USA > Wyoming > History of Wyoming, Volume I > Part 6
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the sources of the Platte River and the Arkansas River. The Northern Arapaho call themselves "A-no-nai," which in their dialect means "the parent of na- tions," though the Southern Arapaho say that it means only "the men," or "the people." As a matter of fact the origin and meaning of the tribal name are matters of uncertainty. The men of the tribe are brave and intelligent, and both men and women resemble the Sioux Indians, which is no doubt responsible for the belief that the Arapaho are of that stock.
In religion the Arapaho are monotheistic. They believe in a Great Spirit who is good and omnipotent, and an evil spirit which is constantly working for the downfall of humanity. They have a standard of right and wrong and believe that the good and bad deeds done on earth will be rewarded or punished after death. Ghosts and spirits of departed ancestors, especially their great chiefs, form a part of their superstitious belief, and fairy stories or folk lore was common among them when they were first met by the whites. The white buffalo they have always looked upon as a sort of deity.
TRADITION OF THE FLOOD
Sherman Coolidge, an educated Arapaho, some years ago wrote an account of the Arapaho tradition of the flood, from which the following has been adapted: Long ago, before there was any animal life on the earth, the entire surface of the planet was covered with water, except the top of one high moun- tain. Upon this mountain sat a lone Arapaho, poor, weeping and in great dis- tress. The Great Spirit saw him and felt sorry for him, and in his pity sent three ducks to the poor Indian. The Arapaho ordered the ducks to dive down into the waters and bring up some dirt. The first and second tried, but after remaining under water for a long time each returned without any dirt. Then the third went down and was gone so long that the surface of the water where he disappeared had become still and quiet. The Arapaho believed this duck to be dead when she returned to the surface with some dirt in her bill. As soon as the Arapaho received this bit of earth the waters began to subside.
In a short time the waters had receded so far that they could not be seen from the top of the highest mountain, but this Arapaho, who was endowed with super- natural wisdom and power, knew that they surrounded the earth, even as they do to this day. The Arapaho, who had been saved by the ducks, then became the sole possessor of the land. He made the rivers and made the trees to grow along them, the buffaloes, elks, deer and other animals, all the birds of the air and the fishes in the waters, and all the trees and bushes and all other things that can be grown by planting seeds in the ground.
Then all the other tribes-the Sioux, the Cheyenne, the Shoshone, etc .--- came to this Arapaho, poor and on foot, and he gave them ponies. He also taught them to make bows and arrows and how to start a fire by rubbing two sticks together. This Arapaho god also had a peace pipe, which he gave to the people and told them to live at peace with each other, but especially with the Arapaho. The Cheyenne was the first of the tribes to come and receive gifts and knowledge of the Arapaho god. Among the gifts they received were ponies, in the use of which they became expert. The Shoshone had no lodges and the
From the Herbert Coffeen Collection
MEDICINE CROW Chief of the Crow tribe.
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Arapaho taught them to construct skin tepees. Then all the tribes loved the Arapaho.
THE CHEYENNE
Like the Arapaho, the Cheyenne Indians belong to the Algonquian family. A tribal tradition says these Indians once inhabited the valley of the Red River of the North, where they were friendly with both the Sioux and Ojibway while those tribes were at war with each other. In time the Ojibway became suspicious that the Cheyenne were aiding the Sioux and drove them westward into what is now North Dakota. From there they were driven by the hostile Sioux to the upper waters of the Platte River. After they became established there all the tribes of the plains acknowledged their superiority in their impetuous valor and as fierce, skilful warriors.
When Bent's Fort was built on the Upper Arkansas River, in the early part of the Nineteenth Century, a portion of the tribe moved to that section of the country and became known as the "Southern Cheyenne." Those who remained in the Platte Valley extended their domain to the Yellowstone and became known as the "Northern Cheyenne." Since that time they have been recognized as two separate and distinct bands, the Northern Cheyenne becoming affiliated with the Sioux and the Southern with the Kiawa. By treaties with the United States they ceded their lands in Wyoming and were given reservations in Montana and Oklahoma, respectively. In 1910 there were about three thousand on the two reservations. After the separation of the tribe there was very little com- munication between them, though Brave Bear, a chief of the Southern Cheyenne brought a number of his warriors to assist his northern brethren in the Custer fight.
