#4
Home of Mad Wolf

Synopsis.

The Blackfoot country in 1896. My pack-outfit and Indian tipi. First
meeting with Chief Mad Wolf. His home in Cutbank valley. His summer camp
on the prairies. Family of Mad Wolf. Interior arrangement of their tipi.
Mad Wolf's son-in-law. Mother-in-law complications. Women's work and
that of the men. Tanning skins. Making lodge-covers and clothing of
skins. Weasel-tail suits and war-bonnets. Families of the old generation
who came to Mad Wolf's tipi. Prominent chiefs and medicine-men.

Evenings by the lodge-fire. Interesting social customs. Observance of
taboos. Mad Wolf tells about their annual circuit as nomads. Winter
Buffalo hunts on the plains. Deer and antelope on Milk river.
quarters on the Marias river. Moose and elk hunts near the mountains.

Mad Wolf moves our camp to his winter home on Cutbank. Use of the
sweat-lodge. Burial customs. Mad Wolf's Snow tipi, its symbollic
decorations and ritual. Beaver bundle of Mad Wolf. Opening of the
Beaver bundle. Chiefs and their families who came to the ceremony.

Its dramatic ritual with singing and rhythmic accompaniment. Predominance
of symbolism. Interesting animal dances. Beaver dance by women.
Bear dance by Mad Wolf. Prairie chicken dance. The popular Dog dance.
Buffalo dance symbolizing the mating of buffalo. The Beaver ceremony
ends with a feast.

At five o'clock, Wednesday afternoon, November 6th, in the Sterling Memorial Library, Mr Walter McClintock will deliver a lecture upon the HOME LIFE OF A BLACKFOOT CHIEF - illustrated by an unusual series of 100 colored lantern slides. These are intimate scenes taken by the author in the camps of Chief Mad Wolf (Siyeh) his Indian father. The chief adopted him as his son and made him a member of the Blackfoot tribe forty five years ago. McClintock returned through many years to visit his Indian father and the tribe. He made his life work a study of the Indians, and by invitation of the head-men has compiled true records of Blackfoot life as it was in the old days - their primitive customs, legends, religious ceremonies, together with language and song records, and photographs of rituals, councils, and dances in their tipi camps on the prairies and in the Rocky Mountains.

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In connection with the lecture, a representative of more than 400 pictures from the McClintock Blackfoot collection will be placed on exhibition.

These are enlarged photographs colored in oil and illustrate the tribal customs and traditions of the Blackfoot Indians, their famous chiefs and medicine-men of the old generation - and their country of the plains and Rocky Mountains.

Both the exhibition and the lecture are open without charge to the general public, and those interested are cordially invited.

School children of the future will hear "true" Indian stories because a Yale graduate took a trip to Montana nearly fifty years ago.

Walter McClintock graduated from Yale College in 1891. A few years later as member of a Government Forestry expedition to northwestern Montana, he formed a warm friendship with an Indian scout who had served under Generals Custer, Miles, and Reno. It was this Scout who first led McClintock over the passes of the Northern Rockies to the great Sun-Dance encampment of the Blackfoot Indians - where thousands of warriors were gathered together for the most imposing of all their secret ceremonies. Chief Mad Wolf by whom McClintock was adopted was a leader of the Sun-Dance and guardian of the Beaver Medicine, one of the oldest and most important of their rituals. In his lecture on Wednesday, November 6th, in the Sterling Memorial Library, at 5 o'clock in the afternoon, Mr. McClintock will tell about the home of Chief Mad Wolf, his Indian father by adoption, and show interesting scenes of primitive social customs, dramatic animal dances in the ritual of the Beaver Medicine, and the prominent chiefs and medicine-men with their families who came to Mad Wolf's camp to attend the ceremonies.

This is the 13th in my series of illustrated lectures on Blackfoot culture. I have recorded in manuscript information from my note books and pictures taken as I went along during my life with the tribe. Today I am going to tell about the home and family of Chief Mad Wolf, my Indian father by adoption, together with a description of their everyday life in his camps on the praries.

This map shows the four reservations of the Blackfoot tribe - three in the Province of Alberta, Canada, and one in Montana - on the eastern slope of the Northern Rockies. They were once a powerful confederacy. Spoke the same language, were closely intermarried, but had separate head-chiefs and Sun-Dance ceremonies. The small map at the upper right, gives a comparison between their present reservations in red, and the great region over which they formerly wandered as nomads and hunters. The red arrow at the summit of the Rocky Mountain range to the left, marks Cutbank Pass and the old Indian trail by which I entered the Blackfoot country with my Indian guide Siksikaikoan, the beginning of summer 1896. His home and that of Chief Mad Wolf, my Indian father by adoption, were near together on Cutbank - in the foothills of the prairies outside the mountains.

401 This is the scene of one of our mountain camps on Cutbank - headwaters of the Missouri in Montana - the way the country looked more than forty years ago, when I first arrived with my Indian guide. Then it was covered with virgin forests of pine, fir, and spruce. After a Government Fprestry expedition, Siksikaikoan an intelligent half-breed who was our head-guide took me home with him to his tribe.

402 This is Siksikaikoan the famous Indian scout in costume. The way he served under Generals Custer, Miles, and Reno - a survivor of the Custer Massacre. He told me of his thrilling escape from the hostile Sioux through his knowledge of the Sioux language. He has the heavy 45-70 Winchester rifle and small telescope used by the Army scouts. His ranch with many horses and cattle where I stayed when I first entered the country, was on the prairies near the foot of the Rockies.

403 Living at his home on Cutbank, I came into contact with prominent chiefs and medicine-men of the old generation of primitive Blackfoot. This scout was their good friend, honest and trustworthy. They lived nearby in Cutbank valley and came to him for advice. I was present at their councils and became identified with him. It was then a tragic period in their tribal history, because of the rising tide of white civilization. White men coveted their rich grazing lands. Corrupt Montana officials and politicians were a never ending menace.

Chief Mad Wolf (Siyeh, pronounced Sayi) had his winter home on Cutbank. He was a good friend of the scout and thus I first came into contact with him. Finally he adopted me as his son in a religious ceremony before his family and relatives; he also made me a member of the tribe in another ceremony and baptized me with the name of A'peechekeen (Weasel Moccasin) about which I have told you in a former lecture. I met other head-men and their families while riding the Cutbank range for horses and cattle - White Calf the venerable head-chief and his five stalwart sons - the medicine-men White Grass and Ear Rings - and many of the associates and relatives of my friend the scout and of Chief Mad Wolf my father by adoption.

