USA > Minnesota > Dahkotah land and Dahkotah life [microform] : with the history of the fur traders of the extreme northwest during the French and British dominions > Part 2
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WAHKEENYAN .- THUNDER BIRD.
impression, which they say is his track; and the hill is called Thunder Tracks.
.. A son of Colonel Snelling, the first commander of the fort of that name, in a poem, which is published in Griswold's collection of American poetry, alludes to the foregoing incidents :-
" The moon that night withheld her light. By fits, instead, a lurid glare Illumed the skies ; while mortal eyes Were closed, and voices rose in prayer While the revolving sun Three times his course might run, The dreadful darkness lasted ;
And all that time the red man's eye A sleeping spirit might espy, Upon a tree-top cradled high, . Whose trunk his breath had blasted.
So long he slept, he grew so fast, Beneath his weight the gnarled oak
Snapped, as the tempest snaps the mast : It fell, and Thunder woke ! The world to its foundation shook, The grizzly bear his prey forsook, The scowling heaven an aspect bore That man had never seen before; The wolf in terror fled away, And shone at last the light of day.
""Twas here he stood ; these lakes attest . Where first WAW-KEE-AN's footsteps press'd ... About his burning brow a cloud, Black as the raven's wing, he wore; Thick tempests wrapt him like a shroud, Red lightnings in his hand he bore; ' Like two bright suns his eyeballs shone, His voice was like the cannon's tone ; . And, where he breathed, the land became, Prairie and wood, one sheet of flame.
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"Not long upon this mountain height The first and worst of storms abode,
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nd hand and foot ound by an invi- ith Taku-shkan-
uperior divinities osed to be on a in the far West. s, with sentinels stationed at the the south, and a s supposed to be se wings makes inst Oanktayhee, The high water a ed by his shooting water to flow out. ses or the ground, the surface of the t rage, fired a hot
been created, also
he Indians assert, he human counte- bill of an eagle. like the lightning. e Lake, near the are several small s. is the. supposed is called the Nest tever took in this the child's story, venty-five miles in ch has a foot-like
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HISTORY OF MINNESOTA.
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For, moving in his fearful might, Abroad the GoD-begotten strode. Afar, on yonder faint blue mound, In the horizon's utmost bound, At the first stride his foot he set; The jarring world confessed the shock. Stranger ! the track of Thunder yet . Remains upon the living rock. .
" The second step, he gained the sand On far Superior's storm-beat strand : Then with his shout the concave rung, As up to heaven the giant sprung On high, beside his sire to dwell ; But still, of all the spots on earth, He loves the woods that gave him birth .- Such is the tale our fathers tell."
After an individual has dreamed in relation to the sun, there are sacred ceremonies. Two persons are the participants, who assume a peculiar attitude. Almost naked, holding a small whistle in their mouths, they look towards the sun, and dance with a strange and awkward step. One of their interpreters remarks, "The nearest and best comparison I can make of them when worshipping, is a frog held up by the middle with its legs half drawn up."
During the continuance of the ceremony, which may last two or three days, the parties fast.
When a Dahkotah is troubled in spirit, and desires to be delivered from real or imaginary danger, he will select a stone that is round and portable, and, placing it in a spot free from grass and underbrush, he will streak it with red paint; and, offering to it some feathers, he will pray to it for help. The stone, after the ceremony is over, does not appear to be regarded with veneration. If visitors request them, they can be obtained.
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SACRED MEN INITIATED.
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CHAPTER II.
IN all nations where the masses are unenlightened, their spiritual nature is uncultivated, and they believe whatever a class of men pretending to have authority from the spirit world, may impose upon them. All ignorant communities are superstitious and easily priest- ridden. The early Britons looked upon the Druids, as a supernatural, and wonder-working class, and they fed, and feared them. The Wawkawn, or medicine men, hold the same relation to the Dahkotahs as the Druids to the ancient Britons. They are the most powerful and influential of the tribe. They are looked upon as a species of demi-gods. They assert their origin to be miraculous. At first they are spiritual existences, encased in a seed of some description of a winged nature, like the thistle. Wafted by the breeze to the dwelling-place of the gods, they are received to intimate communion. After being instructed in rela- tion to the mysteries of the spirit world, they go forth to study the character of all tribes. After deciding upon a residence, they enter the body of some one about to become a mother, and are ushered by her into the world. A great majority of the M'dewakantonwans are medicine men.
