The ‘Dream Catcher’ Story

Long ago when the world was young an old Lakota spiritual leader was on a high mountain and had a vision. In this vision, Iktomi, the great trickster and teacher of wisdom, appeared in the form of a spider.

Iktomi the spider picked up the elder's willow hoop which had feathers, horsehair, beads and offerings on it, and began to spin a web. He spoke to the elder about the cycles of life; how we begin our lives as infants, move on through childhood and onto adulthood.

Finally, we go to the old age where we must be taken care of as infants, completing the cycle.

"But," Iktomi said as he continued to spin his web,

"in each time of life there are many forces; some good and some bad. If you listen to the good forces, they will steer you in the right direction. But, if you listen to the bad forces, they'll steer you in the wrong direction, and may hurt you. So these forces can help or can interfere with the harmony of Nature."

While the spider spoke, he continued to weave his web.

When Iktomi finished speaking, he gave the elder the web and said, "the web is a perfect circle with a hole in the center. Use the web to help your people reach their goals, make good use of their ideas, dreams and visions. If you believe in the Great Spirit, the web will catch your good ideas and the bad ones will go through the hole."

The elder passed on his vision to the people, and now many Indian people hang a dream catcher above their bed to sift their dreams and visions. The good is captured in the web of life and carried with the people, but the evil in their dreams drops through the hole in the center of the web and are no longer a part of their lives. These are the words of a Lakota Elder which were given to Grandfather Hawk With Seven Eyes.

The Many Legends of Kokopelli

Bringer of Spring

One such characteristic is that Kokopelli is the bringer of spring; the exact opposite of the famed Anglo-Saxon winter sprite, Jack Frost.

As the ancient legend of Kokopelli goes, the wandering Kokopelli ushers in the warmer weather by playing his flute. It is even said that his music can be heard in the spring breeze.

The deity is often depicted with a humped back, which is interpreted as seeds for spring planting. As a symbol of the spring season, Kokopelli was a celebrated figure; however, good music and spring sowing was not the only thing Kokopelli brought with him.

Fertility

The deity was also the personification of what we would call spring fever. That time of year when not only the weather warms, but so does our blood.

Spring has often been associated with amorous activities and the arrival of Kokopelli is no different. The deity is not only depicted with a pretty long flute, but also an over-exaggerated phallus.

As the legend goes, Kokopelli would dance into the village, usher in spring and spread seed from his sack. However, it said that the god of spring would also have babies in his sack. As he passed through the village, the women of the village would find themselves pregnant.

Healer

The pied piper of spring did not only make crops plentiful and women pregnant, but the sound of his flute could heal the sick.

Much of the legends of Kokopelli mentioning his healing powers point back to fertility because most of the stories told of his healing powers revolve around him restoring the fertility of women who could not conceive children. However, the flute alone is a symbol of healing in Native American lore, which lends credence to the idea of Kokopelli the healer.

Prankster

Even though Kokopelli is known as the bringer of good crops, children, and health, it seems that the deity has a mischievous side, as well.

According to some legends, Kokopelli could detach his penis and float it down river. Being a god, he apparently still had full control of his floating phallus because when it reached a spot in the river where the young women bathed, he would have his way with the young women.

Storyteller

Not only did Kokopelli wander the American southwest bringing music and cheer, but apparently he also brought tales and stories. Whether these stories were told through music and song or simply just told is unclear. However, the deity is often associated with spreading stories and even news.

legends of kokopelli
A Welcome Spirit

Kokopelli is a deity that is akin to the ancient Greek god Dionysus or the ancient Roman God Apollo with just a touch of Puck from old English folklore.

Needless to say, he was a welcome spirit in the homes of the ancient Native Americans.

As the bringer of music, joy, and plenty, Kokopelli has been a mainstay in the culture of the Native American southwest.

The Ark On Superstition Mountain - A Pima Legend

The Pima Indians of Arizona say that the father of all men and animals was the butterfly, Cherwit Make (earth-maker), who fluttered down from the clouds to the Blue Cliffs at the junction of the Verde and Salt Rivers, and from his own sweat made men. As the people multiplied they grew selfish and quarrelsome, so that Cherwit Make was disgusted with his handiwork and resolved to drown them all.



 But, first he told them, in the voice of the north wind, to be honest and to live at peace.

The prophet Suha, who interpreted this voice, was called a fool for listening to the wind, but the next night came the east wind and repeated the command, with an added threat that the ruler of heaven would destroy them all if they did not reform. Again they scoffed, and on the next night the west wind cautioned them. But this third warning was equally futile.

On the fourth night came the south wind. It breathed into Suha's ear that he alone had been good and should be saved, and bade him make a hollow ball of spruce gum in which he might float while the deluge lasted. Suha and his wife immediately set out to gather the gum, that they melted and shaped until they had made a large, rounded ark, which they ballasted with jars of nuts, acorn-meal and water, and meat of bear and venison.

On the day assigned Suha and his wife were looking regretfully down into the green valleys from the ledge where the ark rested, listening to the song of the harvesters, and sighing to think that so much beauty would presently be laid waste, when a hand of fire was thrust from a cloud and it smote the Blue Cliffs with a thunder-clang.

It was the signal. Swift came the clouds from all directions, and down poured the rain. Withdrawing into their waxen ball, Suha and his wife closed the portal. Then for some days they were rolled and tossed on an ever-deepening sea. Their stores had almost given out when the ark stopped, and breaking a hole in its side its occupants stepped forth.

There was a tuna cactus growing at their feet, and they ate of its red fruit greedily, but all around them was naught but water. When night came on, they retired to the ark and slept--a night, a month, a year, perhaps a century, they weren't sure, but when they awoke the water was gone, the vales were filled with verdure, and bird-songs rang through the woods. The delighted couple descended the Superstition Mountains, on which the ark had rested, and went into its valleys, where they lived for a thousand years, and became the parents of a great tribe.

But the evil was not all gone.

There was one Hauk, a devil of the mountains, who stole their daughters and slew their sons. One day, while the women were spinning flax and cactus fibre and the men were gathering maize, Hauk descended into the settlement and stole another of Suha's daughters. The patriarch, whose patience had been taxed to its limit, then made a vow to slay the devil.

He watched to see by what way he entered the valley. He silently followed him into the Superstition Mountains; he drugged the cactus wine that his daughter was to serve to him; then, when he had drunk it, Suha emerged from his place of hiding and beat out the brains of the stupefied fiend.

Some of the devil's brains were scattered and became seed for other evil, but there was less wickedness in the world after Hauk had been disposed of than there had been before.

Suha taught his people to build adobe houses, to dig with shovels, to irrigate their land, to weave cloth, and avoid wars. But on his death-bed he foretold to them that they would grow arrogant with wealth, covetous of the lands of others, and would wage wars for gain.

When that time came there would be another flood and not one should be saved--the bad should vanish and the good would leave the earth and live in the sun.

So firmly do the Pimas rely on this prophecy that they will not cross the Superstition Mountains, for there sits Cherwit Make--awaiting the culmination of their wickedness to let loose on the earth a mighty sea that lies dammed behind the range.

Trail of the Dog Soldiers

Native American Story of Trail of the Dog Soldiers
The Boy's Book of Border Battles by Edwin L. Sabin
The Story of Famous Indian Wars and Battles

The Story of Trail of the Dog Soldiers
While the Indians in the Southwest were troubling the white men during the Civil War, the Indians of the great western plains had not been idle. The Cheyennes, the Arapahos and the Sioux forayed through Kansas, Nebraska and eastern Colorado; the Sioux carried terror into even Minnesota.

After the close of the War of the Rebellion the United States sent a peace commission into the plains, to talk with the Indians. The Indians were told that now the white armies were done fighting one another; unless the red soldiers made peace also, the thousands of blue-coat soldiers would be turned loose upon them.

There were many councils, with the Sioux and the Northern Cheyennes and the Crows, in the north; with the Southern Cheyennes, the Araphos, the Comanches, the Kiowas and the Apaches in the south.

The plains Indians had been objecting to the white travel through their buffalo grounds. The Overland Stage road and the emigrants were frightening the game by their Platte River trail through Nebraska; the Butterfield Overland Dispatch stages (not the same stages that had pioneered in Arizona before the war) and the emigrants were doing the same in Kansas, on their way between the Missouri River and Denver; and along the Arkansas River, farther south, the old thronged Santa Fe Trail was thronged with wagons bound for New Mexico.

Forts had been built by the United States, to guard the roads. The Indians did not wish soldiers in their country.

Satanta the Kiowa said:

"A long time ago this land belonged to our fathers, but when I go up the river I see a camp of soldiers, and they are cutting my wood down and killing my buffalo. I don't like that, and when I see it my heart feels like bursting with sorrow."

Other chiefs spoke in similar words. But by new treaties they were satisfied. The Southern Cheyennes, the Arapahos, Kiowas, Comanches and Apaches were given all of the Indian Territory, or that which today is Oklahoma. They were pledged to live south of the Arkansas River and the white man's trails; they might hunt, but they must keep away from the traveled roads and the settlements; they would be given food and clothing and powder and lead, on their reserve, and would not be bothered, as long as they were good.

The Sioux and the Northern Cheyennes were granted that which is today the west half of South Dakota. They likewise were to keep away from the white man's roads and settlements.

The wagon roads and military posts were not the only matters that had alarmed the Indians. The white man's thunder wagons were following the horse wagons. The Union Pacific Railroad had started to cross the buffalo range in Nebraska and present southern Wyoming; and a second iron road, the Kansas Pacific, was creeping through northern central Kansas on its way to Denver of Colorado.

