The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1876-08-17
Customs and Characteristics Of the
tf4 Sioux T AZ .L,-.-
UnrOm the PbiiadelPlha Press.lT 5di


~. SIOUX II - stgs-Hl
II .fFrom the Phiiadelplaa Press.l- sdi 1
. The Sioux at present are more num-
erops than any other family, OF North
American Indians. Together they
humber not less than go, 600, and up 20
1866 fifty of their living chiefs had been
photographed The Sioux, with the ex-
ception Of certain characteristic lank-
ness like all other american Indians, is
physically well made. He is tall, mus
cular, and capable of enduring any
amount of fatigue and privation.A His
forehead is narrow and retreating,
though backed by q massive head His
face is broad in proportion to its length,
the breadth being caused by the high
His eyes are small, black,
and piercing; nose prominent, some
what aquiline and widespread, lips thin,
and chin somewhat prominent. Ihe
complexion is uniformly clear, pink
ish-brown or copper color. The women
are much more inclined to fatliess than
the men, and, while the latter are very
tall the former are usually the reverse.
Though as rule the females are ugly,
good faces and forms are not wanting
among them. .Ff .r.-.- t..,s t-y
Both sexes are addicted to the prac-
tice of eradicating from their persons
all hair except that of the head. They
sometimes tattoo, though of late this
practice has fallen into disuse. Paint,
however, on stated occasions is still
used in profusion. Formerly it was a
custom with young men to cut the rim
of the ear from top to bottom, thus
forming sort of,loop, which, by means
of weights or wires, was gradually
drawn down, in some cases even to the
shoulders. To this loop ornaments of
various kinds were conveniently APP
pended. They also sometimes pierced
the septum of the nose, decorating it
with hollow bones, feathers, quilts, or
any other material which happened to
strike them as ornamental.
Their food consists principally of
game, though the. Indian, corn and a
small variety of beans are cultivated by
them, and afford additional means OF
subsistence. q In former times their
principal'mode of cooking was by roast
ing. All kinds of birds, beasts and rep
tiles were esteemed as food, and even
the. larvae of some species OF insects.
Though when discovered they possessed
the art of manufacturing vessels of clay,
in which they sometime cooked, it is
not impossible that at some period of
their existence they boiled by MINERS
ing heated stones ia vessels of water
containing the ingredients to be cooked.
The Assiniboines, a dissenting tribe of
the Sioux, have even received their
name on account of this practices 1t
was not uncommon for them to-cook an
animal in its own skin or pouch. This
was done by digging hole in Che earth
into which the skin was pressed, being
firmly secured with pegs around the
edge Water was then poured in,
and to this joints of the
meat, berries, roots and, seeds
were added. Into the whole few
hot stones were dropped until the mass
was sufficiently cooked or rather heated
for the red mans palate. If, when a
meal of this mush was concluded, any
remained, and it was desirable to pre-
serve it, the sediment was pressed into
balls slightly fattened, and these,
roasted in the ashes or dried in the sun,
constituted their bread or cake. Their
beverages consisted of the broths of
meats and fermented liquors prepared
from the juices of fruits, from maple
sugar, from preparations of starch of
seeds. A preparation known as K'nick
k'nick, and formed of tobacco, sumac
leaves, and the outer bark of the red
willow, constituted their smoking ma
terial. At present they have substitu-
ted for their rude vessels of clay and
their still more primitive boiling hol-
lows. the metal vessels of the white
man. The more civilized of them use
to limited extent flour and pork. In
addition to their own mildly intoxica-
ting liquors, they have adopted the rum
and foul whisky of the frontiers.
Cakes and coarse bread were also pre-
pared from the meal of the Indian
corn and other seeds, formed into
a paste, and baked either on hot stones
or in the ashes. The Indian delicacy,
marrow, was prepared for eating by
roasting the larger bones, breaking the
ends and splitting them. 1t was eaten
while still hot, being sucked from the
cavities or scooped out by means of rude
spoons of horn, wood or bone. The
smaller bones were comminuted by
means of large stone mauls and boiled
until the medular matter rose to the
surface; this was skinned off and
poured into large intestines or pouches,
and thus preserved for future use. Ber-
ries, bone canned meats of all kinds,
and roasted insects, pounded together,
constituted a very serviceable pemmi-
can, which was used during long jour
neys and on hunting excursions. These
methods of preparing food, together
with some of the foods themselves,
though still surviving among many of
the Sioux, are or have been going some
what into disuse. Another preparation
much used by men and hunting parties
was the perfumed sagamite or roasted
cornmeal and maple sugar.
Though their habitations consist
principally of tents of dressed buffalo
Skin, originally the Sioux, like the Man
duns, Gros Ventres, and Ariekarees,
used to some extent more substantial
dwellings, consisting of conical huts of
poles. matched over with bark and
earth. This form, however, never pre-
vailed among them. In summer the
women rarely wear anything on the
head, and the men wear only orna-
mented head-dresses. Ia former times
a much-prized head ornament consisted
of a small, fiat bone, with lines cut to
represent the head of buffalo, behind
which was placed, according to the rank
of the wearer, two or more sockets for
eagles quills. The whole was sur
mounted with a tuft or crest of dyed
buffalo hair. Such ornaments were
placed on the shaved head, Immediately
in front of the scalp-lock Chiefs
sometimes wear .head-dress of
feathers, made by connecting in
a long row a large number
of turkey or eagle quilts in such way
that they would form tapering line
from one end to the other. This was
made fast to sort of hood or cap with
a long pendant tail, aahd hung grace
fully from the crestste. the feet Masks
made from the heads of animals have