When an individual desires to belong to this priest-
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in relation to the wo persons are the attitude. Almost their mouths, they with a strange and erpreters remarks, can make of them by the middle with
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pirit, and desires to anger, he will select and, placing it in a h, he will streak it me feathers, he will ter the ceremony is ed with veneration. .obtained.
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HISTORY OF'MINNESOTA.
hood, he is initiated by what is termed a "medicine " dance." This dance is said to have been instituted by Oanktayhee, the patron of medicine men. The editor of the "Dahkotah Friend," in a description of this dance, remarks :-
" When a member is to be received into this society, it is his duty, to take the hot bath, four days in succes- sion. In the mean time, some of the elders of the society instruct him in the mysteries of the medicine, and Wahmnoo-hah-shell in the throat. He is also provided with a dish (wojute) and spoon. On the side of the dish is sometimes carved the head of some vora- cious animal, in which resides the spirit of Eeyah (glut- ton god). This dish is always carried by its owner to the medicine feast, and it is his duty, ordinarily, to eat all which is served up in it. Gray Iron has a dish which was given him at the time of his initiation, on the bottom of which is carved, a bear complete. The candidate is also instructed with what paints, and in what manner, he shall paint himself, which must always be the same, when he appears in the dance. There is supernatural virtue in this paint, and the manner in which it is applied; and those who have not been fur- nished with a better, by the regular war prophets, wear it into battle, as a life-preserver. The bag contains besides, the claws of animals, with the toanwan of which they can, it is believed, inflict painful diseases and death on whomsoever, and whenever, they desire.
." The candidate being thus duly prepared for initia- tion, and having made the necessary offerings for the benefit of the institution, on the evening of the day pre- vious to the dance a lodge is prepared, and from ten to twenty of the more substantial members pass the night
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MEDICINE DANCE AND SONGS.
in singing, dancing, and feasting. In the morning, the tent is opened for the dance. After a few appropriate ceremonies preliminary to the grand operation, the can- didate takes his place on a pile of blankets which he has contributed for the occasion, naked, except the breech-cloth and moccasins, duly painted and prepared for the mysterious. operation. An elder having been stationed in the rear of the novice, the master, of the ceremonies, with his knee and hip joints bent to an angle of about forty-five degrees, advances, with an unsteady, unnatural step, with his bag in his hand, uttering, " Heen, heen, heen," with great energy, and raising the bag near a painted spot on the breast of the candidate, gives the discharge, the person stationed in the rear gives him a push forward at the same instant, and as he falls headlong throws the blankets over him. Then, while the dancers gather around him and chant, the master throws off the covering, and, chewing a piece of the bone of the Oanktayhee, spirts it over him, and he revives, and resumes a sitting posture. All then return to their seats except the master; he approaches, and, making indescribable noises, pats upon the breast of the novice, till the latter, in agonizing throes, heaves up the Wahmnoo-hah or shell, which falls from his mouth upon the bag which had been previously spread before him for that purpose. Life being now completely restored, and with the mysterious shell in his open hand, the new-made member passes around and exhi- bits it to all the members and to the wondering by- standers, and the ceremonies of initiation are closed. The dance continues, interspersed with shooting each other, rests, smoking, and taking refreshments, till they have jumped to the music of four sets of singers. Be-
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HISTORY OF MINNESOTA.
sides vocal music, they make use of- the drum and the gourd-shell rattle .. , The following chants, which are - used in the dance, will best exhibit the character of this mysterious institution of the Oanktayhee :-
" Waduta ohna micage. Waduta ohna micage. Miniyata ite wakan de maqu, · Tunkanixdan.
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" He created it for me enclosed in red down. He created it for me enclosed in red down. He in the water with a mysterious visage gave me this, My grandfather.
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"Tunkanixdan pejihuta wakan micage, He wicake. · Miniyata oicage wakan kin maqu ye, Tunkanixdan ite kin yuwinta wo. Wahutopa yuha ite yuwinto wo.
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" My grandfather created for me mysterious medicine, That is true. The mysterious being in the water gave it to me. Stretch out your hand before the face of my grandfather, Having a quadruped, stretch out your hand before him."
The medicine pouch is the skin of an otter, fox, or similar animal, containing certain articles which are held sacred.
