Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1942-07-25
CROW INDIANS
BEST LOOKING
OF WEST TRIBES
BUT MOST HISTORIANS REGARD
ED THEM AS TREACHER0Us.
NOT DEPENDABLE

arrive az the True EStlfuALe OF tIls
character Of these redskins onlI
through comparing what is said d
them by historians.
From their pictures, chosen as rep
resentative Of their general appear
ance, they might justly claim to bs
the best looking Of any Of the tribes
as it Is claimed they we're. Fleeing
glimpses OF the reservation type car
give one but little idea of what In
dams were when theirs was q life Of
freedom. They invariably degenerated
at least physically, under the white
mans rule.
we are told by scientists that the
Crows belong to the Siouan family
and once were a part Of the Hidatsa
group which, when first known, lived
near the mouth Of the Knife river, on
the Missouri, in the neighborhood Of
the MandanS and the Aricaras. The
Mandans called them Minataris, which
means ~they crossed the water" re-
ferring to the Missouri The Sioux
gave them a name, which translated,
was "tepees in a row." and the Crows
who deserted them named them "Gros
Ventres," which led to their often be-
ing confused with a branch Of the
Arapahoes, known as the Gross Ven
tres Of the Prairie" whose home was
near Great Falls.
According to one of their traditions,
the Hidatsa lived at Devils Lake,
where their manner Of life resembled
that of the Mandans. While our re-
bellion against the rule Of Great Brit
ain was in progress, two HidatSa
- Ieas7 led m division
of the tribe, the deserters henceforth
bearing the name of Absarokas, or
the Crows.
Became Nomads
While their relatives on the Missouri
continued the manner Of life to which
they were accustomed on Devils Lake,
the Crows renowned all that, and be-
came nomads, depending for their liv-
ing on the products of the chase, and
what they could gain by theft. One
writer says they were not at all par
ticular from whom they stole; they
would rob alike white man or red, and
the universal opinion of them was
that they were master thieves.
Their chief enemies we're the Sioux,
the Blackfeet and the Gros Ventres of
the Prairie. But they managed TO
have many fights with other tribes,
as they wandered far afield on their
horse stealing expeditions. One trap
per tells Of going with them to steal
horses from the Nee Perces, and OF
how skilfully they managed to secure
them without losing a man.
When Lewis and Clark made their
acquaintance, they lived on the Big
Horn, or it was there they were seen,
but Hayden found them roaming ON
the south side of the Yellowstone from
the Rocky mountains ON Powder, Big
Horn and Wind rivers to the Platte,
and west and north side Of the river
from the source OF the Yellowstone
to its mouth.
Prince Macmillan noticed their re-
semblance in customs to the Sioux,
the main difference being that they
decorated their tepees with streamers
OF cloth, red by preference, instead OF
with the scalps of their enemies. He
said they sometimes raised tobacco;
that they were excessively proud, and
that they did not often kill whites,
but "plundered them" doubtless on
the principle that you cannot eat
cake and have it too" It paid better
to steal than to kill those from whom
they might profit later.
Extremely Superstitious
Like most others who visited them
in the early days, Macmillan found
them extremely superstitious and dis
solute. without question they had
more vices than any other tribe west |
of the Rockies. None Of their chroni-
cles seem to attribute any of their
vicious tendencies to visiting white
men, to whom it is claimed much Of
the degeneracy of the Indians was
due. Those fur traders with whom the
Indians came in contact were no
PlIritans, but the vileness Of the Crows
shocked even them.
Despite their shortage Of morals,
they were handsome, and fond OF |
richly ornamented robes, leggings,
and the like; were splendid
horsemen, and were said to possess
the best and greatest number Of horses
IN the Missouri valley. They also UNI
derstood to perfection the art Of trad
ing skins of buffalo or deer, and deco
rating them. 1t was soon discovered
that theirs were the finest robes, and
for that reason they never lacked q
market for them.
Knowing that their robes were IN
great demand, the Crows made 1t
rather interesting for the fur traders,
BY forcing them to change the loca-
lion Of their trading posts to suit the
Of these Indians. Several
posts we're abandoned, and others built
1t considerable expense Of time and
money in order to control their trade.
While the consensus of opinion
seems to be that the Crows did not
ill the whites, some writers are skep-
.icaI ON this subject. Captain Williams
believed that it was they who stole
his horses and killed bis men. He
,aIled them ''treacherous, crafty, row
ng freebooters."
They are said to have besieged Fort
Mckenzie, on the Marias below Fort
Benton, and freighters Of Later day
lid not trust their humanity or love
or the white man. They held that
many a murder thought to have been
committed by the Blackfeet was the
q q /