The Sioux themselves had won a great victory. A white man's wagon road had been opened, which from Fort Laramie of the Oregon Trail in southern Wyoming should cross northern Wyoming and pass on into Montana. It was a gold seekers' road. The Sioux would not have it. All northern Wyoming had been given them, they said, for their hunting ground, so that they would not need to hunt in the south near the emigrant road.

Under Chief Red Cloud they stopped travel on the new road; they besieged the new forts; and finally the Government ordered the forts to be abandoned and the road closed.

When the Southern Cheyennes and the Arapahos learned what had been granted to the Sioux and the Northern Cheyennes, they decided that if they made a strong fight, then they would be given their own prized hunting grounds of Kansas.

The summer and the fall of 1867; and all the winter had been very quiet in Kansas. The Kansas Pacific trains and workmen, and the stage stations and the ranches were little annoyed. And when the spring of 1868 passed without fighting, there were hopes of continued peace, for at the greening of the grass the young braves always grew restless. The spring was the danger time.

Early this spring the troops were withdrawn from the Wyoming Powder River country of the Sioux. The Indians had only been waiting. The Sioux sent runners down, into the south, to tell the news.

"The white men are afraid," they said. "Now you see. We stood in the way and they yielded. The road is closed. You have a road through your country. If you stand firmly, it will be closed."

The Arapahos and the Southern Cheyennes listened.

In August two hundred Cheyennes, twenty Arapahos and four Sioux made up a war party. They put on their war paint and left their hunting camp in southern Kansas. They said that they were going against the Pawnees, in the north. Instead of going against the Pawnees they stopped and attacked the ranches of north central Kansas, beyond the railroad line.

This was war. It was the beginning of the dreadful plains war of 1868 and 1869, which turned western Kansas and eastern Colorado red.

Major-General Phil Sheridan was in command of all this region, as chief of the Military Department of the Missouri. He had under him twelve hundred cavalry and fourteen hundred infantry, to guard Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, New Mexico and Indian Territory. But when his troops had been scattered, for garrison duties in the posts, and for escorting the trains and the stage coaches, there were only about eight hundred left, for chasing raiders.

The Southern Cheyennes were the most to be feared. The Cheyennes have been a great nation. Their men and women are splendidly built, and handsome, and of lighter skin than the Sioux and the Arapahos. They are smart, their lodges are clean, in the old days their horses were the best. As fighters they have ranked very high; they waged terrible war—their losses in battles with the white men have been larger, when numbers are counted, than the losses of the Sioux, the Kiowa or the Comanches.

Formerly all the Cheyennes lived together in the north, on the Upper Missouri River and in the Dakotas. They are Algonquians, like the Shawnees, the Sacs, the Blackfeet, the Comanches, and so many others. Their name comes from the Sioux name Shai-ena—Strange Speech People; for when they entered the Sioux country nobody there could understand them.

The Sioux drove them west and south. When Bents' Fort was ready for trade, in southeastern Colorado, part of the Cheyennes moved down, to be near it. They became the Southern Cheyennes. The others stayed in the north. They became the Northern Cheyennes.

The Cheyennes and the Arapahos were close friends. The Sioux and the Kiowas made peace with them. So after a time the Cheyennes and the Sioux and the Arapahos, the Kiowas and the Comanches had joined against the whites.

The range of the Southern Cheyennes extended on both sides of the Arkansas River of southern Kansas. They raided in New Mexico and Texas with the Comanches and Kiowas; they raided to the Platte River of Nebraska with the Arapahos and the Sioux. But the hunting grounds between the Arkansas River and the Platte River were their especial field.

At this time, in the summer of 1868, the head chief of the Southern Cheyennes was Black Kettle. He had been head chief for many years. Among the other chiefs there were Tall Bull and Roman Nose. They were not tribal chiefs, but chiefs of Cheyenne clans or secret societies.

The Cheyennes were divided into warrior clans. These were the clans of the Dog Men, Fox Men, Strong Heart or Flint Men, Medicine Lance Men, Red Shield or Buffalo Bull Men, and Bowstring Men.

Tall Bull was chief of the Dog Men or Dog Soldiers, who were supposed by the whites to be the fighting clan, because their members seemed to be as brave as the no-surrender Real Dogs of the Kiowas. The Dog Men were the largest in number, and the most in-dependent; they camped by themselves, they leagued with the Sioux and the Araphos, so that Dog Soldiers came to mean, upon the plains, professional red fighters.

It was Tall Bull's Dog Soldiers that led in the war of 1868.

Roman Nose (whose name was Sauts, or Bat) was chief of the Medicine Lance Men. No finer looking Cheyenne ever rode the plains: a strapping, stately Indian, six feet three, broad chested, clean limbed, with well-shaped head, flashing black eyes, straight thin-lipped mouth, large beaked nose and flaring nostrils, and a stride like a monarch's. The Cheyennes were a proud people; Roman Nose as proud as the proudest. In a peace talk at old Fort Ellsworth of Kansas in 1866 he had said:

"This is the first time that I have ever shaken the white man's hand in friendship. If the railroad is not stopped I shall be his enemy forever."

To the peace commission last year Black Kettle had said:

"We were once friends with the whites, but you nudged us out of the way by your scheming. Now when we are in council you keep nudging each other. Why don't you talk, and go straight?"

Roman Nose himself had not come in to this council. Almost all the Southern Cheyennes had stayed away; they were not to be hurried into giving up their hunting grounds. But Black Kettle and other chiefs had at last signed a treaty.

When General Sheridan heard that the Cheyenne Dog Soldiers were out raiding he started from Fort Leavenworth on the Missouri River of northeastern Kansas to take command of his troops in person. He traveled on the Kansas Pacific Railroad to Fort Harker, first.

On today's map of Kansas the Kansas Pacific is the division of the Union Pacific which crosses northern central Kansas. It had been commenced at Wyandotte, on the east bank of the Missouri River opposite Kansas City. It followed up along the north bank of the Kansas or Kaw River, to Junction City. Here the Republican River from the north and the Solomon River from the northwest join to form the Kansas. The iron trail followed the Solomon for a short distance; then struck westward up the north side of the Smoky Hill Fork of the Solomon, for Denver of Colorado.

That was also the route of the B. O. D. stage road and the emigrant road across the Kansas buffalo plains claimed by the Cheyennes and the Arapahos.

In the summer of 1868 the Kansas Pacific had run trains to Sheridan Station, four hundred and five miles from the Missouri River, and had graded to Fort Wallace, ten miles beyond—or fifteen miles by stage. The trail from Junction City had been bloody; the plains Indians were fighting the surveyors and the graders and the train crews and the station hands; it had proved to be a tough job, to build the Kansas Pacific through the Cheyenne and Arapaho country.

There were four army posts on the road: Fort Riley, near Junction City, at Mile Post 140, Fort Harker (which had been Fort Ellsworth) at Mile Post 230, Fort Hays at Mile Post 290, and Fort Wallace at Mile Post 412 or thereabouts.

Fort Riley was well constructed, of stone; and it is still an army headquarters. Fort Harker was smaller and meaner, constructed of boards and logs; it has disappeared. Fort Hays was no better, upon the treeless buffalo plains about a mile from Hays City. Much of Hays City had moved on, to end of track at Sheridan. Little Fort Wallace, out beyond everything except the stage stations, was the most desolate of all.

So General "Little Phil" hastened by branch line and main line from Fort Leavenworth to Fort Harker; then when the news of the raiding grew he went on to Fort Hays.

Matters looked bad indeed. Wagon trains and stages and ranches were being attacked with bullet, arrow and fire; forty and more persons, men and women, had been killed; other women had been carried from their ruined homes into dreadful captivity. The raids covered all western Kansas and southeastern Colorado. The Arapahos and the Sioux were helping the Cheyennes. Sheridan Station, at end of track, had been threatened with a siege—two hundred miles of railroad travel on the Kansas Pacific was being halted, the stages feared to run to Denver, and to New Mexico by the southern trail—Colorado appealed for soldiers at once. General Sheridan proclaimed war. He divided his field force into columns and sent them out.

Upon his staff of officers there was Brevet Colonel George Alexander Forsyth, aged thirty-one, and major of the Ninth Cavalry. "Sandy" Forsyth, the army called him. He deserved the name. Nothing ever downed him; he had the "sand."

He had entered the army for the Civil War as a private in the Chicago Dragoons; he had cone out in 1865 with the brevet of brigadier general of Volunteers and the double brevet of lieutenant-colonel and colonel of Regulars, as reward for distinguished bravery; had been one of the two staff officers with General Sheridan upon the famous "Sheridan's Ride," October 19, 1864, from Winchester to Cedar Creek, Virginia, which turned defeat into a Union victory.

Now when at Fort Hays General Sheridan started his columns out to strike the Indians, that left Colonel "Sandy" Forsyth with no fighting. This did not please him at all. He wished action. He asked to be detailed for field service, but the columns were sup-plied with officers of his rank. So General Sheridan told him that he might enlist a scout company, and reconnoiter to the north; might try to find the Indians who had been raiding the ranches there.

The plan just suited Colonel Forsyth. General Sheridan assigned First Lieutenant Frederick H. Beecher of the Third Infantry as his assistant. That suited, also Lieutenant Beecher (who happened to be the nephew of the great Henry Ward Beecher, New York preacher and orator) was a slight, quiet young man, but he had a record. He had entered the Civil War as sergeant of Maine Volunteers, had acted the hero at Gettysburg, had been wounded in the leg and lamed for life; and had come back to the army with a limp.

Doctor John H. Mooers of Hays City was accepted as surgeon. He was a middle-aged man, from Plattsburg, New York; had served as surgeon of New York Volunteers in the Civil War, and now had located upon the frontier, to practice his profession and to hunt.