This Cutbank country where I lived with the scout and the nearby region of Two Medicine, comprised a rich grass country of foothills and rolling prairies, high plateaus, rivers, streams, and lakes; and vast stretches of pine forest on the rugged slopes of the Northern Rockies.

It was once the heart of the Blackfoot hunting country - the region they prized the most. Formerly it abounded with herds of buffalo and antelope, elk, moose, deer, beaver and otter, big-horn sheep, mountain goat, and grizzly bear. Now it is a part of Glacier National Park.

407 At the home of the scout, I made friends with Indians both old and young. I had my own saddle horse, bought from a chief of the Kutenai who were mountain Indians and famed for their good horses - a four year old bay with a white star on his forehead. I called him Kutenai after his tribe. Also a wiry packhorse named Baldy to carry my equipment and Indian tipi. After Mad Wolf adopted me as his son and made me a member of the tribe, I was well known throughout the Blackfoot country, both in Montana and across the Line in the Province of Alberta - among the northern divisions, Blood, Northern Piegan, and North Blackfoot. On Cutbank I had a special friend named Yellow Bird, a young Indian of my own age who was a relative of the scout. We rode the range after horses and cattle and visited Indian camps together. We were known aspartners (otakayi, or comrades of the same age who did things together). Thus I became familiar with the Blackfoot country and was independent. Always I carried cameras and notebooks, to record everything I saw and heard.

408 Divide Mountain the triangular peak in the left background, was a landmark for Mad Wolf's home on Cutbank. Right, is the massive ridge of Hudson Bay divide running east and west, separating the waters of the Missouri and Saskatchewan. In the valley along the river were groves of cottonwood, aspen, thickets of willows, and meadows of wild flowers.

One day in summer, after a visit to the Blood tribe in Alberta, I came back to Mad Wolf's winter home on Cutbank to find the place deserted. But I knew it was his custom in warm summer weather, to take his herds of horses and cattle upon the open prairies, where the prevailing winds gave relief from swarms of flies and mosquitoes of the river valley.

From a distance, I saw Little Creek, the son-in-law of Mad Wolf, alone on a high ridge of the foothills, watching their horse herd feeding in the grassy valleys. It was the custom of Blackfoot herders to watch the grazing horses from the summit of a prairie hill. Nearby I found Mad Wolf's summer camp in a rich meadow of wild timothy and bunch-grass.

It was evening. The sun was setting behind Divide Mountain of the ROCKIES, lighting up the cloud banks over the main range from north to south. As usual, barking dogs rushed forth to meet me as I rode into the camp - followed by women and children. But Mad Wolf himself did not appear. He waited inside his lodge for me to come to him. As head-man of his band, it was not customary for him to mingle with the women and children. When I entered his large tipi, he shook hands and said "A'uke, A'peecheken!" (Hello, Weasel Moccasin). We smoked a friendly pipe together. Then I went forth to unpack my equipment and look after my horses.

Gives-To-The-Sun the wife of Mad Wolf and their daughter Atsosinne
(Strikes-On-Both-Sides) right. After my adoption the women of the Mad Wolf
family regarded me as a near relative and arranged everything.

They pitched my small traveling-tipi between their own two lodges.
It was light and easy to handle, made especially for moving about, with
picture decorations of war and hunting - personal experiences of the Indian
who gave it to me - also conventional designs at top and bottom, discs for
star constellations and heavenly bodies, and a band of Dusty Stars symbolic
of the prairies. It was woman's work to pitch the tops and look after
them - men knew nothing about their care.

The women showed me how to handle my lodge - to shift the wing-poles
for changing the flaps or "ears" at the top according to the wind and keep
the lodge from smoking, also for stormy weather. They fixed an inside-lining
for a sort of flue to help the updraft of my fire and keep out wind and rain.
Back-rests for the head and foot of my couch, made of willows bound together
with sinew and supported by tripods of carved poles.

413 Interior arrangements of a Blackfoot lodge, with the fire in center surrounded by a circle of round stones. Strikes-On-Both-Sides, the daughter of Chief Mad Wolf, in a soft-tanned dress of deerskin decorated with bands of colored beads and white shell earrings, is seated on a couch of robes and blankets. Several couches extended around the lodge with back-rests of small sticks bound together with sinew at the head and foot of each couch. The painted rawhide case at right was for storing clothes and provisions. A rope from the apex of the lodge-poles was fastened to stakes in the ground, to hold the tipi in a heavy wind. Strikes-On-Both-Sides had her hair dressed in two long braids and drawn down smoothly to cover the ears, after the manner of Blackfoot women.

414 The baby Tears-In-Her-Eyes in her Blackfoot cradle which was made by folding a blanket or skin over buskin ropes fastened to the lodge-poles.

415 Strikes-On-Both-Sides with her baby and dogs coming with a pail of water from the lake. This shows the secure and comfortable position of the baby riding high on its mother's back, held by a blanket or shawl. Across the lake is a horse herd, and beyond is the triangular shaped peak of Divide Mountain in the Rockies - always a landmark for Chief Mad Wolf's home on Cuthank.

415a Strikes-On-Both-Sides swinging the baby into position on her back, with baby's arms tightly around her neck, until she covered her with the blanket, its head out, and fastened the blanket securely in front.

416 Small Otter (A'monisi-koan), a grandson of Mad Wolf and the favorite of our camp. He had a sunny nature with bright eyes, and a round smiling face - and wore his hair in little braids over his shoulders. His everyday costume was only a little shirt, when he hunted for rabbits, birds, and ground squirrels; and he liked to play at warfare with bow and arrow.

417 But most of all he liked to ride his grandmother's old saddle horse, proudly wearing a miniature costume in imitation of his father's - a war-bonnet with curving horns tipped with red horsehair and clothes of soft-tanned deerskin decorated with beads and black-tipped ermine tails.

418 Baby-case of a Kutenai woman who came to visit Mad Wolf's camp. She carried it on her back with the baby's face exposed. The beadwork is in the leaf and flower design characteristic of the Kutenai Indians.

