Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1927-10-07
BY MRS. M. E. PLASSMANN

Ii lLlllNL eyes ulto llC lille
- whence cometh thy strength"
exclaims the psalmist OF the
prophet with the best OF rea-
sons. The Jews loved the mountains,
so different from the desert over which
they wandered for years. In the moun-
tains they could hope for success when
attacked by surrounding enemies. Even
the God they worshiped was not always
to be depended upon to render them
victorious ON the plains-or or they
thought. Their great leader, Moses.
from the summit Of a mountain received
the law which still governs them. and
from a mountain top he was granted a
vision OF the Holy Land. Their temple
crowned q lifty hill, In the midst of
Jerusalem. With all they loved and
r~everenced confined to the mountains, 1t
is not surprising their writings are filled
with references to them, as aids and COM
forts, never as natural objects to be
feared.
Many Of indian tribes, notably
those of the East, Of whom some have en-
tertained the mistaken notion hat they
were descendants of the lost tribes OF
Israel, have an entirely different con-
ception OF the mountains. They do not
, love them-they fear them. That this is
true, we have the word of no less an
authority than Mountain Chief, heredi-
tary chief OF the Piegans.
The Piegans are one part OF the Black
feet nation; the Others being the Siksiki
or Blackfeet, and the Kainah, known tc
the whites as Blood Indians. al three
OF these are a part Of the great Algon-
qdih family, which has representatives
from the atlantic coast to the Rockies
the Blackfeet seemingly constituting it,
western wing. 1t was q powerful fam
lily, most Of the distinguished Indians Of
history having belonged to 1t, and Il
was one of the strongest hindrances tt
the rapid advance Of our race.
Their Religious Belief
Today its numbers are few, and soor
these shall have passed away. Fortunatel.
before it would be impossible to do SO
enough interest has been awakened
among scientists and others, in the man
ners, customs and beliefs OF these peo
pie, to enable us Of the present genera
ton and those who will follow, to In
derstand in part how the Algonquin
lived and how they viewed the worlt
about them.
The religious belief of the Indians 1
the more difficult to determine becaus
Of its being interpreted according to pre-
conceived ideas Of missionaries or othe
white men or women who have made
study of the subject. These until re
Gently taught that the Indians believed
in the Great Spirit, which we are toll
Is untrue. They endowed all thing
animate and inanimate with spiritua
qualities, while like the rest Of thu
human race at a similar stage of evolu
ton, they worshfped the sun. This wa
inevitable, due to the self-evident fac
OF. the sun giving them light, heat, ant
everything else which made life possible
The mind Of an Indian it has peel
said, is like that OF a child, n like
child he suffers from countless fear
unknown to us. He may worship tn
sun but he also feels it necessary u
propitiate many other things which h
thinks might work him harm. His In
termediary between himself and thes
supernatural powers, is the medicin
man. AS the barber of old was boil
barber and surgeon, the indian medicin
man is physician and priest. ministerin
to body and soul. The lamentations tina
accompany his treatments may hav
their use In affecting the mind Of tn
patient. AS the Indians have unlimiteV
faith in him, often preferring his minis
~trations to those OF a white doctor.
Affected by Surroundings
Their stories Of creation. etc, are ira
ditional-handed down through genera