All the enlisted men were civilians: ex-soldiers of the Blue or the Gray, or else for the main part skilled frontiersmen. As soon as Colonel Forsyth announced at Fort Hays that he was forming a company to trail the Indians down, volunteers offered themselves by scores, up and down the line.

He chose as his first sergeant William II. II. McCall, another Civil War veteran. Sergeant McCall had risen from sergeant to lieutenant-colonel of Pennsylvania Volunteers; had been brevetted brigadier general for gallantry on the field; and after having been mustered out in 1865 he had moved into the Far West, as so many ex-soldiers did.

The other men were of the right kind, too: Abner Sharp Grover, called "Sharp" Grover, who would act as guide and was reckoned to be the best Government scout on the plains; Dick Parr, "Pet" Trudeau and natty, smooth-checked Jack Stillwell, aged nineteen, likewise daring Government scouts; Plainsmen Donovan, Clark, William Wilson, J. A. Pliley, Chauncey B. Whitney, Lou McLaughlin, George W. Culver, Frank Herrington, Howard Morton; Martin Burke the Irish-man who had served in the British army in India; old Louis Farley and his son Hudson, aged eighteen, who were considered extra fine shots; trappers, buffalo hunters, clerks, surveyors, railroad hands, graders, settlers, including college graduates who had made good here on the plains.

Fifty were enlisted at Fort Hays, Hays City and Fort Harker. The last upon the roll was a Jew boy, named Sigmund Schlesinger. He was eighteen and under-sized and insignificant and of no reputation as a fighter; had been in America only four years. Colonel Forsyth was in a hurry; finally accepted him in order to fill out. The company did not think much of this latest recruit, but he might prove handy around camp.

Each man was to be paid one dollar a day; he furnished his own horse—was allowed thirty cents a day for that. He was equipped with canteen, blankets, knife, tin cup, Colt's revolver, and repeating Henry or Spencer caibines. The Henry rifle was like the modern Winchester; the Spencer carried six cartridges in the stock and one in the chamber. They both were good guns.

Each man had one hundred and forty rounds of carbine ammunition and thirty rounds of revolver ammunition; there were seven days' rations of bread, salt pork and dried meat, coffee and salt; but no tents or wagons. Four pack mules bore the extra ammunition, the medical supplies, and part of the rations. Colonel Forsyth was resolved to travel light and catch the Indians.

It took only five days to fill the company. He led out from Fort Hays on August 29; scouted to the north, where the Cheyennes had been killing and plundering; and swung in to Fort Wallace—the last of the posts. He had not sighted an enemy. Then at Fort Wallace he heard that a band of the hostiles had stolen horses from the stage company station only a few miles away.

This made "Sandy" Forsyth hot. He telegraphed General Sheridan, saying that he wished to go out again instead of returning to Fort Hays. General Sheridan replied: "Go ahead."

The hardy Forsyth Scouts started afresh; left Fort Wallace on September 10. Two of the men were ill and had to remain behind. Now the company numbered forty-eight men and three officers. In a day or two they struck an Indian trail heading for the northwest. They followed it; it split into several trails—an Indian trick. Keeping to one of the trails the Forsyth Rough Riders steadily pursued farther and farther out, clear to the Republican River beyond the northern border of Kansas.

The land was flat and bare, except for the lone buttes or sharp hills that now and then broke the surface, and except for the trees of the stream banks, and the short curly buffalo grass browned by the September sun.

Suddenly, September 14, they came upon a large trail, recently made, pointing up the south bank of the Republican. The next day two other trails joined it. It was so broad and so trampled with pony hoofs and cattle hoofs, that evidently all the Indians whom they were seeking had traveled it.

"We're following the whole Cheyenne nation," said Sharp Grover. "I calculate that four thousand reds have passed here; that likely means fifteen hundred warriors."

"We'll keep after, boys," Colonel "Sandy" declared. "Sheridan sent us out to find Indians."

The North Republican River forks in southwestern Nebraska.. One fork is the Arikaree. The Arikaree wends out of northeastern Colorado, and meets the other fork in Nebraska, to help form the main Republican. The broad Indian trail proceeded on, up along the shallow, rippling Arikaree. The fifty-one white men pressed after the four thousand red men and women. On course southwest they crossed into north-eastern Colorado.

The Cheyennes seemed to have been in a hurry. The trail began to be littered with lodge poles, moccasins, antelope and buffalo meat. The scouts were short on rations and game had been scarce. The Indians had scattered the buffalo herds. But the scouts did not dare to eat the Indian meat, for fear that it was poisoned. They rode on, nevertheless, hoping for a fight. Every man, said one of them, had a fighting back as stiff as a cat's!

In the afternoon of September 16 they entered a narrow ravine or little gorge, of the Arikaree. At the other end the river came down in a curve through a grassy valley some two miles wide and two miles long. About the middle the river broadened in a bed one hundred and forty yards wide, divided by a little island. Most of the bed was dry and sandy; a current of shallow water, a few feet wide and eight or ten inches deep, washed the island on either side. The banks of the river bed had been cut by the spring floods, and were grown to grasses, willows and wild plums.

The valley itself was beautiful, covered with long grass. On the northeast there was a range of bare bluffs, through the north point of which the river passed. The land extended flatly to the base of the bluffs, three quarters of a mile from the island. In the other direction, or toward the west, the land rose in a long slope.

Everything looked peaceful in the late afternoon sun. Colonel Forsyth made camp on the slope side, opposite the little island.

The mules were unpacked and the horses unsaddled, so that they might graze at the limits of their picket ropes. The orders were strict : Every animal was to be staked close in, and strongly staked. Colonel Forsyth suspected that his march had been watched. He wished to take no chances of a stampede.

After sentries had been posted and supper had been eaten, the camp went to sleep, rolled in blankets, here beside the quiet Arikaree, under the stars. It was a silent country, a red man's country still; few white persons, save old trappers and daring buffalo hunters, ever had been into it. No white trails penetrated it. Cavalry scouting between the Platte River and the Kansas River had passed it by.

The Cheyennes were not far. They had been spying upon the column for five days. Now they had turned—had Colonel Forsyth marched on until evening they would have ambushed him at the upper end of this very valley. They were going to attack anyway.

Roman Nose was their war chief. The foolish fifty, cut off by one hundred and ten miles from Fort Wallace and rescue, were to be crushed by seven hundred warriors—Cheyennes, Sioux and Arapahos.

Colonel Forsyth felt anxious. He sensed danger in the air. This evening Indian fire signals flashed through the dusk, from the bordering hills. Tonight he was up and around, every hour, inspecting the sentries and the horses.

When the darkness had thinned a little, and the sky was faintly pink over the crest of the eastern bluffs, he was standing beside the farthest sentry in the rear of camp. Gazing keenly, he chanced to see an alarming sight: the feathered head of an Indian cautiously rising above the brush of a shallow, brushy draw, near by.

Colonel "Sandy" shot instantly; he and the sentry shouted: "Indians! Indians!" But the carbine report and the shouts were drowned by a tremendous outburst of noise. A party of the enemy, yelling, shaking rattles and dry hides, had dashed to stampede the horses.

The scouts had been almost as quick. They were Indian wise—they had dived for the picket ropes. Only two pack mules and five horses broke away; those horses had been hobbled, in disobedience of orders. The Indians drove the seven before them, up the valley, pursued by bullets.

"Saddle up, men! Saddle up, quick! This isn't the end."

Colonel Forsyth and Lieutenant Beecher worked; Sergeant McCall and Sharp Grover worked; the other men worked. In a few minutes they were ready and waiting. The dawn brightened. The colonel and Scout Grover were together, peering and listening. Suddenly Sharp's hand clutched Colonel "Sandy's" shoulder.

"Good Heavens, general, look at the Injuns!"

The Story of Trail of the Dog Soldiers
This story of Trail of the Dog Soldiers is featured in the book entitled the Indian History for Young Folks by Edwin L. Sabin and was published by George W. Jacobs and Company in Philadelphia in 1920.

The Story of Hiawatha

De-Ka-Nah-Wi-Da and Hiawatha
The Hiawatha in this story is the historic person of the late fourteenth century. He should not be confused with the character in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, The Song of Hiawatha.

In the late nineteenth century, the Iroquois Six Nations Council asked their six hereditary Chiefs to write in English for the first time the traditional oral history of the formation of the League of Five nations. It was formed about 1390, 100 years before Columbus discovered America. (The Tuscaroras joined the League conditionally in 1715.)

The traditional history was dictated by the six ceremonial Chiefs, one from each of these tribes: the Mohawks, Oneidas, Cayugas, Senecas, Onondagas, and the Tuscaroras. Two subchiefs were appointed secretaries, and the typewritten report was prepared by an Indian. On July 3, 1900, the completed history was approved by the Council of the Confederacy.

About 1390, an Iroquois mother living near the Bay of Quinte had a very special dream: A messenger came to her and revealed that her maiden daughter, who lived at home, would soon give birth to a son. She would call him De-ka-nah-wi-da (De-kah-a-wee-da). When a grown man, he would bring to all people the good Tidings of Peace and Power from the Chief of the Sky Spirits.

De-ka-nah-wi-da was born, as the dream foretold. He grew rapidly. One day he said to his mother and grandmother, "The time has come for me to perform my duty in the world. I will now build my canoe."

When it was completed, and with the help of his mother and grandmother, he dragged the canoe to the edge of the water. The canoe was made of white stone. He got into it, waved good-bye, and paddled swiftly away to the East. A group of Seneca hunters on the far side of the bay saw the canoe coming toward them. De- ka-nah-wi-da stepped ashore and asked, "Why are you here?"

The first man replied, "We are hunting game for our living."

A second man said, "There is strife in our village."

"When you go back," De-ka-nah-wi-da told them, "you will find that peace prevails, because the good Tidings of Peace and Power have come to the people. You will find strife removed. Tell your Chief that De-ka-nah-wi-da has brought the good news. I am now going eastward."