A warrior leaving his village to hunt, gave his pouch to a friend of the writer, who had dwelt as a missionary antong the Dahkotahs for a score of years. The owner having died, he retained it, and, being at his house one day, it was, at my request, opened. The contents were some dried mud, a dead beetle, a few roots, and a scrap of an old.letter, which had probably been picked up. about the walls of Fort Snelling.
Where the science of medicine is not understood, the
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65
PRACTICE OF MEDICINE. - VAPOUR BATH.
inhabitants are very superstitious concerning the sick. Those who are prominent in their devotion to the sacred rites of a heathen tribe, generally act as physicians: The Druids of the early Britons performed the duties of doctors, and the conjurers, or medicine men, as they are generally termed, are called to attend the sick Dah- kotahs. « This tribe of Indians are well acquainted with the bones of the body ; but no Dr. Hunter has yet risen among them to explain the circulation of the blood, and therefore they have but a single word for nerves, arteries, and veins. When a young man is sick, he is generally well watched; but old persons, and those that have some deformity, are often neglected. To effect a cure, they often practise what is called steaming. They erect a small tent covered with thick buffalo robes, in which they place some hot stones Stripping the sick person of his blanket, they place him in the tent. Water is then thrown upon the hot stones, which creates considerable vapour. After the patient has been confined in this close tent for some time, and has perspired pro- fusely, they occasionally take him out and plunge him into the waters of an adjacent river or lake.
This custom is very ancient. One of the first white men who appear to have resided amongst them, was a Franciscan priest, named Hennepin. He was made their prisoner in the year 1680, while travelling on the Mississippi, above the Wisconsin river. The Dahkotahs took him to their villages on the shores of Rum river, at Mille Lac, where he was quartered in a chief's lodge, whose name was Aquipaguetin. The chief observing that Hennepin was much fatigued, ordered an oven to 1 be made, which, to use the words of the Franciscan, -
"he ordered me to enter, stark naked, with four
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HISTORY OF MINNESOTA.
savages. The oven was covered with buffalo hides, and in it they placed red-hot flint and other stores." They ordered me to hold my breath as long as I could. As soon as the savages that were with me let go their breath, which they did with a great force, Aquipaguetin began to sing. The others seconded him ; and laying their hands on my body began to rub, and at the same time cry bitterly .. I was near fainting, and forced to leave the oven. At my coming out, I could scarcely . take up my cloak. However, they continued to make me sweat thrice a week, which at last restored me to . my former vigour." 4
When a Dahkotah is very sick, the friends call in a conjurer or medicine man. Before we proceed, it is proper to explain the meaning of the term " medicine man." Anything that is mysterious or wonderful, the Dahkotahs call " Wawkawn." The early explorers and traders in Minnesota were French, and they always call a doctor "medecin.". As the Indian doctors are all dealers An mysteries, the word " medicine" has at last obtain deal signification, meaning anything that is mysterious or 'unaccountable. A "medicine man" means, then, a doctor who calls to his aid charms and incantations. The medicine men are divided into war prophets, and conjurers or doctors.
A Dahkotah, when he is sick, believes that he is pos- sessed by the spirit of some animal, or insect, or enemy. The medicine men, are supposed to have great power of suction in their jaws, by which they can draw out the spirit that afflicts' the patient, and thus restore him to health. They are much feared by all the tribe. The doctor is called to see a sick person by sending some one with a present of a horse or blankets, or something as 1
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MEDICAL PRACTICE. .
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valuable. The messenger sometimes carries a, bell, and rings around the lodge until the conjurer makes his appearance; at other times he bears to the doctor's lodge a lighted pipe, and presenting it to him, places his hands on his head and moans.
"The person sent to call on the doctor, strips himself for running, retaining only his breech cloth, and carry- ing a bell. He enters the lodge, a . without further- ceremony, strikes the doctor with foot, jingles his bell, and suddenly issuing from the lodge, runs with all his might for the sick man's lodge, with the doctor at his heels. If the latter overtakes and kicks him before he reaches the lodge, he does not proceed any further, but returns home. Another. person is then despatched, and it is not until one: is sent who is too swift for him, that the doctor's services can be secured."
