The Portland daily press., 1893-07-13

| lodge outside the camp. If thew lose
| this holy bundle in war the whole
tribe will impoverish itself to get il
back. The tribal medicine of the Nav.
ajos was little squat stone figure
which they got from the Pueh.
los, as the Pueblos got II IN
turn from the Aztecs or Toltecs. have
one of these original little Aztec figures
ever two hundred and fifty years old
and yellow with age. The Anacbes
adopted it In turn from the Nayaios an
did also the Utes. The Aranahoas
wanted it and finally made war on The
Sjtes and got 1t. The Utes, when they
found their medicine was gone. pur.
sued and scattered them and killed the
warrior who had the medicine, but did
not recover the sacred medicine. which
he had hidden on finding himself
pressed. When tribe wants TO get the
best of any other tribe it gets away its
medicine if it possibly can. The Osages
had a stone similar to that, Of the rTtas
only smaller"
''Will you tell me-" 1 asked of the
medicine man, 'how you cure the siclso"
'sI have in the first place band of old
women known as The Howlera,' who
drive out the evil spirits by their voice.
They howl over the sick. II they can't
perform cure / come. have a tom.
tom beaten over the head of the sick.
This generally kills or cures. Some
times order my patient removed into
Nthesweathouse. There perform mas.
sage until all the rheumatism is taken
out Of the joints. Scarlet fever
is sweated ont by two blankets
boiled in hot water and wrapped
round the body and third wrapped dry
around them both. Fourteen hours OF
sweat at an even temperature will
bring out all the scarlet fever. I'll tell
you another wonderful cure for tuber>
culosis, said the medicine chief .sTas,e
two Spanish flies and put one on eaeh
breast and let them bore right through
to the lining of the lung. When she
aperture is made clap poultice on each
opening and you will get a cupful Of
corruption out of each lung. This is an
old Indian remedy, and when the chiefs
visited England long ago they told Il
there to the doctors, who tried il sue.
,cessfully. In making medicine earth
or sands OF different colors, ashes OF
certain plants, bones, birds, animals,
reptiles and other Ingredients are Sc.
cured and mixed together in shallow
dish and gently stirred with stick.
Indian mothers bear many children.
"The Indian woman is an easy moth.
er. She goes to a thicket alone and re-
turns with the child in her arms. A
child Is not weaned until another il
born"
''Can you tell me- Of some of the secret
signs which they blaze with when they
want to indicate danger?''
There are SO many" said the med,
icine man, shat / hardly know where
to begin.
"a sapling cut off to within three
feet of the ground with the bark peeled
and a stone laid on top of it signifies
danger. A trunk with a to1nahawk
sticking in 1t signifies war. attack and
revenge. A tomahawlz or knife driven |
into the ground signifies declaration
of war"
What are totems and watousT'
"a totem Is the coat Of arnns Of each |
Individual. There may be also such a |
thing as national totem. A totem has
no connection whatever with the NELL |
cine bag Of the individual, nor has it |
necessarily any religious significance"
Can you explain to me the mysteri- |
GUS secret which has always been per
fectly inexplicable to me how the m |
dams carry off their dead?''
II do not wonder that you should be
puzzled over such problem said the |
medicine man. II will tell you. Ttas
o common belief among the Indians OF |
the plains that no warrior who has |
been scalped ever lives again, but Is
condemned to utter annihSlation. This |
Is the reason why the Indians try to
scalp every white man they can, SO an |
to prevent his ever pursuing them |
again in the happy hunting grounds be-
yond the grave. For this reason the
instant an Indian falls he is seized and |
carried Off the field. The secret Of such
. feat lies in the drill back OF it. The
rider is trained to stoop down from his
horse while he Is at full speed and pick
up light objects lying on the ground
Gradually heavier weights are reelected. |
until at East few Indians reach state
of such remarkable proficiency in this
art as to be able to stoop down, and,
picking up the body Of the heaviest
man, swing 1t across their horses. War
rfors are forewarned to raise their arms
from the field If wounded or dying.
This act is generally performed by two
Indians. Riding at full speed neck to
neck on either side Of the FRUSTRATED
form, the riders stoop at the same in
slant, seize the wounded warrior and
with double effort swing him up in
front of one of the riders, who scurfies
off with him to safe cover or camp.
I'm the drills the picking and the +
picked up take turns at playing dead
or wounded. This is the reason whv
in every engagement with the Indians
the significant words: Indian loss
are the only report which
young heutenants thirsting for glory
can make with nothing to show for
their pains.