The men on the lakeshore wondered, because the swift canoe was made of white stone. When they returned to their village and reported to their Chief, they found that peace prevailed.

After leaving his canoe on the east shore, De-ka-nah-wi-da travelled overland to another tribal settlement and asked the Chief, "Have you heard that Peace and Power have come to earth?"

"Yes, I have heard," answered the Chief. "I have been thinking about it so much that I have been unable to sleep."

De-ka-nah-wi-da then explained, "That which caused your wakefulness is now before you. Henceforth, you will be called Chief Hiawatha. You shall help me promote peace among all the tribes, so that the shedding of blood may cease among your people."

"Wait," said Hiawatha. "I will summon my people to hear you speak." All assembled quickly.

"I have brought the good tidings of Peace and Power from the Chief of the Sky Spirits to all people on earth. Bloodshed must cease in the land. The Good Spirit never intended that blood should flow between human beings."

Chief Hiawatha asked his tribe for their answer. One man asked, "What will happen to us if hostile tribes are on either side of us?"

"Those nations have already accepted the good news that I have brought them," replied De-ka-nah-wi-da. Hiawatha's tribe then also accepted the new plan of peace.

When the Messenger departed, Hiawatha walked with him for a short distance. "There is one I wish to warn you about because he may do evil to you," confided De-ka-nah-wi-da. "He is a wizard and lives high above Lake Onondaga. He causes storms to capsize boats and is a mischief-maker. I go on to the East."

Hiawatha had three daughters. The eldest became ill and died. Not long afterward, the second daughter died. All of the tribe gathered to console Hiawatha and to help him forget his great sorrow. One of the warriors suggested a game of lacrosse.

During the game, the last of Hiawatha's daughters went to the spring for water. Halfway there, she saw a beautiful high-flying bird of many bright colours. She called for the people to look at the bird. Then the huge creature swooped down toward her. In fear, she started to run back to her lodge. At the same time, the people came running to see the bird. Hiawatha's daughter was knocked down in the confusion. They did not see her and she was trampled to death.

"Has the wizard sent that bird and caused the death of my daughter?" wondered Hiawatha. Deeper in sorrow, he decided to leave his tribe and go away.

A few days later, he met De-ka-nah-wi-da, who commissioned him a Peacemaker. Henceforth, Hiawatha would spend his time going from village to village and spread the good Tidings of Peace and Power, so that the children of the future would live in peace.

The Mohawk Nation was the first to accept the peace plan, and they invited Hiawatha to make his home with them. One night De- ka-nah-wi-da appeared outside Hiawatha's sleeping room. "It is now urgent," he said softly, "that you come with me. We must go at once to another settlement. I have been there before and I promised to return."

On their way, they came to a large lake. De-ka-nah-wi-da asked Hiawatha to choose between paddling across the rough water and flying over it. Remembering the warning about the wizard, he chose to fly over the lake. De-ka-nah-wi-da used his supernatural power and turned both of them into high-flying birds.

When they reached the opposite shore, they resumed their natural bodies. Then they journeyed to the top of a very high hill to see the one chief, the great wizard, who had not yet accepted the good news of peace. Upon seeing him, Hiawatha was startled--the wizard's head was a mass of writhing snakes. His hands and feet were claw-like and twisted. He used his power to persecute others.

After a long time of discussion and gentle persuasion, Hiawatha noticed that the wizard began to smile! He exclaimed, "I do want to accept your plan of Peace and Power."

At once the wizard began to change. His hands and feet straightened. Hiawatha combed the snakes from his hair. Soon other chiefs arrived to help in the wizard's regeneration.

De-ka-nah-wi-da then asked all the chiefs and their chief warriors and assistants to meet on the shores of Lake Onondaga for a Council. Hiawatha, Chief of the Mohawks, asked the Oneida, Seneca, and Cayuga chiefs to bow their heads with him before the reformed wizard, who was the Onondaga Chief Atotarho (A-ta-tar'- ho). This was their way of showing their acceptance of him and their willingness to follow his leadership when called upon.

The Messenger stood before the Council and explained a plan for the Constitution of the Iroquois League of Peace:

"Let us now give thanks to the Great Chief of the Sky Spirits, for our power is now complete. 'Yo-Hen, Yo-Hen,"' he said, meaning praise and thanksgiving.

The Great Spirit created man, the animals, earth, and all the growing things. I appoint you, Atotarho, Chief of the Onondagas, to be Fire-Keeper of your new Confederacy Council of the Five United Iroquois Nations.

"Chief Warrior and Chief Mother will now place upon your head the horns of a buck deer, a sign of your authority.

"Hiawatha shall be the Chief Spokesman for the Council. He will be the first to consider a subject and to give his opinion. He shall then ask the Senecas, Oneidas, and the Cayugas for their opinions, in that order. If not unanimous, Atotarho's opinion will be considered next. Hiawatha shall continue the debate until a unanimous decision is reached. If not accomplished within a reasonable time, the subject shall be dropped.

"Let us now make a great white Wampum of shell beads strung on deer sinews. Each bead will signify an event and create a design of memory. We shall place it on the ground before the Fire- Keeper. Beside it we shall lay a large White Wing. With it, he can wash away any dust or spot--symbolic of destroying any evil that might cause trouble.

"We shall give the Fire-Keeper a rod to remove any creeping thing that might appear to harm the White Wampum or your grandchildren. If he should ever need help, he shall call out in his thunderous voice for the other Nations of the Confederacy to come to his aid.

"Each Chief shall organize his own tribe in the same way for the peace, happiness, and contentment of all his people. Each Chief shall sit at the head of his own Council and matters shall be referred to him for final decision.

"In the future, your Annual Confederacy Council Fire shall be held here at the Onondaga village of Chief Atotarho. It will be your Seat of Government.

"Let us now plant a symbolic tree of long leaves destined to grow tall and strong. It will represent your unity and strength. When other nations wish to accept the good Tidings of Peace and Power, they shall be seated within the Confederacy Council. Atop the tall tree will proudly sit an all-seeing eagle to watch and warn you of any danger.

"Let each Chief now bring one arrow to form a bundle of arrows. Tie them together so tightly that they cannot be bent or broken apart. Place the bundle of arrows beside the Council Fire as another symbol of your unity and strength.

"Let us join hands firmly, binding ourselves together in a circle. If a tree should fall upon the circle, your circle cannot be broken. Your people can thus be assured of your unity and peace.

"If a Council Chief should ever want to remove himself as Chief, then his Horns of Authority shall be placed upon the head of his hereditary successor.

"You Chiefs must now decide what you will do with your war weapons," said De-ka-nah-wi-da.

Hiawatha then led the thoughtful discussion of the subject. The men agreed to dig a deep chasm where there was a rushing river beneath. Into this river the chiefs and their chief warriors threw all of their armaments of war. Then they closed the chasm forever.

De-ka-nah-wi-da reconvened the Council and stated:

"I charge you never to disagree seriously among yourselves. If you do, you might cause the loss of any rights of your grandchildren, or reduce them to poverty and shame. Your skin must be seven hands thick to stand for what is right in your heart. Exercise great patience and goodwill toward each other in your deliberations. Never, never disgrace yourselves by becoming angry. Let the good Tidings of Peace and Power and righteousness be your guide in all your Council Fires. Cultivate good feelings of friendship, love, and honour for each other always.

"In the future, vacancies shall be filled from the same hereditary tribes and clans from which the first Chiefs were chosen. The Chief Mother will control the chiefship titles and appoint hereditary successors. New Chiefs shall be confirmed by the Confederacy Council before the Condolence Ceremony. At that time, the Horns of Authority shall be placed upon the head of the new Chief.

"All hunting grounds are to be in common. All tribes shall have co-equal rights within your common boundaries. I now proclaim the formation of the League of the Five Iroquois Nations completed. I leave in your hands these principles I have received from the Chief of the Sky Spirits. In the future you will have the power to add any necessary rules for the safety and well-being of the Confederacy.

"My mission is now fulfilled. May your Confederacy continue from generation to generation--as long as the sun will shine, the grass will grow, the water will run. I go to cover myself with bark. I will have no successor and no one shall be called by my name." De-ka-nah-wi-da departed from the Council Fire.

Chief Spokesman and Lawgiver Hiawatha arose before the Council and stated, "Hereafter, when opening and closing the Council Fire, the Fire-Keeper shall pick up the White Wampum strings and hold them high to honour all that has gone before. He will offer praise and thanksgiving to the Great Spirit. In Annual Council, the Chiefs will smoke the Pipe of Great Peace.

"If a chief stubbornly opposes matters of decision before the Council, displaying disrespect for his brother Chiefs, he shall be admonished by the Chief Mother to stop such behaviour and to act in harmony. If he continues to refuse, he shall be deposed.

"If a family or clan should become extinct, the Chief's title shall be given to another chosen family within his Nation, and the hereditary title will remain within that family."

All of the Chiefs of that first Council Fire agreed with Hiawatha's plan as a part of their new Constitution.

Chief Fire-Keeper Atotarho arose before the Council with his arms outstretched, holding the White Wampum strings high in praise and thanksgiving to the Holder of the Heavens. Herewith, he closed the historic first Confederacy Council Fire of the Iroquois League of Five Nations. "Yo-Hen, Yo-Hen!" he solemnly concluded, "thank you."

The Five Chiefs then smoked the Pipe of Great Peace!

Death of the Great Elk-Myths of the Jicarilla Apache

In the early days, animals and birds of monstrous size preyed upon the people; the giant Elk, the Eagle, and others devoured men, women, and children, until the gods were petitioned for relief. A deliverer was sent to them in the person of Djo-na-aì'-yì,  the son of the old woman who lives in the West and the second wife of the Sun.



