Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1931-07-23
VISITORS LEARN
SOMETHING NEW
INDIANS ENCAMPED AT GLACIER
PARK SHOW GUESTS HOW TO
MAKE LEATHER

Behind the n so TO speak, and
within a stones throw of the hotel
of the Great Northern railway at
Glacier park, are lodges of the Glae-
Ter park Indians pitched for the sum-
mer on the little stream in the an
yon west of the hotel.
Each year at the beginning Of the
park season l.. d. Kitchell, who is often
greeted at the hotel as the old-timer',
visits Browning and chooses from the
Blackfeet a few prominent tribesmen
to spend the summer entertaining Wis
itors at the park.
This year among the group are Owen
Heavy Breast, George Bull Child. both
official interpreters; Boss Ribs. Ernest
Cut Finger, Bird Earrings, Calf Tail,
T%heordore Last Star, known as the
good looking Indian; Mack Short
Man, Big Left Hand, known as the
comedian of the group; Wallace Night
Gun and Irwin Little Plume. With
them come their wives and children,
and they are at home to the travellers
in their camp during the day in the
usual duties of home life, entertaining
by telling stories and answering ques-
tons.
They are under supervision and di-
rection of Mr.. Kitchell through the
summer while in camp, and from time
to time more Indians are invited on
| special occasions and some exchange
from time to time, making a constant
ly changing group. Their leisure is
spent in making beads and buckskin
work to sell, in adding to their own
costumes and in cleaning and keep
ing their buckskins white and attract
i've and in smoking, painting, and pre-
pairing new buckskin.
Sometimes they prepare a cowhide
by tanning in camp. This is work for
the women and is always interesting
to the visitors. The green hide is laid
on the ground and holes made close to
the edge of the hide at intervals OF
eight inches by punching the blade Of
a butcher knife through the hide half
an inch from the outside edge. Pegs
are put through the holes, the hide
stretched tightly and the pegs driven
into the ground to hold it firmly. The
hide is then "fleshed" by scraping meat
and fat until the surface is clean and
tough. Then it is scraped until all
hair is removed, and it is ready for
soles of moccasins or rawhide bag,
medicine pouches and the like.
In the evening they come to the
big back porch of the hotel. From z
till 8 o'clock they visit with hotel
guests. Calf Tail does not smoke Gig
arets, SO he gathers in all that are
handed to him and saves them for his
wife who makes up for what her chief
cannot use. Gypsy Bull Child does not
smoke, and she keeps cigarets for her
husband. They enjoy many jokes on
the whites, who talk before them and
do not realize that each Indian can
understand most of what is said.
AT 8 and after dinner, when all
guests are free to enjoy the Indian.
program, Mr.. Kitchell introduces the
Indians by name. A short talk Is CIV
en- by some one of the group IN ms
native tongue and interpreted INTO
English by Heavy Breast or Bull Chlld
for the stranger who has never heard
the Indian language. They also IL
lustrate the sign language.
War and other dances are entertain
ing to visitors. Here Big Mike taxes
his part and gathers from the crowd a
number of visitors, who are led into the
circle and initiated into the BlacK1eet
dance step.