THE CROW
The Indian name of this tribe is Ab-sa-ro-ka, meaning "the hawk." They belong to the Siouan group, though they separated from the other Siouan tribes so far back in the past that their oldest traditions have failed to preserve the date. When first encountered by white men they occupied the Upper Yellow- stone Valley, where they were allowed to dwell in security by the other tribes, who knew too well their warlike dispostion and skill with arms. Formerly they were frequently at war with the adjacent tribes, particularly the Sioux, until they had firmly established themselves in their domain, but they were generally at peace with the whites, often furnishing scouts to detachments of United States troops against the hostile tribes.
When the first trappers and agents of the fur companies came into the Crow country. the Indians stole their traps and occasionally ran off their horses. Concerning this, the artist Catlin says: "While these people have sometimes been called rascals and thieves, and rogues of the first order, yet they do not consider themselves such, for thieving in their estimation is a high crime, and in their eyes a disgraceful act; that while they sometimes capture and run off a trader's horse and make their boasts of it, they consider it a kind of retaliation or summary justice, which they think right and honorable for the unlicensed
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trespass through their country from one end to the other by the mercenary white men, who destroy the game, catch the beaver and drive other valuable furs off their country without paying them an equivalent, or in fact anything at all for it, and this, too, when they have been warned time and again of the danger they would be in if they longer persisted in such practices."
The same writer pronounces the Crow Indians "the most honest and hon- orable race of people among whom I have ever lived." Catlin may have found them so in his relations with them, but the early settlers in the vicinity of the Crow country could no doubt tell a different story of depredations committed, live stock stolen, etc.
Among the Crow Indians there were a number of military societies. To be a member of one of these societies was a privilege accorded only to those who had distinguished themselves in warfare. They also had many feasts and cere- monials, one of which was the planting of the sacred tobacco plant. After the tribe ceded its lands to the United States its members were given a reserva- tion in Southern Montana.
THE SHOSHONE
The Shoshone (or Shoshoni) is the leading tribe of the Shoshonean family. Some authorities say this name was given to the tribe by the Cheyenne, but this is probably a mistake. The name signifies "People of the high land," and no doubt originated in the fact that these Indians inhabited the country along the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. They were sometimes called the Rocky Mountain Indians by the first explorers and travelers through the West. They were also called the Snake Indians. Says Haines: "It is uncertain why the term 'Snake' was given to this tribe by the whites, but probably because of their tact in leading pursuits by crawling off in the long grass or diving in the water."
The first white men to give any account of the Shoshone were Lewis and Clark, who came upon a band of them in Western Montana in 1804, while on their way to the Pacific coast. The explorers called them Snakes, and in the journal of the Lewis and Clark expedition mention is made of Sac-a-ja-we-a (the bird woman), a member of the band, who acted as guide to the expedition to the sources of the Columbia River. From this woman and her husband, Lewis and Clark learned that the tribe inhabited the country now included in Western Wyoming and Montana, Southern Idaho, Northern Utah, Northeastern Nevada and Eastern Oregon. Those living along the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains had ponies and hunted the buffalo, but they never ventured very far from their mountain homes for fear of the warlike tribes of the plains.
A Shoshone tradition says that many years ago they dwelt in a country far to the southward, where the rivers were filled with alligators. Consequently, when a Shoshone crosses a strange river he always offers a brief prayer to the alliga- tors that may be in it to spare his life. After leaving that country they came to the Rocky Mountains, where they had lived for nearly fifty years before the first trappers and traders came into their country. During that period they had frequently been compelled to resort to arms to repel invasions by the Sioux, Crow, Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes.