She divided her time between the Sun and the Waterfall, and by the latter bore a second son, named Ko-ba-tcis'-tci-ni, who remained with his mother while his brother went forth to battle with the enemies of mankind. In four days Djo-na-aì'-yì grew to manhood, then he asked his mother where the Elk lived. She told him that the Elk was in a great desert far to the southward. She gave him arrows with which to kill the Elk. In four steps he reached the distant desert where the Elk was lying. Djo- na-aì'-yì cautiously observed the position of the Elk from behind a hill. The Elk was lying on an open plain, where no trees or bushes were to be found that might serve to shelter Djo-na-aì'-yì from view while he approached.



While he was looking at the Elk, with dried grass before his face, the Lizard, Mai-cu-i-ti-tce-tcê, said to him, "What are you doing, my friend? "

Djo-na-aì'-yì-în explained his mission whereupon the Lizard suggested that he clothe himself in the garments of the Lizard, in which he could approach the Elk in safety. Djo-na-aì'-yì-în tried four times before he succeeded in getting into the coat of the Lizard.



Next the Gopher, Mi-i-ni-li, came to him with the question, "What are you doing here, my friend?" When Djo-na-aì'-yì told the Gopher of his intention, the latter promised to aid him. The Gopher thought it advisable to reconnoiter by burrowing his way underground to the Elk. Djo-na- aì'-yì-în watched the progress of the Gopher as that animal threw out fresh heaps of earth on his way.



At length the Gopher came to the surface underneath the Elk, whose giant heart was beating like a mighty hammer. He then proceeded to gnaw the hair from about the heart of the Elk. "What are you doing?" said the Elk. "I am cutting a few hairs for my little ones, they are now lying on the bare ground," replied the Gopher, who continued until the magic coat of the Elk was all cut away from about the heart of the Elk. Then he returned to Djo- na-aì'-yì, and told the latter to go through the hole which he had made and shoot the Elk. Four times the Son of the Sun tried to enter the hole before he succeeded

.
When he reached the Elk, he saw the great heart beating above him, and easily pierced it with his arrows; four times his bow was drawn before he turned to escape through the tunnel which the Gopher had been preparing for him. This hole extended far to the eastward, but the Elk soon discovered it, and, thrusting his antler into it, followed in pursuit. The Elk ploughed up the earth with such violence that the present mountains were formed, which extend from east to west. The black spider closed the hole with a strong web, but the Elk broke through it and ran southward, forming the mountain chains which trend north and south. In the south the Elk was checked by the web of the blue spider, in the west by that of the yellow spider, while in the north the web of the many-colored spider resisted his attacks until he fell dying from exhaustion and wounds. Djo-na-aì'-yì made a coat from the hide of the Elk, gave the front quarters to the Gopher, the hind quarters to the Lizard, and carried home the antlers. He found that the results of his adventures were not unknown to his mother, who had spent the time during his absence in singing, and watching a roll of cedar bark which sank into the earth or rose in the air as danger approached or receded from Djo-na-aì'-yì, her son.

Djo-na-aì'-yì-în next desired to kill the great Eagle, I-tsa. His mother directed him to seek the Eagle in the west. In four strides he reached the home of the Eagle, an inaccessible rock, on which was the nest, containing two young eaglets. His ear told him to stand facing the east when the next morning the Eagle swooped down upon him and tried to carry him off. The talons of the Eagle failed to penetrate the hard elk-skin by which he was covered. "Turn to the south," said the ear, and again the Eagle came, and was again unsuccessful.



Djo- na-aì'-yì faced each of the four points in this manner, and again faced toward the east; whereupon the Eagle succeeded in fastening its talons in the lacing on the front of the coat of the supposed man, who was carried to the nest above and thrown down before the young eagles, with the invitation to pick his eyes out.



As they were about to do this, Djo-na-aì'-yì gave a warning hiss, at which the young ones cried, "He is living yet." "Oh, no," replied the old Eagle; "that is only the rush of air from his body through the holes made by my talons." Without stopping to verify this, the Eagle flew away. Djo-na-aì'- yì-în threw some of the blood of the Elk which he had brought with him to the young ones, and asked them when their mother returned. " In the afternoon when it rains," they answered.



When the mother Eagle came with the shower of rain in the afternoon, he stood in readiness with one of the Elk antlers in his hand. As the bird alighted with a man in her talons, Djo-na-aì'-yì struck her upon the back with the antler, killing her instantly. Going back to the nest, he asked the young eagles when their father returned. "Our father comes home when the wind blows and brings rain just before sunset," they said.



The male Eagle came at the appointed time, carrying a woman with a crying infant upon her back. Mother and babe were dropped from a height upon the rock and killed. With the second antler of the Elk, Djo-na-aì'-yì-în avenged their death, and ended the career of the eagles by striking the Eagle upon the back and killing him. The wing of this eagle was of enormous size; the bones were as large as a man's arm; fragments of this wing are still preserved at Taos. Djo-na-aì'-yì-în struck the young eagles upon the head, saying,



"You shall never grow any larger." Thus deprived of their strength and power to injure mankind, the eagles relinquished their sovereignty with the parting curse of rheumatism, which they bestowed upon the human race.

Djo-na-aì'-yì could discover no way by which he could descend from the rock, until at length he saw an old female Bat, Tca-na'-mi-în, on the plain below. At first she pretended not to hear his calls for help; then she flew up with the inquiry, "How did you get here?" Djo-na-aì'-yì told how he had killed the eagles. "I will give you all the feathers you may desire if you will help me to escape," concluded he. The old Bat carried her basket, ilt-tsai-î-zîs, by a slender spider's thread. He was afraid to trust himself in such a small basket suspended by a thread, but she reassured him, saying;

"I have packed mountain sheep in this basket, and the strap has never broken. Do not look while we are descending ; keep your eyes shut as tight as you can." He began to open his eyes once during the descent, but she warned him in time to avoid mishap. They went to the foot of the rock where the old Eagles lay. Djo-na-aì'-yì-în filled her basket with feathers, but told her not to go out on the plains, where there are many small birds.

Forgetting this admonition, she was soon among the small birds, who robbed the old Bat of all her feathers. This accounts for the plumage of the small bird klo'-kîn, which somewhat resembles the color of the tail and wing feathers of the bald eagle. The Bat returned four times for a supply of feathers, but the fifth time she asked to have her basket filled, Djo-na-aì'-yì was vexed.



"Yon cannot take care of your feathers, so you shall never have any. This old skin on your basket is good enough for you." "Very well," said the Bat, resignedly, "I deserve to lose them, for I never could take care of those feathers."

Frank Russell, Myths of the Jicarilla Apaches, 1898

Art By: Kirby Sattler

Crow Medicine What Crow (Keeper Of All Sacred Law) Can Teach Us

Crow is the left-handed guardian. Crow knows the unknowable mysteries of creation and is the keeper of all sacred law.

There are several species of crow. Raven is one of these and magpies are another. Crow medicine people are masters of illusion. Do not try to figure crow out. It is the power of the unknown at work, and something special is about to happen.

Crow is also the guardian of ceremonial magic and healing. In any healing circle, Crow is present. Crow guides the magic of healing and the change in consciousness that will bring about a new reality and dispel "dis-ease" or illness. You can rest assure when ever crows are around, magic is near by and you are about to experience a change in consciousness. Crow can give you the courage to enter the darkness of the void, which is the home of all that is not yet in form.

They are territorial and won't give up an area without a fight. They are loners, seeming to like to spend time to themselves.

If you have a crow as a totem, you need to be willing to walk your talk and speak your truth. You must put aside your fear of being a voice in the wilderness and "caw" the shots as you see them. Crow is an omen of change. If he keeps appearing to you he may be telling you that you have a powerful voice when addressing issues that you do not quite understand or feel that they are out of balance.

Crows are the bringer of messages from the spirit world, and is thought to dwell beyond the realm of time and space.

When you meet crow, he could be telling you that there will be changes in your life and that possibly you should step by the usual way you view reality and look into the inner realms …walk your talk…be prepared to let go of your old thinking and embrace a new way of viewing yourself and the world.

Crow is the sacred keeper of the law. Crow medicine signifies a firsthand knowledge of a higher order of right and wrong than that indicated by the laws created in human culture. With Crow medicine, you speak in a powerful voice when addressing issues that for you seem out of harmony, out of balance, out of whack, or unjust.

When you learn to allow your personal integrity to be your guide, your sense of feeling alone will vanish. Your personal will can then emerge so that you will stand in your truth. The prime path of true Crow people says to be mindful of your opinions and actions. Be willing to walk your talk, speak your truth, know your life’s mission, and balance past, present, and future in the now. Shape shift that old reality and become your future self. Allow the bending of physical laws to aid in creating the shape shifted world of peace.

A Indian Christmas

(A legend of the camp by the spring)
ON Christmas night the Indian camp was a noisy place. The fires were burning brightly in every tepee, and shouts and laughter told of the good time that was being had by everyone as a part of the celebration that the old French priest had taught them to have.

Outside the wind was blowing cold, with skiffs of snow. A strange boy wandered into the camp. He stopped at the tent of the chief and asked that he be admitted and given food and allowed to get warm. The chief drove him away. He went to the tent of Shining Star and tried to be admitted, but Shining Star grunted, and his boys drove him away with whips. He then went to many of the tents, including those of Eagle Eye and Black Feather, but none would receive him, and at one they set a dog upon him. His feet were bare, and tears were frozen on his cheeks.

