Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1920-06-24
Indian Symbols.
BY DR.. Charles A. Eastman

]
ter. He adopted oaly the feathers OF
certain birds and wore them in &C
cordance with well-understood law and
custom.
He held in high honor the eagle.
the raven and the falcon, commonly
called the hawk. The owl and some
! OF the waterfowl, such as the loon,
the cormorant and the pelican, played
q minor part in Indian myths and folk
lore, for in the warriors codes and
emblems only the dashing and cour-
aeeous birds of prey were permitted to
appear-the eagle standing first
The feathers of this bird were high
~ priced. since they stood for brave
deeds. They were variously worn
among different tribes. Perhaps the
best and completest system was deVei-
oped by the Sioux nation, system that
their neighbors on the plains gradual
/ ly adopted.
/ No Sioux could wear an eagles tai
feather unless he had counted coup
or stroke, upon an enemy dead or alive
| In a battle his fellow warriors were
witnesses of the dead; but If he was
alone when he made the count, to OBJ
tain the feather he must have unmls-
taxable proof.
/ There were four coup counts on each
enemy. If man struck an enemy IN
hand-to-hand battle and got away
without being killed or even seriously
hurt, he could count one coup, but he
might kill his foe and yet be able to
count no coup.
The eagle feather is the only one
that represented coup given in
battle, but other feathers and sub
Sidiary trimmings were used to eX-
press various degrees of courage and
endurance. For example, a group of
raven or Canadian-goose feathers
trimmed on the sides indicated that the
wearer had been wounded in battle
more than once. A single goose
feather dyed rcd and trimmed meant
that the wearer was severely woun
| IN battle. Sometimes a man wore an
eagle feather dyed or trimmed, mean
| ing that he was wounded at the timc
he counted the coup. An eagle feather
with a notch dyed red meant that the
wearer counted the coup and took the
scalp also, but was wounded while
complishing it.
Perhaps he had the feather cut off at
the tip, showing that he had killed his
| foe and counted the coup on the same
enemy. If he had desperate battle,
with the odds against him, in which
he came off victor, he might tip his
eagles feather with buffalo hair; and
/ if he counted coup in a charge on
horseback in the face of imminent
danger, he was privileged to tip the
feather with hair from horses tail.
Among some tribes, the wearing of
split feather denoted that the wearer
had been wounded, and when the
feather was clipped off at the tip, that
he had taken a scalp. When a war
rior wore one eagle feather upright
and the rest dropping it indicated that
he was surrounded in company with
party of warriors of whom he was the
sole survivor.
When the Indian mad won a number
of eagle feathers and had been sur
rounded by the enemy, but succeeded in
getting away, he was entitled to W.
bonnet. Only an exceptional record of
many battles in which he had shown
great GOODNESS, skill and daring entitle
him to the long, trailing war bonnet of
many plumes.
Other ornaments and parts of war
rlor's dress bore a special significance.
IL he had been in the vanguard of bat
tie more than once and had led counter
charges, he might wear the whole skin
of raven on his back in the dances
II he had pursued his enemy into the
hostile camp and killed him there, he
might wear over his shoulders an otter
skin with the head hanging upon his
chest. A garter made of skunk's skin
with the head and tail on showed that
he had successfully taken a scalp I'M
der the enemy's fire. He adorned him
self with a grizzly bears claws it, on
having been surrounded, he had charg
ed singly, bear like, and repused the
enemy. The paws of a grizzly bear.
claws and all, denote that he had
knocked off or pulled off the foe in
mounted encounter.
The addition of an ermine skin to the
war bonnet is an honor that few war