The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1898-01-04


slaughtered the unfortunate ami
mails within, and the flesh was
cut up in strips and dried. Dried
meat was their staff of life. /
have seen many of these game
traps standing, firm and solid,
after the lapse of probably two
or three thousand years, a grim
reminder of the past struggles
of the human race for existence.
Traps were also made of will
lows for catching fish, and was
ingenious. The modern Indian
uses the same model with great
success-but every one in this
country has seen an Indian fish
trap.
In religion they were very firm
believers. According to their
belief there are four gods-two
of good and two of evil, with
many spirits to assist each in
their chosen work of saving or
destroying mankind. These gods
often went to war, and the poor
Indian was in great trouble, and
the medicine men were closely
questioned as to the way the bat
tie, was going-for if the gods
that were friendly to them won,
then great good would come to
them; while if on the other hand,
those who had the destruction of
the human race at heart were the
victors, they would have very
hard time of it, indeed, till the
friendly gods got the upper hand
again. While the evil spirits
were in power, divers misfortu-
mes befell them, loss, misfor-
tune in hunting, extreme cold,
drenching rain, accidents, dis
ease and death, were all attribut-
ed to the influences of the evil
gods. Everything that befell
them, good or bad, was thought
to be the work of the gods. When
a man died, if the friendly gods
were in power at the time of his
death, he went to a beautiful
country, on the fiat top of a great
mountain where it never showed,
and there was abundance of
game, which was easily killed,
for in that happy land the game
is blind. At the slaughter of
any game, the Shoshones always
extricate the animals eyes the
first thing they do-the spirit of
the animal is supposed to go to
the same land that the hunter
hopes to some day arrive at, and
when he gets there he will find
all the game blinded and easily
killed. 1t was supposed to re
quire three days of ardorous
travelling to accomplish the
journey. Over hills, where he
was attended by good spirits,
who made his journey as easy as
possible, and through deep, dark
rugged canyons, where he was
in constant danger of being an
initiated by the evil spirits lying
in wait. But the friendly gods
being in power, he was sure to
get through safely provided the
friends left behind kept a loud
wall of lamontation and much
hand-clapping going on while he
was in danger; the medicine men
keeping track of the fugitive
spirit on its journey, and inform
ing-for so many hides of deer
and other animals-the anxious
friends and relatives of the pro-
gress of the traveller on his way
to the happy hunting grounds.
Great was the rejoicing when
the medicine men, after lapse
of three days, gave them the in
formation that he had arrived
safely at the end of his journey
and was happy. Then much
honor was given the chief medi-
cine man and he was Toasted and
feared.
While, on the other hand, the
unfriendly gods were in power,
the poor spirit was compelled to
lie hidden in the rocks, or go
hide itself in the body of some
animal until such time as it
would be safe to attempt the
journey.
Poor. deluded, superstitious
mortals; ever in fear of offending
some friendly spirit, and in dread
of being fastened on by some
demon of the opposite faction.
What life of trembling misery
they must have lived ?
Their history from here down
is only repetition of that be-
fore-a series of wars with other
tribes, and when each were
weakened, q union of the two-a
struggle at all times for living
every hard winter that game
died in numbers, the Indian per-
ished in like numbers.