New-York tribune., 1911-09-11
BRINGS INDIAN RELICS
Museum EmpIoye Returns from
Sojourn with Menominee Tribe.
THEY MADE HIM EAT DOG
But Then He Got a Charm Which
Makes Ones Creditors Forget,
and Other Valuahles.

Alanson Skinner. OF the stan Of the Mu-
scum OF Natural History. has returned 10
New York from an extended stay on the
Menomines Indian reservation. in Wiscon-
sin, bringing with him the most valuable and
instructive examples of early Menominee
articles yet obtained. To do so Mr.. Skin
ner had to get on easy terms with the
Indians. and one way in which ne was
enabled to do so was by Joining In a dog
feast al the request of the chiefs and others
assembled at the powwow. In all there
were two hundred Indians in the company.
and Mr.. Skinner said yesterday he was glad
they didn't have two hundred dogs to eat
because the Indians would have made him
pass his plate even oftener than they did
Il am delighted at the things was able
TO obtain" said NJ. Skinner, but I would
not care to nave dog as a regular thing.
although It wasn't as uninteresting as Bos-
ton beans"
The representative Of the museum brought
back nearly a dozen medicine bags some
Of them more than one hundred and fifty
years old. the best ones being made OF
otter skin. He also came into possession
OF spirit rock. This object, the size OF
large axe head. is supposed TO contain one
full sized adult spirit. and the spirit u
that Of a person changed TO a stone be-
cause Of his evil ways. Mr.. Skinner OBJ
tained it only on the promise that he would
sing song when approaching IL as Is the
Indian custom
Another article brought back. probably
the only one OF its kind in any museum In
the country. according TO the collector. is
charm that causes a mans creditors 10 for
get TO dun him. As explained TO Mr. Skin
ner, the charm, which IS a red powder tied
in several small chamois sacks, should be
carried about the person when It Is time
TO meet man 10 whom you owe something.
That individual will then Immediately for
get your obligations to him. or should do SO,
unless the concoction has lost its powers
| For two or three years Mr.. Skinner has
been seeking to get the medicine bags and
other Menominee relics with spiritual sig
nihcance. He has been aided chiefly by
John satterlee. chief Of police Of the reser-
vation, a half breed Indian. who was re-
Gently in New York as a guest Of the mu-
scum authorities because OF his valuable as
sistance.
| Mr.. Skinner said yesterday that without
+ the help OF the chief he would never have
obtained the things he has sought 80 long.
Il was through Satterlee also that he was
made a member of an Indian order and 1t
was also through the chiefs good will as
we'll as humor that the collector was forced
to eat dog.
/ Six war bundles containing all the OBJ
jects supposed TO give warriors secret
strength during battle have been added 10
the museum collection Songs carved on
wood and paintings on buckshn descriptive
OF Indian lore a hundred years ago are also
here
! The cosmetic bag Of an Indian maiden
many moons ago is to be seen, as well as
the small brushlYke affair with which she
tinted her cheeks. The collector found thar
even the Indian maidens fixed themselves
UP for their chosen warriors. Then, 100. by
much talking and iattery the collector was
able to get a small love charm, a wooden
doll When this is carried in the presence
of an Indian maiden. according to tradition,
she would be willing 70 leave her happy
home
! L received many OF the objects, said
Mr.. Skinner, only on the promise that
Indian traditions regarding them should ne
followed. Some OF the sacred bowls are eX-
pected TO be kept filed with tobacco. The
spirit rock must be revered and a song sung
when approaching H. The war bundles con-
tain objects that have been held sacred by
the Indians for more than a hundred years.
The designs and paintings are purely the
work OF Indians, uninfuenced by the white
man For that reason they are all the more
valuable"
The medicine bags for the most part are
l in a perfect state OF preservation. One,
which is considered the oldest, has not a
blemish, and the skin, that Of an otter, is
intact and unfaded.
Differing from most Of the objects here
tofore obtained from the Menominees. those
now added 70 the museums collection have
70 deal with the superstitions and beliefs
OF the Indians. Others have been princi-
pany OF a domestic character. depicting the
way in which they lived. The new collec-
tion will soon be placed on view.