Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1928-11-08

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to Catlin of their enmity TO the beaver
trappers; but justified their conduct be
cause. year after year, they had warned
the whites from their hunting grounds
and threatened them with death In
case OF further trespass. Hence the trad
ers usually went in companies. anc
bloody encounters often happened be.
tween them and the Blackfeet. The In.
dians. however. rarely began a fight un-
less certain of victory. Their common
practice was to lie in wait for detached
parties. and fall upon them with over.
whelming numbers. Macmillan, Primo
of Wied, says that as many as 80 mer
in the employ of the American Fur com.
pany have been known to be thus cut
off in a single year. Often the innocent
traveller was mistaken for one of these
obnoxious" men, and fell q victim tc
the error.
Hospitality Inviolate
Catlin tell us, however, that If the
hospitality Of the Blackfeet was invoked
they regarded the claim as inviolate and
would suffer no peril to come nigh theii
guest. During a residence of eight years
among them and other western tribes
Catlin never ran any risk of his life
and was robbed of but a few trifline
articles. Other travellers. however, found
iiS oiOOdo bLSdSllClOQOr billtNlol LII
s%anguinary.
The manner in which the Blood tribe
OF Blackfeet obtained their name estab-
fishes their alleged peridious charac-
ter. They were originally known as the
Kahnas, and were encamped with the
Piegans, when a small party of the Koo-
tenais pitched their lodges close by. The
Kahnas insisted on attacking their weak
er neighbors, but the Piegans unani-
mously declared against 1t. In the dead
of night, however, the Kahnas arose from
their sleep and fell Upon the defenseless
kootenais, whom they massacred in bed,
and after taking the scalps Of their vic
Tins, and smearing their faces with
blood, they returned to their tents. But
this cruel action aroused the anger OF
the Piegans. who separated from the
murderers and refused longer to acknowl-
edge them as Of their tribe. From this
incident the Kahnas lave ever since
gone by the name of the Blood Indians.
The factors and attaches of fur trading
posts never trusted the Bloods. Their
reservation today is located north of that
of the Piegans, in what is now Alberta,
Canada.
Revenge Held Sacred
Duels often occurred among the Black
feet, and. like the ancient H~ighlanders.
they regarded revenge as a sacred duty.
II a relative was killed, his nearest rela-
tive took the life of the murderer at
the first opportunity; If this could not
be accomplished a membe Of the family
fell victim. Sometimes, however, the Of
fender purchased immunity by the pay
ment OF a large ransom to the relatives
OF the deceased. A similar practice was
known to the ancient Gauls: and in the
early days of English Jurisprudence.
every man in the realm, from earl to
peasant, had his price fixed by law,
on the payment of which his murderer
was suffered to go free. In examining
the habits and customs OF the North
American Indians we are continually
confronted with points of similarity Le-
tween them and the ancient Germans
as described by Tacitus.
The Blackfeet were buffalo hunters
and their domain was famous as the
richest buffalo grazing area on the
American continent. The bison provided
them with everything needed for food,
shelter and raiment. In winter, sone-
times, they would construct large PARKS
into which they drove large herds of
these animals to be used for winter
food. From the elk, antelope, mountain
sheep and beaver they derived their hides
n leather out of which they fabri-
Gated their finer articles Of dress. Wolves
were good medicine" because the wolf
strong. These they hunted for their
shields and decorations. In later years,
they hunted the wolves for their hides
which were sole to the traders.
Blackfeet Were Nomads
Being hunters, the Blackfeet were nom
ads. They lived in lodges made Of
aimed buffalo hides, which seldom
lasted longer han q single season. Their
household goods consisted OF buffalo
robes, wooden and skin dishes; large
spoons made from the horn Of the
mountain sheep; q back rest made Of
peeled willow twigs woven together with
rawhide; and sometimes kettles and tin
ware obtained from the trading post.
In the center of the lodge was a fire
over which cooking was done, the smoke
finding It's way out of an aperture at the
top. Over the door Of the lodge hung
the warriors medicine bag. This was
generally a parfleche container con
tanning q bird or animals parts or
other object, in which the owners guard
ian spirit was supposed to reside. Every
young man before. entering upon life,
was compelled to 'get his medicine"
With this end In view, the young buck
would fast for three or our days, retir-
ing to some solitary spot. where he did
penance, bowling to the Great Spirit to
visit him and point out his medicine.
In this state of mind, the suppliant
would continue until he slept nj
dreamed. The object Of which he dreamed
three times in succession was known as