He was about to leave the camp, when he noticed a small tepee made of bearskin off by itself. He walked slowly to it, and quietly peeped in. Inside he saw the deformed Indian, who was known everywhere by the name of Broken Back. His squaw sat near him, preparing a scanty meal for them and their children. The children were playing on the ground, but were watching their mother closely, for they were hungry. The fire was low, and the boy started to turn away, and broke a twig that lay on the ground.

Broken Back ran out and stopped him as he was about to turn away.

"What do you want?" he said.

The boy commenced to cry.

"I am so cold and hungry," he said, "and I have been to all the tents, and they will not let me in."

Then Broken Back took him by the hand and led him into the tent, and they divided the food with him, and built up the fire until he became warm and happy. They urged him to stay all night and until the storm was over.

So he sat on the ground near the fire and talked and played with the children until it was time to go to sleep.

Then he stood up, and they all noticed that he was tall, and as they looked they saw that he was a man instead of a boy. His clothes were good, and over his shoulder hung a beautiful blanket, and over his head was a bonnet with feathers of strange birds upon it. As they looked, he reached out his hand and said:

"Broken Back, you have been good to a poor, cold and hungry boy. You and all of yours shall have plenty."

And Broken Back stood up; and he was deformed no more, but was large and strong and well, and his squaw stood by his side, and both were dressed in the best of Indian clothes. The children jumped about with joy, as they noticed that they were at once supplied with many things that they had always wanted.

"Broken Back," he said, "you shall be chief of your tribe. And all of your people shall love and respect and honor you. And your name shall be Broken Back no longer, but shall be Holy Mountain."

And as they talked, all of the Indians of the tribe came marching about his tent shouting in gladness, "Great is Holy Mountain, our chief, forever."

As they shouted, he disappeared, and they saw him no more.

The next day the good priest came to the camp, and they told him what had happened, and he said, "It was Jesus."

* * * * *
From the 1917 book by A. M. Harvey:
Tales and Trails of Wakarusa

Native American Christmas Story

Gather round children and let us teach you a song that helps us to remember the sacred things of our Grandfather and the reasons that He came to walk our Land, clothed in Red Dirt. We are excited to learn the things He accomplished for us, among us, and through us. We are most excited that all the ways we have walked before now pointed us to this moment, when we mere humans would be able to walk as sons of the Most Holy One.

On the First day of Christmas, Grandfather gave to me... an Eagle sitting on a cedar tree. (Remember children, the eagle climbs the highest and takes our prayers to the High places, and the eagle is Jesus, the One who was able also to climb to the heavenlies once and for all, to take our prayers, He is the Intercessor for all men.

On the second day of Christmas, Grandfather gave to me two wise owls (Remember children that the owls represent both death and sacred messages from the Holy places… and in this song they represent the Old testament and the New laws that brought death and mercy that brought life and spiritual wisdom).

On the third day of Christmas, Grandfather gave to me three sacred drums (for the drums beat out the sound of our Mother Earth while we pray to the Grandfather.. so as you hear them beat, remember we now know that there is faith, hope and love in The Father, Son and the Holy Spirit).

On the fourth day of Christmas, Grandfather gave to me four talking feathers (for the feathers remind us that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were given the talking feather by the Grandfather Himself, to tell His story to us all).

On the fifth day of Christmas, Grandfather gave to me five prayer ties (for we must remember that the law did not vanish and though we live by grace, there is a law to be followed and we humbly submit to that law, in offering our prayers to the Holy One).

On the sixth day of Christmas, Grandfather gave to me six hawks a laying (For we celebrate the creation of our mother earth, and thank Him for giving us all life, through our prayers, often using the feathers of this creature to smudge ourselves in preparation of that prayer time).

On the seventh day of Christmas, Grandfather gave to me seven stones for sweat lodge (For we must remember the gifts of the Spirit are seven fold, and we learn how to walk in these gifts through our fear and awe of our God, we do this praying in our lodges)

On the eighth day of Christmas, Grandfather gave to me eight great buffalo (For we want to remember the beatitudes, the blessings Jesus promised to come to His people, The buffalo represent His provision for our health, our very existence, as did the blessings He invoked on the people, the meek, those who weep, the poor all people have provision in Him).

On the ninth day of Christmas, Grandfather gave to me nine precious elders (For as we sit at the feet of our elders we hear how we can walk in the fruits of the Holy Spirit, they have always taught these truths, we just didn't know that they were the same truths taught by the talking leaves the white men brought to us).

On the tenth day of Christmas, Grandfather gave to me ten eagle dancers (For our eagle dancers dance for the people, to protect the people, to keep the people in wholeness, and wellness.. as the ten commandments were also set to keep the people whole, to protect them from their own evil thoughts).

On the eleventh day of Christmas, Grandfather gave to me eleven braids of sweet grass (For as we send the smell of sweet grass to the heavenlies, it invites those of the realm of the Grandfather, to enter into our world to help us… in this we remember the faithful eleven who stood ready to help our Savior, ready to do His will and work, so it is with those we invite to help us, if sent by Jesus).

On the twelfth day of Christmas, Grandfather gave to me twelve drummers singing (For the drums He gave on the third day can not help us to pray if they do not have four drummers each to beat out the heartbeat of the earth and its people to our God and when natives are on the drum, we call it singing, because it is much more than just drumming).

Native American Christmas Story

Gather round children and let us teach you a song that helps us to remember the sacred things of our Grandfather and the reasons that He came to walk our Land, clothed in Red Dirt. We are excited to learn the things He accomplished for us, among us, and through us. We are most excited that all the ways we have walked before now pointed us to this moment, when we mere humans would be able to walk as sons of the Most Holy One.

On the First day of Christmas, Grandfather gave to me... an Eagle sitting on a cedar tree. (Remember children, the eagle climbs the highest and takes our prayers to the High places, and the eagle is Jesus, the One who was able also to climb to the heavenlies once and for all, to take our prayers, He is the Intercessor for all men.

On the second day of Christmas, Grandfather gave to me two wise owls (Remember children that the owls represent both death and sacred messages from the Holy places… and in this song they represent the Old testament and the New laws that brought death and mercy that brought life and spiritual wisdom).

On the third day of Christmas, Grandfather gave to me three sacred drums (for the drums beat out the sound of our Mother Earth while we pray to the Grandfather.. so as you hear them beat, remember we now know that there is faith, hope and love in The Father, Son and the Holy Spirit).

On the fourth day of Christmas, Grandfather gave to me four talking feathers (for the feathers remind us that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were given the talking feather by the Grandfather Himself, to tell His story to us all).

On the fifth day of Christmas, Grandfather gave to me five prayer ties (for we must remember that the law did not vanish and though we live by grace, there is a law to be followed and we humbly submit to that law, in offering our prayers to the Holy One).

On the sixth day of Christmas, Grandfather gave to me six hawks a laying (For we celebrate the creation of our mother earth, and thank Him for giving us all life, through our prayers, often using the feathers of this creature to smudge ourselves in preparation of that prayer time).

On the seventh day of Christmas, Grandfather gave to me seven stones for sweat lodge (For we must remember the gifts of the Spirit are seven fold, and we learn how to walk in these gifts through our fear and awe of our God, we do this praying in our lodges)

On the eighth day of Christmas, Grandfather gave to me eight great buffalo (For we want to remember the beatitudes, the blessings Jesus promised to come to His people, The buffalo represent His provision for our health, our very existence, as did the blessings He invoked on the people, the meek, those who weep, the poor all people have provision in Him).

On the ninth day of Christmas, Grandfather gave to me nine precious elders (For as we sit at the feet of our elders we hear how we can walk in the fruits of the Holy Spirit, they have always taught these truths, we just didn't know that they were the same truths taught by the talking leaves the white men brought to us).

On the tenth day of Christmas, Grandfather gave to me ten eagle dancers (For our eagle dancers dance for the people, to protect the people, to keep the people in wholeness, and wellness.. as the ten commandments were also set to keep the people whole, to protect them from their own evil thoughts).

On the eleventh day of Christmas, Grandfather gave to me eleven braids of sweet grass (For as we send the smell of sweet grass to the heavenlies, it invites those of the realm of the Grandfather, to enter into our world to help us… in this we remember the faithful eleven who stood ready to help our Savior, ready to do His will and work, so it is with those we invite to help us, if sent by Jesus).

On the twelfth day of Christmas, Grandfather gave to me twelve drummers singing (For the drums He gave on the third day can not help us to pray if they do not have four drummers each to beat out the heartbeat of the earth and its people to our God and when natives are on the drum, we call it singing, because it is much more than just drumming).

Buffalo, the Life and Spirit of the American Indian

The buffalo meant a lot of different things to most of America's Native People's. They were food and clothing, tools and utinsels, and most of all a Spirit Being blessing the peoples with everything they needed to survive. Here on this page I will try to give you understanding on just how important the buffalo were to our Native Americans, first with my dilog and then with links to other pages on buffalo inculding place's to buy meat, robes, and other things of the buffalo.