They were superstitious, with a firm belief in ghosts, fairies, little devils, Vol. 1-5
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water babies, etc. They also believed in a demon of bad luck, who resembled a short, stocky human being dressed in goatskin clothing, and who carried a quiver filled with invisible arrows. Any person shot with one of these arrows did not die, but was certain to suffer some reverse of fortune or health. If a member of the family fell ill, or a horse went lame, it was considered proof positive that one of the invisible arrows had done its work, and the only relief was removal to another part of the country. To hear a coyote howl at full moon was an omen of good luck, and if a family, removing at such a time to another place to get rid of the evil influence of the invisible arrow should hear the howl of a coyote, the head of the family would give the order to return to the old home, satisfied that the spell was broken.
Kindred tribes of the Shoshonean group are the Comanche, Bannock, Piute, Flathead and a few minor mountain bands bearing different names, but all off- shoots from the parent stock. The Bannock Indians at one time inhabited Eastern Oregon and Southern Idaho, though some of this tribe lived with the Shoshone in Western Wyoming, and after the treaty of 1868 occupied for a time a portion of the Wind River reservation. In 1871 they quarreled with the Shoshone and were removed to Fort Hall, Idaho. Four years later the' Shoshone agreed to allow the Arapaho to occupy part of the reservation. The arrangement was made, and, although the two tribes had long been enemies, they have since dwelt together in peace.
CHIEF WASHAKIE
Washakie, one of the best known of the Wyoming Indians, became the head chief of the Shoshone in 1857, being at that time about forty years of age. He was a real friend of the white men and it was through his influence that the southwestern part of the state was ceded to the United States in 1868, when the Wind River reservation was established. In 1876 Washakie, with 213 of his warriors, joined General Crook in the campaign against hostile tribes. On this campaign General Crook consulted Washakie daily as to the habits of the Indi- ans of whom they were in pursuit, and in nearly every instance the information imparted was found to be correct. His men also performed valuable services as scouts.
After the campaign, President Grant sent to the old chief a fine horse and saddle, through Doctor Irwin, the Indian agent. When presented with the horse Washakie said nothing. The agent suggested that he ought to send his thanks to General Grant, whereupon the old chief replied: "Do a favor to a white man, he feels it in his head and the tongue speaks. Do a kindness to an Indian, he feels it in his heart; the heart has no tongue."
Washakie ruled his people with an iron hand, though he was always earnest in his efforts to improve their condition. On one occasion the agent complained that one man of the tribe was making trouble by getting drunk and fighting. Washakie called the man before him and admonished him to improve his con- duct. A little later the agent again complained of the Indian's drunkenness and disorderly behavior. The old chief said nothing at the time, but the following day assured the agent that the fellow would give him no further trouble. Then the agent learned that the chief had taken the Indian out and shot him. Another
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time, when he was going to be away for a few days, he left orders with his wife to remove the tepee to another location while he was gone. Upon his return he found the lodge in the same place and inquired why his orders had not been obeyed. His wife said it was because her mother objected. Washakie then asked his mother-in-law why she opposed his wishes. The old squaw promptly in- formed him that it was because she wanted the tepee to remain where it was. Washakie then killed her and ordered his wife to remove the tepee. This time his order was obeyed.
He was a polygamist, with several wives and numerous children. In this respect he merely followed the custom of the Shoshone chiefs for generations and saw nothing wrong in his having a number of wives, although he was one of the most intelligent of the Shoshone Indians. Washakie died about the beginning of the present century.
OTHER TRIBES
In addition to the tribes above mentioned, the Blackfeet, Arikara, Assiniboine, Gros Ventre, Mandan and certain bands of the Sioux Indians either claimed land within the present limits of Wyoming or hunted therein. These tribes joined with the Cheyenne, Arapaho, etc., in making treaties with the representatives of the United States.
The Blackfeet were originally allied with the Algonquian family, but left that group and wandered up the Missouri River, where they became affiliated with the Siouan tribes, especially the Teton, Unkpapa and Brule (or Bois Brule) bands, and in time came to be recognized as one of the Siouan tribes. It is said that they received the name of Blackfeet because when they came up the Missouri River their leggings were black from marching over the burned prairie. At one time the Blackfeet were estimated at forty thousand. In 1910 there were 2,100 on the reservation in Montana and 3,000 in the British Possessions.
