The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-11-01

soul can be kept out of the happy hunting
grounds. The first by scalping the head of
the dead body. No scalped Indian can ever
inherit the kingdom of heaven. Hence the
eagerness of each tribe to scalp all their
being themselves scalped. This superstition
was often the occasion for the display of the
very best traits of Indian character.
The other method by which an Indian is
cut off from his heaven is by hanging. The
Indian believes that the soul escapes from
the body by the mouth, which, at the mo-
ment of dissolution. opens by itself to allow
free passage. Should death ensue by hang
ing or strangulation, the soul can never es-
cape, but must always remain with the
body, even after complete decay. This death.
has, therefore, more terrors than any other
to the Indian, and he would rather submit
TO a thousand deaths at the stake. with all
the fortunes that ingenuity can devise, than
die by hanging.
There is no hell or purgatory for the In
dian. The souls of all the dead reach the
same place, except those annihilated by
scalping, or those condemned to live for all
time and eternity with the putrid or decom-
posed bodies which die by strangulation.
Believing that no line of conduct of his own
can avail him for good or evil, feeling his
helplessness or entire dependence. or the
relative powers of the two great beings who
fight continually for against him. the In
dams first and most important concern is
to find some sure means of discovering
which of the gods has the ascendency for
him at any particular time. This is by divin-
alton.
While each warrior head of a lodge is the
priest for himself and family, there is in
each tribe medicine chief" who may be
called the bishop of the diocese. He is usu-
ally a man of strongly marked character
with brains SAVIOR faire. and knowledge of
men sufficient to enable him to sustain his
rather difficult role He is necessarily the
head of a band, though his spiritual duties
in no way debar him from temporal COM
mand or even from service in the field. AS a
rule, however, he is content with the ease
and dignity of his position and relies upon
| his influence with the head chief for prompt
punishment of any contempt or violation of
| his orders by an individual of the tribe.
| The Indian, not being worker, has no
| need of Sabbath day. No regular time is
| set apart for the ordinary duties of religion.
| The priest is not. therefore. expected to per-
| form any ceremonies. and his duties seem
| 10 consist principally in taking care of him
| self and family in all distributions of game
killed. in maintaining his precedence and
! superior sanctity by studied noninter-
| course with the commons of the tribe and
| by ccasional visits to n sick man, for which
| he is paid if the patient RECEIVERS. To his
priestly office he unites the professional du-
| ties of physician and surgeon. These re-
quire no special knowledge of the healing
| art, for as all disease is only the presence
! of the bad god, If "he' be exercised by the
spiritual power of the priest the patient will
| get we'll at once. This exorcism is supposed
| to be accomplished by incantation-the per-