If God was the creator and overseer of life, if the morning star, the moon, and Mother Earth combined their talents to give birth and hope to the Indians, if the sun was dispatcher of wisdom and warmth, then the buffalo was the tangible and immediate proof of them all, for out of the buffalo came almost everything necessary to daily life, including his religious use as an intermediary through which the Great Spirit could be addressed, and by which the Spirit often spoke to them. In short, the buffalo was life to the Plains Indians until the white man's goods and ways first eliminated and then replaced the animal.
Understandably, then a major part of Indian life was oriented in and around the buffalo herds. They moved with them during all but the winter months. The buffalo's habits and kinds were studied intensely, and in time the Indians put virtually every part of the beast to some utiliarian use. In fact, it is almost astounding to see a graphic breakdown of the uses made of him, of his hide, of his organs, of his muscles, of his bones, and of his horns and hoofs. It is slight wonder that the Indians reverenced the buffalo, related him directly to the Great Creator, and be a natural symbol for the universe, and no doubt the other tribes accorded him a like honor.
There are several matters of magnitude to be considered about the Indians and the buffalo:
First, there is the matter of the buffalo's place in the sphere of Indian religion. Unfortunately, since this function is connected to so many aspects of the Indians life-way, mention of it must be made in many places, and to cover the entire subject here might cause a vital connection to be missed in another chapter. Therefore, the remarks made at this point will include only what is necessary to round out the total picture.
Second, a visual display of the infinite uses made of the buffalo is essential, for it shows the true importance of the buffalo, and also helps to draw a sharper impression of the creative talents of the Plains Indians.
Third, as one ponders the uses made of the bison, he inevitably wants to know how the Indians themselves were able to make so much of it. The answer is found in ferreting out what the Indians learned over the years about the intriguing types and habits of the buffalo. Ultimately it becomes clear that the buffalo's sex, age, seasons, and varieties offered advantages to the Indian which were so profuse as to be amazing, to say the least.
Fourth, the buffalo hunting and procurement methods used by the Indians need to be set forth.
And finally, a summary of hide preparation methods will complete the vital picture of Indians and buffalo living in what can only be called an "interdependent" state. After all, the Indians trimmed the excess from the herds season by season, and thus made it easier for their vast remaining numbers to exist. The Indians also provided fresh and succulent grass for the herds by burning off areas of prairie at regular intervals to promote new growth. New grass was always an inducement to the herds, and it was common for some of the tribes in the north to burn off certain sections of the plains each spring.
If a child's name included the word "buffalo" in it, the Indians believed that the child would be especially strong and would mature quickly. And though a name in itself is not the guarantee of automatic transformation, a "buffalo" child usually fulfilled the expectations of others by striving to accomplish what his name implied. If a warrior was renamed after a vision or great hunting or war accomplishment, and his new name included the word "buffalo," it meant that the buffalo was his supernatural helper, or that he exhibited the strength of a buffalo, or that he was an extraordinary hunter. In other words, the name desribed the powers of the man.
Societies named after the buffalo had the animal as their patron. The founder's vision would have featured the buffalo in a prominent way, and quite probably, all or most of the society members would also have seen buffalo in their dreams or visions.
Holy men who saw buffalo in the vision during which they were called to the practice of medicine would seek thereafter to commune with the Great Spirit through the buffalo. This might be done by prayers spoken to living buffalo, and thus sent through them to God. or by the ritualistic use of buffalo parts such as the skull. Then too, their medicine bundles would always feature parts of the buffalo and or stones associated in the mind of the holy man with the buffalo.
Buffalo calling was a constant and essential practice on the Plains. Since the Indians belived that the buffalo existed for their particular use, it followed that the migrations of the herds were according to a divinely controlled pattern. Whenever, then, the season came for the great herds to approach their area, the Indians of each band sought to assist the process by "calling" the buffalo. Any delay in their appearance would, of course, intensify the calling procedures and amplify the medicine rites.
Buffalo often licked themselves, and in the process swallowed some of the hair. Over the years the years the hair sometimes formed itself into a perfectly round ball two inches or more in diameter. Such a ball was a great find, and it immediately became a buffalo calling item for ritual use.
The Blackfeet had special mystic rites for calling buffalo herds into their area. The medicine person employing the rites had the good fortune to own one or more of the unusual stones called "buffalo stones." These were small reddish-brown rocks from two to four inches long, and naturally shaped something like a buffalo. At least, to an Indian, they looked more like a buffalo than they did anything else. The stones were very rare, and the few that exsited were only discovered now and then in the stream beds by searchers.
All that is known about the rites themselves is that the owner of a stone would invite a group of renowned hunters to his tipi to participate in the calling ceremony. There was no dancing in the preliminary rite, but the group did dance in thanksgiving at the conclusion of a successful hunt.
All the Plains tribes had special songs which they believed would make the buffalo approach their camp areas. And all the tribes had Dreamers and Holymen who would conduct secret rites and then prophesy where the buffalo were most plentiful. The Mandans. after completing a meal, would present a bowl of food to a mounted buffalo head in belief that it would send out messages to living animals, telling them of the Indians' generosity, and thus inducing them to come closer. They also prayed constantly to the Great Spirit to send them meat, and sometimes pleaded with a mystic "Spiritual Great Bull of the Prairie" to come to them with his cow, and with the herd close behind, naturally!
The Holymen of the Sioux, Assiniboines, and Pawnees used buffalo skulls in rituals designed to entice the herds, and the carcass of the first animal slain in a large hunt was always sacrificed to God. On occasion, Comanche hunters would find a horned toad and ask it where the buffalo were. They believed the toad would scamper off in the direction of the nearest herd. Or the same hunters would watch a raven flying in a circle over their camp and caw to it, thinking it would answer by flying off toward the animals cloaest to them. They also held a nighttime hunting dance before the men left the main camp to look for buffalo. After the hunt there was a buffalo-tongue ritual and feast which they celebrated as a thanksgiving ceremony. Some of the tribes had a unique hoop game which "called" the buffalo as it was played.
In a time of great scarcity, the Mandan White Buffalo Cow Woman Society held a special dance to draw the herds near the village.
George Catlin gives a vivid description of the buffalo calling dance of the Mandan men. The dance lasted three days, with new dancers constantly taking the places of those who became exhusted. About fifteen men danced at a time, each wearing a huge mask made of an entire buffalo's head, the only change being the insertion of wooden eyes and nosepieces with slits in them to admit air to the dancer. Painted bodies and a buffalo tail tied at the back to a belt completed the costume. Each dancer imitated a buffalo, and when exhausted, sank to the ground. In moments another dancer took his place while he was dragged from the circle of dancers by the bystanders, and ceremonially skinned and butchered.
The Hidatsa tribe had a calling dance in which six elderly men played the parts of buffalo bulls. After dancing for a time in imitation of the bulls, they tasted dishes of boiled corn and beans. Following this, empty bowls were given to them, and each man acted as though he was eating the wonderful buffalo meat which would shortly fill the bowls when the buffalo responded to the rite and came into hunting range.
Speaking generally, when considering the energy put into buffalo calling, it should be recognized that there were many reasons to want the buffalo herds to come close to the camps. First, the transportation problems was a monumental one, since the enormous quantities of meat and heavy hides were not easy to carry from the hunting areas to the camp sites. Second, it was much safer to hunt in one's own domain. In particular, the penetration of enemy territory or even of contested areas was extremely hazardous. A Ponca spokesman, in describing the plight of his tribe to George Catlin, tearfully stated that the Ponca warriors, who were few in number, were being cut to pieces by the more numerous Sioux because they had to go into Sioux territory to obtain buffalo. And third, without the ever present buffalo all the Indians could not have survived, at least on the Great Plains.
No one knows how many buffalo there were in North America before the White men came. Most estimates for peak period of Plains Indian occupation range from sixty to seventy-five million head. As late as 1830, White hunters guessed that forty million were left.
Although the larger herds lived on the Plains, smaller ones also ranged from northern Georgia to Hudson Bay and from the Appalachians to the Rockies and beyond.
The buffalo of North America were not all the same color or size. The Plains type, with which everyone is familiar, was not the largest. The wood buffalo, found in small herds in the eastern parts of the United States and Canada, which some called the Pennsyvania buffalo, was slightly larger. Although it grazed on the open prairies in the summer, it generally sought the protection of the woods in the winter. Another type was the less common mountain buffalo of the Rockies and Pacific coast region. It was smaller, but more fleet than the Plains bison. Unfortunately, both the wood and the mountain buffalo became extinct before scientists could learn much about them.
The need for grass and water kept the buffalo on the move most of the time. After a herd had consumed the grass on one part of the range, it was forced to move on to fresh forage. With luck, about every third day the animals would come to water, and did their drinking mostly at night. hunters said that when a herd left a river and started up a canyon, the sound was like distant thunder and often could be heard for miles.
Some eary explorers believed that the herds made long seasonal migrations, moving from south to north in the spring and returning in the fall. Others maintaned that the herd movements were more local. George Catlin, who went west in 1832 to study and paint the indains, decided that the buffalo seemed to enjoy travel, but were not truely migratory. "They graze in immence herds and almost incredible numbers at times," he wrote. "They roam over vast tracts of country, from east to west and from west to east as often as from north to south."
A early writer named J.A.Allen supported Catlin's view. He noted that, while most of the buffalo abandoned the hot Texas plains in the summer for those farther north, "it is improbable that the buffalos of Saskatchewan ever wintered in Texas. Doubtless the same individuals never moved more than a few hundred miles in a north and south direction, the annual migration being merely a moderate swaying northward and southward of the whole mass with the changes of the season."
Apparently, there were at least two, and probably three, herds moving in smaller circles within their own areas, north, south, and central. This took some of them in and out of each tribal area more than once during the year, whereas if the single herd idea applied they would have passed through many tribal domains but once.
Ordinarily the herd moved at a leisurely pace, with each animal nibbling at tufts of grass as it went along. Yet the buffalo was easily frightened, and sudden movement, sound, or unusual oder could cause a terrifying and crushing stampede. A wind-blown leaf, the bark of a praire dog, or the passing shadow of a cloud could put the entire herd into a headlong flight. Even a small grass fire could send them running for many miles. The smell or sight of man would do the same, and for this reason the Indians evolved some careful and strict regulations to govern the great annual hunts.
