The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1889-01-05
THE CROW INDIAN.
Habits Of a Copper-Colored Resi-
dent of Western Plains.
He is Crafty and Brave, and is
Utilized as Scout.

Indian men are fine looking, tall aud
we'll formed. The women are small and
inferior in appearance. Their vocal
language is coarse and harsh, and does
not seem to have a rich vocabulary.
They are poor in tradition. The men
cut the hair squarely off round the fore
head, leaving this bang from four to six
inches in length, which, when in full
dress, is made to stand upright by
dressing it with clay, which is some
times made more adhesive by admixture
with q sticky substance obtained by
boiling gummy weeds and bushes.
The side hair is at times braided and
the hair ON the back of the head sepa-
rated into several STRIPS" which are
held in place by glue placed at regular
intervals. To give them tho appear
ance Of very long hair, OF which they are
extremely proud, that which has been
cut off in mourning, or that taken from
their ponies tails and names, is glued
on to lengthsn out. They do not pull
out eyebrows or lashes. In dress, the
men wear the hooded coat made of
blanket At the shoulder, wrist of the
coat and down the leggings a coarse
fringe is fastened. The women wear
short skirts made of raw material, and
care little for colored ribbons or
trinkets.
The Crows have an excellent reputa-
ton among other tribes for their cum
ming, crafty skill aud bravery in war.
With the whites, as rule, they have
been friendly, and since 1876 have rem
dered valuable services to the govern
ment as enlisted scouts. At present
they are better armed and better mount
ed than any other tribe of Indians
The Crows have a sun dance of their
own as it differs essentially from that of
the Sioux aud other tribes. The dance
origin ates sin spirit of revenge, and
through it they seek to secure the assis =
lance of the Supreme Being in carrying
out their plans for vengeance, and in
prosecuting their wars and horse steal
ing expeditions.
Besides tho strings by which the
dancer is fastened through the sinews
of the chest and back to a long pole,
the brave endcavors to produce good
luck by mutilating himself with knives
in many parts of tho body. Some of
the young men fasten buffalo heads to
the muscles of the back and dance them
selves free and through and about
camp
Their legends say that God made
them first of all human beings, the
other Indians next, and the white man
at the lat as a punishment for some
offenses.
How much bodily pain ono of these
Crow warriors can undergo l witnessed
in 1880, near this post. 1t was in the
fall of that year when the Hon. Carl
Schurz the then secretary Of the inter-
ior) visited tho captured Sioux and
Cheyennes near Fort Keogh. The hon.
orable gentleman desired to observe the
natives at one of their dances and feasts,
and General Miles, our commanding
officer, conducted him to the neighbor-
ing encampment. The writer accom-
panied the party, which went on horse
back. As We ncared the spot We be-
held several hundreds of Indians squat
ted down on the grass, singing. shout
ing and drumming. They were not
dancing just then, but were enjoying q
star performance by solitary warrior.
Crow Indiar-something of an ex.
cruciatingly humorous character, 8
highly-seasoned and palatable side dish
in the feast, so to speak.
I The stalwart Crow stood in the cen.
tire OF the circle; the blood was stream
ing from a hundred gashes which h,
was self-inficting upon chest, shout
ders, abdomen, arms and legs will
: sharp edged knives, handed to him al
' ternately by some of tho Sioux anC
{ Cheyenne trav.s.
5 The sight was too much for the some
t what sensitive organization of the fas
: tidious Secretary, and, giving his hors
, the spurs, he soon escaped from tn
q disgusting spectacle. The attendin
: Indians enjoyed tho performance huge