419 Chief Mad Wolf is the central figure with blanket draped around his waist and informal everyday costume. He went to see the visiting Kutenai in their nearby camp; they stand on both sides of him. They had a rude shelter or wickiup such as was used in former days by traveling Indians of the northwest - made by a lodge-cover supported by a few poles. A fire burned in front and strips of meat dried in sun and smoke. A horse in the background has a primitive saddle of deer antlers. The Kutenai were mountain Indians who occupied a country west of the Blackfoot. They were famous for their good horses.

In the summer camp of Mad Wolf my small traveling-tipi was placed so near the large lodge of his daughter Strikes-On-Both-Sides and her husband Little Creek, I could hear every word. It was too close for privacy, but customary for members of a family camping together. Little Creek and his wife were fond of each other and did not bicker or quarrel - nor did they talk loud. Like most Indian parents, they indulged their children and rarely punished them - as a rule children ran wild and did as they pleased.

One night I was wakened by loud groans from Little Creek. I found him suffering from severe intestinal pain and gave him a remedy from the medicine-case I carried with me. This added to my reputation as a doctor, for in the morning he had recovered.

The news of this illness spread to other Blackfoot camps, and was exaggerated. Within a few days a stranger appeared in our camp and went to the lodge of Little Creek who was away at the time, but his wife Strikes-On-Both-Sides was at home. I heard her talk angrily and upraid the visitor. My tipi was so close I could hear everything she said. She called him a "forked-tongue" (liar); and accused him of spreading the report that her husband was dying; relatives came in haste to see him. It was offensive to a Blackfoot woman to have anyone say anything was the matter with her man. She felt it a reflection of her care; as if she were neglecting him; it hurt her pride; she was humiliated and ashamed. On this occasion the visitor kept quiet and made no defense.

Another time I helped Anatapsa their daughter, a young girl of fourteen
She came back to camp one day with a barbed fish-hook deeply imbedded in
her hand. The women walled and moaned when I began to sharpen my knife.
But she had no trouble. I dressed the wound with antiseptic. There was no
inflammation and it quickly healed. To show her gratitude, she gave me some
of her treasures - a piece of sweet-scented cottonwood and a necklace of
small blue shells with little animals carved from stone, now preserved in my
ethnological collection.

Strikes-On-Both-Sides her mother gave me a rawhide case with painted
designs and long fringe hanging down - called Einiskim (Buffalo Rock bundle)
It contained pieces of flint which resembled miniature buffalo. A ritual
went with it, formerly used as a charm to make buffalo come. She gave me
directions for its care. The sacred bundle must hang by day from a tripod
behind my lodge; at sunset it should be brought inside to hang from the
lodge-poles, and a smudge of sweetgrass burned as incense. Thus I kept
Blackfoot
adding to my ethno-logical collections,

This woman was tanning a green hide stretched tight with stakes driven
into the ground. She cut out fragments of bone and tissue with an elk-bone
sharpened at one end like a chisel. The hide was greasy and wet - the
cutting out a laborious and unpleasant task - the first step in tanning.
The skins of buffalo, antelope, deer, and elk were used for clothing and
tipi-covers.

After a skin had been fleshed and the hair side scraped, it was rubbed with an oily compound of brains and fat. The skin was then dried and whitened by sawing back and forth through a lopp of twisted sinew fastened to a pole, as was being done here by Nitana the wife of Onesta. After that the skin was ready for use.

The finished product - a man's war-short of soft-tanned deerskin. Broad beaded bands extended over the shoulders and along the sleeves, with a triangular flap at the back. Along the sleeves strips of black-tipped ermine and a collar of otterskin. A weasel-tail suit like this had great value, because of its elaborate decorations. It was like a medicine-bundle, transferred with ceremony and had a definite ritual - worn to war and had war-songs that went with it.

A weasel-tail shirt had long leggings to match, reaching to the hip and supported from the belt by a strap. A beaded band extended nearly the full length, bordered by strips of black-tipped weasel tails. The soft yellow color was produced in dyeing a skin with a lichen that grows on pine trees (evernia vulpina). They used a root to dye skins red.

A long war-bonnet was called "saāmi" (medicine). It was also transferred in a ritual with songs. For this long headdress 70 eagle-feathers were used - selected tail-feathers, white with black tips from the golden eagle. They were secured from eagle catchers who took eagles alive so as not to injure the feathers - a dangerous calling but profitable because of the demand both for decoration and religious purposes.

A woman artist painting the design of a tipi-cover - sketching circle for discs to represent stars of a constellation. The red bands were symbolic of the Thunder or trails of lightning. She first traced the design with a white liquid scraped from a hide. Paints were mostly mineral. The pencils were made of buffalo bones, because they were porous and held the paint.

Carving the design of a pole, to be used as support for a back-rest at the end of a couch inside a tipi.

Woman making a rawhide case or parfleche for carrying clothes and provisions on the backs of horses. She was boring the holes for lacings. Painted designs for decoration were generally mountains, lakes, and game trails.

Firewood stacked for drying so the wind could blow through. In the care of the tipi, women provided the firewood, carrying it on their backs or from a distance with a horse or dog (a litter made of poles).

Blackfoot women were the industrialists; and with the coming of white civilization and change in their culture, the women were better off than the men. They still had their work in which they were trained from childhood - tanning skins, making clothes and lodge-covers, preparing food and care of the tipi. On the other hand men had been hunters and warriors and lost their occupation with the disappearance of war and the wild game.

In the summer camp of Chief Mad Wolf where I stayed, the men gave most of their time to the care of horses and cattle, religious ceremonies and care of sacred bundles. Mad Wolf himself was away most of the time, busy with tribal affairs and meetings, and with religious rituals in which he took part and often led - especially the ceremonies of the Beaver bundle and Medicine Pipe which were two of the most important in the Blackfoot tribe.

Mad Wolf had his herds of horses and cattle in the rich grass country of the foothills, where they wandered freely over a wonderful range. They were watched by his son-in-law Little Creek (Kinák-&Sisachtai), who was of middle age, easy going and good-natured, skilled in the handling of horses and cattle. He and Mad Wolf were on the best of terms, sharing with his father-in-law the results of his hunts. But he had no dealings with his mother-in-law, according to tribal custom. He avoided meeting or speaking to her - they should never be seen together in the same place. She visited her daughter only when the son-in-law was away from home. If he humiliated her by meeting her in a public place, he was expected to make amends by the present of a good horse.