The size, apperance, and grazing habits of the buffalo help us to understand why early explorers referred to it as a cow. To them, its ony difference from cattle lay in its having a hump on its back, a larger head and front legs, and a mat of purple shaggy hair over its foreparts.
The color of the buffalo's coat varied with its age, and from one geographical area to another. Some southern buffalo were tawny, and others were almost black. Farther north, one might find an occasional blue or mouse colored buffalo, or even a pied or spotted one. Rarest of all was the albino, of which few existed, and even they varied from dirty gray to pale cream.
The Indian warriors set a high value on a white buffalo robe and were reluctant to part with one. A certain Cheyenne war chief wore a white robe when he led his warriors into battle, and believed that it would shield him from all harm. Some of the holy men used white robes in their medical curing rituals.
To a unschooled person, all buffalo in a herd looked alike. But there were many kinds and sizes, and their hide qualities varied considerably with the seasons. In fact, one had to know a great deal about them to utilize their fullest capabilities.
Mating time was in July. Throughout the winter the bachelor breeding bulls, grouped in small and large herds, roamed peacefully by themselvess. But about mid-july, when the running season began, they joined the cows. During this period the bull buffalo became exceedingly vicious toward one another, and toward any Indians foolish enough to approach them. Any cow in breeding condition would be closely followed by a pugnacious bull, and "tending" pairs would be a common sight on the outskirts of every band until late August.
Whenever bulls contend with each other for the right to a cow, the rest of the herd circled restlessly around the two antagonists. Other bulls would be pawing dirt and bellowing deep down in their throats, while the cows looked on as avid spectators. Battles were often to the death, and the larger and stronger animals were usally the victors. Bulls fought forehead to forehead, roaring, heaving, and seeking to push each other backward. Much of the fighting was ritual, but the moment one gave up the jousting and turned away he was promptly gored. A swift move and quick turn of the head, left a long, deep gash in his side. The intestines immediately came out, and the loser died. The victor paid no attention to the victim after the fatal hook was made, and the cow in question was calmly escorted away. Such battles were so intence while they were going, though, that bulls would ignore human beings. Even though the main herd fled at the approach of a mounted Indian, the titanic gladiators fought on. So Indian onlookers freequently saw these herculean contest at close range, and were able to tell about them later on.
Strangely enough, old bulls mated with young cows, and young bulls with the matured cows. In the early part of the mating season, perhaps to advoid fighting, a bull with one or more cows would stay in deep coulees which were some distance from the large part of the herd.
From late summer to early fall, the buffalo grouped together in small and large herds. Bull fights at this time were rare. With grass at its plentiful best, the buffalo became fat and robust. Long lines made their leisurely way to water and back again to the feeding grounds. Usually they traveled single file, and the primary buffalo trails became three or more feet deep in places.
In late summer the animals were at ease. As the heat of the day increased they would lie down a great deal. The hunting days of the Indians tribe had not yet come, and the warriors only disturbed them on rare occasions for a supply of fresh meat.
When a herd crossed a large river, such as the Missouri, they swam in small groups, one group after the other. Because of the vast size of the herds, the leaders were already across and on their way to new feeding grounds before the last of the groups had moved up to the river. Often several hours had passed before the last group was across. When buffalo were swimming they occasionally blew water through their nostrils. This made a peculiar noise which could be heard underwater for amazing distances. The bellowing of the bulls was itself a sound which could be heard for as much as ten miles!
By October of a good year, all the buffalo were fat and the bulls were still moving with the herds, and it was the best time for tribal hunting. The first days of the hunt were devoted to obtaining all the meat needed for the winter. The chase for robes came later.
In August the bulls left the herds. They gathered in small groups and remained away from the cows until breeding time. During this period the hides from four year old cows were taken. The hair was not prime, but the hides were just right for new lodges.
Buffalo calves, weighing from twenty five to forty pounds at birth, started to drop about April, and continued to appear till May. As far as is known there were no twins, but a Assiniboine named Crazy Bull claimed he saw a two headed unborn calf while butchering a cow which he killed in March. In a chase, calves never ran close to their mothers. All of them fell to the rear, so even if there were twins, they were not discernible as such by the Indians.
The hair of the calves was of a yellowish or reddish color, and remained so until they were from three months to a year old, when they shed this wool and assumed the darker color of the adult buffalo. Calves were called Little Yellow Buffalo. Robes for children were made from these beautiful skins, and they were always tanned with the hair intact.
After an early fall hunt, a large number of motherless and deserted calves were left on the hunting ground. Cows always abandoned their calves as soon as hunters gave chase, and usually they were in the lead of a stampeding herd. The bulls ran just behind the cows and the yearlings and calves brought up the rear. Some hunters claimed that the cows could run faster than any of the other buffalo in the herd, and for this reason were always in the lead. Others said the bulls ran just behind the cows to protect them, and so were behind by choice.They always were right at the heels of the cows.
If a chase took place near a camp and calves were left, boys mounted on yearling ponies and using their small bows and arrows staged exciting miniature chases, to the delight of the warriors who looked on. Very young calves left motherless or deserted after a chase were even known to follow the hunters back to camp.
By fall a healthy buffalo youngster would have increased in size to four hundred pounds, and its coat was long, shaggy, and thickened with heavy wool against the rigors of the cold season soon to come.
The coat of a year old calf turned from its yellowish color to a dark shade. By now he was so fuffy that he looked big for his age. The Assinboines called them "Little Black-haired Ones", or "Fluffed-haired Ones."
Two year old buffalo were called "Two Teeth," having two full teeth at that age. Just before they reached the second year, Their horns emerged beyond their thick hair and commenced to curve. At that age the tips of the horns were blunt, so they were also called "Blunt Horns."
As they passed the second year, their horns continued to curve, and three year olds were known as "Curved Horns," because of the short, small, curved horns.
"Small-built Buffalo" was the usual name applied to the four year olds, but they were also called "Four Teeth." Robes taken from these in January and February were considered the best of all hides. They were not too thick, and the hair was fluffed out, silky, and thick.
Boys were taught that when the robe hunters rode into a herd, they were to look in particular for the "Small-built Ones," both males and females, with trim and neat bodies, whose coats of hair were like fine fur.
At the age of six, cows were known as "Big Females," which meant they were mature animals. The bulls of this vintage were called "Horns Not Cracked" because of their fine polished horns, which resulted from hours spent in polishing them by rubbing against low cut banks or trees. Sometimes the bulls pawed down the upper sides of washouts and used the newly exposed and harder surface as a polishing material.
Bull hides were skinned only to the shoulders and cut off, leaving behind the parts that covered the humps. To skin a mature bull, the Assiniboine boy learned how to lay the animal in a prone position and then make an incision along the back, starting a little above and between the tips of the shoulder blades and ending at the tail. When this method of skinning was completed, the hide was in two pieces.
In the more usual way of removing the buffalo hide, and a task ordinarily carried out by the women, the cow buffalo was placed on its side. Shoshone women sliced them along the back from the head to tail. Then they ripped them down the belly and took off the top half of the hide, cutting away all the meat on that side from the bones. After this they would tie ropes to the feet of the carcass and turned it over with their ponies, proceeding then to strip off the skin and flesh from the other side in the same way.
The heavier bull, being more difficult to move, was sometimes heaved onto his belly, with his legs spread. The women would slash him across the brisket and the neck and then fold the hide back so they could cut out the forequarters at the joints. To complete the removal they would split the hide down the middle.
Fat from matured animals, when rendered, was soft and yellowish in color. The tallow from young buffalo was always hard and white.
When buffalo became old, some living beyond the age of thirty years, they shrank in size. The horns, especially those of the bulls, were cracked, craggy, and homely. Old bulls congregated in lonely groups. They remained away from the main herds and usually died of natural causes because no one cared for their meat or hides.
There were some unusual buffalo, and the strange kinds which were noticed during the hunt were the source of animated discussions at gatherings afterward.
As stated previously, the color of the hair on all calves was yellowish, and by the end of the first year had turned almost black. However, a few retained their original color through their lifetime. They were called "yellow ones," and most of them were females. They were natural size buffalo with an odd color. Robes made from the yellow ones were rare, and a hunter was proud to be able to present one to a prominent person.
White or albino buffalo were rare, and the number taken by different bands was so few it became a matter of historical record to be handed down from generation to generation. Only three were known by the Assinibonie tribe. The hide of one was brought back by a war party, but the heirs did not know whether the party killed the animal or took it from an enemy tribe in a raid. Another was owned by a northern band, who, whenever a momentous occasion arose, used a piece of it to fashion a sacred buffalo horn headdress for a new headman. The third, a heifer, was only seen by several hunters who were returning to camp after a chase. Their horses were tired and no attempt was made to chase it. However, one of their number, whose name was Growing Thunder, followed the herd for some time but finally returned to the group and told how the herd seemed to guard the white one. He tried to get within shooting range of the animal but was unsuccessful. It remained at all times in the middle of the large herd.
Another kind, known as "spotted ones," had white spots on the underside and on the flanks. Some had small white spots on one or both hind legs, usually near the hoofs. Only females were marked in this way.
The "small-heads" were also females. They were of ordinary size, but had small heads and very short horns.
"Curved-horns" were both male and female. The bulls of this variety had short horns with accentuated curves, while the cow horns were thin, long and curved. The tips, which curved out of sight into the hair, made curved-horn cows look as if they wore earrings.
A certain old buffalo group was called "narrow-cows," because of the narrow-built bodies. From the side they looked like the rest of the females, but in a chase one was easily detected. In spite of their shape they were usually healthy and the meat was good.
Some females had forelocks, and sometimes hair around the horns, which were short and looked shorn. Since they resembled Indian women who had their hair short in mourning, they were known as "mourning-cows." These cows were more vicious than other kinds for some reason, and would charge mounted hunters if they came too close. Their meat was good, but it was seldom eaten because of a belief that if anyone who knew the facts ate the meat from a mourning-cow, there would be a death in the family.
This text comes from "The Mystic Warriors of the Plains"
by Thomas E. Mails ISBN 0-7924-5663-7