Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1892-01-12
AMONG THE sLAcKFooT IN6lGNs-
Wonderful sight Of city of Tepees at
Annual Feast and HoItdav

:.
> Wonderful sight Of a city Of Tepees Al
ar Annual Feast and Holiday.
Presently as we journeyed. a little
line Of sand hills came into view. They
formed the BIackfoot cemetery. We
saw the 'tepees OF the dead" here and
J there on the knobs, some new and per.
feet. some old and weather stained.
some showing mere tattcrs Of cotton
happing on the poles. and still Others
only skeleton tents, the poles remain
ing and the cotton covering gone com.
pletely. We knew what we would see
II we looked into those dead tepees''
(being careful to approach from the
windward side). We would see. lying
on the ground or raised upon a frame
work, a bundle that would be narrow
at top and bottom and broad In the
middle-an Indians body rolled up in
a sheet of cotton, with his best bead
work and blanket and gun in the bun
die, and near by a kettle and some
dried meat and cornmeal against his
feeling hungry on his long Journey to
the hereafter.
As one or two of the tepees were
new. we expected to see some family in
mourning and, sure enough, when we
reached the great sheer sided gutter
which the Bow river has dug for its
course through the plains, we halted
our horse and looked down upon a
lonely trio of tepecs. with children
playing around them and women
squatted by the entrances Three fam
lilies had lost members and were sedues-
tered there in abject surrender to grief
Those tents of the mourners were at
our feet as we rode south ward, down in
the river gully, where the grass was
green and the trees were leafy and
thriving, but when we turned our faces
to the eastward, where the river bent
around a great promontory, what a
sight met our gael There stood a city
OF tepees, hundreds of them, showing
white and yellow and brown and red
against the clear blue sky. A silent
and lifeless city it seemed, for'we we're
too far off to see the people or to hear
their noises. The great huddle of little
pyramids rose abruptly from the level
bare grass against the fawless sky, not
like one of those melancholy new tree
less towns that white men are building
all over the prairie, but rather like a
mosquito feet becalmed at sea.
There are two camps on the Black
foot reserve, the North Camp and the
South Camp, and this town of tents was
between the two, and was composed of |
more households than both together;
for this WIS the assembling for the sun
dance, their greatest religious festival,
and hither had come BIoods, Piegans |
and SaTcis as well as Blackfeet. Only |
the mourners kept away, for here were
to be echoed the greatest ceremoniaIs
of that dead past wherein lives dedi-
Gated TO war and to the chase inspired
the deeds of valor which each would |
now celebrate anew in speech or song.
And at each recurrence of this won
derful holiday time every night was
spent in feasting, gorging and gam
bling. In short, it was the great event
of the Indian year, and so it remains.
Even now you may see the young
braves undergo the torture, and if you
may not see the faithless wives disci-
plined you may at least perceive a
score who have been, as well rs hear
the iaighty boasting and witness the
dancing, gaming and carousing.-Ju-
Iian. Ralph in Harper's.