Chief Mad Wolf from a photograph taken at the time of my adoption in 1898. The bone whistle on his breast was used in conducting his Beaver bundle, an important religious ceremony, given on important occasions, generally in behalf of the sick. Mad Wolf was known as the guardian and director of the Beaver bundle which was regarded as the largest and oldest of their sacred bundles.

Sometimes friends of Mad Wolf came with their wives to his camp to spend the evening by his lodge-fire - fine types of the old generation of primitive Blackfoot who were Mad Wolf's associates in those days of long ago - the head-men of the tribe - chiefs, doctors, and medicine-men.

435 White Calf (Unistáipoka) the head-chief for many years was older than Mad Wolf. They lived near each other on Cutbank river and were friends for many years. Their families too were on intimate terms. I first met White Calf in 1896 when he was well along in years, but he still stood erect and rode horseback fearlessly. Brave in war and of sound judgement, he had a benevolent spirit, gave freely to the poor and helped widows and orphans. Always active in tribal affairs, he was a real father to his people. His most prominent trait was love for his fellow tribesmen. All his life he strove for their welfare with an earnestness and devotion seldom equalled by the rulers of civilized peoples.

436 Two of the four stalwart sons of White Calf the head-chief - Two Guns (Esto-koatto) and Last Gun - a picture I took nearly forty years ago when they were young men. They often came to Mad Wolf's camp.

436a White Calf, Another picture of Two Guns taken later in life. He more nearly resembled his famous father the head-chief both in looks and ability than any of his brothers.

437 Bird Rattle (Sists-áuana), a prominent chief who was a tribal judge and a member of the Brave Dog society.

438

White Grass (Apotoyis), a doctor and medicine-man, who lived on
Cutbank near the homes of White Calf and Mad Wolf. He was a well built
active little Indian who went by the nickname of "Soni" (Shorty). He had
good standing in the tribe, because of his knowledge of religious
ceremonies and medicine bundles; also a reputation as a doctor and was
called in when any of the Mad Wolf family were ill. My friend White Grass
was shrewd, crafty, and good natured. He was a fluent talker
and told many stories and legends of the old days.

439

Spotted Eagle (Pitai-kix-tsipimi) was a medicine-man and one of the
leaders of the Sun-Dance ceremony. He could read signs in the skies and
was known as a Weather Dancer. At the time of the sun-dance he used
his supernatural power to drive back storms and keep the weather clear.
Spotted Eagle liked to tell stories of Old Man (Napi), a strange mythical
character well known to all the Plains tribes. Some of these
tales of Napi (Old Man) might be called obscene in white society,
but Spotted Eagle told them freely and without repression, to entertain
and amuse and without any knowledge of our conventions.

440

Flat Tail (Apátokuyi), a prominent member of the Brave Dogs, one
of the powerful Warrior Societies who ruled the tribal camp. They held
the people in check, that there might not be any selfish hunting and
wasting of the tribe's natural resources. They did police duty and
helped the chiefs enforce order; and sometimes acted as judges in
family quarrels.

441

Curly Bear, a tribal judge, and a chief of fine character.

442

Wolf Plume, also a tribal judge, with his wife First Strike and
their daughter Small Bird. He was well-off with large herds of horses and
cattle which he carefully guarded.

443

Brings-Down-The-Sun (Natosin Nipii, literally the-sun-bringer or medium through whom the sun is brought down). Then about 80 years old - known as *ákaiinau* (chief of ancient times). A wise man, competent director of ceremonies, and conservationist of their big trees, berry bushes, and food supply - famous throughout the Blackfoot confederacy as an authority on their religion, traditions, and ancient customs.

444

A group of the Brave-Dog society who were known as "Old-Men-Counsellors and the heads of prominent families - Mountain Chief (Nínaistako) right, Lone Chief, and Flat Tail.

445

An aged woman at the Otter tipi. Her name was Sépinamachka (Takes-Gun-In-The-Night) - the prefix sépi means, in the night. In the old days of their tribal organization, the head-men allowed no one to go hungry. It was customary to protect and care for the aged, fatherless, and widows. Strong and successful hunters shared their abundance with those who lacked.

446

In Mad Wolf's camp, he and his friends liked to gather round the lodge-fire in the evening, to tell stories, sing, and enjoy themselves. In their gatherings I did not hear them dispute or wrangle, find fault, or curse. They did not talk loud and when one person was speaking, the others listened. They liked to exaggerate and boast - an Indian characteristic. But they always listened to a speaker and did not interrupt. They were not irreverent and did not revile sacred things like white men. The worst epithet they could use for a person was - I'mitaskioa (Dog-face), or Ksinámi-pokau (Coyote-born or bastard).

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This was the way Mad Wolf and his friends used to sit in a circle
around their central fire. The chief and his wife in the center and at
the back. The men were on Mad Wolf's left, the women on his right -
in the same order as their husbands. The door always faced the east,
so the men were said to be on the north side of the fire and the women
across from them on the south side. Certain rules had to be observed
in Mad Wolf's tipi because of the taboos of his different medicine-
bundles. His friends, however, were well informed and careful not to
offend. They knew Mad Wolf's sacred bundles and their taboos -
the Beaver Medicine, Medicine Pipe, and the Snow-tipi. Because of the
Beaver bundle, no one should pass in front of Mad Wolf, between him and
the fire; dogs were not allowed because they were hostile to beavers;
no one should hang up their moccasins, nor raise the sides of the tipi;
and the inside fire must not die out. Even the children knew that the
word "kyaio" (bear) was taboo because of the medicine-pipe - its power
came from the bear. If one had to speak about the bear a taboo-substitute
should be used as that "big-bobtail" (ómach-kitsís), or paksíkoyi (sticky-
mputh) - to carelessly say the word "kyaio" would be certain to bring
misfortune - sickness or even death. Those within Mad Wolf's Snow tipi
should not reply to anyone on the outside; no one should talk loud and
people should enter without speaking. It was a breach of etiquette to ask
a leading question about one's personal medicine or religious experience.
The owner might talk about it himself, but the initiative must come from
him. And it was considered rude to ask a man his name before a company
of people - it reflected on his good standing and made him feel
ashamed.