The doctor having entered the tent, without touching the patient, begins to strip himself, leaving nothing upon his body but the breech cloth, and moccasins. Having obtained a sacred rattle, which is nothing more than a dried gourd, filled with a few kernels of corn, or beads, he begins. to shake and sing in unearthly monotones. He now gets upon his knees, and, to use a vulgarism, "crawls, on all fours," up to his patient. : After a few moments we see him rise 'again retching violently, and picking up a bowl of water thrusts his face therein, and begins to make a gurgling noise. Into this bowl he po fesses to expectorate the spirit which has incited the . disease. The doctor having decided what animal has possessed his patient, he has an image of the animal made out of bark, and placed outside near the tent door in a vessel of water. Mr. Prescott, United States Interpreter of the Dahkotahs, in a communication upon this subject
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HISTORY OF MINNESOTA.
says : " The animal made of bark is to be shot. Two or three Indians are in waiting, standing near the bowl, with loaded guns, ready to shoot when the conjurer gives the signal. To be sure that the conjuring shall have the desired effect, a woman must stand astride the bowl, when the men fire into it, with her dress raised as high as the knees. The men are instructed how to act by the conjurer; and as soon as he makes his ap- pearance out of doors, they all fire into the bowl, and blow the little bark animal to pieces. The woman steps aside, and the juggler makes a jump at the bowl on his hands and knees, and commences blubbering in the water. While this is going on, the woman has to jump on the juggler's back, and stand there a moment ; then she gets off, and as soon as he has finished his ·incantations, the woman takes him by the hair of his head, and pull's him back into the lodge. If there are. any fragments found of the animal that has been shot, they are buried. If this does not cure, a similar cere- mony is performed, but some other kind of animal is shaped out."
Among the earliest songs, to which a Dahkotah child listens, are those of war. As soon as he begins to totter about, he carries as a plaything, a miniature bow, and . arrow. The first thing he is taught, as great and truly noble, is taking a scalp, and he pants to perform an act, which is so manly. At the age of sixteen, he is often on the war path. When a boy is of the proper age to go to war, he is presented with weapons, or he makes a war club. He then consecrates certain parts of animals, which he vows, not to eat. After he has killed an enemy, he is at liberty, to eat of any one of those portions of an animal, from which he agreed to abstain. If he kills
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CRUELTY TO FOES.
another person, the prohibition is taken off from another part, until finally he has emancipated himself from his oath, by his bravery. Before young men go out on a war party, they endeavour to propitiate the patron deity by a feast. During the hours of night, they celebrate the " armour feast," which is distinguished by drumming, singing, and agonizing shrieks.
The war prophets or priests, by the narrating of pre- tended dreams, or by inspiring oratory, incite the tribe against an enemy. If a party are successful in securing scalps, they paint themselves black, and return home in mad triumph. As they approach their village, those who are there run forth to greet them, and strip them of their clothes, and supply them with others. The scalp is very carefully prepared for exhibition, being painted red, and stretched upon a hoop, which is fastened to a pole. If the scalp is from a man, it is decked with an eagle's feather, if from a woman, with a comb. At a scalp dance, which we once attended at Kaposia, the braves stood on one side of the circle, drumming and . rattling, and shouting a monotonous song, reminding one of a song of chimney sweeps of a city,, The women, standing opposite to the men, advanced and retreated from the men, squeaking in an unearthly man- ner, a sort of chorus. This is the chief dance, in which the women, engage. If a scalp is taken in summer, they dance until the falling of the leaves; if in winter, until the leaves begin to appear. When the scalp is freshly painted, as it is four times, it is a great occasion. After their mad orgies, have ceased, they burn or bury it. An : eagle's feather, with a red spot, in the head of some of those Indians walking through our settlements, is a badge that the possessor has killed a foe. If the feather is
Two bowl, njurer g shall ide the raised how to is ap- vl, and woman e bowl ing in has to ment ; ed his of his ere are. n shot, r cere- imal is
h child totter w, and d truly an act, s often age to akes a nimals, enemy, as of an e kills
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HISTORY OF MINNESOTA.
notched and bordered with red, or clipped and topped with red, it signifies that a throat has been cut. The red hand on a blanket, shows that the man has been wounded by an enemy ; but the black hand, that he has killed his enemy. The Dahkotahs, like other savages in war, show no sympathy for sex, infancy, or old age. At Pokeguma, the Kaposia band scalped two little girls that attended the mission school ; buried a tomahawk in their brains; severed the hands from the bodies; and then set them up in the sand. Mr. Riggs narrates an inci- ^ dent of some of the upper bands of Dahkotahs, pursuing a weak Ojibway mother. To save her life she swam a stream. . Half naked she reached the opposite bank, and dropped down, too much exhausted to attempt to pro- ceed. With the delight of demons just let loose from hell, her pursuers came over, stabbed and scalped her. Prematurely, ushering her unborn babe into existence, they dashed its brains out, upon the ground. Returning with a poor, sick mother's scalp, they came home as " conquering heroes come," and were received with pride and honour. Such is savage warfare, and the savage idea of what constitutes true glory. But, notwithstanding their horrid mode of warfare, they are not destitute of affection for their own offspring or friends.
