Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1902-07-14
0REWSOME INUl~,v CHARM.
It's Loss Led the Cheyenne braves
~ to Leave the Warpath.

TO Leave the NArpath.
OF all the grews0me things in the
National museum the necklace present
ed several years ago by Captain John
G. Burke of the United States army
Indian cruelty and superstition, This
necklace consists first of all Of a long
buckskin cord made by rolling up a
large strip 0. skin and sewing 1t along
the border so that throughout | its en-
tire length it will measure something
over aY inch IN CIRCUMFERENCE or about
a third ci an inch in diameter. This
cylinder of buckskin is covered with
beadwnrk so that no part of the skin Is
exposed. The beads are scwed on in
rather tasteful patterns. the colOrs of
which are white and blue. 4 thin buck
sim string is attached to either end of
this thick. bead ncrustpd cord. by
means of which the cylinder is tied
about the neck Of the wtarer.
Hanging from the und rside of this
necklace and running throughout its
entire length are twelve human fingers
and several small flint arrowhcads of
peculiar shape and Workmanship at
tachcd by bucksi.in strings In the
middle of the necklace depend three
small medicine bags made Of the
tanned hide or skin of human beings.
These bags contain charm stones and
other parHpl4rrnalia of the medicine
man '---- ''''> '@--F-''- :. >s..-:.
The hi::..;I; ti!.@"rS, fJr:.ing the most
corspi'H: ,l!s feature OF til" necklace.
ar" complete. having b 'rn cut off be-
tween III mi,ldlr j,::, and the knuc-
X. -. nav" been dried in such
mIn!sor a> to pl S'rIe their natural
color l. : mai :, etc. and look as
fresh rs though they had been re-
moved only Il few hours.
During General Crooks campaign
against the Sioux and Cheyennes in
1876 the Fourth cavalry and detach.
mpnt of Indian scouts under Colonel r.
c. Mackenzie surprised and stormed
the chief town and principal strong
hold Of the Chcyrnnes During or,
rather. after this engagement one of
the Indian scouts. Baptiste POuvier,
better known as Biz BAT. entered the
lodge of the chief medicine man of the
deserted village, and among other
things that tn" medicine man had over
looked in his hurried lliyht from the
town the scout found this curious neck
lace. Big Bat gave the necklace to
Colonel Burke, who later turned it over
to a student Of Indian religions and SUI
perstitionS. and he in turn presented it
to the National museum.
subsequently something Of the his
tory of this necklace was learned. The
fingers were those of famous enemies
noted for their superior courage and
bravery whom the Cheycnnes had
killed in battle during their various
wars, while the human skin Of which
the medicine bags were made was also
taken from the bodies Of enemies slain
In battle. The necklace is very old and
was looked upon by the Cheyennes as
O thing endowed with mira culous pow
ers. Prior to its capture by Big Bat 1t
had belonged to n famous medicine
man of that tribe, who had never al
lowed any white man to lay eyes on it,
and its loss put very sudden and
abrupt end to the Cheyenne war. The
tChcyenncs tried hard to get it back.
offering Il large sum Of money and a
great many horses for its return, but
this WAS refused, and since then the
Cheycnncs have remained at peace
with the whites Washington Post.