One evening when the lodges of Mad Wolf's camp glowed with light from inside-fires, I asked him to tell about the days of long ago. How they lived before white men took possession of their country - when they were nomads and wild game was plentiful - great herds of buffalo, antelope, deer, and elk. Then Mad Wolf told about the routine of their year. The annual circuit they used to follow as nomads, according to the changing seasons. The night air was cold and we sat comfortably around the fire which lighted up the tipi. Mad Wolf finished smoking and knocked the ashes from his redstone pipe. He began to speak in a low voice as the Indians of that old generation were accustomed, and made graceful gestures with his hands as he talked.

"Nochk'oá (my son), omák ákauch-ták kiníks kapséks otúks-kséiks
mátach-kimist áuat-siu-aie ( the country of the ancient Piegans was long
ago very far north). What happy times we had before we ever saw white
men . There were great herds of buffalo and we wandered where we pleased.

"We spent our winters away from the mountains. Down the Marías river and far out on the plains, where the winters were not so cold. We called it the "Lower Country." We camped along the Marías river until late in the spring (Mad Wolf called it Kyái-e-sisach-tài, meaning "Bear-creek"). We waited until our horses shed their long winter hair and became fat on the new grass. When the weather got warm and it came time to move, our chiefs called through the camp. "Make ready to pull up your lodge-pins, we are going to move towards the mountains." And in the early morning before sun-up, they announced again: "This is the day, pack up your things and take down your lodges - we shall start before the sun is high."

"On our way to the mountains, we stopped to hunt near the Sweetgrass Hills, on the prairies where buffalo were plentiful. Before sunrise our chiefs rode through the camp and shouted: "'The Buffalo are close; a big herd is coming; get ready your long winded horse and the hard-runners; soon we shall hunt.' Then we chased the buffalo until their carcasses were scattered all over. We skinned them from the back down, throwing out their kidneys and the yellow back-fat; split the tongues into strips and dried them. Our women cooked the backfat and bled the marrow from the bones. They cut the meat into strips and hung it from scaffolds to dry in the sun and wind. We had many feasts and ate the choice pieces. Old people and children were invited; all were happy and had plenty to eat. The strong women quickly got the hair off the buffalo hides and made them into cases, sacks, and clothes; some they tanned for lodge-covers, oiling the skins with brains and liver mixed; they used the hides of bulls for Indian trunks and made strings from the sinews and ropes from the long hair. We had the Sun-Dance and many ceremonies, and all were happy. When the Sun-Dance came to an end, we broke camp and moved to another place."

We went nearer the mountains and camped on the Milk river flats, where wild berries were plentiful, on the nearby hills and in thickets along the river. Our women and children came back with their berry-bags filled. Then wild berries were so thick, the sides of our horses would all be red.

After that we moved to Cutbank river to gather chokecherries, which the women dried and mashed with seeds; they mixed them with pemmican and put them away in calfsacks for winter use. Near Cutbank were many buffalo and fat antelope and prairie dogs with sweet livers. Thus we camped about on the prairies and hunted until fall.

452

When the winds of autumn began to blow, we moved to the forests at the foot of the mountains and chased elk and moose. We camped near the heavy forests at the head of Cutbank river, where the pines grew tall and straight. There we cut new lodge-poles and our women gathered roots and plants for eating and for healing - gray leaves for stomach trouble, black-root for coughs, sage for heartburn, sticky-weed for the liver, and blueberry for bleeding at the mouth. We camped near the forests until after the first big snowstorm.

453

Then we moved away from the mountains, back to the Lower Country and far out on the plains. We camped along the Marias river, looking for a good place to spend the winter - with buffalo near, plenty of firewood and good grass for our horses, high cutbanks to shelter from the winds, and brush and groves of trees. "Oh! Those were happy days from the food we all had and clothes and warm buffalo robes. At the beginning of winter, we ate the young buffalo-cpws two years old - we liked them the best. Then a woman who had ready her winter robes for husband and children, had nothing more to worry about. On cold winter nights we lay in a good buffalo robe was so warm, it was like sleeping beside a fire. And now the dogs are all scattered, after having had their evening meal (Kénn-yale ki ánatoyi imitaiks)." That means, my story is at an end.

19

One day, near the end of our stay on the prairies, a storm came
from the northwest - heavy clouds with forked lightning and a whirling
wind. It struck our camp and twisted Mad Wolf's large tipi out of shape.
I thought my small lodge would be blown over, but the wind changed
suddenly into the south and the storm quickly ended. The first thing the
women did, was to carry Mad Wolf's Beaver bundle to a place of safety in
Little Creek's lodge; and when the damage was repaired they took it back
again.

It was then nearly autumn and time for high winds to blow on
the prairies, so Chief Mad Wolf announced we would move camp and go back
to their winters quarters in the sheltered valley of Cutbank river.
The old chief led the way, tall and erect, an eagle feather in his back
hair and blanket wrapped closely around him, riding his favorite horse
a splendid dark-bay (sikai-sākuyi). Women and children followed with
their equipment. After them came Little Creek and Yellow Bird driving
the horse herd, riding backward and forward as they pressed the horses on
and kept them from straying on the prairie. Both were good natured and
easy going and skilled in handling horses.

On our way to Mad Wolf's home in the river valley, we crossed broad
plateaus and rolling prairies covered with luxuriant grass, stretching
miles in every direction and sweeping upwards towards the mountains. The
high peaks of the Rockies under heavy cloud banks in the west.

We came to Cutbank called Punakiksi by the Indians, and rode down into the valley where Mad Wolf had his winter home, with corrals, a log cabin and low-lying sheds for his cattle and horses - near the river and sheltered from winter storms by high cutbanks, thickets of willows and groves of quaking aspen and big cottonwood trees. This is the way the surroundings looked in 1896 more than forty years ago, before the Blackfoot country was devastated by white civilization - burning of the forests on the mountains and destruction of the great grass ranges on the prairies.

In those days there was luxuriant vegetation - everywhere a sea of grass and meadows of wild flowers - blue lupine, shooting stars, blue thickets of wild roses, fields of camas, yellow sun flowers, and Indian paint brush. At the head of the valley were the snow-capped peaks of the Rockies with pine forests on their slopes, shining glaciers, and fields of snow where the river had its source.

This shows the sweep of the river at Mad Wolf's home, with its swift current and thickets along its shores. The water was clear and cold, fresh from the forests and snow fields of the mountains. It abounded with gamey brook trout. I had a light bamboo rod with all sorts of flies and fishing tackle.