No Indian tribe of the Northwest was more uncertain in temper and con- duct than the Arikara. Some ethnologists place these Indians as an offshoot of the Fox, but they belonged to the Caddoan group. One of their traditions states that they lived in Western Missouri about 1780, where they were driven out by hostile tribes and ascended the Missouri. They were friendly to Lewis and Clark in 1804 and 1806, but were hostile to Ensign Pryor's party in 1807 when escorting the Mandan chief to his home after visiting Washington. They traded with the Missouri Fur Company in 1811; robbed two trading houses of the company near Great Bend in 1820; were friendly to Joshua Pilcher in 1822, and the next year attacked the trading house of the Missouri Fur Company in the Sioux country and were hostile to W. H. Ashley's first expedition up the Missouri, after first making a show of friendship.
FOREIGN POLICY TOWARD THE INDIANS
When Cortez was commissioned captain-general of New Spain in 1529, he was directed to "give special attention to the conversion of the Indians; to see that no Indians be given to the Spaniards as servants; that they pay such tribute to His Majesty as they can easily afford; that there shall be a good cor-
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respondence maintained between the Spaniards and the natives, and that no wrong shall be offered the latter either in their goods, families or persons."
Such were the instructions of the Spanish Government, but notwithstanding this, during the conquest of Mexico and Central America the treatment of the natives was cruel in the extreme, many of them being captured and forced to work in the mines. Don Sebastian Ramirez, bishop and acting governor after Cortez, tried to carry out the humane orders of the commission. Antonio de Herrera says that under his administration "the country was much improved and all things carried on with equity, to the general satisfaction of all good men."
The Spanish authorities never accepted the idea that the Indians owned all the land, but only that part actually occupied, or that might be necessary to supply their wants. All the rest of the land belonged to Spain by right of dis- covery, and the policy of dealing with the natives was based upon this theory.
The French had no settled policy regarding the title to lands. In the letters patent given by Louis XV to the Western Company in August, 1717, was the fol- lowing provision :
"Section IV-The said company shall be free, in the said granted lands to negotiate and make alliance with all the nations of the land, except those which are dependent on the other powers of Europe; she may agree with them on such conditions as she may think fit, to settle among them, and trade freely with them, and in case they insult her she may declare war against them, attack them or defend herself by means of arms, and negotiate with them for peace or a truce."
In this section it will be noticed there is nothing said about the acquisition of lands. As a matter of fact the French cared but little for the lands, the principal object being to control the fur trade. The trading post did not require a large tract of land, and outside of the site of the trading house and a small garden, the Indians were left in full possession. Nor did the French become the absolute owners of the small tracts at the trading posts. In case the post was abandoned the site reverted to its Indian owners. Under such a liberal policy it is not surprising that the French traders were almost always on friendly terms with the natives.
The English policy treated the Indian as a barbarian and in making land grants ignored any claim he might make to the soil. The so-called "Great Patent of New England," which was issued to the Plymouth Company and embracing the land from 40° to 48º north latitude, made not the slightest allusion to the Indian title. The settlers bought the land from the tribal chiefs, and in numer- ons instances failure to quit the Indian title by purchase resulted in disastrous wars. In the charter granted by Charles I to Lord Baltimore, the grantee was given the authority "to collect troops, wage war on the 'barbarians' and other enemies who may make incursions into the settlements, and to pur- sue them even beyond the limits of their province, and if God shall grant it, to vanquish and captivate them; and the captives to put to death, or, according to their discretion, to save."
All the nations of Europe which acquired territory in America, asserted in themselves and recognized in others the exclusive right of the discoverer to claim and appropriate the lands occupied by the Indians. Parkman says:
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"Spanish civilization crushed the Indian; English civilization scorned and neg- lected hin; French civilization embraced and cherished him."