The Dahkotahs assert that a mother is with her absent children whenever they think of her, and that she feels a pain in her breast (or heart) whenever anything of moment happens to them. When a child dies, like Rachel, they refuse to be comforted. The following paraphrase of the lament of a bereaved Indian mother, prepared for the " Dakota Friend," is full of poetry : " Me choonkshee! Me choonkshee! (my daughter, my daughter,) alas! alas! My hope, my comfort has departed, my
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A MOTHER'S WAIL OVER HER INFANT.
heart is very sad. My joy is turned into sorrow, and my song into wailing. Shall I never behold thy sunny smile ? Shall I never more hear the music of thy voice ? The Great Spirit has entered my lodge in anger, and taken thee from me, my first born and only child. I am comfortless and must wail out my grief. The pale faces repress their sorrow, but we children of nature must give vent to ours or die. Me choonkshee ! me choonkshee !
" The light of my eyes is extinguished ; all, all is dark. I have cast from me all comfortable clothing, and robed myself in comfortless skins, for no clothing, no fire, can warm thee, my daughter. Unwashed and uncombed, I will mourn for thee, whose long locks I can never more braid; and whose cheeks I can never again tinge with vermillion. I will cut off my dishevelled hair, for my grief is great, me choonkshee ! me choonkshee ! How can I survive thee ? How can I be happy, and you a homeless wanderer to the spirit land ? How can I eat if you are hungry? I will go to the grave with food for your spirit. Your bowl and spoon are placed in your coffin for use on the journey. The feast for your . playmates has been made at the place of interment. Knowest thou of their presence ? Me choonkshee! me choonkshee !
" When spring returns, the choicest of ducks shall be . your portion. Sugar and berries also shall be placed near your grave. Neither grass nor flowers shall be allowed to grow thereon. Affection for thee will keep the little mound desolate, like the heart from which thou art torn. My daughter, I come, I come. I bring you parched corn. Oh, how long will you sleep ? The wintry winds wail your requiem. The cold earth is
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topped t. The as been t he has savages old age. tle girls hawk in nd then an inci- 6 pursuing swam a nk, and to pro- se from ed her. istence, turning home as th pride age idea standing itute of
r absent she feels thing of ies, like ollowing mother, ry : " Me ughter,) ted, my
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HISTORY OF MINNESOTA,
your bed, and the colder snow thy covering. I would that they were mine. I will lie down. by thy side. I will sleep once more with you. If no one discovers me, I shall soon be as cold as thou art, and together we will sleep that long, long sleep from which I cannot wake thee, Me choonkshee! me choonkshee !"
A Dahkotah obtains his wives (for they are polyga- mists) not by courtship, but by a practice as old as the book of Genesis, that of purchase. A young man, when he wants a wife, announces the fact, and begs his friends to give him an outfit. He then proceeds to the parents and makes a purchase. The ancestors of some of the first families of Virginia, purchased their wives from the London company, for one hundred and twenty or fifty pounds of tobacco, at three shillings a pound, but a Dahkotah pays a higher price for the article, and takes more. Usually they pay a horse, or four or five guns, or six or eight blankets, a value equal to thirty or forty dollars.
The chief of the Kaposia band has three wives, who are sisters. His second wife he purchased of her father while he was drunk, and she but ten years of age. It is said that a friend throws a blanket over the bride and bears her to the lodge of the purchaser. Though a son- in-law lives near the parents of his wife, he never names or talks to them, and never looks his wife's mother in the face. He thinks it is respectful to act in this manner. He occupies a large lodge, while his wife's parents frequently live in a small one, in the rear, whom he supplies with game until he has a family of his own. Should the parents accidentally meet him, they hide their faces. If the mother starts for the
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