On our arrival the women of Mad Wolf's family pitched my small traveling tipi in a meadow on the bank of the river, where the water swirled in a deep pool. Here I had fine fishing and took my early morning swim. I took this picture before sunrise, facing the east when the first glow was along the horizon - a grove of cottonwoods on the farther shore.

Strikes-On-Both-Sides, the daughter of Mad Wolf, gathering ripe
strawberries in the ### meadow where my tipi was pitched, showing the
luxuriant vegetation on the bank of the river. Chief Mad Wolf and his
son-in-law Little Creek had their tipis across the meadow, near a grove
of big cottonwood trees.

Women on a well worn trail through the cottonwoods, going to the river for water.

Intimate friends of Mad Wolf came often to go with him into the
sweat-lodge. White Calf the head-chief, White Grass the medicine-man,
Middle Calf an old warrior, and Horn who was famous as a hunter and
trapper and ### rarely seen in the camps. They built it near the river.
Its framework was of willow branches twined into an oval structure and
was covered with robes and blankets - it was like a steam bath. Stones
were heated in a fire and placed inside. Four bathers entered at a time.
They sprayed water on the hot stones and kept their heads near the ground
because of the steam and intense heat. A woman attendant adjusted the
cover which were raised for four intervals of fresh air.

They finished their sweat in about an hour, then plunged into the
cold river for a reaction. This is Horn (Otskina) the famous hunter
coming out. The sweat-lodge was used mostly by older men - never by
women. It was sometimes taken by men moved to anger, also by those who
were ill; in all kinds of ceremonies, for pleasure and to secure visions
and dreams; and as a relief for those depressed by the death of a
friend or near relative.

This shows a Blackfoot grave in the river valley, on a scaffold of poles between two large cottonwood trees - an ancient burial custom. Weapons and utensils and the things the departed cared for most, were placed beside the body for use in the spirit world. Sometimes bodies were placed in a death-lodge hidden away in a thicket or grove of trees.

A near view of the burial scaffold.

The dead were also placed on the summit of a hill, and covered with stones as a protection from wild animals. This grave was on a hill overlooking Mad Wolf's home in the valley. The departed asked to have his body placed here, ~~because~~ it was his favorite place to sit to meditate and have dreams - it was known as his lookout place. Beyond the valley you see the open range, a vast grass-covered plateau, and the Hudson Bay Divide in the distance.

Moonlight from the same place, overlooking Mad Wolf's home in the river valley, with Divide Mountain and the high ridge of the Hudson Bay divide in the distance. I went often to these hills of the prairies to see the sunsets over the Rockies and to hear the songs of prairie birds.

Chief Mad Wolf had several lodges. This was known as his Snow tipi (Kóni-kokaup), also called Winter tipi. He used it for ceremonies and other important occasions - especially the big circle-camp when the entire tribea assembled for the Sun-Dance. His Snow tipi had interest because of the symbolism of its decorations and origin legend. The picture decorations and supernatural power that went with it came in a dream to its founder from the Maker of Storms and Blizzards - and was believed to have power over the weather. It had a sacred bundle and a ceremony given in behalf of those who were ill. It had a yellow top for the color of the sky at sunrise. Clusters of discs on two wings for star constellations - the Pleiades and Great Bear - at the back a red disc for the sun and a yellow band at the bottom for the earth, with green discs for the ice color. Close by is the small tipi of Morning Plume a near relative and intimate friend of Mad Wolf, whose wife Snake Woman (Pitsé-ksinake) was a doctor and medicine-woman. Morning Plume her husband was known as a Beaver-man, a part owner in Mad Wolf's Beaver bundle. With other relatives and members of the band, he subscribed property to help Mad Wolf in his purchase of the Beaver bundle. All those who helped retained their share in the bundle.

Mad Wolf and his wife Gives-To-The-Sun standing beside their tripod from which hang certain sacred objects of the Beaver bundle - in the background some of the large cottonwood trees that bordered Cutbank river. This picture was taken in 1898, before a Beaver ceremony which they gave in behalf of some one who was ill.

24

Interior of Mad Wolf's lodge, showing his Beaver bundle lying at the back and in the center, between his wife Gives-To-The-Sun (left) and Strikes-On-Both-Sides their daughter (right). The sacred Medicine Pipe hangs from the lodge-poles.

The day of the ceremony, the women of Mad Wolf's family rose early to prepare the feast of serviceberry and tongue - a savory stew also dried meat and chokecherries. When the sun was high those who took part began to arrive - prominent chiefs, medicine-men, doctors, and their wives. I will show pictures of them as they came, that you may see the fine types of that old generation who were the friends of Mad Wolf, my Indian father by adoption. Most of them were Beaver-men who took part and helped Mad Wolf in the ceremony of opening his Beaver bundle. They filled the big lodge - men-, women, and children - and many stood outside.

White Calf the head-chief who had been an associate of Mad Wolf for many years. His Indian name was Unistáipoka, meaning White-Buffalo-Child. A white buffalo or albino was a rare and sacred object. White Calf as he was commonly known to white men is a poor translation, it was literally White-Buffalo-Child.

25

Little Plume the famous war-chief, and Double Runner who was Mad Wolf's most intimate friend. The war-chief (left) had a rifle and wore a blanket over his weasel-tail suit of deerskin. Both were fine types of the old generation of Blackfoot before the white man came - dignified, temperate, kindly, and intelligent. A few years after this picture was taken both were destroyed by white civilization - the war-chief by tuberculosis and Double Runner murdered by a drunken white man - and the authorities did nothing about it.

Little Dog also a war-chief of the old days, with smiling round face and sparkling eyes. Whenever I saw him he was always smiling and in good humor - and thus have I always remembered him. His personal charm or medicine was tied in his front hair, an eagle feather on the back,

A flashlight picture of Little Dog the war-chief, taken inside his tipi. This shows his characteristic smile.

472 Cream Antelope and his Thunder tipi with its decoration of zigzag lines around the center to symbolize the trails of the Thunder or lightning. He wears his weasel-tail costume of deerskin trimmed with black-tipped ermine tails. Cream Antelope was a close associate of Chief Mad Wolf. He was a Beaver-man who had part ownership in the Beaver bundle, and helped Mad Wolf in the ceremony.