THE UNITED STATES POLICY
The early colonies in this country adhered to the policy of the country to which they belonged. By the treaty of September 3, 1783, which ended the Rev- olutionary war, all the rights and powers of Great Britain descended to the United States. The Articles of Confederation, the first organic law adopted by the American Republic, provided that :
"The United States in Congress assembled shall have the sole and exclusive right and power of regulating the trade and managing all affairs with the Indi- ans not members of any of the states, provided that the legislative right of any state within its own limits be not infringed or violated."
On March 1, 1793, President Washington approved an act to regulate trade . and intercourse with the Indian tribes, in which it was expressly stipulated "That no purchase or grant of lands, or any title or claim thereto, from any Indians, or nation or tribe of Indians, within the bounds of the United States, shall be of any validity, in law or equity, unless the same be made by a treaty or conven- tion entered into pursuant to the constitution."
The penalty for each violation of this act was a fine of $1,000 and impris- onment not exceeding twelve months. With amendments this law remained the basis of all relations with the Indians of the country until the passage of the act of March 3, 1871. Cyrus Thomas, of the United States Bureau of Ethnology, says: "By the act of March 3, 1871, the legal fiction of recognizing the tribes as independent nations, with which the United States could enter into solemn treaty, was, after it had continued nearly one hundred years, finally done away with. The effect of this act was to bring under the immediate control of the Congress the transactions with the Indians and reduce to simple agreements what had before been accomplished by solemn treaties."
The first treaties made by the United States with the Indian tribes were mere- ly treaties of peace and friendship. On August 3, 1795, a great council was held at Greenville, Ohio, at which time the Miami, Pottawatomi and associated tribes ceded to the United States certain lands in Indiana and Ohio for military posts and roads. This was the first cession of lands made to the United States by Indians after the adoption of the Federal Constitution. A little later the Del- aware Indians ceded a portion of their domain for settlement by the white people. From that time treaty after treaty followed, each extending the white man's territory farther to the westward until about the middle of the last century. when his progress reached the present State of Wyoming.
TREATY OF FORT LARAMIE
For about twenty-five years after the opening of the Oregon Trail, it was used freely by the fur traders. The Indian tribes living within reach of the trail found it easier to meet the traders at some point along its course than to go to the trading posts on the Missouri River to dispose of their furs. The discovery of gold in California in 1849 brought a different class of white men
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into the Indian country. The gold seekers brought no goods to trade and had no desire for furs. Almost every day brought a train of ox teams on the way to the new gold fields. The emigrants killed the buffaloes indiscriminately, and what they did not kill they scared away, leaving the Indians without their cus- tomary means of subsistence. This naturally drove the savages to adopt a policy of retaliation. It was not long until hunters and outriders were killed, stock stampeded and emigrant trains attacked.
On October 13, 1849, Col. D. D. Mitchell, superintendent of Indian affairs, wrote to the department advising a grand council at Fort Laramie, which should be attended by a military force sufficient to awe the Indians into making a treaty of peace, and at the same time fix the boundaries of each tribe. The council assembled about the first of September, 1851, and remained in session for twenty-three days. Ten thousand Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Assiniboine, Crow, Arikara and other Indians gathered at the Fort. The wagon train of sup- plies sent by the Government was delayed and the vast assemblage was actually in need of provisions. On the 17th Colonel Mitchell succeeded in concluding a treaty. thus giving the Indians an opportunity to go out and hunt buffalo for food, but very few of them left the council. On the 20th the provision train arrived, when the whites and Indians joined in a grand feast. By the terms of the treaty the United States agreed to pay the several tribes the sum of $50,000 annually for ten years for the right of way for the trail through their lands, and each tribe accepted certain boundaries, beyond which they were not to stray without the consent of the Government.
The bounds of the Sioux nation were set forth in the treaty as follows: "Commencing at the mouth of the White Earth River, on the Missouri River; thence in a southwesterly direction to the forks of the Platte River; thence up the north fork of the Platte River to a point known as Red Bute, or where the road leaves the river; thence along the range of mountains known as the Black Hills to the headwaters of the Heart River ; thence down the Heart River to its mouth ; thence down the Missouri River to the place of beginning."
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