, Nisqualiy In
dams near ouls, and amongst them was ia
NOUS medicine man or conjurer, as you
would call him. That chap could tell eve
rything that was going to happen for hun
dred years 70. come, | believes. so Mr.. Og-
den determined to consult him. Well, we
all went to his lodge, which was made the
same as the Sioux made theirs, with poles
covered oyer with buffalo skins, His. as
well as the others, We're round in the shape
of sugar loaf, about twelve feet across and
twelve feet high, and at the top ofit he had
got a parcel of bells hung. There was moth
ing in the lodge. when we went in only him
squatted in the middle of it, and bundle
of buffalo robes lying againat the wall Of the
lodge: These we afterwards lifted up, and
Wefe, quite sure that no one was hid under
them. Mr.. Ogden told him that we had
came to consult him as a great medicine
man about something that we wanted. to
know He was almost naked, having moth
ing on but an old botfalo robe over his
shoulders and cloth about his lions, ~.
After MIR. Ogden had spoken he went
through a lot Of maneuvers and antics,
WHICH ne called making medicine and
then, although it was perfect calm, not a
breath of wind moving, the lodge conmenc-
ed rocking violently from side to side, at
times lying almost PROSTATE, as if it was
blown down by gale of wind, and then ris-
ing up and going down on the other side,
and, all this time tho bells were Changing,
clashing aud making a terrible row; then
ali Of a sudden everything became perfectly
still, and he told us to go outside and see
what was on the top of the lodge. When we
went outside we looked Immediately for
some one near the lodge, but there was not
a soul, and no one could have been hid, for
it was on quite a piece Of bare prairie, and
not a bush near it.. We looked on the TOP
Of the lodge, as be had told us, and there
was a white crow, which certainly had not
been there when we went into it.
i $50 we returned to him and told him
what we had seen; then he said, Now tie
me up as close as you can, SO that I cannot
get away, and take your own ropes for we
thought it was bit of humbug, and were
going to use his old ropes, so we got our
own good lassoes and larriats (horse-h hair
ropes), and took his buffalo robe off him
and tied him up first we tied his hands
behind his back; he was squatted OIL his
hams and heels, and we tied his legs togeth-
er, and his hands to his legs; then we tied
a rope around his body and tied him all of
heap as it were, and knotted the ropes at
every turn, SO that one would think it would
take q man at least half an hour to cast him
adrift. Well, then somebody proposed that
we should tie him in the net this was a
seine net that we had at the camp; SO we
rolled him up in it, knotted the ends togeth-
er- and also secured them again with rope.
He asked US to put his knife near him
this we did,, laying it down about yard
from him, IS he was lying looking like a
ballseT net. lae told us to go out of the
lodge and not to look in. again until we
heard the bell ring, aag E3-,~ i III ,..'....,'
'sWhen we got out we looked on the top
of the lodge for the white crow, and had
hardly noticed that it was gone before we
heard the bell. We rushed in, and there
was the old beggar seated in the middle of
the lodge as we had seer i'm at first, with
his buffalo robe on. and looking as if moth
ing had happened to him, and on his should
or was the white crow. He then told us to
go out again, and this time we were out
perhaps five minutes-but when we went
into the lodge again there he was tied up
looking just the same ball of net as we had
left him the first time. But the white crow
was not to be seen. He told us then to I'M
tie him, which we did, and precious long
time it took us to do it, for he was SO firm
ly. tied and knotted up. After he was free
he sat for short time, apparently to recov-
err his strength, and then began making
medicine again whereupon as before the
lodge waved, the bells rang, the white
crow came in and flew in rapid flight. cir
cling round the old mans head, and when
all became still again, perched itself upon
his shoulder. Then he said, Now Won NAV
ask me what you want to know:;' so Mr..
Ogden said: we wish to know when Mr..
M'Tavish and his party will be here..' The
answer was, 'On the third day from this at
half an hour before sunset, you will see him
and his party coming down the HILL, The
nextquestion was Where is he nowg The
answer, They are encamped upon certain
creek, naming it, he was then asked, what
has delayed them so lengY and he answer
ed that they had been detained in the mopn-
tain four days by snow Well sir ON the
third day from that, just about half an
honr before sunset, sure enough there we
met the party coming down the hill and
when they got into camp they told US that
three days before they had been camped m.
on the creek that was named by the old
man, and that they had been DELAYED in
the mountains four days by snow"
Z. EgTA little fellow of some five years Or
thereabouts (says the Boston Tran scr;o1