473 The wife of Little Dog the war-chief in everyday clothes - good-natured, kindly, and industrious. It was hard to get pictures of women in their old clothes. They always wanted to dress and pose for the occasion

474 First Strike, the wife of Wolf Plume, a tribal judge and prominent chief. She was neat, industrious, always well dressed, and kept their tipi clean and in good order.

475 Catches-The-Enemy. Often women were named for the brave deeds of men in battle. They included Strikes, Kills, or Catches, and were in the form of sentences.

476 Calls Back, wife of Long-Time-Sleeping, a prominent chief who was known as a Beaver-man. These were women of the best Blackfoot families, responsible, highly respected throughout the tribe, and with a reputation for being skilled in their work.

477 The children of Short Robe (Sách-ksi), head-man of the Brave Dog society who policed the camp. They wore costumes that were characteristic of the best families. The girl was called Kills-Him-First (Stanénikki) and her brother was Juniper Bull (Sachse-nokoa).

27

A comparison of Mad Wolf's two most important medicine-bundles.
The Medicine-Pipe with its bundle on the tripod, and the Beaver bundle
lying on a buffalo robe on the ground. They were kept inside the tipi at
the back - the Pipe hanging from the lodge-poles and the Beaver bundle
between Mad Wolf and his wife.

A near view of Mad Wolf's Beaver bundle. The outside cover was
of elkskin painted red, the articles attached were used in the ceremony -
a set of smudge sticks, long pipe, and a digging stick. The bundle proper
itself contained many skins of birds and wild animals and other relics.
Its ritual of songs and prayers and dances was given for the healing of
the sick and important occasions. This bundle was the medium by which
Sun Power was transmitted and was the most pretentious of the many sacred
bundles of the Indian tribes of the Northwest. It overshadowed them all
in size and was surpassed by none in sacredness and importance. Mad Wolf
was the guardian of this Beaver bundle and director of its elaborate
ceremony - all its information was handed down through Mad Wolf as
the medium. It is difficult for a white man to understand the religion
of the Indian, because of the predominance of symbolism; and to
realize the reverence and religious feeling with which Chief Mad Wolf and
his associates of that old generation opened this Beaver bundle and took
part in its ritual.

480

It was hard to get pictures of the Beaver ritual with its many animal
dances and symbolic movements. Mad Wolf himself did not allow me to
take any photographs of the ceremony. He said it was too holy. After
his death I had an unusual opportunity to make a series of picture records
of a Beaver ceremony led by Wolf Plume. It was then before the days of
modern photographic equipment. I took the dances in the dim light of a
tipi which was thronged with Indians, with one of the first models of a
Graphlex camera, using glass plates and a Goerz lens. As far as I know,
this is the only series ever made of a Beaver ceremony. I have made
selections of some of the scenes and dances. This shows the Thunder
tipi where the ceremony was taking place inside. It was filled with
prominent chiefs and their wives. The front was thrown open for the
Indians who were seated outside to see the dances.

481

In Chief Mad Wolf's ceremony, he sat at the back as director and in
the center - the men on his left, women and children on his right.
Next to Mad Wolf were White Calf the head-chief and White Grass the medicine
man who acted as advisors. Then came the Beaver-men who led the singing
and beat with rattles on buffalo-rawhides. Mad Wolf defected me to
sit with them. Beaver-men or singers, that I might join with him in the
ceremony. Before he began, I heard him say to the head-chief, "Because
you are my friend, I ask you to choose an Indian name for my white son."

29

The ceremony began by taking a live coal from the fire with a pronged-stick painted red. Mad Wolf placed the coal upon the hot coal dried sweetgrass and the rising smoke filled the lodge with a fragrance like burning incense. He held up his right hand and swaying his body chanted rhythmically, "I am Morning Star, child of the Sun and Moon, my power is very strong." He sang a chant to the Sun, holding both hands in the rising smoke and placed them upon the Beaver bundle. Then raised his hands and laid them upon his breast - as a symbol that Sun Power from the bundle was thus communicated.

The four principals, Mad Wolf, White Calf, and their wives chanted in unison while removing the outside objects from the sacred bundle - a long redstone pipe, digging-stick, and a set of red painted prongs. Then they kneeled and placing their hands on the prongs or red-painted sticks, held them in the rising smoke of the burning sweetgrass.

Each held a stick symbolic of beavers at work carrying branches. They extended their arms together, with hands raised and parallel - the sign for "beaver-den" - and prayed to the spirit of the beaver:

"Dity us if Give us your power (wisdom and cunning). May we live to be old. And always have plenty of food."

The four principals chanted in unison while holding their hands and made the buffalo-sign with two index fingers curved towards each other, the other fingers closed - symbolic of buffalo horns. Then the women slowly and reverently raised the Beaver bundle and placed it upon a buffalo robe beside the burning sweetgrass.

485

The women again raised the Beaver bundle while going through dancing motions on their knees. Mad Wolf brought forth buffalo rawhides and Nez Perce bags containing rattles which he distributed among the Beaver-men who were the singers. He gave me two and said, "You are now my son and should join us in the ceremony." These rattles were my own and used by me in other Beaver ceremonies. They were made of buffalo hide and contained small pebbles. We beat # with them on the buffalo rawhides while singing the rhythmic chants # for the dramatic dances. The drumming was rhythmical and symbolized the striking of the water by beaver with their tails. We sang in unison the Eagle song -

"Ninai, nipitai - ninai, nini-taua-tos."

(Man, I am an eagle - man, I alone have supernatural power)

486

With the Beaver-men I chanted the rhythmic Raven song, "We fly high in air. The wind is our medicine." In this song we chanted softly while beating time rhythmically with our rattles - held them vertically in the air and then shook them. Our drumming increased in volume together with the singing, and ended by our giving the Raven call. All the time I watched Mad Wolf as the leader and followed him closely, imitating his vigorous forward sweeps with the rattles in the beats and keeping time with the others. Mad Wolf noticed # this; for he announced during an interval for rest, that all might hear, "I am proud of my white son. I like the way he sings and swings his rattles."

In the Antelope song we chanted in unison while making the Antelope sign with hands closed one above the other, and imitated the quick movements of an antelope's feet while running. And for the ELK SONG, we beat with our rattles while the women danced on their knees and imitated elk rubbing velvet from their horns.

31

The two principal women knelt together by the Beaver bundle,
while Mad Wolf sang the Beaver song -

"Nepúsi, siksínniki, ichtápinniki, nitáikamòt, nitastái."

(In summer, when I go from my den, if I see an enemy, I dive and am safe)
The outside cover of the Beaver bundle was now removed and Mad Wolf began
taking out the skins. A pair of beaver skins came first - male
and female. He handed them to the two women. They danced gracefully on
their knees, holding the beaver skins as if swimming, swaying their bodies
in time with the rhythmic drumming and singing.

Beaver Chant

The two women arose and danced around the fire with the beaver-skins,
bowing their heads reverently and praying to the spirit of the beaver for the
recovery of a sick person, swaying their bodies in time with the rhythmic
drumsing and chanting. They imitated beaver swimming in the river and working
on their dams, holding beaver-gnawed sticks in their mouths like
beaver carrying branches and making swimming motions with their hands. They
acted like beaver diving beneath the water and coming to the surface, going
out on the river bank and cutting down trees - brushing their faces with their
hands and combing their hair like beaver - and always alert for danger.

32

489 Mad Wolf took from the Beaver bundle the winter-skins of a pair of weasels - male and female - which the women held up during a prayer. The weasel was revered for its power as a great hunter and provider of food for the family. Mad Wolf sang the weasel song in which the Beaver-men joined and drummed rhythmically with their rattles on the buffalo-hides.

490 White Calf the head-chief arose and took one of the weasel skins. He held it <u>neverently</u> to his breast with a prayer - then danced circling the fire, blowing his medicine-whistle for the cry of the weasel, and imitating its actions while hunting its prey. The head-chief stopped in front of me seated among the singers. With an air of authority, he held up the snow white skin for all to see; he looked straight at me and said: "This is <u>apau</u> the white winter-skin of the weasel. We name you <u>A'peecheken</u> (Weasel Moccasin) - (your color is light and your eyes blue. We pray this name may bring you long life and good luck.)"

491 Mad Wolf signified his approval of this name. White Grass the medicine-man who was seated near Mad Wolf, signed for me to come and kneel before them. He painted my face - red on the forehead, chin, and the backs of my hands - symbolic of the places where the beaver is accustomed to rub himself with his paws. Thus symbolism prevailed throughout the entire ritual. White Grass prayed while I knelt before him: "Natosi (the Sun)! Bless us all, men, women, and children. Holy Beaver bundle help us to lead straight lives." All joined in a rhythmic Beaver chant accompanied by the singing and drumming of the Beaver-men. After the song, while I was still kneeling before White Grass the medicine-man, he said to me as if praying, "This lodge is a holy place, and the Beaver ceremony in which we have baptised you and made you a member of the Blackfoot tribe is also holy."

33

492 Mad Wolf brought forth a pipe belonging to the Beaver bundle. He held it in the sweetgrass smoke and prayed. Then arose and danced with the pipe while the Beaver-men sang the smoke song and drummed. Mad Wolf circled the fire dancing from east to west - the sun movement - and blew on his medicine-whistle. In a second song the head-chief danced with the pipe - and White Grass the medicine-man in a third song.

493 Mad Wolf took from the Beaver bundle the skin of a duck. Soft Woman arose and holding the skin danced around the lodge, praying for the recovery of her sick child. Across the tipi Elk Chief stood up. He drew his blanket around him and danced around the fire imitating the actions of a duck. Then he and Soft Woman danced towards each other - they met and circled the fire together, symbolizing in their dance the mating of a pair of ducks. At the finish Elk Chief spread both arms and with his blanket gracefully imitated a flying duck.

494 It was now late in the day and the light was growing dim. My cameras faced the setting sun, making difficult conditions for good interior pictures. Mad Wolf arose and circled the fire in a Bear dance. He puffed and blew and acted like a bear, holding out his arms with hands hanging down, as a bear does its paws. He placed his feet together and moved backwards and foreards with short jumps like a bear - he imitated the deliberate and heavy tread of a bear.

495 Mad Wolf brought forth a prairie chicken and some of its tail-feathers which he gave to the women, who danced in pairs. The Beaver-men sang with vigor and enthusiasm a lively song while the women danced in pairs, symbolizing the habits of prairie chickens. The dancers shouted and made merry - all entered into the lively spirit of the Prairie Chicken dance and enjoyed it.

Then came the Dog dance which was more popular still. The dancers joked with the spectators who urged them on with barks and howls in imitation of dogs. The song was lively and the tempo of the rhythmic drumming grew # faster and faster, until the dancers gave a series of dog howls and returned to their seats.

496 All had great interest in the B<sub>u</sub>ffalo dance - the last in the ceremony. It symbolized the mating of buffalo. Mad Wolf took a string of buffalo-hoofs from the Beaver bundle and gave them to the two head-women. They knelt with heads lowered and covered themselves with robes to represent buffalo cows. They imitated the habits of buffalo - digging wallows on the prairie and hooking the ground, throwing dust into the air and catching it on their backs - shaking themselves like buffalo, pawing the ground and bellowing. They took the buffalo-hoofs and danced imitating the capers of buffalo cows. In the dance the women chose their men, amid the laughter and jests of the crowd. The wife of Mad Wolf danced <u>over</u> to the head-chief and threw the string of hoofs to him. He straightway arose and followed her around the fire in the dance, like a buffalo bull after a cow. The head-chief in his turn threw the strong of hoofs to Strikes-On-B<sub>o</sub>th-Sides, the daughter of Mad Wolf. She danced gracefully around the lodge and gave them to me. The crowd urged me on with cheers, so I took the hoofs and danced like the others, pawing the ground and throwing dust, hooking at the ground and bellowing like a buffalo.

35

The Beaver ceremony ended after sunset. No one would say how many songs were included. There was taboo against counting them - probably between 300 and 400. It took a good memory for the leader to remember them all and to conduct the songs, prayers, and dances lasting throughout the entire day from morning till night. Every detail must be performed accurately. They believed misfortune would surely come if mistakes were made. After the ceremony they had a feast of serviceberry stew and tongue - their favorite dish. Then the people changed their good dance clothes and fancy beaded moccasins for those of everyday use. Horses were brought in from picket ropes and families made ready to return to their homes.

The spirit of those taking part, showed the way Indians were able to combine religious uplift with dancing and singing and a good time. They separated feeling happier and more friendly to each other after having taken part together in the great ceremony.